Chapter 44: The Girl who Crossed Over-4

"It was Talon", Cole said sounding unnerved, "The Luna-" Cole gulped making me tense in anticipation and the Alpha clench his fists. "The Luna has disappeared, somewhere within the territorial shields" **** "King, please slow down!" Alpha Marco yelled as Alpha Zuerien dragged him through the woods and I and Cole followed. We had identified Talon's scent the minute we stepped into the woods, and sure enough it was on the other side of the territorial shields. But what was deeply disturbing was that Luna Winters' scent was nowhere to be found. As anticipated the King didn't slow down and continued to haul the Alpha of Mazes through the thick woods at a dizzying speed which the rest of us were finding hard to keep up with. The fog was very thick in the woods but we soon found who we were looking for. Talon stood beside a large oak tree frantically looking around till his panicked eyes landed on our company. I expected him to freak out on seeing the Alpha King and Alpha of Mazes there with us but I was surprised when he quickly walked up to us with unwavering eyes that were brimming with concern. "Thank goodness you're here Sirs!" he said frantically, "Ms. Winters, she-she-" "When did it happen?" Alpha Zuerien asked, his voice calm but urgent. "About ten minutes ago" Alpha Marco, who had been looking around not paying attention up till then, turned towards us on hearing her name. "Ms. Winters?" he asked questioningly. "My P.A", I told him observing the King carefully as his eyes silently searched the misty woods, "you met her this morning", the King's body tensed, "you know, the one you were about to give the rose to?" the King's fists clenched. Cole and Talon were giving me wide eyed glares, obviously telling me not to rile the King up, but I couldn't help it, it amused me. "The human girl?" Alpha Marco asked in disbelief making me turn my attention to him. "Yes", I nodded making his face scrunch up in confusion as he turned towards Talon. "That human girl is in the woods?" Talon nodded at him frantically, panic clear in his eyes. "But how is that possible?" "That's what you're here to tell us Marco", the King stated coldly turning his intimidating gaze towards the Alpha of Mazes, "It's about time you got on the same page! She is human, and yet she crossed over to the other side of the territorial shields. Your job is to find what the hell is wrong with the shields" Alpha Marco's mouth remained open for a few seconds as he let the information sink in before his eyes swept over the woods around us only to return to the Alpha's with a still confused mien. "But..." he looked incredibly perplexed, "there is nothing wrong with the shields" Ah... His statement was received by three puzzled gazes and my own thoughtful one as he continued while looking at me, "I had been checking the shields while I was being hauled through the vegetation like a wild boar by the King", he turned towards Alpha Zuerien, "That's why I asked you to slow down so that I could check them properly", he said sounding slightly irritated, "I'm quite certain, there is nothing wrong with the shields. And I can't sense any outsider within the secluded lands", he finished assertively. A heavy air of apprehension settled around us as all our minds sought the answer to the very same question. So how did she cross over? Hmm... "Talon" Talon jumped at the sound of Alpha Zuerien calling his name, "Y-y-y-yes sir!" "Where did you last see her?" he asked, his voice impartial, but much deeper than before. Talon's nervous gaze turned towards me for a split second before returning to the King, "S-somewhere right a-around here s-sir", he stuttered, "She had started running in t-this direction towards s-some tree in particular, and as she kept running, sh-she disappeared into the fog. For a short while after I could no longer see her, I could still hear her footsteps and detect her scent in the air but then suddenly it all disappeared. Her footsteps, her voice, her scent, it all vanished into thin air." Talon gulped and continued, "I had started running after her immediately after she broke into a sprint. But it was like no matter how much I ran, I couldn't reach her. I couldn't sense her at all! At that minute I panicked and mind-linked Beta Cole as I couldn't get through to Alpha Penson" That must have been when I had been trying to get the Alpha to acknowledge his bond with the Luna. I had been so engrossed in it that I had subconsciously put up a mental block against any mind link disturbances. The King's face was still an unreadable mask, but his stance was tense and the air around him seemed to be withholding enormous amounts of raw untamed power that was begging to be unleashed. I saw Cole look around and inhale deeply, "her scent isn't anywhere in the air for miles", he said sounding worried, "should I mind-link the patrol wolves to not hurt her, in case they come across a human wandering our lands and see her as an intruder or threat?" "No Cole", I interjected, "if any wolves find out that a human has breached the territorial shields, there will be panic. If any of them had encountered her, we would have been informed immediately. So it is safe to assume that she has not been found by anyone yet" Silence befell our group yet again. Cole ran a hand through his hair, his face marred by deep worry lines, Talon was fretting and wringing his hands continuously and Alpha Marco appeared to be in deep thought as he gazed at the forest. To anyone else it would seem like he was taking in the view, but as Alpha of Mazes, I was sure he was seeing much much more. My gaze drifted to the King who had been silent for a few minutes now. He looked calm; his demeanor was cold as always, not revealing anything. His eyes were closed and he breathed deeply but the minute they shot open I knew that all hell was about to break loose. His eyes flashed golden and black dangerously. His fists clenched and his body trembled. His wolf was clawing at his mental barriers to be let out so he could go and find his mate. "Alpha Marco", he called out, his voice coming out deep and husky, "check the territorial shields again, all around the woods. I'm going to go look for her" "But King, I already checked the shields-" "Do it again!" "Alpha Royale, I know you're all worried about her having crossed over the shield line but I told you, I don't sense any outsiders. Maybe she isn't in the woods anymore. She was probably led out by one of the mazes, just like she was supposed to in the first place. You don't have to be so concerned about some human girl-"