Mason sighed as he watched Lily and Lauren went into another shop once again. It had been four hours since they stepped foot into that mall, and once they entered, not once did the twins acknowledged Mason's presence. They just ran around the store like madmen.

The reason why they were even there at all? Well, you see, it seemed the girls' school had new uniforms and the girls claimed they needed accessories that matched their uniforms. Plus, they also said that ribbons and bows were out. 

So, here they were, looking for matching accessories that weren't ribbons or bows. They had gotten inside like five shops, but the girls insisted that nothing was good enough to satisfy their needs.

Basically, Mason was just their bodyguard. He was just watching them as they raced towards another shop, and another, and another. It was kind of boring, and Mason was a little bit worried about Betty and Dylan's wellbeing.

Betty might have killed Dylan or something, but Mason doubted it. For some reason, Mason kind of believed that the two might be enjoying each other's company at the time. However, he might just be too positive. 

"Mason!" he heard an excited call from afar, and he recognized the voices as the girls'. Mason ran over to them who was already holding a basket full of colourful accessories each.

In case you were wondering, the shops gave out small baskets for them to put their things in.

Mason sighed in relief. He was starting to get worried that they would have to stay here until late. 

Finally, they paid for the accessories which were expensive but it wasn't that much for Mason. They went home, and Mason was a bit surprised seeing Betty and Dylan eating his supply of Oreos.

Sure, Mason expected them to be okay with each other, but he didn't expect them to be all smiley with each other after that little incident this morning. Okay, they weren't exactly smiling. In fact, they seemed like they were just talking about something fairly serious, but they looked like they were enjoying each other's companies very much.

"Hi, Betty! Hi--um, who are you?" Lauren asked, tilting her head like a cute puppy she was. She and Lily just always had a way to make people just want to coo at her cuteness.

"I'm Dylan," Dylan introduced himself. He didn't know if he should feel glad or bothered that Mason was here. He was glad that Mason was finally here, because he had been waiting for his arrival, but he was also a bit bothered that Mason just had to disturb his and Betty's bonding time.

"Are you Betty's mate?" Lily joined the conversation. Her question made Dylan's face flush slightly and he quickly looked down. On the other hand, hearing the word mate, Betty's face hardened.

"No, of course not. I'm not a werewolf," Dylan protested.

"You don't have to be a werewolf to be their mates," Lala stated.

Now that Mason thought about it, Betty had never talked about her mate. Then again, she didn't seem to be the type to announce to everyone that she met her mate. She might not have met her mate, after all.

Plus, Mason wasn't the type to ask people about their love lives, especially his third-in-command that was really serious about her job. If he asked her about that one day, it would be very off-topic, because the only thing they ever talked about were pack stuff.

To change the topic, Mason asked, "What were you two talking about that seemed so serious?" He sat down on a chair. 

Lauren and Lily, knowing that they were going to start talking about adult stuff that was important and needed seriousness, excused themselves to go upstairs to their room. They needed to discuss what kind of hairstyle they were going to do tomorrow, because to them, that seemed much more important.

Lauren and Lily were, after all, the trendsetters in school. If they used braids, others would start copying. If they used feathery accessories, the others would follow their lead. They really liked their roles, too. They weren't the gossip girls, but just two twins who really liked fashion and it appeared that many people liked them.

"Well, Betty was just telling me about you sending out search teams to find your parents, and I was wondering if humans could join, too," Dylan said.

"I don't know. I mean, it could be a bit scary out there in the wilderness. And besides, I thought you wanted to take care of your mother here?" Mason said, making excuses.

Truth to be told, Mason was actually considering stopping sending out search teams. He figured, if all these years he hadn't managed to find them, then what was going to change? Plus, Ron also said that he thought Mason's tries were useless.

Unfortunately, Mason didn't notice that Ron wasn't Ron. He didn't notice the change of tone in Ron's voice. He didn't notice the change of colour in Ron's eyes. He didn't notice the change of Ron's behaviour.

On the other hand, Betty could read Mason like an open book. She also noticed the major change in Ron. She knew that Mason would've accepted Dylan right away, but he hesitated because of Ron. Betty found it stupid that Mason actually listened to Ron. He shouldn't have given up on what he believed, but Betty also knew it was hard when the world kept telling you to stop.

This was what Betty was kind-of afraid of. She was afraid of Mason giving up, because then she lost any chance of finding her parents. She couldn't control the warriors and tell them to go search for her parents because she needed Mason's consent, but he already gave up.

Betty knew the only way to make Mason keep going was to tell him that she supported him before he fully changed his mind. However, there was this one thing that also made her a bit worried.

What was up with Ron?

Why was he acting so rude and weird all of a sudden? Why did he suddenly tell Mason to stop his searching? What changed Ron so much?

Betty tried to remember what happened before. She remembered telling Darren to tell Ron that he had a guest. However, when Ron came back, he had changed completely, and Darren--Darren was gone!

Betty just remembered. Lately, she hadn't seen Darren anywhere. What if they were kidnapped or something? But guards were there, weren't they?

"Alpha Mason, can we talk? Alone?" Betty asked. Her cheerfulness was long gone, replaced with seriousness. She looked like the most cold-hearted person in earth and it was really clear she had her guard up. Dylan remembered this side of her. She appeared as this person this morning and afternoon, both being the times when he approached her.

"Of course, Betty," Mason said, leading them outside. He was confused about why Betty would want to talk to him so suddenly, because he thought they would drop the subject. 

Once they were out, Betty started to talk. "Alpha Mason, did you notice Beta Ron's change of behaviour? And I haven't seen or heard from Darren since yesterday." She got straight to the point.

"Change of behavior? I'm pretty sure he was just a bit angry that I kept doing something useless without knowing it, and he had to pretend that he supported me. And about Darren. Yeah, I haven't heard from him since yesterday. I don't think he's in the pack territory," Mason replied.

Betty really wanted to roll her eyes, really, but that would be very disrespectful, especially to the alpha. "Well, I must tell you, Alpha Mason, Beta Ron isn't Beta Ron," Betty said, but then she noticed Mason's confusion, so she added, "I don't know, he might be hypnotized or something."

"What are you saying, Betty? What do you suggest I do?" Mason asked, a bit tired. His mind wasn't working at the time. He spent the night thinking about the fake Ron's opinion on him. Now, Mason knew that he shouldn't give up, but what was his next move? He really wanted to just give it up to some other people, but he was the soon-to-be-alpha of his pack. He must take care of it like a good alpha should.

"We should continue searching. I have a feeling that the one who probably kidnapped Darren and maybe hypnotized Beta Ron are the same people who kidnapped our parents. I have a feeling they are the witches and warlocks," Betty replied.

"Why don't we just ask Ron for their location or something?" Mason asked.

"Didn't you sense him running out of the territory just a few minutes ago?" Betty asked back, but it sounded more like a statement. 

Mason nodded. "Very well. Summer break is in a few days. We're going then. Prepare yourself, pick three warriors, and prepare Dylan."

---(BOY X BOY OVER HERE. SKIP UNTIL THE END IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT)

Meanwhile, in a cave, far, far way, Ron and Darren were being hold hostage. Actually, they weren't so sure about how far the cave was from the pack territory. 

They were being held inside a cage, a silver one at that. There were many other cages beside theirs and there were some people inside. Their skin was burning. However, Ron, being the caring person he was, insisted that Darren sit on his lap so his skin wouldn't burn.

Darren of course tried to not let Ron hold him like that, he didn't want to burden Ron, but Ron had a very strong grip around Darren and so Darren couldn't move.

Thankfully, Ron's feet weren't in such a bad condition thanks to his long pants. Of course, the silver was still able to burn his skin from the outside, but the cloth managed to make it less hurtful, even though it only reduced the pain by around fifteen percent.

"Ron, are we ever going to get out of here?" Darren asked softly. He sounded so scared that it broke Ron's heart. In fact, Darren was terribly afraid that he would never get out of this large cave. He had always dreamt of having a family; just a small, simple, but happy family. However, his condition right now wasn't exactly helping.

Ron nodded. "I believe we are. Mason is definitely going to come searching for us. He would never give up in finding his parents," he said. 

Why did he say that? Well, Mason and Betty's parents were actually the ones inside the cages beside theirs. They were still alive, but it seemed they had lost the spark of life and hope in their eyes long ago.

Darren sighed. "But what if he didn't notice us disappearing? Unlike his parents, we disappeared discreetly, while his parents disappeared after a fight and it was obvious. And besides, I have noticed that Alpha Mason wasn't really good at reading people and he might think the fake Ron is a real one," he reasoned.

"But there's Betty. Trust me, everything is going to be just fine," Ron said. He held Darren's hands tightly, as if to reassure him. He could feel the small tingles that went from Dylan's hands to his whole body.

"I really hope you're my mate," Darren said all of a sudden, and Ron was a bit dazed by the sudden change of topic.

Ron smiled softly. "We'll find out about that in six days. Don't worry about it," he said.

"I heard that if you're with your mate, touching him or her, even the silver wouldn't burn you," Darren stated.

"We'll also find out about that in a few days. I hope it's true, though. My legs are burning so bad, but at least you're here with me." Ron smiled cheekily.

Darren blushed a little, looking down to hide his face. "Shut up."

Ron chuckled. "You're so cute."

"Can you two shut up?!" 

The people inside the cages flinched from the loud, booming voice. Ron knew the question--more like statement--was pointed towards himself and Darren. Ron guessed the other people that were being held hostage were already used to being quiet all the time after all these years, because not once did they make a sound.

Once again, Darren radiated terrified aura. It was as if the voice of those kidnappers were making him scared more and more. Like it had some strange magic.

If so, Ron wouldn't be surprised. After all, he knew for sure that the ones who kidnapped them were the other creatures; the witches, warlocks, vampires, and many other creatures that hated werewolves' existence.

Not all creatures hated werewolves. In fact, some of them were good friends with werewolves, like fairies and mermaids. 

However, Ron couldn't think about any of that right now. He was trying to figure out a way to contact Mason, while comforting the boy sitting on his lap.

Of course, Ron had tried to mind link Mason, but it seemed that he didn't get his messages. Too bad. 

There was a window, but the window couldn't be opened, and it looked too strong to be smashed. 

Basically, Ron was out of ideas of what to do. He was sure that the kidnappers wouldn't let him send a letter, would they?

"Dear Moon Goddess, help me," Ron whispered, sighing as he hold the boy who was now snoring softly while sitting on his lap. 

How could Mason find them?