Chapter 5 – Alpha Maximus

• Alpha Maximus POV
• I arrive late for my older brother's wedding, very late. My mother is not going to be happy with me at all, but I had business to attend to before I came out here. When I finally make it, all I see is fire for miles, and everything is on fire. As we get closer, there is nothing that is not on fire. I get out of the truck with my security team. The wolves following in another truck rush to my side.
• "Find my brother, his new wife, and my parents. Try to put out this fire! NOW!" I order them.
• "Yes, Alpha. We will handle it," they say in sync as they start going in different directions to find my parents and put out the fires.
• I start walking the grounds, looking for life, but all I see is death. Wolves attacked, murdered. They were attacked on their wedding day. Her pack was a peaceful pack of elders and young women, from what my parents told me; why would anyone want to harm her or my bother and his pack. None of this makes sense. Who would do this? Someone cruelly did this!
• "Alpha, we found your parents," Aslin calls to me. I can tell by his voice it is not good. I rush to where Aslin is at. He is kneeled down beside my mother and father. Neither is alive. Both were beaten to death, and I want to know who did this. I let out a mightly growl as my team continues to look for my brother and his wife.
• "I will kill whoever is responsible for this," I growl into the night for no one to hear me but the dead and the few wolves with me.
• My wolves continue to check each person left lying dead. I was hoping to find someone alive to tell us who did this. A scream is coming from the direction of a platform—a small shout calling for help.
• "There is a woman alive over here," Argo call out to me. I rush on the platform where my brother said I do to his new bride and became Alpha tonight. I look over to see him pulled to pieces. My big brother died on his wedding day, ripped apart.
• "Help me," the tiny voice says.
• I look down to see the owner of the tiny voice. She is beaten and burned. Her legs are bruised, and she is covered in her own blood. Her dress shredded, and someone took a bite out of her neck. I take her hand, and she begins screaming. "They... They... They too ooo k hhh er," she says. She can barely speak but is trying so hard to help.
• "They took her, Kayla the Luna?" I ask her.
• She shakes her head. Tears are coming down her face. "Who hurt you and took my brother's wife?" I ask her.
• "Car o line is my sis sis sister," she says.
• "I will find her, but I need you to tell me who took her?" I ask her again. She takes a deep breath.
• "ARrrllloo," she says.
• "Ranon, did you say Ranon as in Alpha Ranon?" I ask her.
• "Yessss, he did this," she says slowly.
• "We are going to help you. I will take you to a hospital," I say to her. She shakes her head no and cries out in pain.
• "I held on," she says, and then she goes limp. I sit down beside her. I growl out into the night again. My wolves join me in growling and howling out in pain.
• "We have to take care of the wolves. We cannot leave them like this," I say.
• "Yes, sir, we will prepare for them," one of my wolves says. I will take our parents and her parents as well as her sister and my brother back to his pack territory to be buried with honors. I will make sure her pack and my brother's pack receive a funeral before leaving. I cannot believe this happened.
• My wolves and I work all night making sure every dead wolf is appropriately buried. We make sure all of the fires are out. My parents and her parents, her sister, and my brother are wrapped in linen and placed in the back of the truck as securely as possible for the journey to my brother's pack territory.
• As we drive toward my brother's pack territory, I am at a loss. I should have been there on time to stop all of this. I always travel with a security team, and Aslin and Argo are tough wolves. This would not have happened if I had only done what my mother asked me, and now she is dead, my brother's luna is missing, and fuck, I have to call Marcus.
• I take my cell phone out of my pocket and call Marcus. "How is that big wedding?" Marcus asks when he answers the phone.
• "Marcus, they are all dead, and his Luna is missing," I say. I do not sugarcoat anything; I just blurt it all out as fast as I can.
• "What?" Marcus asks.
• "I am taking mom, dad, Soran, and Luna's sister to be buried, and then I am going to find her for Soran," I say.
• "Do you know who?" Marcus asks.
• I clear my throat. "Alpha Ranon took her," I say.
• "Wait, I know where he is. I am sending you his location and anything I can find on him. I am coming. I will let Mindy know what is going on and catch the first flight out," Marcus says.
• "See you soon, brother," I say, and then I hang up the phone. I keep thinking about the Luna's sister. She was beaten, raped, and tortured. I cannot even imagine what Alpha Ranon is doing to Luna Kayla to make her submit to him. He will try to break her so he can mark her and take her as his own. Hold out, little wolf, I am coming to save you.