6. The Rescue

Randall POV:

I woke up and took a quick shower, brushed my teeth and had breakfast. I went to check on my little girl. I do that every day when I'm at the Pack House while she's still asleep. But I had to get ready for the Royal Pack's meetings. I really didn't know why the heck we needed to go there every couple of weeks, just a bunch of wild wolves drinking Wolfcraig nonstop. The King always made sure we all drink it from a golden goblet and cheered for the union. Fucking non sense.

Rarely we talked about business. King Conri was being nothing but a pain in the ass. It was such a great time when he acted based on duties. Taking care of all the packs at the same time, he could be on every pack at once. That's one of his powers as King; omnipresence.

But now it's all just bullshit.

These days when I'm away I can't help the feeling of losing my daughter and my heart clenches in pain. I did everything I could to protect her in any way possible. I've already lost my mate. I felt like I had failed her; I wasn't a good mate, I never cheated, but I also wasn't there for her in our life and neither in her bed as well as mates should. I felt like the pull was weak and I blamed myself for four long years for that.

There was also someone else bothering me for decades. I couldn't sleep at all at night dreaming about "her" and feeling an unbearable pain for never get to have her.

I tried to compensate for it all by taking care of Alice as much as I could. She was always happy with me and I felt complete. I survived Alice's mother's death all thanks to the fucking Goddess. I should be the one dead instead of her, especially dying by poisoned fairy wine. I killed the son of a bitch omega who poisoned her, but it didn't bring Alice's mother back.

After so many years, I couldn't help the feeling that there was more to it. Many weird and wicked things have been happening around the Realms recently. I shouldn't have killed the man who poisoned my first mate. I should've questioned him but my instinct took me over.

I'm trying to protect my daughter from all of it and all the distress. She's young, she doesn't need to have her days filled with sorrow and darkness.

I kept her locked and hidden. I wish I couldn't, but I'm left with no other choice. If I get too soft on her, something terrible might happen. I'd rather deal with her hate than her pain. I had to keep my secret as long as I could until the moment comes.

I have to remain strong for both of us, eliminate any possible threat.

If something ever gets to happen to Alice, who is my most precious thing in life, I'd definitely die this time. My daughter and "her" was the thin line that was hanging me up to life.

All of a sudden, I heard Shadow whimpering in pain and my heart started to race.

"Please Dad, don't do that, forgive me. I won't get out again." Alice shouted in a desperate and crying tone.

"ALICE, WHERE ARE YOU? I'M COMING FOR YOU." I mind-linked her back but the connection got cut out.

No, no. It can't be happening.

Shivers ran down my spine.

I tried to mind-link Adam, who was the Manager of the General Security but he couldn't be reached.

What the fuck is happening? She's clearly in danger.

"Our pup is in danger. I think she got out hidden and the guards took her…Randall, almost nobody knows we have a pup and these wolves are sadistic and dirty as horse's poop". My wolf Shadow growled loudly as anxiety took over us, I shifted to run as fast as I could, fuck, I knew exactly how dirty these warriors were.

I gave them all orders to always wait for my command after they capture any enemy or possible threat but it's my daughter screaming for help and I would not wait any longer, this can't be happening, I hoped it was not too late.

Shadow is a huge black wolf with bright green eyes, very strong, merciless and has a threatening aura. He bows to no one. Combining it with our Alpha aura, we're very dominant and wolves obey our command willingly and there's no need to use our Alpha tone.

I have a Beta. He used to be my best friend ever since we were pups, but there have been some decades that our relationship was only professional.

It takes about 30 minutes by car from the pack house to reach the security building, but I got there in about 5 minutes and shifted back in my naked form and got inside and the manager and some warriors approached me.

"What the fuck is happening that your connection got cut out, Adam?"

"Alpha" he bows down. "Forgive me, Sir, but my connection is open", he talked back at me.

I growled like a feral beast and he started to tremble.

"Don't you fucking think I tried to mind-link you before saying this? Do your fucking job and leave your connection open. I put you as the manager of the general security and I can take it back whenever I please." I yelled at him.

He just nodded and bowed down with a confused face.

"If something bad happens to my pup, you will all get killed slowly." I warned them, their eyes went wide opened and I threw them all away violently. I didn't even care I was naked, I had to find Alice.

A weird man with a very strong and royal aura came from nowhere and tried to punch me. I dodged easily…who is this fucker now? I have no time for this.

"Back off, get out of my Pack now. I have no time for this you preppy fucker." I yelled, but his eyes were enraged and I swear I could see smoke coming off his body.

"What did you do to Alice? Where is she?" I frowned. How did he know about her?

Is he trying to take her away?

"Over my dead and furry body", Shadow growled in my mind.

We took our positions to fight. When we were about to shoot ourselves at each other, I heard Alice's screams echoing the place and I snapped out of it.

Regular wolves couldn't hear it, but I was the Alpha and my senses were a thousandth times higher.

Shadow was pacing violently in my head, coming to the surface and he put his ear up as if to hear what was happening to her.

I ran as fast as I could to the cells, ignoring the weirdo and when I got there, my heart literally stopped and it all turned into a fucking slow motion as I saw the worst thing I could ever imagine.

Her bare back had deep cuts and she was bleeding non-stop, her body was all over covered with blood, she was almost unconscious. I lost it, my fangs elongated, wanting to sink into some necks and my claws were sharp, ready to decapitate whoever did this.

Shadow was howling in pain for the first time but he was also enraged. We want their bloods now.

The guards noticed I'm out of my mind and they started to tremble out of fear.

"A…Alpha, Sir…" He didn't even finish. I sunk my fangs into his neck, biting it with all my might and pulled his bloody neck's flesh with all I had, one down, a few more to go…my claws were ripping their fleshes out. I made sure to watch them dying until the very little piece of life vanished from their eyes.

Shadow was satisfied.

I turned to look at her and the unknown fucker had already got her in his arms with his shirt around her and she was no longer tied up, but I still don't know who he was.

"Let her go right now if you don't want to join these fuckers' dead bodies." I was about to kill him.

"We're mates" he simply said, still looking at her, making me fall down on my knees.

"Fuck", it was all I could mutter as I just let myself fall on my knees.

I guess the moment of the truth came then.

Liam POV:

(A few minutes ago)

I was outside the gates, invisible.

I put Alec on the surface and we simply high jumped inside the borders.

The Alpha was really confident that no one would ever dare to face him.

I used my high speed to cross the small forest trail until I found myself in a small fancy city. It was different from any other pack.

I was certain that not even the Royal Pack looked like this. He made part of his land into a very nice city.

The city looked like the ones from the Human Realm.

OK, he surely can do his business like no one else, can't deny it.

Oddly, there was no one out on the street and everything smelled like wet mutt. At least for a Dragon, we were enemies for centuries.

I was mesmerized, staring at the little luxurious city when a huge black wolf came running like there's no tomorrow.

He stopped at the staircase in front of an elegant tall building and shifted to a bare human form. It was him, I was sure of it, the Alpha.

The monster that imprisoned his own daughter and that was about to hurt her.

I moved closer and wanted to knock him out, but I had to make sure where she was. Her dad was enraged and…desperate?

I knew that something was very odd.

I didn't react. I followed him inside instead and after I heard his confirmation that we were at the general security building, I realized that there was the place I was supposed to be. I turned to my solid self and tried to punch him.

"What did you do to Alice? Where is she?" I gushed. I'm not leaving without her.

He looked surprised but didn't flinch back, his aura surely would do the job if I wasn't a royal, so it didn't have much of an effect on me.

We were about to fight until I scented her.

Her scent was mixed with blood's scent. I lost my mind and also her father. He surely didn't seem like he was about to hurt her, he was desperate, enraged and I let it go, so as him. I just needed to know she was OK at that moment.

I wasn't sure anymore; my heart was racing painfully as I followed her dad through a security door that took us to a basement. We ran further until we got to the dungeon.

It looked like a normal prison cell, then there she was and I found myself living in my worst nightmare.

She had her arms tied up on some chains hanging from the ceiling, she was topless, covered with blood and her back had a lot of deep cuts, her inner flesh was almost inside out.

Alec whined and wriggled in pain. I felt tears falling from my eyes as I ripped my shirt off and covered her.

My fangs elongated and I bit the chains out of her arms. I'm a dragon, so thick iron wasn't a problem for me at all. She fell down in my arms, unbalanced.

I saw a whip with silver barbed tip when I looked down.

Fuck, they didn't just whip her, they also made sure to use silver weapon to cause the mess.

I failed her. I had just met her and already failed her.

I glared at her father; he was killing those nasty mutts. I was also wrong about him. He wasn't about to hurt her, he was protecting her.

I decided I wouldn't fight anymore, there was so much going on.

Her face was no longer frowning and I felt her relaxing in my arms.

"Let her go right now if you don't want to join these fuckers' dead bodies", the Alpha said to me.

"We're mates." I replied to him, expressionless, I couldn't get my eyes out of her, ever again.

I will not hide it any longer, he had to accept it, willingly or not.

"Fuck." He fell on his knees, he seemed confused and having an inner battle with his wolf.