Chapter 23 - Mira
Jux disappears into the forest, chasing the stranger. Panic floods me as I get to my feet, screaming his name, begging Jace to come back to me.
But he’s gone.
I look into the forest, then back toward the compound. I can’t help him on my own. I need to call the others.
Running as fast as I can, I ignore the stitch in my side and the terror in my chest. I run until I reach the pack house, shouting for Miles and the other guards.
My brother comes down, grabbing me and forcing me to look at him.
“Breathe, Mira, breathe!” he demands.
I force myself to take a deep breath. My body aches, my lungs are burning.
“Someone…we saw someone in the forest. Messing with the sensors. He attacked me. Jace. Jace….” I take a deep breath, trying to pull air into my lungs so I can speak clearly.
Miles waits, his attention fully on me, even though the other guards are surrounding us.
“Jace shifted and ran after him. He needs help. What if there are more…more of them? What if…a rogue?” I stammer.
Miles releases me and faces the security team.
“Everyone in line now. We need to report to the elders. Our Alpha is alone, chasing down a possible rogue. Fenex, Lyca, you two call the rest of our forces and speak to the elders. Find out what their orders are. You three, we leave now. We can’t have him out there on his own. Shift. Follow me. Mira, where was it?”
“Right at the sensor in the sixth quadrant at the edge of the forest,” I say quickly.
“Move!” Miles shouts, shifting, leaving his wolf to kick his clothes off as he sprints toward the forest with his team following close behind.
Just as quickly as they surrounded me, they are all gone again.
And I’m alone.
So, utterly alone that I’m scared. Scared for Jace, scared that I didn’t call for help fast enough. Scared that he’s alone and I can’t do anything to help him.
Avery comes out of the pack house and rushes to me.
“I heard Lyca!” She exclaims, horrified. “Are you ok?” she asks.
“Will they find him?” I stammer, tears welling in my eyes.
“They’ll find him. They have to! Jace is the strongest of us all. He’s going to be fine, Mira,” she says gently, pulling me close and walking me into the pack house. “I’ll make you some tea. You should rest while we wait. This stress isn’t good for the baby,” she says.
I’m tossing and turning, lying on the bed in the downstairs guest room of the pack house. I didn’t want to lie down. I have no idea how they expect me to sleep or rest when Jace is out there, possibly hurt, but they wouldn’t stop insisting, so I came in here just to get some peace and quiet.
But now I’m alone with my worry again.
Why aren’t they back yet? They’ve been gone for hours. Surely they would have caught the guy and be back already?
I toss again, my stomach aching from stress. Placing my hand over my belly, I try to focus on the little life growing inside me. Try to tune into it, even though it’s probably just a little speck of existence at the moment.
“It’s going to be ok,” I whisper, but even as I say it, tears spring to my eyes.
My heart is aching so badly that I can barely breathe.
I don’t want to lose him. I don’t want to be without him.
Mika is pacing, whining softly. She wants to go out there and help them look.
I don’t remember falling asleep, but the room is pitch dark and unfamiliar when someone knocks on the door and wakes me up. “Mira,” a voice calls my name.
“Avery?” I murmur, sitting up in bed as my mind pieces together my surroundings in the pack house guest room.
“Are you awake?” she asks quietly, flicking on the bedside light.
I nod, squinting at her. “Did they find him?”
Avery bites at her lower lip. “I came to call you. The elders are demanding a meeting, and they want you there. They told me to tell you it’s urgent,” she explains.
My heart sinks. They want to question me. They want to hear exactly what happened.
They already don’t trust me or my system. They’re angry I’m in charge of the security systems. I imagine they might even suspect I had something to do with this.
I let out a soft breath and slip off the bed. “I’m just going to splash cold water on my face, then I’ll be right there,” I tell Avery.
“I’ll wait outside the door and walk with you.” She says. Then she reaches out and touches my arm. “It’s going to be ok, Mira,” she tries to smile, but her face is lined with worry.
I smile, “It is. It’s going to be ok,” I say with more confidence. Confidence, I definitely don’t feel.
In the bathroom, I stand at the basin and look at myself in the mirror. The girl staring back at me looks drained. She has dark shadows beneath her eyes and lines around her mouth. I lick my lips and force myself to relax so that I don’t look as stressed as I do.
The lines around my mouth disappear. I swallow hard and lift my chin. Strength. My pack needs the strength of their Luna. Not a quivering weak woman.
Leaning over the marble basin, I splash cold water against my cheeks and eyes.
It’s refreshing and soothing.
Dabbing my skin with a soft white towel, I look in the mirror again.
The cold water has brought a glow to my cheeks, and my eyes look brighter and more focused. I’m ready. As ready as I’ll ever be.
Avery is waiting as promised, and she walks with me toward the dining room where the elders are waiting. She stops at the door, smiles tightly, and whispers. “I’m right outside.”
I step into the room, and a somber weight hits me immediately.
“Sit,” Marcus snaps.
Jeremy stands and pulls a chair out for me.
“What is going on?” I demand with a clear voice, despite my racing heart.
Marcus opens his mouth to speak, but Jeremy holds up his hand to silence him. He shakes his head and glares at Marcus coldly.
When Jeremy turns to me again, his eyes are soft.
“Mira, we’ve hunted everywhere. We can’t find him. Jace is missing,” he says gently, pausing and waiting for me to take in the information.
“Missing?” I stammer in disbelief. “He can’t be…he can’t just disappear. There must be a trail. A scent…”
“Mira, there is a trail. It was easy to find. But…”
“But what!” I demand, unable to take the tension a second longer.
“The trail suggests that Jace is very badly injured… if not dead.”
I stare at his father in disbelief, refusing to accept the news.
“No,” I gasp, barely a whisper. “He can’t be.”
Jeremy is still talking, telling me what needs to happen now, how we need to proceed in the best interest of the pack. But I can barely hear anything.
It’s as though I’m deep underwater. Sounds are blurring, distorting around me. Words don’t make sense, and nothing I look at seems real.
This can’t be real.
Have I really lost him?
How? How can I accept that when I love him?
I love him! I love him, and I was too scared to tell him. I didn’t have the courage to admit it, and now I might never have that chance.
Mika is in agony. She can’t believe this. Neither can I. I want to fight for him, but who do I fight? How can I fight for someone they are telling me is possibly dead?
“Mira,” Marcus snaps. “Are you listening?” he asks coldly.
“Give her a moment, Marcus. She’s struggling with the news,” Lexus huffs.
“She doesn’t have the luxury of emotion. She is the Luna. Her duty is to her pack, not to herself. Pull yourself together, girl,” Marcus snarls.
Jeremy sighs heavily, pressing his hands against his face in frustration. Marcus is oblivious to the fact that he is speaking about Jeremy’s son, too. His family. Is this man honestly that cold and heartless?
Marcus carries on.
“You are carrying our next Alpha, girl. You are going to need to be trained to be a good role model and influence for this pack. We can’t have you running around like you have been.
Opinionated and acting like you know everything.
You need to learn your place!” he lectures me, informing me of how things are going to be from now on.
I watch him in silence, thinking about how he wants to use me as a tool. He wants to use me and my son to take control of this pack… and all the pieces begin to fall in place.
“You have access,” I blurt out.
“What the hell does that mean?” Marcus snaps, annoyed that I interrupted him.
I stand up, fueled by what I’ve figured out.
My heart is racing.
“You have access to the security system. You have all the codes. You were the one who kept triggering the false alarms!”
“What the hell are you talking about? You’re not even making sense,” he snarls.
Jeremy and Lexus look confused.
I turn to Jeremy. “Marcus hates the new pack dynamics. He hates the way Jace is running things. He wants to take power back, no matter who he has to hurt in the process.” I turn back to Marcus.
“You kept triggering the alarms. You tried to blame me and make people doubt Jace. And when that didn’t work, you took other steps…
steps to get rid of the one man who was standing in your way…
” I can’t believe the words coming from my mouth, but it makes so much sense it’s terrifying.
Marcus stands up, defensive and aggressive. “How dare you accuse me of this. I have been an elder in this pack for decades. I am…”
“That’s the problem, though, isn’t it?” I say, feeling the weight of my own fear, my own boldness as it sits on my shoulders.
Someone has to say it. Someone has to stop him from getting away with this.
But the accusation is so dangerous it could get me shunned from my pack.
Regardless of whether I am the Luna or not. They will take my son and kick me out!
In this moment, I am so utterly alone against the man glaring at me, and I’m terrified, but I refuse to back down.
“That’s the problem. You’ve been in control for so long, and you don’t want to give it up. You don’t want someone else to take that away from you,” I demand.
My throat is tight, my voice is shaking.
“Is it true, Marcus?” Jeremy interrupts him, standing up as well. He looks horrified. “It is true?” he shouts. I bite my lip as I turn to look at Jeremy. Please be on my side.
“Of course it’s not true. This little bitch doesn’t have a brain cell to put to good use. You want to trust a female over me?”
“You have access to everything. It all makes sense. You’ve been rallying against my son since the beginning,” Jeremy snarls. “And you’re so fucking bitter about every change he’s made since he became Alpha,” he says.
Lexus looks between them, shocked to his core.
“Marcus…” he stammers, as realization sinks into him too. Lexus stands, facing Marcus. “You attacked our own system?” his voice is rich with accusation.
“I didn’t!” Marcus shouts, taking a step back.
“But you did, Marcus.” Jace’s voice is like a beacon of light on the darkest, coldest night.
I spin to see him walking into the dining room with Miles at his side.
His clothes are coated in fresh blood from a wound that is still seeping.
I rush toward him, tears spilling over my cheeks, and I crash into him, wrapping my arms around him and never wanting to let go.