Damon slowly paced the width of his study, his hands buried in his pockets as he stopped to stare out the window.
It was still early in the morning. The sun was just making its way to the middle of the sky, making everything warm and overshadowing the fog of dawn.
His eyes scanned the grounds outside his window, his thoughts far beyond them.
Damon’s mind was still very much occupied with thoughts of her. He needed answers, most of which only she could give him.
“Ava Mitchell Smith of mist wood,” Damon muttered under his breath.
She was gorgeous. He could still remember her standing there in the crowd while he struggled to keep his head straight and give the freaking speech.
Her scent, he could still remember vividly the strong mix of cinnamon, clove, and vanilla.
The silky black hair that looked like they had known no bad days, the tender-looking skin of her cleavage.
Slim long legs that were perfectly accentuated in those black heels and the dress that did justice to her curves.
Hers was the kind of beauty that is very rare, the kind he had never seen in his entire twenty-five years of living. He was completely overwhelmed by her, the way she always looked like the world had nothing on her, her grace, her poise….
His thoughts were interrupted by the voice of his wolf.
“How soon are we going to meet her? It’s taking forever already,” his wolf’s deep yet anxious voice filled his head.
There was no one more obsessed with her than his wolf. It was meant to be, after all, she being his mate also benefited his wolf even more than him.
“It looks like we’re going to wait for a little while longer. She’s getting harder to find. I’ve looked everywhere, and I can’t even detect her scent.” Damon replied in a disappointing tone. Almost already giving up, but even if he wanted to, his wolf wouldn’t.
He stopped to take out the bottle of whiskey in the bottom drawer of his study table, poured out some, and continued pacing with his drink in his hand. She could not just have disappeared like that. She had to be somewhere, but where?
He wanted her so badly, pushing aside the fact that she had rejected him. He thought one way or the other, since they were destined for each other, she’d come back to him. He was determined to do whatever it took for him to find her.
His thought process was interrupted by a knock on the door.
“Come in.” He called out. He sat down as his beta made his way into the study, his eyes scanning him still as he sat down.
“How can I help you?” He asked immediately. He wanted to be done with whatever it was and have his alone time back. If it were possible, he’d have ordered that he shouldn’t be disturbed for that day, but in as much as he wanted to think about her and where to find her all day, he also knew he had duties to fulfill, and they were also vital.
“You have a meeting scheduled in about half an hour, with the pack.” His beta reminded him. “A strategy meeting.” He added as Damon lifted his eyebrows confused.
It suddenly dawned on Damon that he had announced the meeting yesterday before the Mate Bond Ceremony, but he had completely forgotten because he had been occupied with thoughts of Ava and how to find her
“Yes. Of course, thank you. I’ll be there.” He replied, dismissing his beta in a bid for him to quickly gather his thoughts and put down the little he could for the meeting.
After about twenty minutes, he made his way to the meeting room. He had a tradition of being the first to arrive at the meeting, being the alpha. It made him gain more respect, and it gave him a sense of leadership.
In about 15 minutes, the meeting hall was filled, and they got to discuss the plan for the growth and expansion of the pack. Damon tried to keep his head in the meeting, but every once in a while, he would zone out and fill his head with thoughts of Ava, trying to snap himself back to reality before anyone noticed, but his Beta had already.
He finally got hold of himself and made himself present for the rest of the meeting. After an intense two-hour planning and strategizing, the meeting was over, and he waited for everyone to leave before heading back to his study. He needed to have a drink to sort out his thoughts.
Taking a sip into his drink, he got interrupted again by a knock on the door.
“Who is it?” He asked irritatingly, not wanting to be disturbed at that moment. He needed his quiet time to drink out all the thoughts of her from his mind.
“It’s Will, your beta,” a voice resonated from the other side of the door.
“We’re done with meetings for today, aren’t we?” Damon asked again, taking another sip of his whiskey, still not permitting him to enter.
“Yes, sir, but I just wanted to….” Will tried saying before Damon cut him off.
“If it’s not business, I would rather not hear it.” Damon dismissed him before he could finish his sentence, pouring more whiskey into his cup.
“Well, drowning yourself in whiskey and feeling sorry for yourself isn’t going to help.” His wolf said in a little soothing voice, trying to get Damon to listen to him.
“What else can we fuck do? I hate this feeling so much. We’re literally just like sitting ducks.” He asked, replying to his wolf. “FUCK!!” He shouted, banging his table.
“We can appoint people to look for her or someone you can trust. It can be discreet, but it’s better than sitting all day thinking about her and not getting to see her at all.
Calming down, he thought about what his wolf suggested and realized he was right.
“Why the fuck didn’t I think of that?” He asked, himself, surprised that the idea did not cross his mind.
“Well, I’ve always been smarter than you.” His wolf replied, trying to lighten the mood.
Quickly, Damon called for Will, his beta.
“I’m sorry about earlier. My mind was preoccupied with something that was still bugging me. And that’s why I called you here. You’re the one person I’m trusting with this, and I need it to stay between us. Deal?” Damon stated, looking straight into Will’s eyes.
Will was just as confused as anyone would have been at that point. First, he dismissed him rudely, and now he was telling him a secret. Whatever it was, Will knew it was critical because he had never seen Damon this messy.
“Deal.” Will manage to say in between his train of thought so as not to irritate Damon again.
Damon explained to him what happened at the ceremony, and he required Will to appoint someone whom he trusted and was discreet to find her and collect information about her. But it could not get out to the public. It should only be between the 3 of them.
He figured he was unable to give Will the job as if you would raise questions, and he would need him around to help run the pack. So it would have to be someone who was trustworthy, but not too needed and not too known.
“I think I have the perfect person for the job. My brother, he has not always been around so no one will notice, and he’s private, so we can trust him.” Will suggested, after thinking for a while.
“Alright, set a meeting for tomorrow and let him know, I’d like us to fast-track it,” Damon told him, excited already.
“Or we can set it today. He’s since everyone is headed home, it’ll be better to have the meeting now to avoid unnecessary speculations.” I will propose further. He understood how important she was to him.
Damon looked at him with a little smile on his face, he had forgotten how useful and hands-on he could be.
He had been really distant these past few days.
He asked Will to set it up and invite his brother when it was just only them to avoid prying eyes.
Some hours later, Will walked into Damon’s study with his brother and introduced him. They started talking and making the arrangements. They also agreed on the payment that would be received after the job was done. He also emphasized how urgent it was and the need to be hasty.
Will was also given a payment for his silence and reliability.
Damon got home with a bit of relief, his mind was no longer over the place. At least he had a little hope of knowing about her and seeing her.
He wasn’t just in the dark anymore, he just hoped that Will’s brother will help me. He really needed her.