Every brother worries about their little sibling...though they generally don't show it. Arizona definitely shows it like any big brother would do.

Chapter 10: A Brother's Worry

That afternoon, Arizona, Musaki and Sierra were walking out of the Valley of Peace and past the bamboo forest to find where the kidnappers had taken Max to and Arizona's nose sensed that their smell was very near so he followed his nose to where he was going. Musaki and Sierra followed him as well and it took a couple of minutes to gather the scent and for some reason, it ends somewhere on the distant parts of China.

Arizona gets himself up and he said to them, "They're obviously around somewhere between here and what's further ahead."

"What does that mean?" asked Musaki.

"Those freaks are trying to keep their smell away from us so we won't know where they are. So, if we continue heading this way, it'll lead us to where they're taking Max." Arizona replied.

Suddenly, Sierra picked up the same scent and it lead her to a couple of trees and when she placed her nose under one of them, she could smell some leopard piss on one of the trees and when Musaki and Arizona followed behind her, Sierra said, "Looks like they've been here."

"How can you tell?" asked Musaki.

Arizona smelled the strong scent of leopard pee on the tree and covered his nose because of that smell and he said, "Yep, that's their pee all right."

"That must means that they can't get that far." Sierra added.

Musaki was surprised that Sierra had a very keen sense of smelling other scents and he asked, "How do you know so much about that anyway?"

"I'm a wolf. Part of the instincts." Sierra replied.

That message was received very quickly by Musaki and once he got what she meant, all he could say was, "You two are definitely mates."

Arizona stands up for a second and he told them, "That must mean that they might've went this way. If we follow the scent, it could take us there within 12 miles."

They wasted no time heading towards that direction and the three walked a period of 7 and a half miles walking through another forest and reaching towards a hilltop and as sunset comes around, Arizona knew that there were only 5 more miles left to go and he said to the others, "We'll stop right here for the night and set up camp here. By the morning, we'll continue on finding wherever they're holding Max captive."

With that, they began pitching tents and made a fire to keep themselves warm after a long day of walking and they needed a much needed rest for they knew that the challenge is awaiting for them the next day as they're gonna walk the next couple of miles, but for Arizona...his main focus is getting Max home safe and sound.

As Arizona sits down on the log near the fire, he looks up at the sky and started thinking about Max and it really made him feel like there was nothing he wants more than to have Max by his side and to protect him from anything harsh in reality that he'll eventually face when he's older. In some ways, him and Max are a lot alike...they've been through completely rough periods in their childhood, felt alone and abandoned...almost as if like they were really related to each other.

Casting his mind on the day he was separated from him at that deserted island was the worst day for him and ever since that happened, he did not want to experience it again...whether being separated or someone kidnapping him.

He heard someone coming in as his ears rose up and he sees Sierra coming in and she said, "I figured you might need some company."

"Do whatever you want." Arizona stated.

Sierra sat down on the log next to Arizona and gets herself warm by the fire and she looks at her boyfriend and said, "How you doing?"

"Worried."

Sierra could tell that he's thinking about Max a lot and she certainly can't blame him for that and she told him, "I'm sure Max will find his way to find us."

"I could wish the same thing. But those guys...who knows what they're doing with him? His birth mother was hard enough to get over, but the fact that his birth father is in the picture...I can't even picture what his plan is." Arizona added.

"Whatever happened to his birth mother? Did she go to jail?" asked Sierra.

Arizona growls in response and said, "She would have. But...I actually killed her myself some months ago."

Sierra gasped in shock to know that her boyfriend actually killed Max's birth mother and Arizona could kinda tell that she was surprised to hear this come out of him and she said, "Really?"

"Yeah. She was gonna kill Max after refusing to do what she wanted him to do and I couldn't let that beast terrorize him. So me and her were fighting each other and it just came to a point where Max doesn't need a monster like her making him feel really miserable, so I stabbed, clawed and consumed her up. Call it crazy, but a wolf's gotta do what a wolf has to do. And for the right reasons."

At first, she didn't know to make of it, but after hearing what he told her, she was pretty much calm about it and why Arizona took that chance the way he did to protect his tiger brother and she said, "Must've been the hardest decision."

"No, it was actually easier. If someone messes with Max, they mess with me. And when they mess with me, I can assure you that they will not like what they'll get." Arizona answered.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side."

Arizona chuckled softly and he said, "As long as you're safe with me."

Then, Sierra looked up at Arizona and she asked, "You think Max will be okay?"

Arizona sighed heavily at that thought and replied, "I hope so. When I find Max's birth father, he's gonna have to deal with me and I'm not afraid to confront him."

She then smiled at him and gave him a peck on the cheek and told him, "I'll be cheering for you in every step of the way."

Then, Arizona smiled at her and told her, "You know, I really didn't think you'd actually come because it was something I had to do and I wanted to take this challenge on myself and I was kinda afraid that you'd get hurt."

"Ari...nothing's happening yet." she added.

"Yeah, I know. But you're here for the same reason I am and that makes me glad to know that I've got some support." Arizona said, placing his arm around her shoulder.

And Arizona was definitely gonna need it big time. While looking at the stars, he began thinking, 'Max...he must be really scared right now.'

We switch back to Max and Xiaoshin again...and I suggest you guys might wanna like brace yourself for what he's gonna do.