~Zahara~ My head is killing me. It is pounding away, and I’m not sure why. I start to move and quickly stop when my neck starts to radiate pain. What the hell is going on?Aria……..? There is no response, and my mindlink is coming up empty. I take a deep breath and move around again, trying to ignore the pain that comes with it. I feel something soft underneath me, but the room doesn’t smell familiar. “So you’re awake….” A soft voice breaks through the darkness. I don’t recognize the voice or the accompanying scent. I open my eyes, and everything is blurring. I blink a few times to try to get my eyes adjusted to the darkness that surrounds me. I look and find there is a couch underneath me. I guess I should be happy that I’m not outside somewhere. Across from me is an armchair that is occupied by a body. I try to focus on the chair and start to take in some features. There is definitely a woman sitting across from me; red hair in disarray, dull green eyes, and pale
~Cory~ I finally enter my office, and everyone is waiting on me. Frankie is locked in the cells, and Justin is out with warriors, waiting for Len to come back to the pack. They will both be in the cells as well, but I need to make sure I can get to Len. Len and Frankie’s punishment are already written, but I’m not quite sure what to do with Justin. Now isn’t the time to worry about that, though. I need to get my mate back, and in order to do that, I have to go back home. “Where is she? Where’s my bean?” Alpha Byron is sitting next to Luna Amara on the couch. The Luna is devastated, weeping into the Alpha’s shoulder. Bryn and Lennox are standing behind the chairs that are across from me at the desk. I sigh and place both hands on the desk, leaning forward to address everyone. “She is at the Wild Tail Pack.” I fill them in on all that I learned, and I can see Alpha Bryon getting angrier and angrier the more I speak. Luna Amara is ignoring her own pain to t
~Cory~ The silence stretches on, and I wonder if I lost the call. Before I can check, I hear maniacal laughter. “You…..you are challenging me?! You are weak as hell!” The laughter continues, and my grip on the phone is getting tighter and tighter. I wish I could rip his throat out right now. “Are you done?” I huff out in impatience. The laughter stops, and it becomes silent on the other end of the phone. “You’re serious, aren’t you? I can’t……fine. If that is how you want to die, then so be it.” I have so much to say, but I can’t form the words. I quickly hang up the phone and try to breathe. I just want to run over there and rip Laslo’s throat out. I want Zahara back in my arms, and I don’t want to have to wait. “We need to contact the elders and inform them of this conversation. I believe they left some people on site at the Wild Tail Pack so I’m not sure how he was able to get Zahara on the grounds without them being aware.” Alpha Byron is t
~Nona~ She…..she’s an Alpha?! I snatch myself away from her at the news, and she looks disturbed by that. I can’t believe there is an Alpha locked in here with me. I wonder if she is some type of plant by Laslo….a way to keep better tabs on me. “Are you okay?” Am I okay? Does she even truly care how I am? If she’s an Alpha, how did she get caught in the first place, and why hasn’t she made a way out yet? I don’t respond but eye her suspiciously. “I won’t hurt you, you know.” I scoff at that claim. “You won’t hurt me?! Youa re an Alpha just like him. For all I know, you are working with him. Everyone knows that Alphas stay together.” A look of genuine hurt crosses her face. “There are Alphas that do stick together, but I’m not like that. I make sure that all of my members are cared for and treated appropriately. I’m not working with Laslo, I was kidnapped by him.” Zahara gets up and starts to walk to the window. “I met him back in high school and
By the time our people got set up and got the drones going, it was early morning. The Wild Tail territory is pretty expansive, and it would take a while to get the footage we need. We are recording the footage, but the men on the ground are also checking the footage live. We are trying to find where the cabin is, as well as where the guards are throughout the territory. I barely slept during the night, extremely anxious about my mate. I know I need to rest up and be prepared to get her back, but it’s hard to be without my mate right now. Lennox chose to take over morning training, and I’m grateful for that. I don’t think I could be focused on training, and I’m not skilled enough to take Zahara’s spot. I go through the day in a funk. I try to focus on some of the work that Zahara had on her desk, but it is all Greek to me. I have been training with Luna Amara and then Alpha Byron. I know some of the ins and outs of running a pack, but I could use a lot m
~Nona~ I creep down the hall that leads to the front of the house. I was up using the restroom when I heard a sound. It was a soft clicking, and if I had been asleep, I wouldn’t have heard it. I try not to go too far down the hall because I don’t want my scent detected too soon. I bet my mate is here, but I don’t hear any voices. I stop walking and stretch out a bit to see around the wall, and I was right. Laslo is sitting in the armchair across from the couch where Zahara is asleep. He is just sitting there, watching her. It is actually pretty creepy, and it makes me wonder if he has ever done that to me. He has. Nero has mentioned it a few times when he has been trying to talk to me. A shudder goes down my spine. How creepy is it to know that someone has sat and just watched you sleep? It’s different if it were after a lovemaking session and one party wakes up early and basks in your radiance. We are talking about creeping through a house in the dead
~Laslo~ My anger is taking over, and I can feel Zahara’s breath leave her. I could snap her neck right now and end her life. A part of me would be satisfied if I were to do so, but the bigger part of me needs her by my side. I use my free hand and stroke Zahara’s face while I squeeze tighter with my other hand. I feel Zahara’s body go limp in my hand, and I let her fall to the floor. A warrior walks up to us and injects Zahara as she lies on the ground. Another warrior is carrying Nona’s limp body down the hallway. This is not how I wanted things to go. I definitely didn’t think that I would be found. They were smart enough to fly drones over my territory, and I feel stupid not considering that to be a possibility. I follow the warriors out of the cabin, and we make our way across the forest. “Did you get the two that the elders left?” “Yes, sir, they are enroute as well.” I nod in acknowledgment and watch my group head out to my
~Lennox~ I send men after Laslo, but I know they will come up empty. He was ready for us; he had time to move Zahara. This pack is lost to Laslo, so I don't hesitate to send warriors on a search. I want anything and everything that may be a clue or may have to do with where he could be. Cory's anger was already building from the moment we found Laslo in here alone. I know it's only a matter of time before he flips out completely. Because of Zahara's scent, Cory searches the room we found Laslo in. Wherever she is now, she spent some time in this room. The more Cory searches, the more prominent the changes become. I can see fur sprouting from his arms and legs. I notice that his claws are coming out. I mindlink the team to leave the cabin at once, and I take a step out of the room. I make it just in time to see the TV ripped from the wall and flung across the room. Most of the furniture follows the same fate. The books are being ripped in ha