Chapter 23

Raphael woke up his wolf still at the fore front of his mind. He groaned and got out of bed and went to get something to eat. He sat and chewed his food glumly and slowly, it tasted like ash in his mouth.

He decided that he might as well get it over with and hopped in his car. He looked at the time and saw that it was nine in the morning. 'I slept in late.' He thought unhappily.

As he drove he kept thinking about his mate and how she must be feeling right now, was she in pain? As these thoughts went through his mind he heard a crunch. He looked down and saw that he'd broken the steering wheel.

"Dammit!" He yelled, 'Those prisoners were definitely gonna be feeling pain today.' He thought angrily.

He arrived at the mansion and walked in with a dark energy surrounding him. All of the Lycans trembled at their unhappy Beta.

"S-sir?" Louis asked tentatively. Raphael ignored him and walked right past. His gold eyes set on the path to the cells.

He walked to the next cell holding a Shapeshifter, he saw that it was a crocodile by it's eyes half open and covered by a clear eyelid. He stepped forward and kicked the crocodile in the stomach. No reaction. He was cold-blooded like the snake had been, he was hibernating from the cold, and his skin was also protected by that extra layer of skin. So he figured that he would have to use the same strategy that he used on the snake, and his wolf was craving blood.

Raphael left that cell, and headed for the next. He remembered a cheetah Shapeshifter, he hope he would have more luck with this one.

He opened the door and found a boy, well he was probably older but the look in his cheetah like eyes said something else. He was looking at Raphael with anger but there was fear hidden behind it. Raph felt torn, 'He's just a Shapeshifter, but a young one he wouldn't know much.' He reasoned. He was turning to leave when the cheetah spoke up, "I'll give you what you need to know Lycan, but only if you are willing to give me protection." His voice was also young.

"And how could you betray your kind so willingly?" He was disgusted with his lack of loyalty.

"My kind? My kind?! My kind has allied themselves with the Elves, who are only out for themselves! That girl they were holding, was one of us! I don't care if she was a hybrid, she still had our blood in her veins!" He yelled.

Raph nodded. He wasn't sure he could trust this cheetah, but he could always kill him if he tried anything.

"Tell me the information then we will discuss your protection." Raph said, then waited.

"Tell me." He said impatiently.

"Tell you wh- Oh, right." He cleared his throat, Raph rolled his eyes, "The girl, she was a hybrid yes, but they had said that she was something else, something that they needed. And your Alpha was lured out because they needed to get to his mate, your Luna. They had said that she was a key, a key to something they needed. They had convinced Spruce that he needed to be Lead Alpha and that this was the way to do it." He took a breath, "He had pretended to be in danger and the Elves used him to get to your Alpha. Spruce was watched by this weird creature who always wore a hat, and had markings over his." He stopped.

Raphael waited for him to continue but soon figured he was done. "Well I will tell my Alpha and then we'll see about you getting out."

He walked out and his wolf started to come through. Raph punched the wall to try and contain it. He walked upstairs and sat down to call the Alpha.

"Hello." His voice answered.

"Hello Alpha, one of the prisoners was willing to exchange information for our protection."

"What information?" He asked.

Raph relayed what the cheetah had said, "Oh, and it seems that there was a Pixie hanging around, it's mist likely that the they've allied themselves with Elves. It would explain what happened to the girl."

"Yes it would. We will discuss this at a later date. You may bring the prisoner here, but he will stay in the cells, comfortably."

"Alpha, would it be alright if I brought the prisoner over today?" He couldn't help the hope in voice. The thought of seeing his mate was more than exciting.

"No, you will come tomorrow afternoon." Then he hung up.

Raph stared at the phone in his hand. How could he say that?! I can't see her? Why not?! He resisted the urge to crush his phone and mind linked Louis.

-Louis, get some food, water and clothes for the cheetah Shapeshifter. You can take his chains off but keep the door locked.-

-Yes, sir.- No questions asked. Raphael was grateful for that, he wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone.

He walked out with the same dark aura surrounding him.

He was about to get in his car, but saw the broken wheel. He growled in frustration and decided to just shift and run back to camp. As he ran he got more an more upset. He couldn't believe that the Alpha had said no, why?! He needs to see her!

When he arrived back at the camp he saw that all of the tents had been taken down, including his. There were a few Lycans packing their vehicles.

-What is this?!- he asked the nearest Lycan, outraged.

"Beta, I'm sorry I didn't know you were staying longer.- he said with his head bowed.

-Yes, well it would appear that I am. Set my tent back up.- then he ran into the woods.