The Wanted Alpha

Ethan

She had been here three days and I was yet to summon up the courage to face her. I woke up on the fourth day after having the same dream that I’d been having for the last three nights; where I stood with my mate by the lily pond that my mother’s ashes were scattered, hand in hand with her. Those glacial blue eyes and red hair shone on their own under the moonlight. I could actually feel the softness of her skin as I stroked her cheek and we were about to k**s, but every time I’d wake up before I could. The dream felt like a memory, not a dream, it had been so real. I could almost smell the floral aroma that seemed to swirl around her, I was positive this was her scent.

After my meeting with Greer, I had chickened out of going to see my mate. What did she think of me having a mate before her? What would she think if she knew Maria was my chosen mate…that I hadn’t bothered to wait for my fated mate? Only my father, Jude, Carrick and the former Beta and Gamma had known that that woman had been my chosen mate. Everyone else just assumed she was my fated mate and was why I had gone a little off the deep end. No-one other than those closest to me knew the real reason why her death had screwed me up so bad. She had lied to me and used me, just to enact some insane revenge. She had betrayed me in the worst way possible and I still felt as though my very soul was tarnished by her mark that used to lay on my neck; my skin still felt dirty that I had willingly let her touch me.

My Beta and Gamma had been checking on her each morning and told me she was eating incredibly well. Her guards had been taking her books to read, apparently she liked history and was the only detail till now that I knew of her. According to the reports I was given each day she had said nothing about herself and I had ordered no-one to ask her again, it just seemed to distress her more. I knew she was being allowed out to the rec yard a couple of times each day. I’d sometimes stand outside the prison when I wasn’t throwing myself into my Alpha duties and training, trying to will myself to just go inside. I had f****d up so much with my mate and the longer I left going in there, the harder I was making it. I knew it. But I still couldn’t bring myself to cross that threshold. My therapist would say that my perpetual need to blame myself for my mother’s death had instilled a need to overcompensate in being an overachiever and avoid confrontation of my shortcomings for fear of failure. I would say I was simply chicken-shit but I suppose that wasn’t particularly helpful.

I had had a discussion with Jude and Carrick last night, one that I wasn’t happy about as I knew it would upset her, but I knew it needed to happen. We needed to know who she was, where she was from, how she had no scent and most importantly who the hell was after her. The three of us were in agreement that for her to be this level of skeptical and wary, someone somewhere must be hunting her and not for any upstanding reason either. If someone was out there wanting to hurt her, I would end them in the most painful way possible. I was never a bloodthirsty leader, I would rather defend than attack, but the idea of my mate being harmed had me seeing red.

‘Ethan, we need to talk, I think we have a serious situation’ Jude’s voice sounded through mind-link.

‘What happened? f**k, is she ok?!’ I had felt some distress through our bond, but the silver was interfering.

‘Physically she’s fine, me and Carrick are on our way to your office.’

‘Fine, I’ll meet you there.’

What the hell had happened now!

I left the remnants of my breakfast and headed upstairs to my office, not wanting to keep anyone waiting and so that I could find out what was discussed as soon as they entered. I didn’t have to wait long as the two of them appeared wearing identical serious faces.

“So? What did she say?” I asked quickly, not wanting to waste any time.

“She wouldn’t tell us anything. But when we pressed further, if anyone was after her, she kinda said something a little disturbing” Carrick started.

Jude continued “she said we can’t help her, that they’d burn our pack to the ground, whoever the hell ‘they’ are.”

I felt a possessive growl rumble in my chest, both from me and my wolf. If any fucker thought they could hurt my mate or my pack I would end them nine ways till Sunday.

“I need to see her…I’ve put this off for too long…even if she rejects me, I need to protect her” the fear of losing her was overpowering the fear of facing her.

My two leaders nodded in confirmation, with a slightly relieved look in their eyes.

“It’s about goddess-damn time” Carrick muttered, which earned him a sharp elbow in the ribs and a glare from Jude.

Removing his death stare from our Gamma and turning back to me “just give her, like, an hour or two. We had to wake her so let her get showered, dressed and eat…then go” he finished by flashing me an encouraging grin.

“You need any tips on how to win her over?” Carrick asked as the two of us stared at him incredulously.

“What? I’m the only one here who’s mated and marked, I have insight!”

“You also have the emotional depth of zucchini” Jude stated, deadpan.

Carrick was about to retort but I cut him off before their squabbling could continue.

“Guys, let’s just get some work done while we’re all here and till I can go”

We set to work on the more mundane but essential tasks needed to keep the pack functioning, like rotas, permissions for annual leave, payroll and housing applications. I tried my best not to keep looking at the time, but it was excruciating.

It was around 8:45am and we’d been working for almost an hour and a half, my patience for waiting any longer was all but spent. I was just about to rise from my desk when I received a mind-link from the pack hospital.

‘Alpha?’ it was Dr. Julia, I could feel she was also mind-linking the other two as Carrick had that goofy smile on his face anytime his mate spoke to him.

‘Yes, what’s up?’

‘It may be nothing, Alpha. But my brother linked me about a prisoner possibly being injured 10 minutes ago. He said he’d get back to me on whether she needed to be brought into the hospital but I haven’t heard back from him and I can’t reach the only other guard I know on duty there either.’

The three of us sat up a little straighter after that.

‘Leave it with me’ I rushed out, closing the link instantly.

‘Greer?!’…nothing.

‘Tobias?!’ he was meant to be on the security cameras and again I got no response.

‘PHILIP?! NATHAN?!’ I practically roared through mind-link at the two guards meant to be manning the entrance…nothing!

I leapt up almost sending my desk flying and tore out of the room and pack house, I was vaguely aware of my Beta and Gamma trying to keep up with me.

‘GUARDS! Get to cell 3A IMMEDIATELY!’ I mind-linked the guards that were stationed at other parts of the prison as I hurtled my way towards their location.

‘All warriors and trackers close to the prison, head there now! No-one leaves patrol, stay vigilant!’ I sent a mass link to what I think was virtually the whole pack, I was too focused on getting to the prison to worry about being selective on who I addressed.

I sifted through the incoming messages, no-one stated anything about a possible intruder, unfamiliar scents or having seen anything at all. My b***d was running cold with thoughts that someone may have broken in and kidnapped her, right from under me…or worse. No I would have felt it, I hadn’t felt any sense of sadness, panic and I certainly hadn’t felt the bond break…that was a feeling I would never forget or mistake.

‘Alpha, I’m at the cell. The prisoner is in bed, under the blanket.’

‘Check her and stay there! I’m coming up to the prison now’ I replied.

I came up to the security gate and hastily swiped my card, bursting through while ignoring the warriors and trackers that had come to the prison at my command. I spotted two bodies, unmoving by the entrance. I quickly bent down checking their pulse, they were alive just unconscious. One appeared to have no injuries, the other looked to have a head wound. I moved past them quickly, wanting to hurry to my mate.

“Check them!” I shouted over my shoulder to whatever wolves were behind me. I had tunnel vision at this point.

I could feel the guard from before trying to link me but I was almost there. The internal security gate was already open and I skidded to a stop outside her cell, almost toppling over the guard.

“Alpha, it was Greer in the cell. I don’t know where the occupant is. There’s been no mind-link internally of anyone getting in or out of the complex.”

My breathing felt ragged as I shook Greer by the shoulders to wake him up, but he was out cold. I instructed the guard to stay at the cell, outside it, so he could be informed as we learnt what the f**k happened here! I left to go to the security room, where Jude was calling me to get to.

“Tobias was knocked out in the break room, looks like he left to get some coffee.”

“Greer was knocked out in her cell” I responded.

“Here, look at this” he played the footage and I almost felt like rubbing my eyes in disbelief “no-one broke in…she broke out!” he sounded as bewildered as I felt.

The camera’s hadn’t caught how she knocked out Tobias or Greer, but it did show her incapacitating Phil and Nathan. Her movements were like lightning.

‘Mate is incredible…’ Ezra, like myself, was equal parts in awe at her skill, proud of her resourcefulness and pained that she had left.

My Gamma had appeared behind me while we were watching the footage.

“Holy f**k” he exclaimed, seemingly as astounded as Jude and I.

“She’s only 20-30 minutes ahead of us, we need to close our borders down and think of some way to track someone without a scent!” I commanded.

I sent a mind-link to our patrols on the borders to detain any red headed she-wolf caught crossing out of the border and if they hurt her in any way, they could consider their life forfeit.

“Jude, you stay here. Get the guards knocked out medical attention and their posts replaced. If they wake up before we’re back try and get what happened out of them” he nodded at my orders as Carrick and I left to head outside to the trackers.

“You lead the trackers to the east, that’s the closest border and less populated, send squads to the north and west too. She might have scents of the prison on her, we could track that…I’ll take the south, I’ll go alone” something inside me felt drawn in that direction.

I ran off not waiting for a verbal reply, I knew he would carry out my orders to the letter.

As I headed further south, I couldn’t stop the guilt creeping back in. I should have gone to her sooner, I should have turned around that day I met her and gone back and begged her for forgiveness, I shouldn’t have kept her in a cell thinking I was protecting her from myself. The list of things I ‘should have done’ seemed endless, but I would beat myself up about it later. Right now, I needed to track a nonexistent scent…no f*g problem!

I stopped to try and scent the air, just in case. I had been running for close to an hour now in my human form. When I found her I wanted to be able to speak directly to her, it would probably be less intimidating and awkward if I wasn’t naked from having shifted. I realised something about the smells in the air, it was as though they had been disturbed, like a void had passed through here…that was it! I was trying to track a scent, what I needed to do was track the absence of a scent. I could still feel a slight pull, but it was quite faint, we hadn’t spent any time together so our bond was still weak. Something else I could kick myself over.

I had left our borders well behind and was still following what I was sure was her trail. I came to a gorge where the scents in the air felt heavily and freshly muddled. She was just here, I was positive I could feel her close by…somewhere. I searched around the area and found a spot of disturbed leaves, dirt and logs; she had come back here for something, a backpack maybe? She hadn’t been found with any possessions.

I couldn’t find where the trail led. I had followed it all the way here, I couldn’t lose it now!

“Come back!” I shouted out in desperation, if she was close she would hear me.

“Please! Come back, I’m sorry” I felt a lump form in my throat, I was so close…I couldn’t fail now.

I felt my wolf reaching out, trying to call our mate back to us. He felt as though he was about to break and I wasn’t far behind him.

“Please…come back to me…”

I could feel the bond growing weaker, she was moving away from me…she was leaving me. I fell to my knees with the knowledge I had lost her, with a stray tear slipping down my cheek. I had failed in every way a man and mate could fail…

I had let my past fears momentarily blind me and now it had cost me everything. I was too prejudiced about rogues after Maria. Maybe this is why the mysterious she-wolf and I were mated. Mates brought out the best in each other, made us the best versions of ourselves. And right now, I was a pretty piss poor version. But I could already feel her influence over me, I needed to do better than this. Me self-indulging in pity would solve f**k-all. I realised how selfish I had been, focusing on my own guilt in how I had handled things, my own fear of facing her and a possible rejection.

I would do better, for her.

I could almost laugh at my past self from four days ago at cursing the moon goddess for playing some cruel joke on me.

…The moon goddess knew what she was doing after all and I would never second guess her again.