Chapter Ten
John
I was in my office discussing the future of the pack with George when a woman suddenly barged in.
“How did you get in here?” George asked, visibly alarmed that a woman, who was clearly a human, would boldly walk into wolf territory uninvited. I was equally surprised considering the pack’s attitude toward them.
The woman was sweating profusely, and her breaths came out, hurried and heavy. She had been running, but from whom, I wondered. Or what? She ignored George’s questions and strode to my desk. She placed her hands on my desk, trying to catch her breath to speak.
“You said you would protect us,” she managed in a breathy, raspy voice, her eyebrows narrowed as she glared at me. “You are doing a shitty job at that.”
“Who are you?” George asked more firmly, demanding the woman’s attention.
She looked at George. “I’m Mera,” she said. Turning back to me, she said, “Kara’s friend.”
I sprung up to my feet immediately when I heard her name. “Did something happen? Where is she?”
“I saw them from afar,” Mera said. “From the woods. It was one of the three wolves that came earlier and threatened us. The bigger one.”
“Warwick,” George muttered.
I tried to remember Warwick’s face. He was one of the three wolves that rushed in while Paul and I were in a heated conversation with the self-proclaimed alpha.
“He is nothing but trouble,” George added.
“They put a collar around her neck. There was another man, but he was a human,” Mera said. “They took Kara and Sophia away in a van.”
“Hold on. Who is Sophia?” I asked.
“She’s one of the women impregnated by the wolves, whom Kara saved.”
“Warwick is claiming the pub as his own,” George said under his breath and sighed.
“We have to find them,” I said.
“How? They could be anywhere. Warwick knows this city more than the rest of us. He can easily disappear to anywhere,” George said.
“We will do whatever it takes to find them.” I turned to Mera. “What else can you tell us that would help?”
“There was a huh…another vehicle. A black SUV. It followed the van.”
“Did you catch the plates?”
Mera shook her head. “I was too far away, so there was no way I could see it clearly.”
“How about the human. Did you recognize him?”
“Yes, I did,” she said assuredly.
“Okay. Do we have anyone on the police force we can trust?” I asked, turning to George.
“No. Most of them are corrupt, loyal to the previous alpha.” George cleared his throat, and I noticed his hesitation before he said the next thing. “I do have a brother though, Philip. He works for the FBI.”
“With a human antagonist involved, it’s no longer just wolf matter. We will need the law involved. Contact your brother.”
“On it,” George said.
“Introduce Mera to Philip so she can help him profile the human. While we will do our best to find Warwick, Philip can help us find the human. That way we will be working on two fronts, and we will get to Kara and Sophia sooner.” When I finished talking, the room was quiet for a minute. Mera and George were staring at me and I couldn’t tell what exactly the expression on their faces was. It did look like respect.
George nodded. It was a kind of nod you’d give a leader you believed so much in. It felt good. He glanced at Mera briefly before leaving the room.
I walked around my desk to meet Mera and I embraced her. “You were brave. You did good,” I said to her. She held on to me tightly. Her heart was beating fast, I could hear it loudly and I could feel it against my chest.
“She believes you are different. A good wolf,” she said. “Don’t let her down.” Her words were like cold water touching my skin, gripping. I was getting emotional. We’d only met once, but Kara had become too important to me, like my second half. I guessed that was what mating was like.
“I will get her back. I promise,” I said and I meant it. I would do anything in my power to get her back.