Unwanted

Near St. Louis, Missouri

Blake’s P.O.V.

It’s been a couple of days, and still no word from Brock. What’s going on? I sent one of my men to the Silver Moon pack to try to find him, but I haven’t heard from him yet. When he finds Brock, he better have a good excuse for ignoring my calls. I need pups. My buyers are getting angry, and I’m out of merchandise. My other suppliers, those who I’ve intimidated into giving me pups over the years, are ignoring me as well. They’re too scared now that someone is sniffing around. Who are these people? When my phone rings, I answer it angrily.

“What?”

“Alpha, I’m at Silver Moon. I’m hiding in the forest, but I overheard a few guards talking about Brock. He was killed because they found out it was him taking their pups.” My man says into the phone. Brock should be happy he’s dead because I’d kill him myself for being so incompetent if he wasn’t.

“Did you find out anything else?” I ask him.

“Yes. The king and queen are here. Apparently, two of their children have mated with two of the alpha’s children. They found Brocks’s records and are driving around trying to find all the pups that were taken.” Fuck. If the king and queen are involved, it’s worse than I thought. However, they haven’t come here yet, so maybe they don’t know about me. Was that bastard selling pups to other packs besides mine?

“Okay, get back here. We don’t need them to find out you’re snooping around.” I disconnect the call and sit back in my chair. Maybe if we can find the ones looking for pups, we can kill them and stop anyone from finding us. I pick my phone back up and call my spy in the palace. I’ve never needed him because the king and queen kept their noses out of my business.

“Hello?” He answers.

“I understand a couple of people from the palace are searching for missing pups. I need you to tell me where they are right now.” It’s quiet on the other end, and just as I get ready to yell at him, he answers me.

“I had to go somewhere private. The last I heard, they were in Missouri. Prince Joel checks in with the king and queen every day, and they tell Prince Logan. I heard him talking to his mate, and he said they just found a woman at a pack neat Columbia, Missouri.” The spy replies. Good, that means they’re close by. This may be easier than I thought.

“Let me know if you hear anything else.” I disconnect the call and mindlink my beta, Max.

“Come to my office.” He walks in a minute later.

“People from the palace are looking for pups and trying to reconnect them with their families. We need to stop them before they get to us. I want you to take some men and go to the last place they were seen near Columbia. Get rid of all of them.” I tell him. Max doesn’t question me as he nods and leaves. He’s a man of few words, but he’s ruthless as hell. That’s why he’s the perfect beta. He’ll kill them and bring me their heads on a platter.

Near Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Ryker’s P.O.V.

We just learned of a woman in Indiana who is a descendant of the Mystic Moonlighters. One of my trackers had gone to a group home there and was told she had just met her mate and left the day before. We’re so close; I can feel it. I was going to wait to let my men handle it, but I feel like I need to be there to talk to her myself. I pack a bag and go look for Gino.

“Are you sure you don’t want the guys to handle this?” he asks, walking out to the jeep with me. I shake his hand. There’s an urgency to do this myself.

“No. I need to do it. She may be the only one left from that pack or have information on others from Mystic, but either way, I want to talk to her and her mate myself. The woman from the group home said they were in Missouri, so that’s where I’m heading. Let me know if you need anything,” I say before hopping into the driver’s seat. Getting away from the pack will be good for my head.

I get on the highway and feel a lightness I haven’t felt in a long time. It’s going to take me at least ten hours to get there, but it will be worth it. According to the woman at the group home, Petra and her mate are traveling around with a group of people, trying to find pups taken from their pack. They sound like good people, and I hope they let me explain when I see them.

Almost eleven hours later, I’m pulling into a hotel parking lot just outside St. Louis. Tomorrow, I’ll call the group and see if I can meet with them.

Petra’s P.O.V.

The night with Anton was incredible. I didn’t want to get up this morning, but seeing the excitement on Martina’s face made me glad I did. As we head to the next pack, which Teegan said is not one we expect to be a good one, my phone starts ringing. The number isn’t one I recognize.

“Hello?” I answer.

“Hello. My name is Ryker, and I’m the alpha of the Savage Moon pack in Tennessee. I’m trying to reach Petra.” Why would this alpha be calling me? I don’t know anyone from that pack or Tennessee.

“This is Petra.” Anton looks at me with concern, and I shrug as I put the phone on speaker.

“I was wondering if I could meet with you. I have some information on what happened at the Mystic Moonlighters pack, but I think it’s best we talk in person.” Before I can say anything, Anton takes my phone.

“This is Anton, Petra’s mate. Why do you want to see her in person? Is this some kind of trick to get her alone?” I should be mad that he took my phone and asked the same questions I would have asked, but I’m not. It’s nice having someone overprotective.

“No, that’s not my intent at all. I spoke with Jelena, and she told me where to find Petra. I drove to Missouri from Tennessee, and I was hoping to meet with all of you.” I look at Anton and then the others. Teegan looks thoughtful.

“I think he’s telling the truth. His words feel sincere,” she says. I wonder about her and how she can feel things about people.

“We’re near Columbia. Where are you?” Anton asks Ryker.

“I’m outside St. Louis. I could be in Columbia in about ninety minutes. Just tell me where to meet you.”

“We’ll text you an address. There better be no tricks, or it won’t end well for you.” Anton says before disconnecting the call.

“Who did he say he was?” Teegan asks from behind me.

“He said his name is Ryker, and he’s the alpha of the Savage Moon pack in Tennessee.” Joel pulls out his phone to make a call.

“Marcus, I need you to tell me everything you can about the Savage Moon pack in Tennessee. Petra just received a call from Alpha Ryker, who says he has information about what happened to the Mystic Moonlighters.” Teegan reaches out and takes my hand as Joel puts the phone on speaker. We only wait a few minutes before Marcus comes back on the line.

“It looks like he took over five years ago. His father was a tyrant. He was believed to be responsible for the destruction of multiple packs. From the information I found, Ryker has been trying to right his dad’s wrongs. He killed his father once he took over.” Does that mean this pack is the one that killed my family?

“Thank you,” Joel says before hanging up. “I think we should see what he has to say.”

Anton nods as he turns around and drives back toward Columbia. We were only about thirty minutes away. Pulling into the parking lot of a restaurant, we go inside and request a private room so we can talk without humans listening. I text Ryker the address, and we wait.

When the door opens, a tall, handsome man walks in. He comes over to us and smiles.

“Hello, I’m Ryker,” he says. We all introduce ourselves, and he takes a seat. As he prepares to speak, the door opens again. Ryker sniffs the air and jumps out of his seat. He runs to the woman who just walked in, and she’s staring at him with wide eyes. When they speak at the same time, I can’t believe it.

“Mate.”