Chapter 8: A stranger

I drew back as he made a step forward. "Kamara, you don't have to be terrified. I'm Louis, and I don't belong in this pack."

I couldn't help but notice the man's endearing features in spite of the fear that surger through me. His gorgeous light brown eyes. A matching stubble to his hair defined his face.

"How do you know me?" I inquired once more, raising my voice.

I kept my eyes fixed on him even though he gestured to the east, saying, "The news of you searching for your abducted kids have reached the Eastern side. When news breaks about an Alpha missing children, it goes viral."

It seemed really weird to me. I squinted my eyes, expressing my doubt.

"What do you want from me?" I swallowed clearing my throat of any accumulated saliva before asking.

"I considered speaking with the Alpha, but he ignored me." My face became more confused. "Why would he even listen to a stranger?"

"And how come you believe that I would?"

Louis gave me shivers as he gazed intently into my eyes. Then he looked away, toward the trees beside the house, and sighed deeply before continuing.

"Well, I might just have information that you might be interested in regarding the location of your kids ."

My heart jumped. My lips fell open. My eyes went widened. My mouth went dry. I observed Louis, searching for any indication that he was being honest. There was a long pause between us. My mind drifted, making me wonder if I should believe what this man was saying. What would he stand to gain by divulging so much vital information? What did he really want?

"How can I be sure you're telling the truth?" My body shook with the possibility of actually going to find out where my kids were.

"You'll need to have faith in me."

Trusting someone I didn't know was a dangerous game. To be sure Louis was telling the truth, I would need further proof. The kidnappers themselves might have created a trap to get me as well.

He continued, nonchalantly, picking at his teeth with a small twig from a shrub. "They thought your friend was you, so they murdered her."

"Who's responsible for this?" My expression became stern and my voice went shaky.

Louis was ready to answer when he suddenly saw a shadow behind him. It felt as though time had stopped for Caiden, who was standing at the end of the hallway with his eyes blazing. Caiden suddenly raced forward, seized Louis's neck, and pushed him against the wall before Louis could turn to see who it was.

I covered my mouth with my palm to stop myself from screaming.

"Who are you?" Caiden's expression was horrifying.

"He has information." I put my hand on Caiden's and asked him to stop holding Louis's neck. "He knows where the kids might have been taken."

Caiden took some time to comprehend what I was saying, and he persisted in gripping Louis's neck.

"Please, at least hear what he has to say," I begged, my voice full of desperation.

I sighed in relief when I saw Caiden retreat while keeping his gaze fixed on Louis. He turned to face me after a few seconds, still enraged.

"You shouldn't trust a stranger so much, Ara," he said, leaning his face closer to me. "I will hear what he has to say."

Louis was gasping for air when Caiden took hold of my arm and pulled me away.

"What are you doing, Kamara? What the fuck do you think you're doing?" He growled, his loud voice scaring even the birds perched on the tree. "Do you really want to put your kids' lives in the hands of a stranger?"

Caiden's brows furrowed in exasperation. Sensing that my wolf was still asleep, he continued to treat me like a weak wolf. As he went on talking, I pulled back, making myself look smaller than he actually was.

"It... Louis claimed to have important information about the quads, but I didn't say I trusted him," I stuttered.

I stared into the eyes of the man who had once claimed to love me, but all I saw was the strong, icy, and ruthless alpha.

"You ought not to have come asking for my assistance if you're going to believe just anyone."

His muscles bulged as he turned his back at me.

Caiden was more attractive and powerful. So manly. Like the Alpha he was.

All of a sudden, the past came racing through my head. Caiden first spoke to me when I turned fifteen, and he asked me to the Moon Howlers Ball which was held every year. I remembered being both thrilled and perplexed.

An orphan viewed with contempt by the entire pack. what would the future Alpha do with someone like me? Though I suspected it was a prank, a way for him to make fun of me,but I was so taken by the invitation that I didn't think twice about accepting Caiden's request.

Getting smitten with him wasn't hard. Caiden was the first pack member to show me so much love and respect. Together, we attended the ball and grew close. I also recalled how much Enzo despised me ever since we first met. That did not, however, drive Caiden away.

I prayed to the moon goddess to make us mates after Caiden declared his emotions for me in the fall of that year. He would pick me to be his mate even if she didn't respond to my requests. However, my prayers were heard. Given that Caiden was older than eighteen, he most likely already knew we were mates.

"Are you going to help me?" I glanced at him with sparkles in my eyes, waiting for his response.

His gaze flickered with a mixture of remorse, doubt, and rage. "Well, I have to find out if the kids are really mine," he said, "but I decide who we can trust."

"How can you be skeptical about them being your children?" I asked, exasperated.

His voice was tinted with fury as he said, "You ran away to the human realm, Kamara. I don't know what you've done or who you've been with?"

"You were the only man I loved and who had me completely," I said, looking down at the floor when I realized I was almost screaming at him. "I haven't been with anyone else."

Caiden's attention was drawn to a commotion outside as I cautiously raised my eyes to read his facial expressions. Caiden's face took on a dark expression upon Louis's arrival. He approached the man with great strides, and I was afraid Caiden might murder him.

Fearing the worst, Louis began to sweat, "No one stays in this pack without being permitted by me and you know that, Louis. Vacate my pack now if whatever information you have is useless."

He bowed his head, unable to look directly at Caiden, saying, "I'm sorry for the disturbance , Alpha, but words of the Alpha's children being missing has reached the Eastern region."

"There's definitely a fucking traitor in my pack giving out vital information beyond the border, or you're just a cheap liar, here to worsen matters. Two major errors have been committed in a single day." Caiden said.

"Neither, Alpha," Louis attempted to defend his actions. "I had to find a new place to live after being kicked out of my pack. I believed that by helping the Alpha, I could get a favor from him."

Amused by the cheap lies he just told, Caiden laughed.

"Where are the quads?"