Asher
It’s been months, and still no sign of Alethea, or Selena.
Selena is a doctor who travels from pack to pack for her medical outreach. She could have informed me before leaving, so why would she vanish without a trace this time? And why take Alethea with her? What is her connection to my mate?
“So, she’s your mate now?” Kaidos’s voice cuts through my thoughts.
I didn’t give him a reply. I feel guilt coils around my chest. I’ve been a shell of myself, and I’m grateful to Liam for covering for me during my absence-both in body and mind.
There has to be a lead, some clue as to where Selena might have gone. I reached out to the last pack she visited before coming to Redwood. But their response is the same.
“We haven’t seen her.”
If Selena’s trail is cold, how am I supposed to find Alethea?
Selena might be a doctor, but there’s always been something about her-something powerful, something I can’t quite put into words.
Lost in my thoughts, sitting in my office in frustration. I can’t focus. With a sudden surge of energy, I push to my feet, the chair scraping loudly against the floor. I need to move, to do something.
Truth be told, I don’t know where I’m going. I let instinct take over, guiding me, step by step, through the familiar streets.
Before I know it, I’m standing in front of Selena’s house-the one we gifted her when she first came to stay with the Redwood Pack.
Slowly, I push the door open. The house is eerily silent, the kind of quiet that feels unnatural. As I step inside, I see that everything is gone.
I scour the house, searching for anything-a note, a clue, something that might tell me where she could have taken Alethea. But my search turns up nothing.
Frustrated, I step outside. That’s when I heard her voice.
I know she’s there-I can feel her-but I have no intention of giving her my attention.
“Why are you here?” Kayla’s tone is sharp. “Shouldn’t you be with Maya?”
I let out a low growl, my patience snapping. “Oh, please, Kayla. Now is not the time for this.”
But she doesn’t flinch, “I wish you’d open your eyes and see that there’s something about that Maya girl that doesn’t sit right with me.”
Here we go again. I groan inwardly. Ever since Maya came to the pack during the gala, Kayla hasn’t let up. It’s always the same tune, the same accusations about Maya not being who she claims to be.
“Kayla,” I mutter, pinching the bridge of my nose. “I don’t have time for this.”
How could she even say that about Maya? Maya is everything a Luna should be-graceful, poised, and impeccably mannered. During her stay here, she carried herself with dignity, winning over everyone with ease. She bonded with the women, played with the children, and left a trail of admiration.
But, of course, Kayla is the only one who insists on seeing the worst in her.
The irritation boils over, and I turn to glare at her. “Who I choose to be my Luna is none of your business,” I snapped. “I’m saying this for the last time-don’t you ever bring this bullshit about Maya to me again. Not here. Not anywhere.”
My growl is low and menacing, my wolf clawing at the surface, threatening to take control. My defense of Maya only made him more agitated. He wants to use this as an excuse to unleash his fury, but I fight to hold him back.
Suddenly, I hear a soft whimper. I glance down. My hands are gripping Kayla’s arms tightly.
“Kayla,” I breathe, loosening my hold immediately.
She steps back, putting distance between us.
“Oh, Goddess,” I mutter, my voice barely above a whisper. “Did I hurt you?” I take a step closer, reaching out, desperate to check for any sign of harm.
But she moves away quickly, the way she retreats, twisting my gut in a way I didn’t expect.
“No, I’m fine,” she says, with a shaky voice as tears glisten in her eyes. “I’m sorry. I went overboard with my comments about Maya. I apologize, Alpha.”
Her words were rushed and broken, and then she bowed her head, a single tear slipping down her cheek before she turned and hurried away.
I stand frozen in guilt as I watch her retreating figure. My stomach churns violently. This wasn’t supposed to happen.
I know I hurt her, and I shouldn’t have lost control like that. But ever since Alethea disappeared, I haven’t been myself.
With a frustrated shake of my head, I turn and head back to the pack house. The sky is dark now, and everything is quiet. All I want is to curl up in bed, catch a quick nap, and then bury myself in pack work again.
Inside my room, I tear off my shoes and shirt, tossing them carelessly to the floor. I am angry and exhausted as I lay down. I toss and turn, my mind refusing to settle, but eventually, I succumb to sleep.
Then, suddenly, I’m in the forest. The crisp air brushes against my skin, and I realize I’m naked. My heart thuds in my chest as I glance around, trying to make sense of where I am.
Something feels off. The forest is quiet. When suddenly, a cry pierces the silence. It’s faint at first, but desperate, and my instincts immediately kick in. I follow the sound until I reach a clearing. There, I spotted a little boy.
“Please, help me!” he cries out, in panic.
Without hesitation, I rushed to him, scooping him into my arms. But something feels off.
I take a closer look at the boy, and the world around me seems to slow down. His eyes are staring up at me, wide and innocent. His blonde hair frames his face, and at that moment, I realize with a jolt of shock that he looks exactly like me.
“What are you doing here, all alone, young man?” but he didn’t respond. He just continues to stare at me as though he recognizes the resemblance between us.
The boy still didn’t say a word, but his eyes didn’t leave mine.
“Where are your parents? Why are you out here all alone?”
The boy’s lips tremble before he answers, his eyes welling up with tears. “I’m you, but not… I’m the part of you that you’ve forgotten.”
Forgotten? What does he mean? How is that possible?
Before I can speak, a low growl rumbles through the air. It’s not from the boy, but from somewhere deeper in the forest. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and my instincts scream at me to protect the boy.
“Mummy is worried. She doesn’t know where I am.” the boy’s voice cut through the low growl rumbling somewhere in the forest.
“Mummy? Who is your mummy?”
“My mummy is…” The sentence trails off as the sound of a loud ringing pierces through the air, pulling me from the dream.
“Holy fuck,” I mutter, jolting awake.
I sit up, disoriented, rubbing my face as I try to shake off the dream.
“Shit, how long did I sleep? And what the hell is the dream about?”
I glance at the phone by my bed, still ringing obnoxiously. The screen lights up, showing Liam’s name. “What the fuck does he want.”
I ignore the phone, letting it ring out. I need a moment to process. The dream feels too real, and I can’t ignore the feeling that there’s something more to it than just a random vision.
I hardly ever dream, and when I do, it’s something important, my subconscious is trying to tell me.
I lean back against the headboard, staring at the ceiling. Who was that boy? And why did his words feel like a message I should have already understood?
‘But that child was about to tell me who his mother was before my phone rang.’
I slam my fist down on the mattress in frustration, the confusion from the dream still clouding my mind.
“What?” I snap at Liam through the mind link.
“Chill, Alpha. The Council of Elders is here to see you.”
I groan loudly, I know exactly what they want-they’ve been relentless. ‘They’re after me proceeding with the mating ceremony.’
Maya’s reveal had been a strategy, one I had hoped would make them back off for a while, to ease the pressure they were piling on me. But no matter how much I tried to push it back, it’s clear that the Council isn’t ready to let up.
I take a deep breath and stand up, running a hand through my hair, my mind still reeling from the dream and the boy’s cryptic words. What did it all mean?
“I’ll be there now.” I ended the link.
I jump in for a quick shower, the hot water doing little to calm the storm in me, and then I dress in a casual T-shirt and jeans.
I head toward the conference room, and the tension in my chest rises. I know what’s coming, but the feeling of dread only intensifies. When I push open the door and step inside, the air in the room thickens, making it hard to breathe.
Then my eyes land on one of the people seated among the Elders, and everything inside me goes still.
Liam steps closer, I can feel his anxiety. “Alpha, please. Take it cool. I can explain this,” he hurries to mind-link me.