(Alaric’s POV)

"This concludes the meeting. Amanda, keep an eye on the implementation of the points we discussed. Team Leader Sharp, you too~ .... I don’t want any lags with the progress. The operations should go on smoothly. Got it," I communicated to them. They both answered in the affirmative. Amanda then questioned, "COO Everests, when is your expected date of return. The CEO of Solaris Global wants to schedule a meeting with you."

"There is still some work left here. Once the date is confirmed, I will let you know." With that, I ended the meeting call and powered the system off. Slumping into the chair and loosening my tie, I shut my eyes close and rested my head. Pinching my nose bridge, I mumbled to myself, "Date of return, huhh? Is it time to return to Kimberg already?" As soon as this question arose, my mind was instantly occupied by the presence of that human girl, Myra Miracle. The thought of returning back was rather discomforting. But why so? I didn’t even wanted to come to this place. So, why am I reluctant now?

An exhausting sigh escaped my mouth as her name rolled off my tongue, "Myra~h ... Myra~h ... My-ra ... Myra Miracle~ ..."

’It’s been a year of endless searching, but it never occurred to us that our pursuit in finding our mate would end up in a place like Esteria, the Vampire’s territory. If not for Jacob Larson’s insistence, only the moon goddess knows when we would have found her whereabouts. He reunited us with our mate~ ... in a way. We should be thanking him,’ Alex muttered.

I was in no mood to indulge in my foolishly lovesick wolf’s nonsensical words. He is just trying to bait me like this, I know. And once I fall in his trap, he won’t stop talking about her. The pattern is clear to me now. So, I won’t give in.

I checked the time on my phone~ .... ’Ahh~ ... has it been this long? The dinner at the Miracles, it must have been over by now.’

As I was about to put my phone away, the ringtone erupted. I picked it up at once, "Hello."

"Young Alpha, the information you asked about Garry Yates, I have sent it to you on your mail. And as you have expected, Zara Long and Wyatt Long are under his captivity. He has kept both of them in an abandoned factory. His men are looking after them. Their condition is far from better. You can give me the order, and I will bring them to you," Shade said.

"No need," I spoke, tapping my fingers against the mahogany desk. For a few seconds, he didn’t say anything. He must not have expected me to say this. "Just keep observing Garry’s move," I added.

He answered, "Yes, young Alpha." The call disconnected.

So, if Shade stated that their condition is bad, then it must be terrible. Garry Yates is punishing those two in Myra’s stead? I didn’t know he was that close to that human girl. Something doesn’t add up here.

’Why not? Our mate is his granddaughter’s best friend. Maybe he felt bad,’ Alex commented.

’His actions~ .... it doesn’t look like simple pity to me, Alex,’ I replied, sighing. I checked the mail my subordinate had sent. The document was quite long. But there were some points highlighted in those files. ’As expected of Shade, meticulous as ever.’

"Garry Yates, sixty eight, businessman, famous restaurateur, does a lot of charity~ ..." It started off as a simple introduction, but when I swiped the pages and read more, my face contorted in puzzlement. "Nearly twenty five years ago~ .... he used to work in the underground business market, huhh?"

’Figures, how he captured those two pieces of shit,’ Alex remarked. It was not uncommon for the famous businessmen to have shady starts.

The more I swiped, the more bewildered I was. Garry Yates and the vampire king had ties that were almost three decades old, but Jacob Larson, the then-prince, was not the only one Garry was in contact with. There were a few more from the Vampire community he used to do business with. Including~ .... Brian Tape, the Vampire Elder. But there was one more name that caught my eye: Clement Sanders, the former Elder of the werewolf council.

"What’s with this weird combination?’ I thought.

’Then he must already know our real identity,’ Alex said. I agree with him. This Garry Yates~ .... mother’s intuition was right about him. He isn’t a simple businessman from a small city like Damona.

When I swiped to the last page, there were three attached images with notes pinned to each of them. The first one~ .... was a picture of a middle aged Garry sitting in what seems like some sort of secret meeting. The people who attended were all wearing masks, so none of their faces was visible. The pinned mark stated, ’Taken twenty seven years ago at the underground hub.’

The second one was a picture of Garry Yates with Vampire Elder Brian Tape, shaking hands. There were two more people in that image~ .... a young girl, with pinkish purple hair glued to that vampire elder’s side. And a man~ .... whose face was covered with a hoodie, but his half-exposed arm had a weirdly familiar tattoo on it. ’Taken twenty-three years ago. The girl is said to be a mermaid.’

"A mermaid?" my right brow arched. So, he knows a mermaid as well. And what is he doing with Brian Tape~ ... being all friendly. Plus, this guy~ .... This masked person, his inked arm~ .... it looks like the one on Chris Shadow’s forearm. I zoomed in~ ... because of the pixilation, the symbol wasn’t quite clear.

Then I moved to the final image. It was a bit blurry compared to the previous ones. The man was holding a big bag and seemed to be running, hence the blurriness. The pinned text read, ’Taken twenty one years ago~ .... Place: Kimberg, two miles away from the hospital where the princess was kidnapped.’

A fuse went off in my head, "WHAT??? He was in Kimberg when Nora was abducted? Was he the one who kidnapped Nora? Or is it a mere coincidence?"

To Be Continued . . . . . . . .