Chapter 15
Finding Her
Romero
My elbow rests against the edge of the Rider’s window while my gaze keeps sweeping the roadside, searching for Brianna’s figure, as if sheer focus alone might will her into sight.
I went back to the Southern Star Club, but the result was bleak. Brianna never returned, and Mr. Moris was gone. All I can do now is hope the money I promised him is enough to make sure he brings her back to me.
“Alpha Romero, the packhouse just called. They’re asking for us. Everyone invited to the meeting has arrived and they’re waiting for you.”
I let out a long breath. Beta Julius hasn’t been much help in finding Alexa either. Brianna, Alexa, whatever her name truly is, it no longer matters. I want only one thing, to see that girl again and claim her properly, with a true mating ceremony.
“Yeah. Let’s head home first,” I say.
At my command, Beta Julius turns the vehicle around and pushes the Rider harder.
Once the meeting is over and pack matters are settled, I plan to search Southern Star again. Maybe I need to comb the streets at a slower pace. Maybe I should stop using the Rider altogether so I can track her scent more easily.
I don’t care what Julius or the rest of the family says. There’s no way I’m letting go of the mate the Moon Goddess destined for me. I refuse to give up my chance at eternal happiness.
When I was a child, I underestimated the importance of having a mate. My father ruled the pack just fine with a chosen partner, so I believed the bond was optional.
Alpha Gregory Blackmoore, my father, once met his true mate. He told me about it when I hit puberty, a single night of passion he claimed he would remember for the rest of his life.
But I know the truth he never said out loud. He regretted letting her go. He spent his entire life chasing the shadow of that woman, right up until his dying breath. He never truly saw me as a blessing, because I wasn’t born from his deepest desire.
No. I won’t share his fate. I won’t grow old, hollow and restless, because I failed to fight for my true mate. Now that I’ve found her, I refuse to let her slip away. I won’t repeat my father’s tragedy.
Why sacrifice sanity and lifelong happiness just because of impatience? The ancestors of the First Light Pack were too proud and too lazy to leave their territory in search of their mates. I won’t follow that foolish tradition.
This time, I will claim my happiness with Brianna. If I don’t fight for it, no one will.
“Pick it up, Julius,” I say. “We need to get there fast, wrap this up, and head back out. The sooner we’re done, the sooner we start looking for Brianna again.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
Julius obeys, channeling more of his magic into the Rider. The engine roars, and the vehicle shoots forward, slicing through the wind like a bullet.
That day passes in hollow, meaningless fragments. The clock on the external communication screen blinks nine-thirty p.m. My head throbs from thinking too hard all day, and Julius looks no better after burning through his energy driving the Rider since morning.
Then an external message comes in. I open it on my laptop.
My eyebrows shoot up the instant I read it. A notification confirms a one hundred thousand dollar transaction deposited into the First Light Pack’s account under the name Julius Borne, my Beta. The sender is Beta Drake Dawson.
I pull up the bounty announcement from this morning and reread it, my suspicion locking into place. Beta Drake Dawson is listed as the contact for information on Alexa Dawson’s whereabouts.
“Alpha Romero, everything’s done,” Julius says as he steps into my office.
He freezes at the doorway, sensing the crushing dominance aura flooding the room. My blood surges. Under that pressure alone, Julius bows his head and drops to his knees.
“I say you kill that traitor now,” Johan hisses inside my mind.
“Why did you tell them about Brianna?” I demand.
He keeps silent for a minute. His body trembles.
“I made a mistake, Alpha. Please forgive me,” he says, his voice shaking.
“You haven’t answered me,” I growl, my breath rough as I rein in my rage.
“I thought she wasn’t fit to be our Luna,” he blurts, lowering himself flat to the floor. “Please forgive me, my lord.”
“That was never your call, Beta,” I say coldly, putting weight on the title. “The Moon Goddess has already decided.” I shake my head.
I bare my fangs as I continue. “You’re sentenced to one month of labor in the lab, and you’ll return every cent of that money to Beta Drake.” I take a step toward him, my glare cutting sharp. “For every coin you keep from this stunt, I’ll put a silver dagger in your chest.”
“Yes, Alpha. Forgive me,” Julius says, trembling.
“Now tell me what did you tell them. And don’t you dare lie to me,” I snap.
He gulps in a moment of silence before opening his mouth. “I told them that I saw Miss Dawson working at Southern Star Club as a server last night.”
That’s bad. If they really chase her to the club, they might ask Mr. Moris about her before I can find her. That old man still hasn’t picked up my call or responded to my warning about the bounty. The tightness in my chest doesn’t ease for a second.
“I don’t care if you pass out afterward. Channel everything you’ve got into the Rider and get me to Southern Star. Now.”
We race out to the front yard. Julius activates the Rider, pouring all his remaining power into it as we tear toward Southern Star in record time. I hate to ride with the traitor, but this fastest Rider in the pack is still locked with him as the driver. It will take too long to change the driver.
Less than an hour later, we arrive. Julius pulls over along the roadside in front of the club.
I still have plenty of energy left. Julius doesn’t. He sits pale and hollow-eyed behind the wheel, one breath away from collapse.
“Stay here. Clear?” I say.
“Yes, Alpha,” he answers, breathless, swallowing hard.
I sprint toward the club entrance, drawing in deep breaths as I search for Brianna’s scent. Nothing. I stride up to the receptionist in the lobby.
“Where’s Brianna?” I ask.
“Alpha Romero, it’s an honor to meet you,” she starts.
“I need to see her,” I cut in.
“I... I don’t know,” she says, biting her lip.
I snarl under my breath and head straight for the kitchen, the same place I cornered her last night. The cooks shout after me, but when I demand Brianna’s whereabouts, they tell me she already left.
I spin around and head back toward the front, scanning the sidewalk outside. Nothing. There’s a narrow, shadowed alley between the club and the building next door.
I pause. Faint voices drift out. I close my eyes and sharpen my wolf’s hearing. A woman’s voice, high and tense. A man’s voice close to her.
There’s no mistake. That’s Brianna. But the man isn’t Mr. Moris or Alpha Alastair.
I move down the alley until two figures take shape ahead of me, standing too close for comfort. Their voices echo softly off the brick walls. Without hesitation, I surge forward, cutting through the darkness as my wolf’s eyes glow sharp and clear.
“Brianna?” I call.
She startles and spins around. Moonlight spills over her face, revealing the girl I’ve been hunting for.
“Alpha Romero?” she says, stunned.
A grin spreads across my face. I’ve found my mate. A relieved breath fills my lungs when I finally find her. But then my smile falters.
There’s another man standing behind her. No Alpha would ever welcome the sight of his mate pressed into a narrow, dark alley with an unknown male. The closeness twists something dark and possessive inside my chest. Rage swirls in my gut, flaring up all the restlessness I’ve carried all day.
“Who’s he, Brianna?” I ask, my voice low and dangerous. “Is he bothering you?”
“You’re the one bothering us,” the man says with a lazy shrug.
“I’ve got every right,” I thunder. “She’s my mate.”