In light of the emergency, whatever it might be, Ronan would love to transform and run back to the Pack House in his wolf form. Unfortunately, it was not convenient to do that in the middle of a bustling city. Ronan thus decided to act more like a normal human being. One short phone call and five minutes later, his car had already pulled up in front of him.
As soon as they were alone inside the car, Ronan's wolf, Beowulf, started to talk. He always had a lot of opinions about the women who tried to approach Ronan. His comments were anything but savory. This time too, he had thought of a few select adjectives to describe Lillian Woodland.
'I dislike her,' Beowulf said openly without any intention to sugarcoat his opinion. 'She looks cheap.'
Ronan let out a chuckle.
'The last one was haughty. The one before her was stupid. I don't think that there will ever be anyone who will be good enough for you, B. And you haven't even met her wolf.'
Beowulf growled.
'Why would I want to meet her wolf if I don't even like her?'
Ronan sighed in his heart.
'We can't keep doing this, Beowulf. We will have to decide eventually.'
'I decided,' his wolf growled. 'A long time ago,' he added.
Ronan closed his eyes for a few moments to disperse the image of a certain young man from his mind.
'I know.'
The Infinite Eclipse Pack House was a huge apartment complex that was situated at the center of a forest. The whole land belonged to the pack since hundreds of years ago. All pack members were born and raised in the safe enclosure until they were ready to go out and mingle among human beings.
Traditionally, werewolf pack members used to go to predetermined educational institutions from kindergarten to university. This was done to ensure that the werewolf cubs' identity remained protected as they slowly grew up, met their wolves for the first time, and learned to get along with their wolves.
Although it was highly recommended to send the werewolf cubs to certain schools and colleges and universities only, some couples liked to be different. They let their children decide where to go.
A particular eighteen-year-old girl named Maya had decided to attend an art college that was located in a city that went by the name South Bedford City. The city was more than 500 miles away from the Great Lake City where the Infinite Eclipse Pack House and forest stood.
She had done so well growing up and mingling with other human beings that her parents were quickly convinced that nothing would go wrong.
Something did go wrong.
Maya's identity was exposed in an unfortunate incident, and the poor girl in her transformed body escaped from her college and went missing.
The Infinite Eclipse Pack had been trying to locate the girl for a week. Scouts were sent out in all directions to find out news about a possible rogue she-wolf who bore Maya's characteristics. Finally, there were some updates but they were not flattering at all.
Ronan raised an eyebrow upon hearing the news.
"Are you sure, Robin?"
Robin, the scout who found Maya, nodded and confirmed, "Yes, Alpha. There was no mistake. It was Maya, and she is currently living with a male human being."
"Impossible!!!" Maya's father roared in fury. "Not my daughter! NOT MY DAUGHTER!" he wailed in distress while pounding on the granite floor many times. Maya's mother was not able to bring out even a single word. She merely cried her eyes out. Judging from the redness of her eyes, she had been crying every day since her daughter went missing.
When speaking of an ideal son-in-law, most werewolf fathers had similar ideas in their minds.
First of all, it would be great if the son-in-law and the daughter were fated mates.
Second, it would be greater if the son-in-law was part of the same pack.
Third, if it was not possible to marry someone from the same pack, then it would be wonderful if the daughter could marry preferably a well-off werewolf with a good position in another pack.
The son-in-law did not have to be an Alpha. Could also be a Beta, or a Gamma. Or even a Lead Warrior.
Basically, the son-in-law had to be a werewolf.
She-wolves who eloped with rogue werewolves risked lifelong exile from their birth pack. What about she-wolves who eloped with a human male?
Exile was not even enough punishment for the insolent she-wolves.
The she-wolf must be recovered before she exposed her identity to the man and shamed her whole pack.
If she already did, well... Death was the only solution to preserve the secrecy of the werewolf community.
Maya's father looked as if he would rather have Maya lying dead at his feet rather than hear the preposterous story that the scout had to tell.
"Please, Alpha!" he begged. "Please bring Maya back to the pack. This must be a huge misunderstanding!"
Ronan closed his eyes in irritation for a while before he opened them again with a slight frown between his brows. Whether the she-wolf that Robin found was truly Maya or not, he had to find out by himself. If she was indeed Maya, then she must come back with him to the Pack House.
In order to not attract too much attention, Ronan decided to go with only Jake and Robin.
The man's house was located on the outskirts of South Bedford City. It was a lone and humble house, one of many at the end of a vast sunflower field. Most houses in the area were separated by at least a hundred meters from each other.
The inhabitants did not spend time outside of their houses other than to attend to their flourishing gardens meticulously or sit on the verandah to enjoy the beautiful spring day.
When Ronan, Jake, and Robin walked past the other houses on their way to the house where Maya lived, the neighbors subtly lifted their heads and shot them curious looks.
Ronan could not care less about the neighbors. His eyes were trained on their target. There were movements in the garden before they even came close to the white picket fence.
The one who was working in the garden quickly noticed the three uninvited guests. A young woman with long, light brown hair emerged from behind a bush with huge garden shears in her hand.