The car disappeared down the road beyond Blackclaw’s gate, leaving the patrol captain standing where he was.
He watched it for a few seconds before returning to his post, but something about the visitor continued to bother him. He had seen that face before and was certain of it.
The captain tried to recall where he might have seen the man, but the memory wouldn’t settle. He had served Blackclaw for years and had seen countless visitors pass through the gate. Some faces were easy to remember, while others became indistinct with time. This one was different.
There was something about the man’s face that had stirred a memory the moment he looked at him. Yet, despite his certainty, he had been unable to identify the occasion.
He returned to the gatehouse, but the thought followed him inside. He sat down, attempted to concentrate on the report before him, and then stopped when an old memory began to take shape.
A car. A woman in the passenger seat. A man behind the wheel.
The captain went still. Serena Cole.
Four years ago, he had paid attention to the vehicle only because Serena was a known member of Alpha Kaidan’s household. Nothing about her behaviour had suggested she was in danger. Now he knew why the visitor’s face had seemed familiar. It was the same man.
The captain rose so quickly that his chair shifted backwards. He wasn’t sure what the man’s return meant, or what had happened to Serena after she left. But the connection was significant enough that Alpha Kaidan needed to hear about it.
He left the gatehouse and headed straight for the main building. John was outside Alpha Kaidan’s office when the patrol captain arrived.
He noticed the man’s hurried approach and stepped forward to meet him. "Captain, is something wrong?"
"I need to speak with Alpha Kaidan."
John studied his expression. "What’s happened?"
"I have information concerning Miss Serena Cole."
John’s attention sharpened. "What information?"
"The man who visited her today. I believe I know who he is."
John glanced toward Alpha Kaidan’s closed office door. "Come with me."
He opened the door and entered first. ’The patrol captain is here, Alpha. He has something to report about Serena’s visitor.
Alpha Kaidan looked up from the documents on his desk. "Send him in."
John stepped aside, allowing the captain to enter before closing the door behind them.
Alpha Kaidan regarded the captain for a moment.
"What is this about?"
The captain stood straight. "Alpha, a man arrived at the gate earlier today and requested permission to see Miss Serena Cole. After the household approved his visit, the guards let him onto the grounds. He has since left."
Alpha Kaidan waited.
"When I first saw him, his face seemed familiar, but I couldn’t remember where I had seen him. After he left, I finally placed him."
"Who is he?"
"I believe he is the man who drove Miss Serena out of Blackclaw four years ago."
Alpha Kaidan’s expression changed. For a moment, he said nothing. Then he put down the document he had been holding and leaned back slightly in his chair.
"Explain."
The captain took a breath before continuing. "Four years ago, I was on duty at the gate when Miss Serena left Blackclaw in a car with an unfamiliar man. I remember seeing him behind the wheel. Miss Serena was sitting beside him, and she appeared calm. She didn’t ask for help or give any indication that she was being forced to leave."
Alpha Kaidan’s jaw tightened. The captain continued carefully. "When the household reported her missing days later, I was questioned about her departure. I gave my testimony and explained what I had witnessed. At the time, I couldn’t identify the man. Today, when he came to see Miss Serena, I recognised his face, but I didn’t immediately remember the connection. It was only after he left that I recalled the incident."
"You’re certain it was the same man?"
"Yes, Alpha. I remember his face now. I do not doubt that he was the driver I saw with Miss Serena that day."
Alpha Kaidan rose from his chair and walked toward the window.
For several seconds, he looked out over the grounds without speaking. Serena had returned to Blackclaw claiming that she had been taken against her will. He had believed her because he had spent four years blaming himself for failing to protect her. He had never seriously considered that the circumstances of her departure might have been different from what she described.
Now, the man who had driven her away had come back and asked to see her.
Alpha Kaidan turned from the window. "Did you see which vehicle he arrived in?"
"Yes, Alpha. I can describe it, and I remember the registration number."
"Write down everything you remember about his arrival today. The vehicle, the time he arrived, when he left, and anything you noticed about his interaction with the gate staff."
"Yes, Alpha."
"Give the report to John before you return to your post."
The captain nodded. "Understood, Alpha."
He left the office, closing the door quietly behind him.
Alpha Kaidan remained standing for a moment, his attention fixed on the closed door. He had questions about Serena’s disappearance, but he wasn’t going to conclude a familiar face alone. He needed to verify what he could before deciding what the man’s return meant.
He crossed back to his desk and reached for the telephone. "John, come in."
John entered a moment later. "Alpha?"
"I want the gate footage from today."
John paused briefly. "The CCTV footage?"
"Yes. Have the control room pull the recording of the man who visited Serena. Start with his arrival and continue until his vehicle leaves the gate. I want a copy brought here."
"Understood, Alpha. I’ll contact the control room now."
"Also, obtain the current gate register and the corresponding digital visitor record. I want the time of his arrival and the details recorded by the staff to match."
John nodded. "I’ll bring them together."
He turned to leave, but Alpha Kaidan stopped him.
"Keep this within the people who need to handle it. I don’t want speculation spreading through the pack."
"Of course, Alpha."
When John left, Alpha Kaidan returned to his desk, but the documents before him no longer held his attention.
He remembered the day Serena had returned. She had looked at him with tears in her eyes and told him about the years she had supposedly spent away from Blackclaw. He had listened, angry at whoever he believed had taken her, and relieved that she was alive. He had wanted to make up for the time he thought she had lost.
That belief had influenced every decision he made afterwards. He had allowed her back into his household, given her access to his time and attention, and repeatedly excused her behaviour because he thought she had suffered enough.
He pressed his lips together.
The captain’s testimony had never established that Serena was abducted. It had established only what he witnessed: Serena leaving Blackclaw in a car with a man, appearing calm, without asking for help. At the time, Alpha Kaidan had accepted that the circumstances remained unclear. When Serena returned with her story, he had let concern fill the gaps. He had mistaken what he wanted to believe for what he knew.
A knock sounded at the door. John entered carrying a folder and a small device containing the requested recording.
"The control room has prepared the footage, Alpha. I’ve also collected the handwritten gate register and the digital visitor entry from today."
He placed the folder on the desk and set the device beside it. Alpha Kaidan gestured toward the chair opposite him.
"Let’s see it."
John connected the device to the office display. The first recording showed the main gate from an elevated angle. A vehicle approached, slowed at the entrance, and stopped beside the security post.
The footage had no sound, but the camera clearly captured the driver lowering his window to speak to the patrol captain.
Alpha Kaidan leaned forward. "Pause it there."
John froze the image. The man’s face was visible through the open window. He wasn’t looking directly at the camera, but the recording showed enough of his features to make him identifiable if someone knew him.
"Continue," Alpha Kaidan said.
The footage showed the captain checking the visitor’s details before stepping away to seek approval. After receiving permission, he returned to the vehicle and signalled for the gate to open. The driver proceeded into Blackclaw.
John moved to the next recording. It showed the same vehicle leaving later that day.
Alpha Kaidan watched without speaking until the recording ended. "Bring up the register."
John opened the folder and placed the handwritten entry beside the digital visitor record. The details were consistent: the time of arrival, the vehicle registration, the visitor’s stated purpose, and the approval given before he was admitted. "Everything matches," John said.
Alpha Kaidan looked at the paused image again. "The footage confirms who came here today," he said. "It doesn’t tell us why he came or what happened between him and Serena before she returned."
"No, Alpha."
"Have the control room preserve the original recording. I don’t want it overwritten or altered. Keep the copies secure, and make sure the written records are retained with them."
"I’ll handle it."
Alpha Kaidan closed the folder. "Has Serena been informed that the captain recognised her visitor?"
"No, Alpha. Not by me."
"Good. Don’t approach her about it yet."
John studied him for a moment. "Do you believe the man is connected to her disappearance?"
"I believe the captain recognised someone he saw with Serena four years ago. That is what we have established. Anything beyond that still needs to be examined."
John nodded. Alpha Kaidan glanced at the screen once more before switching it off.
"Serena told me she had been taken from Blackclaw. I believed her without examining what the captain had reported. Now the man she left with has returned, and I intend to understand why."
"Would you like me to find out more about him?"
"Start by tracing the vehicle’s registration number. I want the registered owner’s name, address, and any other identifying details available in the records. Find out who the man is and where he can be located."
"Yes, Alpha."
"Keep the investigation discreet. Don’t approach him or Serena until I decide how to proceed."
"Understood, Alpha."
John collected the folder and left the secured recording with Alpha Kaidan before returning to his duties.
Once he was alone, Alpha Kaidan sat back in his chair. He had welcomed Serena because he believed she had suffered. That belief had influenced how he treated her after her return. He had allowed his concern for her to overshadow Naomi’s feelings, repeatedly expecting his wife to accept decisions she had never been given a voice in.
Now, the captain’s recognition had raised questions he could no longer ignore.
Alpha Kaidan looked at the frozen image on the screen. He wasn’t ready to accuse Serena of lying, but neither would he dismiss what he had learned. Before making any decision, he needed to know who the man was, why he had returned, and what his connection to Serena meant.
He switched off the display and turned back to his desk.
For now, he would wait for John’s findings.