Chapter 48: Chapter 48

NOAH

I was mentally berating myself for not going with Evie to our room. Instead, I found myself stuck in my office with Jack and Greyson, trying to figure out Russell’s whereabouts. When I finally got my hands on him, I was going to make him pay for pulling me away from my beautiful mate.

Greyson sighed, his eyes scanning a map sprawled across my desk. “I don’t know, man. I was certain he’d be there.”

I had just hung up with Russell’s pack in Massachusetts. They confirmed he hadn’t been there since he left to visit me. The beta had been in charge since then, and he had some intriguing insights about his alpha’s mental state.

Greyson was grumbling over the map. He was my best tracker, and he had been so sure that Russell would be a few miles outside the city, deep in the bayou with a group of rogues. But the rogues and Russell were nowhere to be found.

“Those rogues have been there for years. I’ve been keeping an eye on them to ensure they weren’t planning a revolt or attack against us, but they just wander around sulking every day,” Greyson said.

“Do we think Russell involved the rogues in his plan?” Jack asked.

“I wouldn’t put it past him,” I muttered.

“It would make sense. His scent was mixed in with the rogues at their base camp. It seemed like they all left at the same time. I just can’t figure out where they went,” Greyson growled, slamming his fist into my desk.

“Hey, let’s not take it out on my desk.” I pushed Greyson away from what was probably my sixth new desk this year.

“Greyson’s just pissed because he’s being outsmarted by a bunch of rogues and an unhinged alpha,” Jack said, treading on thin ice with our brother.

“I am *not* being outsmarted by them. There’s something else going on here,” Greyson snapped.

“Could the vampires be doing something to cover their tracks?” I asked.

Greyson started nodding, seeming to agree with that idea.

“Yeah, that’s likely. Maybe I should go back to the camp and see if I can pick up on any vampire tracks now that I know what I’m looking for,” Greyson said, slipping into beta mode.

“I’ll go with you,” Jack offered.

“Okay, you two go back to the camp and see what you can find,” I agreed.

It was still early in the evening, so if my brothers left now, they should make it there with enough time to search the bayou before it got dark.

“Mind-link me immediately with any news,” I added as Greyson and Jack hurried out of my office.

I slumped down in my desk chair and started studying the map. I circled the location of the vampire king’s headquarters, or at least where we estimated it was, in red. Then, I circled the rogues’ base camp location in blue. I circled our pack house in green.

I measured the distance between the locations to determine if it was conceivable for them to be connected. You could make a round trip to all three places in less than a hundred miles—even less if they were using an airboat.

Suddenly, it felt like someone had plunged a knife into my chest. I cried out, clutching my chest in physical pain. I flung open my office door and started sprinting down the hall.

Several pack members were calling after me, rushing into the hallway to see what was happening. Without question, several off-duty members of my patrol followed me. I saw Tatum, Dexter, Lucas, Ferris, and Shawn behind me as I climbed the stairs two at a time toward the top floor.

I yanked the door open and ran toward my bedroom. My heart sank when I saw Sawyer lying on the floor in a pool of blood.

“Check on him!” I ordered the wolves behind me without pausing.

I crashed through my bedroom door and fell to my knees at the sight. My instincts had told me that she wouldn’t be there, but seeing our empty bedroom and the broken window made it all too real.

“We’re taking Sawyer to the infirmary, Alpha. He’s in bad shape,” Dexter came up behind me with Tatum and Lucas.

I couldn’t speak; I couldn’t even breathe.

“Permission to search the room, Alpha,” Tatum requested.

I managed a nod. Tatum and Dexter began to stride around the room, noses in the air, inspecting the shattered window. Lucas stayed by my side.

“Should I call Greyson and Jack back?” Lucas questioned.

My gaze was glued to the window, the exit point for my mate’s abduction. I nodded again. Lucas’s voice echoed in my mind as he mind-linked Greyson and Jack, urging them to return to the pack house immediately.

~“Alpha, we’re on our way.” Greyson’s voice echoed in my mind.~

~“We’ll bring her home, Brother,” Jack vowed.~

~The collective howl of the pack reverberated in my mind as the news of their missing luna spread.~

Dexter spoke up, “We lost her scent once she left the room, Alpha. We’re going to check outside, see if we can pick it up there.” He and Tatum exited the room.

I forced myself to rise from the floor. There was work to be done.

“Get every patrol member who isn’t on the border and every able-bodied wolf to the pack house, now,” I instructed Lucas, my voice as hard as granite as I walked past him.

“Understood, Alpha.” His response was barely audible as I stormed toward the stairs.

By the time I reached the lobby, it was already bustling with activity.

“Our luna has been kidnapped,” I announced to the pack.

The lobby was filled with gasps and growls of anger before falling silent as I continued.

“We’ve been investigating a plot against the luna, myself, and the pack for a few days now. It involves Alpha Russell Winters of the Massachusetts pack, our former alpha, and vampires.”

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

“My father has been stripped of his alpha title and is being held in the dungeon awaiting sentencing. Winters is on the run, but his scent has been found with a group of rogues in the bayou. The children of the vampire king visited our pack earlier this week, alerting us to their involvement. I have no doubt they are all involved in my mate’s capture.”

I spoke rapidly, eager to share all the information and start the search for my mate.

“All patrol wolves currently on the border will remain. I need volunteers for additional border and pack house guards. All off-duty patrol members will join me on a search mission. I’m also looking for volunteers for this. It’s volunteer only as it will be dangerous and involve going against Council laws by engaging in cross-species conflict,” I explained to my pack. “Any volunteers can meet us out front.”

I finished my speech and made my way through the crowd. I wasn’t surprised when the entire pack followed me to the front yard. Evie had truly won everyone over in just a week.

My heart swelled with pride and love for my mate. And then shattered again at the thought of her in danger.

“Half of you can go with Shamus. He’ll divide you up on the borders,” I directed toward the head of one of my patrol groups.

He waved his hands to get their attention and started leading about one hundred fifty members around the border.

“The rest of you will split into ten search groups led by the patrol wolves. We will search the pack property, the bayou, in town, and two locations we have scouted as possible headquarters. I will take two groups with me to where we believe the vampire king is located. I need the most elite warriors for my groups.” I expected my wolves to act quickly—and they did just that.

Tatum and Dexter formed the two elite groups who would be accompanying me to the vampire king’s location. Lucas, Ferris, Shawn, and the five other members of Patrol Group Delta—Porter, Cole, Mason, Walker, and Zack—created groups of around twenty wolves.

By the time the groups were formed, Greyson and Jack had returned. I quickly briefed them on our plan.

“Jack, I want you to take Ferris’ group to the rogues camp and see what you can find out. Greyson, I want you to go with Cole’s group and see if you can trace Evie’s scent. She was taken from her window out the back of the pack house,” I commanded.

“Yes, Alpha!” my brothers responded in unison.

I stopped Greyson before he could leave with his group.

“After you’re done, bring your group to the vampire king’s headquarters. I have a feeling we’re going to need the backup there.”

“Trust me, Noah,” Greyson said, his hand firm on my arm. “She’s going to pull through.”

His words were meant to reassure me, but they fell flat. I wanted to believe him for the sake of my mate. Yet, the sensation in my chest was so intense, it was as if my mate was crying out to me in pain.

“Are you sure everything will be all right?” I asked, my voice trembling.

He nodded. “Yes, I promise. We’ll get through this together.”

I looked away, trying to hide my doubt. “I hope you’re right.”

He reached out and took my hand. “Trust me,” he said softly.