Hearing Zayn Malik's name had caused a huge stir between the Rogues. Liam cowered awkwardly as their curiosity turned to a deep hatred.
Liam wondered what lies Mira and Jaiden fed them over the years. He had no choice but to stand in front of them all and face it.
Liam had seen that look so many times before, on his aunt and uncle, Pack members, Harry, Ethdellin Town locals, and now someone he thought was a friend, Mira.
Her hatred hurt the worst, like a spear straight through his heart. Liam's legs suddenly weighed a ton. He would have fallen to his knees and curled into a ball if the Rogue didn't grip him tighter. Liam suddenly wanted to cry, he felt tears swelling, his throat closing, and his mouth watering.
So much hatred for simply being.
Liam dropped his gaze. He couldn't stand the judgement.
"Tie him up" ordered Mira. "We'll move him on later"
Liam was heaved through the cave. His heavy legs struggled to clamber over the uneven rocks.
Rogues scurried out of his way as Liam was pushed into the side of the cave. He sank to the floor and a rusted chain was tied around his right wrist.
Liam's eyes followed the chain and any hope of escaping soon blew away with the wind. The chain was bolted into the stone. Liam wondered if they often kept prisoners. Quick glances left and right gave him an answer. Two men were tied up on either side of him. They both stared down at Liam with blank and lifeless eyes. Liam knew they were werewolves. He felt the presence of their wolves the same way he felt the Rogues; a deep uncomfortable churning in his gut.
He wanted to ask how long they had been in the cave, and why they were tied up. Their gaunt expressions and deprived bodies answered him.
Liam was too scared to speak, especially when the Rogues found him so interesting. Everyone looked, even shifted werewolves lifted their tired heads. Liam wondered if he would ever not feel singled out in a space full of werewolves.
He was brought into their world by a bond that found him, so why did Liam have so much trouble fitting in?
Though, who would feel normal in a cave full of starved werewolves, seeking comfort in a human driven crazy from grief?
******
Zayn informed the rest of his pack what was happening when he was halfway to the South. His pack also informed Zayn that Baela was doing well but refusing to rest.
While running as he spoke, Zayn couldn't care less about Baela. He only had eyes on the dark woods in front of him, and a panicked heart calling for Liam.
"Tell her that if she dies, I'll never fucking forgive her. She can rest or piss off. She doesn't have time to die." Zayn hung up and glanced behind him. His Omegas were still in wolf form and sticking close together and close to their Alpha.
Zayn knelt in the cold dirt, digging his fingers among the dead autumn leaves. As he shifted, his Omegas surrounded him, sniffing the air for enemies.
Their run to the South was long and tedious. Zayn passed at least 5 humans, but he didn't care. Authorities would tell him off, but he would happily tear through a city in his wolf form if it meant finding his mate.
At dawn, they reached Shadow Packs second base. The Packhouse grounds were overgrown with wild weeds tangling everything in its path. The building itself was only years from falling apart, with an
old roof full of missing tiles and a few boarded-up windows. After a year and nine months of living in the place, Zayn expected better.
His Aunt Thea and Uncle Brandon stood at the entrance with solemn faces, either for his mate or for dealing with Zayn Malik so early in the morning.
Zayn shifted and their frowns only deepened. He stormed to them, not bothering with politeness.
"Did you find the bunker?" he asked.
Thea, being an Alpha, clashed with Zayn's presence immediately. "Not yet. We're looking."
"Well look faster" Zayn growled. "Liam has been gone all night."
Zayn's Omegas stood awkwardly around their Alpha. Baela or Niall usually handled small talk, but one was dead, and the other was close to dying. Omegas simply edged out of Zayn's way and silently waited for his commands. Now it was their turn to help and show that their pack could be just as strong as Thea's perfect one.
"W- We have recent news about the, um, the Southern Alpha," an Omega stuttered. She was among one of the youngest in the pack, and very eager to please.
Her name was Reena, and for almost six months, she was often called Nina by Xavier until she worked up the courage to correct him. She missed how Xavier would make it his mission to know all of the wolves, but she could see Zayn starting to try. Reena really hoped that Zayn formed the friendship she missed having with Alpha Xavier.
"What news?" Thea demanded.
"Uh..."
"It was Jaiden all along" Zayn said coldly, not having all day to talk, but he had to calm down.
Mellowing that anger was harder by himself, and he was close to burning everything in his path until he found Liam. Though what would happen after Liam was found? Zayn didn't want to clean up his messes yet again.
His Omegas shared shocked glances and two had paled. Zayn didn't have time to fill them in on what had happened with Daniel and the journals, he just hoped they believed him.
"No, Jaiden was the Alpha's mate," Brandon said as if Zayn had no idea what he was talking about.
"You think I'd come all this way just to be wrong?"
Zayn clenched his jaws. Stop being so sharp. He sighed. "It was the last thing Dad wrote in his journal. Liam was taken by Jaiden's human mate who lived in the Town."
Thea looked horrified. "Zayn, what the fuck? How did Jaiden have a mate? He was a Beta wolf"
"Or a submissive Alpha with mixed parents," Brandon suggested.
That was what happened to his brother. His mother was an Alpha and his father was a Beta. Brandon was more of an Alpha, and his brother was more of an Alpha too, and got an Omega mate. Brandon was simply lucky that he was bonded to Thea because his Alpha traits were not strong enough for a bond of his own.
After experiencing such intricate love, he couldn't imagine not sharing his soul with another.
"All I know is that dad wouldn't write it down unless he was certain, and now Liam's gone." Zayn's concrete face was beginning to crack, starting with his eyes.
Brandon and Thea glanced to each other. Zayn half expected them to turn him and his Omegas away, but Alpha wolves knew the fear of losing a mate.
"And Rogues took him?" Thea asked.
Zayn nodded.
"There's a cave by the beach that's full of Rogues. We've sent Omegas down there a few times to ask ahout the Bedlam Alpha. All they were useful for was admitting that they stole the cows in the nearby farm."
"Well you need to go again. I guarantee they'll know something. Rogues always do."
"What if they don't?"
"Then I'll keep asking until they give me a lead."
"Zayn you can't just grasp at the air like that. We need a plan and-"
"My Liam has been taken by Rogues!" Zayn yelled.
His werewolf eyes surfaced, glowing a sharp copper in the morning sun.
"I don't have fucking time to make a plan!" Zayn towered over everyone with his height, even Thea, who edge back when Brandon tugged her away.
"Then what do you suggest? That tunnel could have exited anywhere in the North!" Thea yelled back.
"We start at the cave and question as many Rogues as we can." Thea then shook her head. Loose blonde curls swung around her face. "How did this even happen?"
"We've been played this whole time. This is not just a desperate snatching of mates, this had to have been planned. Mira has had almost two years to think about this."
Zayn gripped the front of his hair and Thea looked away. Her brother Xavier used to do the same when he was stressed. "We'll send Omegas to the cave. If it'll put you at ease, we'll bring some back for you to question-"
"No, I'm going with the Omegas. I want to see for myself." Zayn crossed his arms stubbornly. He wouldn't lounge around indoors while his mate was out there, scared half to death. Liam's fear churned in Zayn's gut like his insides were sliding around each other. "Get your Omegas, we go now."
Zayn faced away from the gate and stared down the wolf-made path towards thick bushes and a deep forest beyond. Liam could be anywhere. Anywhere.
Zayn was second guessing himself about not going through the tunnel. It could have led to our deaths, Zayn thought. Or our victories.
He paced until the Omegas arrived. They were anxious of Zayn. Even after a year and nine months of hiding, Zayn Malik still had a reputation. He was bigger than he was a few years ago, taller and burly. Zayn was on peak form, but fitness couldn't help him when he was caught in a web of lies and secrets.
"How far away is the cave?" he asked Thea's new Beta. Her old one had tried to chop of her head back when Jaiden planted Southern Beta's in all Northern Packs.
"A half an hour run. Human access is cut off because authorities are aware that Rogues are hiding out there. It's a bit of a climb down and we'll have to be in our human form to do it"
"Have authorities told werewolves to do anything about the Rogues?" Zayn asked.
"Yes, but what can we do with a bunch of Rogues?"
Thea's Beta flicked dark straight hair over one shoulder. "We're not a rehabilitation Pack." She stormed ahead and Thea's Omegas followed.
Zayn and his own Omegas peeked at each other's expressions.
"We will find him, Alpha." Reena was too hopeful, but Zayn was thankful. Liam needed all the hope in the world.
"Shift Omegas," Zayn ordered, then hushed his tone and murmured, "I want two Omegas at the back, three in the middle, and two at the front with me and Thea's Beta. Stay alert."
His Omegas nodded, whispering, "Yes, Alpha."
Thea was family, but quick to throw Zayn to the dirt even after knowing that everything was Jaiden's fault. She didn't trust Zayn, even if they were helping to search for Liam. Zayn had never been able to trust easily, and now, it mattered to be vigilant, especially with Liam's life in his hands.