Regretted Rejection : Wrath of the Moon

Bella's interaction with Andrew was a very simple and regular one but in Ryder eyes, it was a flirtatious one. He left the room and returned to his office quarters.

His team was sitting around with their laptops and gadgets trying to monitor illegal activities carried out by both humans and non humans. Any activities they find evidence of was then subjugated to heavy scrutiny. If the activity concerned humans and had no trace of non humans connected to it then they would anonymously tip off the various human government bodies. Of there was even a slightest trace of non humans connected to it then the activity would be handled by the Council field agents assigned to the task.

"Boss man!" One of the team members exclaimed loudly. Ryder turned and calmly walked towards him. The junior team mate was bursting to unload his findings. Other team members glanced at him disapprovingly. His loud exclamation had distracted them.

"What's up Carter?" Ryder asked exercising patience.

"You need to see this Ryder.” Carter claimed trying to modulate his voice level.

He showed Ryder an announcement on the deep web. It looked as if there was a sale of exotic animals going down in the country. Ryder glanced back at him with a questioning expression. "Boss.. Ryder... The exotic animals are were animals. It is were wolves and were panthers. The organizers seem to have Asian connection.” Carter replied.

"Why do you think it is were animals and not simply exotic animals? How did you reach the conclusion?" Ryder asked surprised.

"Well..." Carter hesitated a bit. Ryder raised his eyebrow at his obvious discomfort to clarify. Carter took a deep breath and said, "Because I posed as a buyer and asked them to send details of the exotic animals.”

"You did what?" Ryder looked at him flabbergasted.

"I used a different connection and masked my IP address. I asked them leading questions about the exotic animals saying I am looking for exotic pets. I pretended to be talking about the exotic pets like a human would. They also asked me a few questions regarding my income and daily life. They also asked me what did I think about night creatures. Since I was pretending to be human I gave them bland answers and said I was looking for dangerous beings not bats or owls. After my answer they immediately said that I was not what they were looking for in a buyer and they would contact me if they get something suitable for me."

When Ryder still showed a confused expression, Carter clarified further, "Night creatures. It was the key word. For centuries amongst humans weres and vampires and other mystical beings are displayed as devils that prey at night. It was what gave them away.”

"When is this sale going to take place?" Ryder asked.

"It will take place in about a week's time, on coming weekend.” Carter replied.

"What about the Asian connection?" Ryder asked.

"The organizer introduces himself as Xia. It seems an Asian name." Carter replied.

"Xia? How can that be? Didn't we wipe out the criminals working inside the Xia clan? Call Maya back quickly." Ryder instructed Carter and turned around to leave. Carter was a bit disappointed with Ryders reaction

"Carter!" Ryder yelled when he reached the door. Along with Carter all the team mates turned to look at Ryder. "Good job. Select a few people to help pinpoint the mastermind. You will lead this project with me.” Ryder said and left the room quickly. Carter too turned to his laptop with a smile on his face.

Ryder went to Dylan with the findings. There was very little time for them to get more details on this illegal sale and mobilize the task force to rescue the were animals.

Dylan was pissed off at the news. He banged the desk with his fist and asked, "How is this possible? Last time we cleaned the Xia clan both you and Bella worked on it and both of you had managed to get enough information on the clan. We had disabled the mastermind hidden deep in the clan so who is this new person? Did we or did we not manage to get the mastermind last time?"

"Calm down Dylan. Me and my team are focusing fully on getting information on this new person. I have asked Maya to be contacted as well. She will be here soon with Xavier." Ryder informed.

"Ask Maya to report to me once she comes and get Bella to work with you.” Dylan stated grimly. "Bella? That woman is not needed. My team is more than sufficient to work on this project.” Ryder protested.

Dylan gave him a long and meaningful look and asked him in a no nonsense tone, "Do you known why you are leading your team?". Ryder stared at him at the sudden change of the topic not knowing how to reply.

Dylan continued in the same tone, "It is because you are better than them in tracking such stuff down. But Bella is better than you. She is faster than you. Didn't she won the bet against you last time?"

"How do you know about that?" Ryder asked surprised.

It doesn't matter how I know and how much I know. What matters is the fact that if Bella was interested in working with Council full time, she would be the one leading the team not you. So I suggest Ryder, get your head out of your arse and focus on the mission. Justify to me and the Council that your Team Leader position is well deserved.”

Ryder lost the colour in his face and hung his head in shame. He realised that he had got sidetracked by his emotions and the main point now would be rescuing the kidnapped were animals. Dylan's disappointment showed and it stung Ryder badly. He knew that if Maya came to know about it she would be disappointed as well.

As he came out of Dylan's office, he decided that he would behave professionally and seek out Bella's help on this mission. It was his first mission as a Team Leader and he was determined to prove his worth to the Council, Dylan, Maya and most of all to himself. He became determined to do well and be professional and resolved to help the victims out of the situation safely.

Bella was waiting in Maya's room for her to come back. She expected Maya to be back by evening and was surprised when she heard a knock on the door. She thought that Maya must have come back early and opened the door to find Ryder standing in front of the door.

When she saw that it was Ryder, she immediately thought that he must have come to warn her off from following or talking to him and it made her defensive. Bella wanted to slam the door in his face and started to do so but Ryder put foot in the gap and blocked her from closing the door.

Bella frowned and stepped away from the door. "What do you want?" Bella asked curtly as if she was annoyed to talk with him.

Placing a hand on her heart she steadied her mind to hear various incriminations of her actions and rejection of her from him once again and was completely thrown when Ryder said, "I need your help."