"Wait a moment. I'll get my car first. We can't possibly catch up to the rogues on foot, right?"

Rudolf joked a little. Indeed, in human form, they could not possibly walk down the streets on foot. They also didn't know where the rogues' base was.

However, that was not the only reason Rudolf told Alaris to wait. He had to give some important orders to his men. They also had to prepare for war with the security intruders.

Rudolf quickly had the werewolf beta spread out and track down the rogue base. This was his first important task after becoming alpha. There must be no failures. Their attack must succeed.

At the end of the order, Rudolf told his men to be quiet and keep the secret. Other than the ten beta werewolves, his loyal men, no one knew about Alaris' presence in that place.

"Remember, you must keep my departure with Alaris a secret. My family must not know, especially Hemena. If anyone leaks this secret, you know what the consequences will be."

Rudolf threatened his servants.

Rudolf's men naturally obeyed. Whatever the alpha ordered, they had to be obedient. Although in their hearts they wondered what was the relationship between Rudolf and that woman. They only knew that Alaris was an ordinary member of their pack who had disappeared long ago.

After finishing his briefing, Rudolf ran to the garage of his house. His house was right on the edge of the forest, not too far from the field where their pack used to gather when they were human.

Rudolf took out his black jeep Cherokee in a hurry. He rushed to where Alaris was standing on the side of the road.

"Get in," Rudolf ordered.

Alaris walked over to the car. Her hand was a little awkward as she was about to open the car door. There were many sweet memories between her and Rudolf in that car.

Rudolf patiently waited for Alaris to get in. No one knew that her heart was trembling again. It had been a long time since they had both been in a car together.

"Do you have any clue where the kidnappers are?" asked Rudolf while turning on the GPS map in the car. He also checked the petrol indicator, there was still half, enough for a long walk.

"I don't know. I've searched around our house and their school, but there are no clues at all," Alaris replied. She tried to remember where she had been all day yesterday.

Rudolf frowned. He was also trying to gather the information he knew. The rogue pack was known to kidnap werewolf children on the outskirts of small towns. They rarely went to the city center.

"I think they go to the countryside or the forests out there," Rudolf said. His foot pressed the accelerator and the car moved slowly away from the place.

"I remember. One of the witnesses said their car was black. A black SUV," Alaris explained.

Rudolf nodded and pressed the accelerator further. The car accelerated, breaking the silence of the dark streets. They were moving eastwards.

Throughout the journey, Alaris was mostly silent. Her eyes were directed outwards. She looked at the houses that looked sparse and deserted. Elkhorn was a small town in Wisconsin, and at this time of night it was even more deserted.

Rudolf glanced at Alaris several times. He wanted to calm her down but it was like there was a very thick wall between them. Rudolf knew it was all his fault. They used to love each other, their relationship had even gone too far. However, he could not fight for his woman because of his family status.

Rudolf took a deep breath, he was also restless. His feelings were still mixed especially now that he was aware they were both searching for his children.

"How did they go missing?" asked Rudolf trying to break the silence between them.

"I was late picking them up. I'm usually never late. Suddenly I was hit by another car and we argued about compensation." Alaris began to tell her story. Her stance was beginning to soften towards Rudolf.

Rudolf tried to listen as he held out a bottle of mineral water. He looked at Alaris' somber and limp face. He began to worry that she had forgotten to eat since yesterday. An old habit that Rudolf knew by heart. Alaris would forget to eat and drink if she was in trouble.

"Drink first," he said softly.

Alaris accepted the bottle from Rudolf's hand. She gently opened the lid and drank slowly. As she drank, Alaris' tears fell.

Alaris realized that no matter how evil Rudolf was to her, he was still the only person in this world who cared about her when she was down and out.

"Thank you," Alaris said as she quickly wiped away tears with the back of her hand. She didn't want Rudolf to see her cry. She had promised to be a strong woman and not depend on anyone.

But it was too late. Out of the corner of his eye, Rudolf could see that Alaris was crying. Her heart felt a deep sadness.

Rudolf's left hand reached out and held Alaris' hand. Just holding her hand to give her support was fine.

"Don't worry, we will definitely find them," he said.

Alaris was silent, she didn't let go of Rudolf's hand, even though she wanted to. Alaris's thoughts instantly became chaotic. Between thinking about her lost children and Rudolf's presence by her side again. The door to her tightly closed heart seemed to be violently banged from the outside by Rudolf.

"No, it can't be like this. I have to know where the boundaries of our relationship are," Alaris thought. She slowly removed her hand from Rudolf's grip.

Rudolf did not hold back. He then focused on driving with both hands on the steering wheel. For him, seeing Alaris begin to soften and accept his presence was enough.

"Do you have any other information?"

Rudolf returned to their important business. He had to put the matter of feelings aside for now. Being the Alpha and as the father were facing a great challenge. He had to prove himself capable of both statuses.

"They're asking for a ransom."

Alaris' voice sounded soft. Clearly she could not provide such a large sum of money to the kidnappers. Would she also have to ask Rudolf for help in paying it too? Oh, what a shame. Alaris felt even more helpless.

"Ransom? How much?"

Rudolf's response was calm. He had expected it. Most child kidnappers would demand a ransom. It was the easiest way for them to get money.

"Very large. One million dollars." Alaris replied while biting her lip.

"Oh, that's big too. No wonder they have more and more members. Wild werewolves who don't want to work hard choose to join Hugo," he said.

Rudolf seemed to have a pretty good idea of his enemy's condition. He had heard that their herd was getting bigger. If not immediately suppressed, it could endanger the Sword Claw pack.

At first they would only kidnap werewolf children, but eventually they would harass ordinary humans. That is very dangerous. All werewolves could be in danger of being further ostracized or even exterminated.

"I don't have that kind of money," Alaris squeaked while looking down. She looked back the other way. She was embarrassed for Rudolf because of her condition.

"Honey, you don't have to provide that much money for them. Leave it to me. I'll make sure they regret it for daring to disturb my children."

Rudolf replied gently. He himself wondered how he could be so fluid and close to Alaris again so quickly, as if they were now a pair of parents who had both lost children.

"Rudolf, don't be so sweet to me. I promised I would leave your life and your honorable status, once my children return."

Alaris was moody again. She did not want their old love story to repeat itself. The vibrations of love between them could still be felt. If not stopped immediately, Alaris could return to Rudolf's arms.

Rudolf did not answer. He was also struggling to control his feelings. The car continued to speed up. They had reached the road of Milwaukee.

"We'll look around this place. I hope we'll find some new clues," Rudolf said.

The distance between Elkhorn and Milwaukee was only about an hour. It was still dark when they arrived there. Rudolf decided to find a place to stay. He thought he would concentrate on his search for his children from there.

In Milwaukee, Rudolf also had many friends and acquaintances. Not only that, the place was also crowded with werewolves on normal days. Secret information often circulated among them.

In addition, Rudolf was also thinking about the safety of himself and Alaris. If they were still in Elkhorn, people would soon learn of their togetherness.

Rudolf knew Alaris would not allow him to share a room with her. So he booked two rooms. Alaris needed to rest and sleep so she could continue the search tomorrow.

"You sleep first. I'll call my friends," Rudolf said.

Without saying words, Alaris went into her room. She was tired, stressed and sleepy. Rudolf understood her need at the moment. He rested for a while and then continued to look for their children.

After Alaris left, Rudolf sat in the hotel lobby for a while. He wanted to contact his relatives in Milwaukee. He took out his mobile phone from inside his jacket. He saw many missed calls and dozens of messages on it.

Rudolf was nervous when he saw who the sender was.

"Hemena... sorry, I forgot my promise tonight," he said nervously. Rudolf hurriedly called Hemena back. He didn't want his future wife to get even angrier and rage.

True to Rudolf's expectation, Hemena didn't sleep tonight before he answered the phone or replied to a message. The girl's voice was heard immediately sulking.

"Honey, where are you? Why was the phone switched off earlier?!"