Nicolas POV
“What do you mean that she is not there?” I screamed at Levi on the phone.
Ronan’s face turned to ash a few seconds ago, and I could see the fear in his eyes. He had given the phone to me.
Levi choked, “I-I-we can find her,” over the receiver. “I have searched all over for her.”
“When was the last time you saw her?” I paced my office as I asked.
“The last time I saw her, she went to her room to calm down.”
“And then?” My fingers around the phone went white as I snarled. The fact that I had not broken the phone while I was holding it surprised me. “Has anyone visited her? Taken her?”
Was Noah responsible for this?
Has he abducted her?
“Her bedroom was locked from the inside,” Levi clarified. “It is likely that she jumped from her window.”
“Remember Levi’s statement that Zara would not dare do that?” Ray chipped in.
“If she did that, how the hell did no one notice?” I asked, disregarding what Ray had said. “Is there any other scent in her room?”
“No!” Levi’s voice broke as he spoke. He appeared distressed by Zara’s absence. “There is no other scent in her room.”
That didn’t make any sense.
“Alpha Nic,” Levi uttered, pausing. “The fact that Zara could not reach you worried her a lot. She believed that something had happened to you.”
“What do you mean by that?” I growled. “I am perfectly fine!”
Nobody was aware of last night’s attack. I have yet to complete the report.
I turned to face Ronan again, and his eyes widened.
Did he think the same thing I did? Evidence that the rogue assault was planned?
Did the rogue attack serve as a means of taking Zara?
“This morning at breakfast, Alpha Rick told us about the attack,” he replied.
How on earth did Alpha Rick find out about that?
“And Zara believed the worst?” I lowered my voice as I asked.
“Mate cares about us,” Ray yapped, purring, and the idea nearly made me smile. However, we had pressing issues to deal with. Zara had gone missing, and I had to locate her.
“Yes!” Levi said in a trembling voice. Was he about to cry? “She wanted to send help, but I told her that we could not because of the agreement clause; she was really scared and anxious.”
“Did you attempt to track her scent outside her room?” I asked. I could only imagine how terrified she was.
At the other end of the receiver, Levi became quiet, and I briefly questioned whether the line had died.
“Answer me, Beta!” I growled, my patience gone.
“I tried,” he whispered, as if embarrassed or frustrated. “But her scent disappeared at her bedroom window. I am unable to track it. I am not sure whether it was her fault or whether someone managed to mask her scent before removing her.”
I was not expecting that.
Could Zara conceal her scent the way Ray could conceal mine? Has she figured that out?
“You should still be able to track her,” Ray stated. “You are, after all, her mate. No matter how well she hides her scent, it makes no difference.”
“I am on my way,” I snarled at Levi over the receiver. “I will see you in a bit.”
“What are you going to…?”
“Wait for me in the cave, Beta!” I gave the order, hung up, and gave Ronan his phone.
“Alpha,” Ronan chirped. “Going there right now is not advised…!”
“Beta, do not dictate to me what I can and cannot do!” I lost my temper and swept everything off my office table with a roar. “My mate is missing! I am going to go find her. It is the right thing to do. No agreement will stop me from looking for her. Do you hear me? Do you understand? It is my duty, and I have that right! She is the future of this pack!”
With a sharp swallow, Ronan nodded his head and hurried back a few paces.
I felt a surge of anger, and Ronan’s eyes grew even wider. He appeared terrified for a moment, trembling like a leaf in the wind.
Ronan was aware that he had pushed me to the limit. He was wrong to ask me that. From the expression on his face, I could tell that I had partially shifted, and my aura was absorbing all the oxygen from the room.
“W-what are you planning to do?” He bowed his head, stuttering nervously.
He was no longer able to face me. My aura and appearance were too suggestive for him to even look up; if he made one wrong movement now, I might lose control and slit his throat.
“I am leaving!” I snarled, heading toward the door.
“How should I respond to the report? What should I tell the pack members when they notice you are gone?”
“You finish the damn report,” I growled. “I am going, Beta, and you have no right to stop me!”
Ronan moved out of the way without even trying to argue with me.
Was I really that intimidating?
Was he aware that I would not be persuaded to change my mind?
Ray took control as soon as I was outside the building, completed the shift, and dashed into the forest that led to the cave.
Just before he reached the end of the forest, Ray slowed down and shifted his ears to the side, listening.
“What’s wrong, big guy?” My eyes narrowed in perplexity as I asked.
“Someone is following us,” Ray said, and he pivoted his head in the direction of the sound.
Silently, I focused on the soft thumping of paws a few feet behind us.
Ray lifted his nuzzle to the air and took a long and deep whiff of our surroundings.
When the sweet, overpowering smell of caramel and mint hit his nose, I winced, and Ray shook his head in an attempt to dispel the scent.
“What the f*ck!” He shook his head and growled.
One thing was certain, though: whoever had the scent was not one of my pack members.
Was that unidentified scent a rogue’s? It didn’t have that burning scent of a rogue attached to it.
The wolf’s paws’ soft thumping abruptly stopped, and Ray raised his head and looked toward the spot where the wolf was standing behind the bush observing us.
The idea of having been stalked irritated Ray; it raised all the hairs on his back. He let out a growl, signaling to anyone standing there to move away. Instead, the sound of bones breaking filled the air.
“Alpha Nicholas,” the bittersweet voice rang in Ray’s ears, and he pulled his ears against his head and whimpered. He did not like that voice, and every bone in his body tensed.
“I do not mean any harm. It is me, Terra,” she sang, sounding almost thrilled to be there. “All I want to do is talk.”
I should have realized that she would be the one pursuing us.
Ray took a defensive stance and growled, warning Terra to back off.
However, that did not stop the girl from approaching, and she pushed through the overgrown bushes, stopping when she saw me.
Oh Goddess… what was this girl planning to do?
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