Chapter 59
RILEY.
It had been five days since she left, and I still had no clue where she was.
If there was anything new, Benedict Solange seemed to have nothing to do with her disappearance. He just went about his daily business and was never seen doing anything suspicious. But I wondered if he was the one who sent me the envelope or if it was Nadia’s uncle.
Darvin told me that he was released from prison and was banished from the pack. He had no idea where he was. I had also sent trackers for him, but there had been no news. Like Nadia, he had just disappeared into thin air.
I was trying to get by and hold on to the only thing that was keeping me sane—Nadia’s scent.
I tried to lock her scent in our bedroom and had not let anyone in, even to clean up.
But it was still meticulously tidy. I didn’t want to trample the last place she was in and kept everything in place except for her clothes, which were my steady companion wherever I would lie down in our bed.
But no matter how I tried to seal in her scent, it was slowly fading.
I was slowly losing the only thing that had been keeping me calm all these days.
Days were spent looking for her, but the nights were harder without her. Sleep hardly came. I would lie awake and think of all the wrong things I’d done.
I wish I had slept on it before I confronted her. I wish I hadn’t let it get to me. I wish I could have just laughed it off with her.
If I did, maybe we were already planning her Luna ceremony.
Maybe I would still wake up with her sprawled out on top of me.
Maybe she would still pepper me with kisses and attack me with hugs.
Maybe I wouldn’t be wallowing in pain and guilt.
Maybe then, the only time I would miss her would be for just a few hours.
The packhouse seemed hollow and dull. It had been empty without her.
Dominic was right. Nadia was by far the best thing that happened to me.
She was the only pop of color in my fucked-up life, and I pushed her away.
But no matter how much I was struggling, I refused to succumb this time.
I woke up each morning with a new hope that I would find her while making sure I never abandoned my pack.
As much as I tried to suppress the news that Nadia wasn’t around, I couldn’t stop it. My people were already noticing her absence. I knew that soon they would find out that she had left and that they didn’t have a Luna anymore, and that it was all my fault.
I was in my office making a few calls. I finally decided to swallow my pride and ask for help from nearby packs. I had sent them pictures of Nadia, hoping to get some news soon.
I closed my eyes and leaned my back against my chair. I should get going. I had a meeting to attend within the territory, but I just wanted to rest for a few seconds. I haven’t had a decent sleep in the last five days. And although my body could take it, my mind was already tired.
“Alpha,” My Beta’s voice snapped me from my own thoughts and made me open my eyes. I didn’t even hear him knock or open the office door. “Lady Katarina is on her way here from the border. She wishes to speak with you, and I allowed her entrance.”
I nodded my head. I should have expected this. Darvin might have already told her, or she might have heard somewhere that Nadia had left.
I wondered if she would tell me where I could find her, or if she would be as clueless as I was.
A knock came, and I immediately let them in. Lady Katarina came in first, followed by Lady Sofia.
The rage in Katarina’s eyes wasn’t easy to miss. I had never seen that look on her face. If anything, this female avoided looking me in the eyes.
But not this time.
“Alpha, should I leave you alone with the females, or do you want me to stay?” Beta Dominic asked once they were all inside.
I was about to tell him he could stay, but Katarina beat me to it.
“Please stay, Beta Dominic. I want you to hear whatever I say to your Alpha.”
I couldn’t help my brow from arching. I didn’t miss the hostility in her voice.
My Beta looked at me, waiting for my instruction, and I just nodded my head. He acknowledged and then proceeded to close the door before moving towards the other side of the office, guiding Lady Sofia to a seat by the couch, as Katarina refused to move from her spot.
“Why are you here?” I would have asked her in a different, more courteous manner, but I cut the bullshit. She was angry with me, and I wanted her to get straight to the point.
She swallowed before she tilted her head higher. She was standing three meters away from my desk, in the middle of my office. “Why did Nadia leave? What did you tell her?”
“I don’t think that’s any of your business. This is between my mate and me.”
“You have got to be kidding me, Alpha Riley! Nadia is my best friend, and I know she would never leave this place unless you told her you no longer wanted her.”
It was my turn to swallow. Everyone kept telling me that Nadia would never leave me unless I told her to go.
“I want to know,” she added.
My eyes darted to my Beta. He dropped his gaze to the floor before sending a mindlink.
‘Show her the letter. She might give you answers, and we might get clues from there.’
I was already ashamed of my actions, and showing her the letter would only add to the embarrassment I already felt due to my poor judgment, but he was right. Perhaps Katarina could clarify some things I was unaware of.
I opened the drawer and pulled out the letter I received from the anonymous sender, together with the pictures of Nadia and Benedict, and slid them onto my desk.
She went and checked the pictures without touching them, and it didn’t slip my eyes the way her brow furrowed at those pictures, but I couldn’t read her emotions.
She then picked up the folder letter and moved back to her spot before opening and reading it.
Once she was done, she raised the letter in the air and looked me in the eyes.
Her eyes were mocking me as she scoffed.
“So you believed this. You actually believed this over Nadia? Let me read this part so Sofia can hear it too.” She swallowed before she read it out loud.
“Once Nadia found out that she was fated and marked by the Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack, she and Benedict started to roll out their plan to get the most out of her mate. She made it appear that she was gone for three months and pretended she was abducted to get your attention. To make you believe she was innocent. But Nadia was far from innocent. She and Benedict were still together, just waiting for the moment she could have access to all your accounts and properties. And then she’ll be gone.
Did you ever wonder why she didn’t want a Luna ceremony?
Because she didn’t want to seal the deal with you.
You sheltered a conniving bitch. You should hear how she laughed at you because she knows she got you wrapped around her fingers. She’s making a fool out of you.”
She scoffed again. “You make a fool out of yourself, Alpha. Nadia is far from that. Did you ever get to know her? Maybe you didn’t.
Because you would have known that you were her only saving grace.
That this was the only place she felt she was safe.
This was the only place she felt that everyone was out to protect her. ”
Her tears started to fall, but she didn’t stop talking. “Maybe you didn’t know that she was only sixteen when her uncle started sending her on dates and presenting her to older males looking for a mate.”
My hands coiled into fists as my heart clenched at her words. But she wasn’t done torturing me.
“... that I have to use my brother’s power to take her out of those miserable dates.
I would have warriors follow them and interrupt them, telling them that the Alpha wishes to speak with her to scare those males off.
But when I couldn’t help her, she would find ways to run away from them.
She would end up getting slapped by her uncle whenever that happened, but Nadia remained strong.
She took it all. And you know what? She kept saying she had nothing to offer her mate.
That her mate would eventually see she was nothing special, but still, she kept herself intact for him, for you, because that was all she could give you.
I couldn’t believe you were an asshole, and yet she still loves you.
She wanted nothing but to be your Luna, Alpha Riley.
She worked hard for it. Nadia is tough, but she’s insecure when it comes to you.
She doesn’t even want to make a single mistake, so you wouldn’t think she was a bad choice as a mate and a Luna.
I kept reminding her that she’s special, but she wouldn’t hear it.
And now, I’m sure she’s probably thinking again that she’s a waste of space.
That even her own mate doesn’t want her. Thanks to you.”
Katarina stepped forward and threw the letter back on the desk.
“Here, read it every day. I hope this letter reminds you how foolish you are to believe some coward hiding behind this paper rather than the only female who stood and fought for you. I will find Nadia. And if by the grace of the Goddess I find her before you do, I will make sure you will never see her again.”