The Rogue Alpha’s Claim

Until she got to the page…

Only it wasn’t there.

Yeap, it was literally blank. Ariel had gotten to the five hundred and thirty-seventh page, and she had flipped it a tad too fast, eager to get to her desired number, but there was nothing there.

And so was the other page number that followed it.

“W-what the…” Ariel stuttered, trying to describe what she was feeling. Was it disappointment or anger?

She peeped closer into the book, looking for any signs, and on close inspection, she could see that the pages had been carefully ripped off so as not to make it obvious.

But who would dare do such a thing?

There was no doubt that there was someone in this pack who knew of the moonlight pack, but they didn’t want her to know about it, and the thoughts gave her anxiety.

But she could not be discouraged; it was obvious there was something they had to hide, and she was determined to get to the bottom of it.

Ariel picked up the books, holding them close to her bosom, and she went out the door, heading for the library. She entered the elevator, and she rested her head on the wall as it began to descend.

What could they be hiding that they didn’t want her to know? What happened in the moonlight pack, and most importantly, who was the person who sent her the message?

There was no doubt that this person would know a lot and should be in the best position to tell her the truth.

She had to look for the person.

Ariel was coming out of the elevator as it landed, and she headed straight for the library, mumbling words in response to the greetings of people that passed her.

She pushed open the door to the library and saw the librarian, his nose deep into a book in his hand. “Aaron.”

“Luna, you are back so fast. Have you finished reading everything?” Aaron asked, standing up to meet her.

“Yes, but I can’t find the information I want.”

“Information? You have come to the right place. Pray, tell me what you need help finding, and I will help with your search.”

She observed the man in front of her; there was no doubt that he was loyal to Kane, and he would sell her off in a heartbeat if it ever came to it.

But she needed his help, and it would be better if he knew.

“What do you know about the moonlight pack?”

“Moonlight pack?” Aaron titled his head to the side, slowly stroking his goatee, and he shook his head. “I don’t think I have heard of the pack before. Is there anything you need to find out about it in particular?”

“Uhmm, you see, I had a friend who was in the pack, but she lost her way, and she has been trying to find her way back. She couldn’t get any information from the net, obviously, and I have resorted to helping her.”

“Alright?”

“Help me to help her, Aaron. Let us help her reconnect to her family and to her origin.” Ariel put out the most puppy face she could muster; surely he couldn’t resist the deadly combo.

Just as she predicted, he was unable to resist her, and he nodded his head.

“Of course, Luna. I am always ready to help. You can make yourself comfortable, and I will bring whatever information I can find about the pack.” Aaron replied, gesturing to the sofa just beside the window.

“It is fine; I would prefer to join in the search; two heads, they say, are better than one.” Ariel flashed him a smile, and he was melting before her.

The young man could barely resist her; he, just like others, had been caught in her webs, and it was going to be hard for him to be free.Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

“You would take the east wing, and I would take the west wing. How does that sound?” Ariel suggested.

“Anything you decide is fine with me, Luna. I will take the east side,” Aaron said, and he walked towards his assigned wing.

Ariel didn’t waste time, and she began her search, looking for anything that contained what she wanted.

She would pick up a book, flip through some pages, and drop it down with a frustrated sigh. And that was how it continued as she went through the entire row of the book shelf.

None of them contained any meaningful thing about the moonlight pack, and the ones that contained it had wither been erased or the entire page was missing, and her suspicion only seemed to grow.

At this point, it was obvious it wasn’t a coincidence, and there was no need to continue searching for it. Besides, Kane would be back soon, and she didn’t want him to begin to suspect something so soon, and…

“Luna! I have found it.” Aaron’s voice disrupted her thoughts, and Ariel couldn’t help the gasp that left her throat. She was rushing towards the sound of the voice.

“Aaron.”

“Here.” Ariel hurried towards where he was, and he was holding the book in his hands.

“I have found it, Luna.” He was smiling brightly as he produced the book and handed it to her.

Ariel held the book carefully as she walked over to a table nearby, and she placed the book on the table gently. Her life literally depended on it, and she wouldn’t allow any harm to come to it.

A thin layer of dust covered the hard bind-a velvety brown color that had begun to fade, but none of that concerned her.

‘The Legend of the Moonlight Pack’ was boldly written on the cover, and Ariel opened the book, holding her breath unconsciously.

She flipped to the content page, and it had everything she had wanted to know, and she couldn’t help the excitement that was fluttering in her stomach.

She flipped the page to the first chapter, and her eyebrow twitched as she beheld what was inside:

Empty.

Ariel flipped to the next page and the page after, and after and after and after…

But it was the same result.

All of the pages were empty.

Strange.

This couldn’t be a coincidence again; coincidence was when it happened twice, but every attempt for her to get close to the truth had been thwarted. There was no doubt that this was planned work.

“What can you make of this, Aaron?”

“I am not sure; I didn’t even know a sure book existed, and I don’t think it is possible to produce a blank book unless it was premeditated.”

Just as she had thought. “What can we do?”

“I could try to access it from our database; surely it can’t be blank.”

“Really?”

“Sure, follow me, please.” Aaron said, and Ariel followed behind as he went back to his desk. Hope was resurrecting back into her, and her eyes were fixed on the laptop as he searched.

“Nothing. This is strange; there is no entry for this book in the library.”

Ariel couldn’t be fazed by the disappointment again.

“I could try logging into the general database; they would surely have it.”

“Hmm.” Ariel couldn’t have hope again; she knew how it was going to end, and she wasn’t surprised when the book was locked for consumption.

“This is strange; we may be rogues, but we always have access to the general library, and all the books are free.” The poor boy had worry lines etched on his forehead, and Ariel shook her head.

“It is fine, Aaron. Thank you for your help. I would take my leave now.”

“There is one more thing we could try. The search engine could find something useful there.”

“There is no need; I have done that several times, and it was futile.”

“Not the normal search engine, of course. We have a different search engine from the one humans use.”

Of course they would have theirs, but why did anybody think to tell her about it?

It didn’t matter anymore.

She was going to get to the bottom of this with or without their help, which is why she wasn’t surprised that they couldn’t find anything about the pack.

“It is alright, Aaron. Thank you for your effort.” Ariel sighed, and she walked out of the library, dragging her feet back to her room.

Unfortunately, Kane was already in the rooms, and he was undressing when she came inside. She had spent so much time looking for information that she didn’t realize the time had passed.

“Where have you been? I was worried about you and was about to begin the search for you.”

“I am fine; I was just tired of staying in the room, and I decided to go for a stroll; somehow I found myself in the library. I am so beat now, and I need rest.” She didn’t wait for Kane’s response before she was dumping herself on the bed and folding into a ball.

It was obvious she was going to get any information on the pack; she would just have to find the sender of the message.