A Princess Lost

Chapter Seven

Standing outside, Merrick stretched his arms behind his back trying to release the cramp in his shoulders from sitting so long in the car waiting for the girls to finish their night out.  He'd spent his time talking to Avery, smiling happily as she talked about what their brood was up too, he knew seven children was a lot for even a werewolf family but he couldn't keep his hands off his gorgeous mate, she was his everything.

Walking backwards and forwards beside the sleek silver SUV, Merrick kept his eyes on the door for any sign of the girls, periodically checking the surrounding area for any trouble that might be brewing.  Checking his watch he groaned as the illuminated face showed it was 1am.

'C'mon girls, some of us have families they want to get back too' he growled annoyed.  Fighting internally he tried to stop himself from mind linking Isabella and cutting their fun short, but after a few minutes his morale crumbled as his eyes clouded and he reached out to his charge.

Discomfort set in when he couldn't reach her, trying Courtney and then Darcy he received no response from any of them.  Panic setting in, Merrick ran across the car pack, pushing past the bouncers with a menacing growl when they tried to stop him, bursting into the main club and scouring the room for the three girls.  Unable to see them, he started to make his way around the seating areas, forcing himself to move slowly in case he ran straight past them.

Minutes ticked by as his eyes darted from seat to seat until he stumbled across one of the booths and found the limp bodies of Courtney and Darcy laying across the velvet fabric.  A drunk male threw his arm around Merrick suddenly, 'Oooo those girls must have had a skin full mate! tell you what you can take the red one, i'll have the black hair' he leered, swaying slightly as he took a step toward the unconscious duo.

Roaring in anger, Merrick grabbed the mans arm, twisting it till a loud c***k filled the air, the man screaming in pain, before he threw him bodily against a wall, where he slid to the floor unmoving.

The faces of all the clubbers were turned toward him, people in mid dance, frozen in place as the music was cut leaving the club eerily quiet.

'Who saw these girls' Merrick roared, glaring around the room angrily.  No-one answered but people started to move carefully toward the exit.

Glowering around him, Merrick yelled, 'Anyone who tries to leave before I get my answers will be hunted down and killed, slowly.  Now I ask again, who saw these girls?' he bellowed pointing at Darcy and Courtney.

'I did' came a small voice as their first waitress stepped forward, 'I took their drink order when they first came in, but there was three girls, I don't know where the blonde girl went.' she added, terror etched into her face.

'Who else served them? was it just you?' Merrick snarled, grabbing her arm tightly in his grip.

'N n no' the waitress stammered back, 'I-i t-took my break, they would have b-been served by someone else then'

Growling furiously, Merrick's eyes clouded as he mind linked to Aaron, telling him what had happened.

'What do you mean she's gone!' yelled Aaron in his head 'You were there to protect her Merrick'

'I know Alpha, I'm sorry, I have failed her and the pack' Merrick replied, furious with himself, 'I should have gone into the club with them, I should never have stayed outside.'

'No! I should never have let her go! We'll be there in ten minutes, let no-one leave' Aaron ordered, before cutting the link.

His eyes clearing again Merrick glared round the room, 'Everyone take a seat now!' he ordered, before catching the eye of the bouncers stood by the entrance, 'Lock the door, no-one leaves, my Alpha will be here in minutes' he growled, before releasing the waitress and going over to the two girls, checking them over carefully as the patrons sat down on the available chairs and floor terrified.

Minutes passed in silence until a loud pounding on the door startled the scared club goers, causing gasps and screams to erupt around the room.

'Let them in' Merrick ordered as the two bouncers walked through to the front door, allowing those outside entry.  Aaron stormed into the room, Charity close at his heels, a large group of heavy armed warriors behind them, Aaron glaring round at the terrified faces that surrounded him.

Spotting Merrick he strode over, 'What happened' he growled.

'I f*****g failed that's what happened' Merrick replied, his anger breaking into despair as he stared down at the two unconscious girls being checked over by Charity before two of their warriors picked the girls up and carried them out of the club.

'No Merrick you didn't' Charity said calmly

'How can you say that Char?' Merrick asked horrified, 'The girls got knocked out and Bella is gone on my watch! of course I failed, I let you down Luna, i'm sorry' he added, his face ashen.

'You did exactly what we told you to do Merrick, you brought them, you waited outside and you would have brought them home.' Charity soothed, 'and I know that you will be one of the first to step up to help find her' she added with a strained smile.

'First things first' Aaron shouted, looking at his warriors who waited for his word, 'half of you, search this place top to bottom, make sure Bella isn't somewhere in the building, the other half, start questioning these people, I want to know every single person who saw her tonight' he growled.

'Yes Alpha' the warriors replied before splitting up into two groups to carry out his duties.

'what do you want me to do Alpha' Merrick asked dejectedly.

'Stay with me Merrick' Aaron replied, 'I might need you if anyone refuses to co-operate' he added as he glared at all the frightened people around him.  Lowering his voice Aaron added, 'it's not your fault mate, i'm sorry i snapped at you, I know you would never intentionally put Bella in harms way'.

'Thanks Alpha, but it doesn't stop me feeling like s**t, I should have known something was up, I should have protected her' he muttered, his eyes downcast.

'Alpha' one of the warriors suddenly called out, interrupting them, 'I think you need to come here this'

Striding over to the tall, sandy blonde haired warrior, Aaron growled, 'what is it Mark?'

Pointing at the small group beside him, Mark replied, 'this group remember seeing the future Alpha, she was at the next table to them'

Turning to the scared looking group in front of him, he fixed each one with a steely glare, 'Speak' he ordered loudly.

Swallowing hard, a black haired, wiry looking man in his twenties gulped nervously, 'umm, we, umm, we saw that girl you are looking for, the one with the blonde hair? she was with a red head and a black haired girl' he stuttered.

'Where did she go?' Aaron demanded, his fists balling up at his sides as he fought with his wolf not to grab the younger man and shake the information out of him.

'They were with three men, we didn't really pay attention cos we were like having a good time, but then the blonde girl, she pushed the man next to her, sent him flying off the seat.  She tried to leave but one of the other men grabbed her and the first man was apologizing, saying he never meant to kiss another girl.  We thought it was just like a boyfriend/girlfriend fight, you know? anyway, she then collapsed and the man picked her up saying she had had too much too drink and carried her away.  That's all we know I swear' the man said, his eyes pleading.

Aaron growled angrily, 'So you thought that a young girl trying to run away from someone didn't need help?' he roared furious.

'We thought they were together sir' the man replied, terror written across his face, 'we thought she was trying to storm off in a huff, she never called out for help' he added desperately.

Appearing at his side, Charity lay a calming hand on her husband's arm before turning to the group, Charity asked, 'what was the man wearing? do you remember?'

Scrunching up his nose in concentration the man tried to remember before shaking his head sadly, 'sorry ma-am, I don't remember' he confessed with a fearful look toward Aaron.

'He had brown hair and was wearing a black shirt with chino's' interjected a young girl beside him, fidgeting slightly, 'he was pretty good looking' she admitted with a blush, 'he also had a tattoo on his arm but I couldn't see what it was of' she added.

'Thank you for your help' Charity said smiling gently as the group of clubbers visibly relaxed under her gaze.  Turning to her mate, Charity muttered in a low voice, 'Someone here helped that man get out of this club baby, there is no way he would have got her out the front door without Merrick seeing them, you and I both know that our Beta was glaring at that door from the moment she went in'

Nodding his head in agreement, Aaron raised his voice, 'Someone here helped a man leave this building with an unconscious blonde haired girl' he yelled, 'They will step forward or my men will work their way through each and every person in this club forcing them too talk until we find them, and trust me, it's going to be a hell of a lot worse if I have to waste time finding you rather than if you just have the balls to step out here'.

Silence followed his words, with only the occasional terrified sobs as people looked around desperately.  A young dark haired girl with hazel brown eyes suddenly raised her hand shakily.  Striding over to her, Aaron grabbed her arm and forced her to her feet.  'You helped them leave?' he growled his face inches from the terrified face in front of him.

'Aaron! stop' Charity growled, pulling her husband away before looking gently at the young girl who returned her small smile warily.  'What is your name?' Charity asked kindly.

'It's umm, Sylvia' the girl replied.

'Sylvia, what did you see?' Charity asked gently.

'The girl, the one you are looking for, the man took her out the side door, over there' she said as she motioned to one of the emergency exits, 'one of the bouncers let them out' she whispered. 'I was just coming out of the bathroom when he pushed past me, he bumped me which is why I noticed him'.

Nodding her head, Charity touched the young girls arm, 'Thank you Sylvia' she replied appreciatively, before turning to the bouncers who were watching the werewolves warily.  Raising her voice, Charity's Luna tone flowed from her toward the security men, 'Which one of you let that man leave with my daughter?' she growled, her eyes flashing as she surveyed each of their faces in turn.

No-one moved for a moment until a strongly built male of at least six foot five stepped forward, making his way over to the leaders, his hands raised to show he was no threat.  Stopping in front of them he bowed his head respectfully, 'Alpha, Luna' he said quietly 'My apologies for what has happened to your daughter'.

Charity looked him over, 'you are one of us' she said simply, 'but not of our pack' she added.

The werewolf shook his head, 'No Luna, my name is Tyler, I am from a small pack to the east, we are few so try to keep to ourselves to not attract unwanted attention from the larger packs around us' he admitted.  'The club owner, aware of our kind, struck a deal with my Alpha, he rewards us financially in exchange for a few of our warriors coming here and helping to keep the peace' he admitted.

'What do you know of our daughter?' Charity asked.

 Tyler straightened himself up, 'I have worked here since the club opened Luna, I know every member of staff, when your daughter and her friends entered the club, my men and I obviously knew that she was of our kind but we were unaware that she was a future Alpha, you have kept her well protected' he added with a small smile.  'If we had known who she was we would have given her extra protection' he added sadly.

'This is not your fault Tyler, someone was determined' Charity replied, 'please tell me what you know'

nodding, Tyler said, 'I swear on my Alpha that the bouncer who helped in the k********g of your daughter is not one of my pack' he started vehemently, 'I do know that one of the human bouncers has money issues, gambling debts, I would suggest you start with him' he said quietly as he turned and pointed to a dark haired, muscular man who's eyes widened in fear before he tried to run for the door behind them.

'Grab him' Aaron ordered as three of his warriors launched themselves at the fleeing mans torso, bringing him crashing down to the floor.

Marching over to the man, Aaron lifted his face by his carefully gelled hair and growled down at him, 'you will tell me everything you know about my daughters disappearance' his eyes penetrating the other man's gaze as his power radiated from him, causing the captive to whimper in fear.