Chapter 198 - Unauthorised.

"Who is there"? The presence of another human voice startles Christian as he contemplates hiding. He looks around frantically for a place to hide but fails at it miserably. As the familiar scent hits his nose his panic increases by four folds. "Mr Wrisberg?" A familiar voice calls Christian when the man, who turned out to be the beta of the pack, finally found him.

"Hi," Christian says awkwardly. "FYI, You can call me Christian" he added

"Okay…" he trailed off before taking a quick look around himself. What are you doing here?" Riley asked suspiciously. 

"I came here to see the wolf." Christian admitted honestly.

"Didn't the alpha warn you about not coming here all by yourself"? Riley asked.

"He did, but he also told me they need to make a decision about this wolf as fast as possible" Christian shrugged. "I thought, I shouldn't delay much. Besides this wolf is in the cage, is it really that harmful.

Taking a step closer to Christian he turned around to gaze at the wolf. He hit the flashlight directly at the wolf's face but it turned it's face away. "That's odd," Riley mumbled.

"What's odd?" Christian found himself asking. 

"The eyes. When it attacked us it was red. Right now, it seems black" Riley mumbled. "I wonder why no one noticed it yet. I gotta inform the Alpha" He mumbled.

"Why do you think that is" Riley halted as soon as he turned around to leave when Christian asked him this.

"Hm?"

"Why do you think his eyes are different?" Christian asked again.

Riley thought for a moment before answering, "It could indicate many things" 

"Like"? Christian pressed.

"Will you believe me if I told you"? Riley challenged.

"Try me. Trust me when I say I wouldn't be here if I was not looking for something crazy" Christian shrugged.

After considering it for a few seconds he mumbled, "Alright. Firstly it could simply mean it's some kind of an ability exclusive to this wolf. It could also mean that it was under some kind of mind control, or…" Riley trailed off.

"Or"? Christian pressed.

Taking a deep breath Riley mumbled, "The legend of the Valestine is true" He shrugged. "You know what that is right?" He asked when the mention of Valestine evoked no physical or facial response from Christian

"As a matter of fact, I do," Christian admitted. "Also, let me tell you.. I have seen a Valestine wolf before" He informed Riley referring to Ashton himself. His lineage was never been confirmed, but he was willing to consider it.

"Wait what?" Shocked, Riley turned at Christian. "You aren't kidding right?"

"Nope," Christian shook his head. "My brother dated this guy once, he was one"

"Okay, now that is nonsense. They don't have human forms" Riley rolled his eyes.

"They do, they simply use it rarely. There's a difference." Christian pointed out.

"Still, dated? They barely leave the ice" Riley noted. Before their conversation/ argument can proceed further a loud growl from the cell turned them quiet. "What's going on? Did I infuriate him?" Riley asked. The wolf continued to growl at them as if trying to push them out of his way. It was miraculous how the wolf was bothered by their presence but not the bars.

"We need to leave, right now" Christian mumbled. 

"Come on" Riley gave him a subtle nod and instructed him to follow after which they both got out of the dungeon. Once they were out, both of them took a few bouts of deep breath before mumbling, "You do realise that if I tell this to our Alpha you may get in trouble"? 

Christian frowned, "Are you blackmailing me? Besides, he is bound to find out, he can hear your thoughts". He pointed out.

"Which is why I am good at controlling them when I am in the link" Riley smirked. "Tell me why you were down there, and I won't tell him" 

Christian narrowed his gaze before sighing, "We are looking for someone. I was just wondering if that wolf is him" Christian admitted honestly.

"Someone" Riley furrowed his brows. "How important is this someone"? He asked.

"Remember how I told you my brother dated a Valestine?" Riley nodded at the question posed by Christian, "Well, he didn't just date him. He mated with one." He declared.

"Why?" Riley's eyes widened. "That is so messed up" He sighed.

"Love is love, right?" Christian shrugged.

"Yeah… but still… " Riley trailed off. "I won't tell the alpha, but… is he really the one you are looking for. And if he is, do you know how to turn him back into a human?" Riley asked.

Christian shook his head but halted abruptly, "Wait, do you? You seem to really familiar with the legends of Valestine, do you know how to turn him back to human"

"I have just a few stories from grandparents of a close friend of mine. They are from a pack that often got attacked by Valestines, or so I heard" Riley shrugged. 

"So?" Christian tilted his head. "Did they tell you how to turn them back into humans?"

"Well, if their stories are to be trusted… I guess it has to be something that compels them to be human. In this case, your brother might do the trick" Riley shrugged. "It will actually confirm better if this wolf is your brother's mate or not"

"Yeah…" Christian sighed. "I guess I gotta bring him in" 

"There is one problem though," Riley reminded after a whole minute. Christian tilted his head and narrowed his gaze at him in confusion. "How are you going to convince the Alpha not to kill him? I don't think he will hold on just because there is a meek possibility that this wolf might be mated to your brother"

"I figured," Christian nodded. "Well, I will see what I can do about that, but for now I need to return." He declared and left after passing along a subtle nod. On his way back he couldn't help but feel that the wolf showed certain mannerisms like Ashton. 

Not only the names Ashton and Caleb elicited some response, but also the avoidance that was Classic Ashton whenever he got into too much overwhelming situation which was mostly around his rut. He still recalls the first time Ashton turned into his wolf, and how desperately he wanted to push away Caleb, and somehow he felt like the wolf was responding the same.

Christian still wasn't sure whether or not to call Caleb here, but he knew that Caleb was their definitive answer. Problem was, he needed to convince the Alpha to not kill that wolf in captive until his brother shows up.