He was confused by her expression, her choice of words.
What did she mean she knew it?
Alexander wasn't sure what to do as he shifted back.
"What? How did you know"?
Ayla was perfectly calm as she went to sit on the couch.
Joy and peace both rested in harmony on her face.
"It was obvious. Night vision spot on. Hearing superb. Plus, everything else. Add in you being so scared to say it. ONLY being able to show me" she started shaking her head, "I'm not an idiot. Eventually, both of you men will realize that".
Now, he felt like he was the idiot for a lot of reasons.
What made it so easy for her to figure it out, but not him?
Playing stupid was one thing, but he didn't want to look like he wasn't smart.
As he sat there admiring her brain and wondering if he was really as intelligent as he thought he was, his eyes grew in size.
Suddenly, a wolf erupted before his eyes, several shades lighter than he was, matching the color of her hair.
She was nearly white as she was so light blonde.
He was in awe.
It took her a matter of seconds to figure out how to shift into her wolf form.
No questions, nothing, just a shift, as she darted off through the living room.
Alexander rounded the corner to see Ayla standing there, naked.
Ayla was running that morning's events through her head.
He wasn't sure what she was thinking about, but he knew she was thinking.
"What is it, I can see you thinking"?
"This morning, when you and Julius..." but she was interrupted.
"Yes".
One word.
That's all he had to say for both of them to understand.
Whether she was safe or not, she didn't know.
"How long have you known this about me" Ayla asked.
"Just found out this morning about all of it. Honestly. I told you when you agreed to come stay with me, no lies. Now, I'm including no secrets either" he replied.
She knew one thing: she truly knew that she didn't feel alone anymore.
Alexander was like her, and he felt like a true partner.
Surely if she had Alexander, then she had Julius.
They were a pair.
Ayla felt safe.
Knowledge about who she was as a person was finally coming out.
Before she met the two men protecting her, she knew nothing about herself.
Now, Ayla knew that she was strong, fierce, independent, smart, and a werewolf.
"So, the three of us can openly talk about all of this" she confirmed.
"Yes, but there's more" he said as she looked worried.
That's when they walked to the couch and told her the rest of what happened in Julius's room.
Unsure of how to feel about it, she wanted a minute or two to let it ruminate before talking about it again.
"So, we don't need to look for the Dominic guys' son anymore. That's a bummer. I was looking forward to that".
It was all she was able to form into words as she thought about everything.
Alexander thought that maybe it would be a good idea to head up to the roof for a bit for some fresh air while she thought about it all.
Everything was getting so messy that she didn't want to make the wrong move.
Fresh air sounded great to her.
Ayla just needed to breathe and be in nature, not stuck between four walls.
Once they were up on the rooftop, they found the same spot as before and got comfy.
It was like it was made for them as they snuggled in.
The late afternoon sun felt amazing as she took in its warmth and lay peacefully in Alexander's arms in the hammock.
Even though they weren't tired, they seemed to drift off to sleep anyway.
Every time she was in his arms, resting, it was like she couldn't help but drift away.
She just felt safe.
While they drifted off to sleep, the club seemed to be the place to be.
Still a little early, it was more lively than usual with the sun still shining slightly.
Then again, it was summertime hours, so the sun managed to linger the longest those days.
Julius was inside, and thought the bar was beneficial last time, so why not choose it again?
He was making himself comfortable and charming the locals, per usual, with his cheeky smile.
In no time at all, Dominic, Phoenix, and Raphael made an appearance, heading straight for him.
They were unaware of their shadow, though.
Phoenix was the first to say hi.
Giving him the dap up, with a massive hug like they were best buds, felt normal and natural.
Raphael followed right after.
Just at the door behind them, Mason was walking in and watching with partly squinted eyes.
That was not the same scene as the day before, but he didn't see them arrive or leave.
After greeting their newly found pack member and rubbing their scent all over him, they seemed happy.
The two men were full of smiles.
"Well, if you don't mind us, we are on the prowl for those ladies" Phoenix smirked, making his eyebrows dance.
Dominic waved him on and gestured for Raphael to follow the troublemaker, almost as if to keep an eye on him.
Julius was almost worried for his patrons at that point, but he wasn't going to stand in the way.
"Go, enjoy" Julius said as he gestured with his hand for them to have at it.
Dominic started shaking his head as he took a seat at the bar and held a finger up.
Julius grabbed a glass and dropped in two large balls of ice before pouring him a double shot of whiskey.
It was curious to the spy how Julius knew Dominic's drink without asking.
Did he come here enough to be a regular?
Just how long had the general and his men been here?
Mason was getting the feeling that he wasn't going to get anything by standing at the door.
If anything, it was just going to arouse suspicion around himself.
With that, he decided to go and join the competition.
"What brings you back here again" Dominic asked with surprise.
"Thinking about following a lead that my A...Ulfric is sending me on" he muttered.
"Only thinking about it? I've heard about him. He doesn't just make suggestions. If you don't listen, then" and Dominic stopped what he was saying.
"Aren't you worried what the little bartender will overhear" Mason questioned.
Dominic knew that he should be, and Mason was right to question it.
"Of course I am" he cleared his throat, "I was just shocked that you would disobey a direct order, that's all".
"If I was told about this, weren't you" Mason questioned him again.
"I told you. I'm taking some personal time" he snapped.
Mason raised an eyebrow, lowering his voice.
"Why would you take personal time now? Alpha Ulfric told me I only had until the full moon to bring his daughter Ayla home to him" he said with full confidence.
Dominic started to scratch the side of his face.
"HIS daughter"?
Mason wasn't sure why Dominic said it the way he had.
"Yeah. He said she was his daughter. Why"?
"Alpha Theo said she was his daughter and mentioned we were running out of time as well. That's why I decided to quit and drink".
Dominic still didn't trust Mason, but at that point, did it really matter what he said?
He wouldn't give him any indication that he knew the girl was close.
Julius was trying to pretend like he wasn't paying attention, but he was failing, miserably.
"What do you mean" Mason grumbled, "One of them is lying"!
"Or both of them" Julius muttered.
The two men looked at him questionably.
He immediately stepped further down the bar to check on other guests.
Dominic decided to say how he felt.
"I don't feel like being caught in the middle of whatever game they are playing. Do you? That poor girl is going to be the one who suffers if we don't know who she really belongs to. No offense, she doesn't look like she belongs to either of them".
Knowing that he had no clue what the girl actually looked like, he couldn't say one way or the other.
"Kids don't always look like their parents, though, not always" Mason spouted.
Dominic was happy that Julius had stepped away, but he was walking back now.
Thankfully, he was looking down.
Mason failed to realize the man on the other side of the bar was doing his best not to allow him to get a good look at him.
With the conversation where it was, it would make it easy to see why Dominic was staying there.
That would give the man leverage.
"What kind of bartender are you. Get me a drink already" Mason yelled.
"Yes, sir. What will it be" he asked as Mason pointed to Dominic's drink.
"Humans" he scuffed.
"Anyway" Mason continued, "Ayla is not something I can comment on because I haven't ever seen her. If you have, you have more to go on than me. Either way, we are both screwed. I don't know how we even ended up in this mess".
"I don't know about you, but I got assigned because I'm good at what I do. As for the mission itself. Greed, apparently. Supposedly, we are the greedy ones" Dominic chuckled.
Mason started looking around the club before focusing back on Dominic.
He knew what Mason was thinking.
"Yeah, if you look around, I don't think our greed comes close to any of the other kinds of greed around. Look at them".
Mason thought about it.
"Did taking all of our children solve anything then? They are all still trying to take Ayla. They are lying, scheming, and plotting their way into winning her into their pack. She is the prize, apparently. If anything, they are greedier now than before. They think that by winning her, all of the missing children will follow her there".
Dominic's ears were perked up.
"What do you mean"?
"Did you not know any of this"?
Dominic shook his head.
Mason started laughing.
"Wow, your Alpha really sent you in blind and expected results and loyalty. I don't know how much of it was true, but that was the rumor circling our pack for years. Then again, we were also told it was by both our Alphas that she was their daughter" he shrugged.
"She isn't a freaking shepherd" Dominic said.
Not sure what to say, he sat there drinking his whiskey.
Mason did the same.
Neither man wanted to be the first to truly admit they wanted to abandon their mission, but they did.
Why would they put their life on the line when it was for a lie?
They would much rather help the young girl stay protected than be used.
Again, neither one wanted to be the first to truly admit it.
Pride was a hard thing to fight.
Mason knew he faced certain death very soon, so he didn't have much time.
"If you knew where she was, would you help her" he whispered.
Dominic pulled his eyebrows together in shock.
"Why would you even ask that"?
"Because we aren't the only ones here" he turned his head to the entrance as two werewolves walked in holding their noses with a slight tilt up.
Julius heard them and looked up.
It was obvious they were smelling the air for other wolves.
"What the hell" he mumbled as he set his drink on the bar and let his head fall forward between his shoulders.
'Didn't the decoy message work at all? Maybe I should just change the name of the club to the Wolves Den' he thought in desperation.
Julius was unsure of what was happening.
He knew something had just changed, and it wasn't in Ayla's favor.
The little bartender had never been so happy to have grounded his roommate and his girlfriend.
"Are you guys okay" he asked, walking back to the two old wolves.
"We are fine" Mason grumbled.
"I'll handle it" Dominic told his son.
Mason didn't expect that honest interaction between the two men.
The sincerity made him take a second look at the young man.
"Wait a minute. That's impossible" he gasped.
It was as if a wall had walked right into Mason.
"How could I have been so blind. You aren't here for Ayla. You are here for him" he pointed.
Dominic was worried he would draw attention to Julius and himself as he looked nervously at his son.
Julius, unsure what to do himself, nodded his head at another server to come take his place.
With one hand, he waved for the two men to join in following him.
Dominic didn't think to warn Phoenix and Raphael as he left the club floor, because his only concern was not alerting the two new wolves in the room to anything suspicious.
Once free from spying eyes and ears, Julius was the first to speak.
"What was the purpose of all of that"?
Mason looked like he didn't want to answer, but he did, stubbornly.
"All of what"?
Dominic pushed further.
"Your sudden revelation. What is it that you think you suddenly know"?
Mason was suddenly cocky because, looking at the two men side by side, he didn't think he knew anything.
He knew without a doubt.
"You mean, what do I know" he sniffed the air toward Julius to verify.
"I saw you two last night, leaving the woods. At that time, I thought you and the other two had rubbed your scent off on him. That isn't the case, though. This is your boy. The one you were searching for. Glad you finally found him" Mason said with a nod.
"You can't say anything. He just found out about me. We are exploring our relationship in private first" Dominic said sternly.
"This isn't your secret to tell" Julius added.
"Isn't it? I have nothing left to lose. My head won't even be attached once my Alpha finds me in a few days. What does it matter to me"?
Dominic could hear the desperation seeping through his words.
"What is it that you want. I can tell you want something in return for silence" he asked.
Mason tapped his fingers on the table.
"Clearly, you meant what you said about taking some personal time. That wasn't the whole truth, though. Otherwise, those two buffoons wouldn't have shown up. I've seen them before because the Sharp-Fang runs with the Deep-Fang from time to time. They think she is here, like I did. It's only a matter of time before someone finds Ayla".
"Get to the point already" Julius interrupted.
"You know her" Mason smiled.
"That's why you were listening so intently. You want to report back to her what you hear. Clever boy".
If anything, Mason was quick to pick up on the small things.
That was probably how he got the General position.
Julius's ears dropped back.
"That's not true" he lied.
"It's okay. You don't have to lie to me. I'm curious to see how the next hour alone is going to end" Mason said, as he smiled and walked away.
The young man had a feeling that Ayla was in trouble.
Not just that, but the three of them, himself, Alexander, and Ayla, were in over their heads.
Thinking about Ayla, he wondered what she and Alexander were doing at the apartment.
What did Mason know that he didn't?
Were they even at the apartment like they promised they would be?
They weren't in the apartment, no, but they were running around on the rooftop above it in wolf form.
The two of them loved the feeling of the night air in their fur.
Baring their teeth as the moonlight soaked into every part of them that was visible.
Smiling wasn't something they could do in wolf form, so it looked slightly aggressive when they tried, blissfully unaware that they couldn't smile in their current state.
Thankfully, the men had made an oasis of nature at the top, so it was as if they were running through the wilderness as they played the best game of chase they had ever had in their whole lives.
There were many things they hadn't experienced in that form, but one more was about to be checked off.
Quickly, Alexander was gaining on Ayla, as he was figuring out how she managed to escape his maneuvers.
She was quick and turned without notice, making it hard for him to keep up or catch her.
He was gaining on her after every turn, though.
Before she realized it, he was within her proximity, and with one major push, he pounced on her.
She was pinned under him.
"GGRRRR" he heard.
He knew it wasn't aggressive, but more of a playful nature as her rear began to wiggle slightly.
This was new for both of them, but it felt right.
All they knew to do was follow their instinct, as they let nature take its course.
He had caught her; she was his.
With no idea what he was doing, he brought himself around until he was facing her and nuzzled her, rubbing his nose in the crook of her neck.
The sensations that ran through her body told her that this was right, that they were meant to be together in that moment, caressing each other.
Ayla accepted him, as she responded the same, as the same feelings erupted over Alexander.
As they rubbed against each other, he began to slowly move around her, making sure he kept himself pressed against her as much as possible as he did.
When he made it to his destination, he was standing back in his original position, behind her, and she didn't move.
He pulled himself into position, and the act of joining the two as one for the first time in wolf form began.
They were officially fully mated in every aspect.
The act itself was a blur that neither of them remembers.
It's assumed that the wolves inside of them take over for that part, but they didn't think about it.
Now that it was done, they felt more connected than ever, and it was amazing.
Afterward, they continued to run around a while longer, not just on the rooftop, but through the apartment as well, until they wore themselves out and collapsed in the bed, with Alexander holding her.
Julius didn't have to wonder much longer about whether they were at the apartment.
He didn't know for a fact they were there, but he knew.
Yet again, he was left to clean up the hurricane that was Ayla.
What kind of cursed life was he living that this was the life he had?
Julius was grateful to her because he felt she brought his father to him.
Ayla.
She was a blessing.
Ayla was also a curse.
His curse.
Of course, they were at the apartment having fun.
The pair had a free pass to laze around and have sex all day.
Who would pass that up?
Julius realized, he, in fact, did not want to think about what they were doing at the apartment.
Visions of the two of them naked on the island, intertwined, popped into his head as he tried to shake them out.
How was it that he was the one stuck cleaning up Ayla's mess again, while she was lounging around at HIS apartment?
He thought to himself that no amount of her berating his roommate was going to make up for the hell he was going through this time, no matter how funny it was to watch.
"What did that Mason guy mean about seeing how the next hour alone would end"? Julius asked.
Dominic didn't know how to answer that.
"Well, we have unknowns. You're an unknown. Ayla is an unknown. He is an unknown, so many unknowns".
His face fell flat, "Phoenix and Raphael! Where are they? I forgot to warn them" he panicked.