Feeling a sense of accomplishment, Ayla was feeling a wave of pride as she pranced down the street.
As she was making her way back to the apartments, she couldn't help but notice a dress inside one of the stores.
Normally, it was only tones that were darker, purely blending in with the night and the surroundings that caught her eye.
This time, it was a slightly lighter shade that caught her eye.
Not too light, but light enough to accent her eyes and lighter features more effortlessly.
It excited her to think about wearing it.
Ayla didn't have much in the way of money, but she had determination.
Knowing that she wanted the dress, she walked in and began to strike a deal with the owner to work for the dress in exchange.
She walked out wearing the new dress, and the owner had an employee for the next three evenings.
Ayla thought that was a fair deal, as long as she got the dress, she was happy.
All in all, she had a good day, she thought as she twirled in her new dress, nearly home now.
The only thing left to do was check on Dominic and hear the stories from the men about their day.
Since Dominic told her that they were clearly not at the club like she had thought, she was curious what they were really doing.
What Ayla didn't know was that she had a bit more luck with her hunt than the men had with theirs.
They were able to find the place where Dominic had been attacked the night before, and the amount of blood was more than they remembered.
That only made their blood seem to boil as they began growling, followed by a hunt-initiating howl.
Lucas was in the cave when the sound reached his ears, and he knew he was in trouble.
Not only had he hurt their General, father, their best friend, but now he was in their cave.
It had to be theirs because it was close to them and recently used.
Immediately, he bolted, running for his life.
Lucas wasn't sure of how far away they were, how much time he had, or where he was going to go.
That howl told him they were on the hunt, and Dominic was dead.
Ayla's thoughts about him being thought dead weren't too far off, as the howl rang over and over in Lucas's mind, he could feel his Alpha's presence briefly.
The pack.
He could go to the pack for safety.
His alpha was letting him know it was safe to come home.
The four men ran as they had never before, as they let their wolves take over and follow the scent of blood that had soaked into the ground.
They were unaware that the black wolf had run for the cave the night before.
It was clear to Alexander as they ran where they were headed, as he pushed into the lead and guided them to the cave.
Quickly realizing his scent was fresh, but he was gone, they raced out, letting out another howl.
The race was on, and now the four were nosing ahead of each other, full speed, in an attempt to catch the lone black wolf before he could reach the border of his pack and safety.
They wanted him to know they were hot on his trail.
Lucas looked back toward the direction of the cave, realizing just how quickly the pack of wolves was moving.
Yes, he was moving fast, but they were moving impossibly fast.
How was that possible?
Revenge was pushing their wolves faster than normal.
Somehow, he needed to find a way to get to the pack quicker.
With everything he had left, he pushed as hard as he could to get himself to his destination.
Lucas knew he had multiple wolves on his tail.
"A-OOOOOOOOW"!
Julius had howled again because he knew they were close to where they were told to turn around before.
They had to make a choice to keep running and expose the four-person pack or turn around and let Lucas run.
Alexander was probably the only one able to think with a level head.
"Let him go for now he thought. When he comes out, he will be ours" he thought for the others to hear.
Julius, who was now in the lead again as the thought came across, turned the pack of wolves around, like it was a normal run for them, circling back.
Now they were heading back toward the town, slowing their pace dramatically, letting out a warning howl for Lucas to not return.
"You're right. We will get him next time. Let's not give away our advantage. Right now, they only have his word" he thought as they continued to run back toward town, and Dominic.
Once they got back toward the river, they were nearly at a walk; they were running so slowly, but the hunt had done them well.
They had even managed to snag and snack on a boar while on the way back.
When they approached the edge of the woods where they had shifted, they found their clothes, just as they had left them.
This time, they took them off and folded them neatly, hidden essentially, since they were unsure of when they would be back.
They'll four men wanted to make sure they could get dressed and walk back to the apartment, clothed, for once.
Maybe partly, because they didn't want Ayla to know they went on a hunt without her.
Thankfully, it seemed like everything was going according to plan, as the men didn't seem to be bothered that Lucas ran like a coward.
All of them wore smiles because they just felt like everything was okay.
Dominic had to be okay, and Ayla was there taking care of him, and not in danger for once, while they handled business.
The four of them were laughing and enjoying each other's company when they entered the building with Julius's thumbprint and key fob.
Immediately, they went into the first apartment to check on Dominic and Ayla.
More than that, Alexander had been away from Ayla for so long that he missed her.
He wanted to see her face.
Julius immediately started smiling when he saw Dominic sitting in bed watching TV.
"Ayla really did a great job taking care of you, didn't she" he said with a smirk.
That was when his eyes started darting around, but he didn't say anything yet.
The empty bowl and cup beside him were a dead giveaway that Ayla had made sure he was able to eat and drink.
Shortly after that, the other men joined in with the smiles, congratulating him on pulling through and telling him how sick his new scar was.
Phoenix told him that his scar made him look more badass.
Then, Alexander realized that they hadn't seen Ayla yet.
"Dominic, you're being awfully quiet. Why is that? Is it because Ayla left and you knew there wasn't anything you could do to stop her"?
All the attention in the room turned to him as if he had lost his mind.
Julius was the first one to say anything back to him.
"Alex. What the hell? His throat was just a chew toy for one of his Colonels. That's why he isn't talking. Not everything is about Ayla. She probably ran up to the apartment for a nap. Get it together".
Dominic raised an eyebrow, looking from one man to the other.
Raphael looked at the injured man and tilted his head.
"I wouldn't be so sure. Maybe he is ready for us to take the lead. Is there a way to check the last few hours? Can we rewind the cameras quickly" he asked.
Julius said that they were being paranoid at first, but Dominic still didn't say anything.
The old man just gave a knowing smirk at the men.
He was staying out of it.
As Raphael suggested, they rolled back the tape to see her feed him and walk out of the building, just as she was coming through the doors in her new dress with a smile.
"Hey guys, how was work? Wait, you are home way too early for you to have been at the club. That means you were up to something. SO, where have you been"?
Alexander knew she was trying to get control of the conversation.
"No. We aren't the ones with people after us".
"YET" she interrupted, "Yet, but if you look over there in the bed, you see Dominic. That, not being chased thing, can change very quickly around me. This curse I have on me hurts people. All of you went and did something stupid. I know it".
Julius felt insulted by her accusation.
"No, we didn't! We went to avenge his attacker", he said proudly.
Before she could stop herself, the word flew out, "STUPID"!
Julius and Phoenix were offended.
"No"! They said in unison.
She started shaking her head.
"Right, and did you? Avenge him? Or did he get away? I don't see any blood. I don't feel the sense of pride that comes with a mission being completed or a successful hunt. Where it he"?
All of the men started to look down in shame.
"That doesn't matter. He isn't here anymore" Phoenix butted in.
"Why? Because he ran back to the pack to get more people"?
None of the men said anything while Dominic sat and observed them all.
"It's fine that you want to avenge Dominic. I do too. There is always a right way to do things, too. We could have come up with a plan and succeeded. Did Dominic ever go on a mission without a plan? The only good thing about your irrational actions, they probably concluded that he is dead. That works in our favor. Now, he is our secret weapon. I guess, you didn't screw up too badly".
They were really starting to appreciate the way her mind worked more and more as they listened to her evaluate things time and time again.
She was bright, and she was quick.
Alexander was quick, too, though.
"Wait a minute, new dress? Where were you"?