Chapter 5
Lucas
The full moon's glow filtered through the windows of our pack meeting hall, casting long shadows across the faces of the gathered pack members.
I stood at the head of the ancient oak table, my hands planted firmly on its polished surface, trying to focus on the matter at hand rather than the hollow ache that had taken residence in my chest for months.
Finding out Alison was gone had shattered me.
I'd spent the last couple of months scouring every corner, following every lead, desperate to bring her back, but she seemed to have vanished without a trace.
My wolf had howled for her, a constant, aching call that never quieted.
I had plans—plans to be better to her, to beg her forgiveness for the pain I caused, to show her I could love her the way she deserved, to prove what it meant to be my fated mate.
Plans to finally let go of the expectation put on me and follow what my heart ached for.
But all of that had been ripped away from me.
It made it so much worse to discover she never truly resigned.
It had all been a calculated move by Victoria, a ploy to push Alison out of my life and out of the company.
I could be furious. I could confront Victoria, tell her exactly what I think of her—that the only value she holds for me now lies in the connections she has to the Black fortune.
But that would be foolish. And I've never been one to act foolishly, not when the future of my company and my pack was involved.
There are smarter ways to handle this. Ways to make sure I never need anyone else's leverage again. To solidify my power, to become untouchable.
For now, I'll play the role. I'll be the dutiful fiancé Victoria expects. But not forever. That much, at least, must change.
"Victor's attempt to take over our territory was ambitious but ultimately sloppy," I said, pushing that to the furthest recess of my mind, my voice carrying the authority expected of an Alpha.
This is what I must focus on now. "His scouts were detected at our southern border last week. James, report."
My beta, James, stood up, his tall frame commanding attention. "We've neutralized the immediate threat. Victor's men retreated after we caught them mapping our defensive positions. Three of them were... convinced to share Victor's plans."
I nodded, knowing exactly what "convinced" meant. We weren't savages, but we protected what was ours.
"He's been recruiting rogues from around. Werewolves, humans, just anything to improve his numbers so he can have a better chance against us." James continued. "Promising them positions of power once he takes control of the Moonshadow territory and assets."
"And the human side?" I asked, shifting focus to my business empire. The Chen Enterprise connection had always made our pack a target—wealth and territory were a potent combination.
"His company is making aggressive moves toward our smaller subsidiaries," my financial advisor, Marcus, replied. "Offering buyouts to key personnel, trying to poach our best talent."
My jaw tightened. Victor's dual assault—on both pack territory and business holdings—was no coincidence. It was a calculated strategy to weaken us on all fronts. But something felt off about the timeline.
"His attack came too soon after..." I trailed off, unwilling to speak her name aloud in this setting. The memory of Alison's scent, a delicate mix of vanilla and something uniquely her, assaulted my senses. I closed my eyes briefly, fighting back the wolf's instinctive howl of loss.
"After the Alison incident," James finished diplomatically, exchanging knowing glances with the others.
They knew about Alison, but to them, she was just a human female who had mysteriously disappeared.
We'd spent the last couple of months searching for her with no luck.
They knew she was important to me; they just didn't know how important she was.
None of them knew about the deep connection I'd felt, the immediate recognition of my true Luna, of my fated mate.
None of them knew how completely I'd destroyed that connection with my own arrogance and suspicion.
"Victor mobilized quickly after she disappeared," I confirmed, refocusing. "Almost as if he knew she would leave."
My private investigator, Reynolds, cleared his throat. "I've reviewed all the surveillance footage from that period again, Alpha. There's no evidence that Alison was working with Victor."
"Yet she's nowhere to be found," I growled, feeling my eyes flash gold with frustration.
Three months of searching, using every resource at my disposal, and nothing.
It was as if she'd vanished from the face of the earth.
"I want the search parameters widened. International databases, facial recognition, everything. "
"Sir," Reynolds said carefully, "we've already—"
"Everything," I repeated, my tone brooking no argument. The wolf inside me paced restlessly, desperate to find our mate. "She can't have just disappeared."
The tension in the room thickened. My pack knew better than to question me directly, but I could smell their concern. Their Alpha was obsessed with finding a human woman who had likely just moved on with her life, unaware of what she truly meant to me.
"Moving on," I said, forcing myself to address the other issues at hand. "We need to strengthen our border patrols. Rotate the schedules unpredictably. And I want our best monitoring of Victor's communications."
The meeting continued, each lieutenant reporting on their area of responsibility.
I gave orders, made decisions, and played the role of the powerful Alpha.
But part of me—me-the most important part—wasn't there at all.
It was searching, always searching, for a woman with fiery eyes who had stood up to me even as I tore her dignity to shreds.
Once the meeting concluded, I retreated to my office, loosening my tie as I stared out at the skyline.
The moon was waning now, its pull weakening, but my restlessness remained.
I picked up the single photograph I had of her—a security camera still from the company lobby on her first day.
Even in that grainy image, her determination shone through.
"Where are you, little firecracker?" I whispered to the empty room.
A soft knock on the door interrupted my thoughts.
"Enter," I commanded, quickly returning the photo to its hidden drawer.
Victoria glided in, her perfectly styled blonde hair and designer dress a sharp contrast to the memory of Alison's simple elegance.
I knew she felt she had won the war. Alison was nowhere to be found, and she still had me.
I had kept our relationship because to end it would be to lose on two ends. I couldn't let that happen.
"Lucas, darling," she purred, approaching my desk with practiced grace. "You missed our dinner reservation."
I hadn't forgotten. I simply hadn't cared enough to show up.
"I was busy," I replied curtly.
Victoria's perfectly painted lips curved into a sympathetic smile that didn't reach her eyes. "You work too hard. Let me help you relax."
She moved around my desk, her hands finding my shoulders, beginning to massage the tension there.
Five months ago, I might have welcomed her touch.
Now, it felt wrong, foreign—like my skin itself rejected her.
She was the reason Alison was gone, the reason I was separated from my fated mate.
With her cunningness and spitefulness, she had driven her away from me, and I wasn't vigilant enough to catch it early on.
I caught her wrist, removing her hand from my shoulder. "Not now, Victoria."
A flash of irritation crossed her features before she masked it with concern. "You haven't been yourself for months, Lucas. Ever since that... incident with the girl."
My wolf growled at her dismissive tone, but I kept my expression neutral. "I have a lot on my mind."
"My father is asking questions about when we'll announce a date for the wedding," she pressed, leaning against my desk. "We had an agreement, Lucas."
"The wedding will happen when I decide it's time," I said, my tone final. "Not before."
Victoria's eyes narrowed slightly. "Is this about that Alison? She's gone, Lucas. Probably ran off with some other man by now."
The thought of Alison with another man made my wolf rage, claws scratching beneath my skin, demanding release. I gripped the edge of my desk so hard the wood creaked. I gave Victoria a look that told her it was best for her to leave, and she caught on to it immediately.
After she left, I loosened my tie further and poured myself a glass of whiskey, though the alcohol would have little effect on my werewolf metabolism. The burn was still satisfying as it went down.
I opened my laptop to check my schedule. Three board meetings tomorrow, a client pitch, and a pack training session in the evening. The weight of my responsibilities felt particularly heavy tonight.
A soft knock sounded, and James entered without waiting for permission—one of the few who could get away with such informality.
"You missed dinner," he said, placing a container on my desk. "Again."
I nodded in thanks, though food held little appeal these days. "Any news from the northern border?"
"All quiet," James replied, settling into the chair opposite me. "But that's not why I'm here."
I raised an eyebrow, waiting.
"The pack is concerned," he said bluntly. "You haven't been sleeping. You barely eat. You spend every free moment searching for this human woman."
"Her name is Alison," I corrected him, a growl underlying my words.
James held my gaze steadily. "Alison, then. Lucas, I've known you since we were pups. I've never seen you like this, not even when your father died."
I looked away, unwilling to acknowledge the truth in his observation.
"She's my mate, James," I said quietly, admitting what I'd only recently accepted myself. "My true mate."
James leaned forward, surprise evident in his expression. "You're certain? But Victoria—"
"Is a political match," I finished for him. "My wolf recognized Alison the moment I scented her. Even though the drugs Victor slipped me, I knew."
James was silent for a long moment.
"What will you do about Victoria?" he asked, shifting topics slightly.
I sighed, feeling the weight of pack politics pressing down. "I can't break the engagement without causing diplomatic issues. Not yet. Not until I find Alison and make her mine."
"And if you do find her?"
"When," I corrected firmly. "When I find her."
James nodded, accepting the correction. "When you find her. What then?"
I stood and walked to the window, gazing out at the city lights. "Then I'll make things right. I'll tell her everything—what I am, what she means to me. I'll spend the rest of my life making up for how I treated her."
"And if she rejects you?" James asked quietly. "Humans don't always understand our ways."
The question cut deep, touching my greatest fear. "Then I'll respect her choice," I said, though the words felt like broken glass in my throat. "But she'll have all the facts first."
James stood, clapping me on the shoulder. "Get some rest, Alpha. The pack needs you at full strength. Victoria might not be your true mate, but she's not wrong about one thing—you haven't been yourself."
After he left, I returned to my desk, opening the drawer to look at Alison's photo again. I would find her, no matter how long it took.
My phone rang—the special tone I'd assigned to Reynolds.
"Tell me," I answered without preamble.
"We're still looking," Reynolds reported, disappointment evident in his voice. "The facial recognition software flagged down two more women with similar features. There might be a glitch in the system."
I closed my eyes, absorbing yet another setback. "Keep looking. Widen the search to include all of Europe. And check for any connections to Victor Chen."
"Yes, Alpha. We'll find her."
After hanging up, I opened my calendar again, staring at the endless meetings and commitments stretching before me.
The company needed its CEO. The pack needed its Alpha.
But all I wanted was to howl my grief to the moon and search the world for the one person who had made me feel complete for the first time in my life.
A text from Victoria lit up my phone: Don't forget the charity gala tomorrow night. I've already had your tux pressed.
My jaw clenched. The performance of normalcy had to continue, even as I felt anything but normal. I texted back a simple acknowledgment, then set the phone aside.
Tomorrow would be another day of pretending—pretending I was whole, pretending I was focused, pretending I wasn't missing a vital piece of myself. I would smile for the cameras, shake hands with the donors, and dance with Victoria as expected.
And then I would return to my search, using every resource at my disposal to find the woman with fire in her eyes who had challenged me when no one else dared.
"I'll find you, Alison," I whispered to the empty room, a promise to her and to myself. "And when I do, I'll make things right."
The moon shone through my window, bathing the room in silver light. Somewhere beneath that same moon was my true mate, perhaps thinking of me with hatred, perhaps not thinking of me at all. But she was out there. And one day, she would know the truth.