Four: Mate

Shane’s POV

I left principal Barnett’s office with purposeful strides, heading towards my car in the parking lot.

It was against the school rules to give off a student's private information but as the Alpha of BlackMane, I was an exception to that rule. The principal had found her file and given me all of the information I needed, from her name to her age and even down to her home address. The urge to find her at her home was strong but I ignored it, knowing she may escape again.

I had no idea why she had looked at me in fear and shock before escaping. It wasn't the usual reaction I got from other women or even the female students. They were always openly ogling me and the few that were opportune to be in my presence did their best to get noticed but with her, it was different. She’d looked at me as though she regretted seeing me.

The thoughts made me frown deeply and they made Axel growl in annoyance but I pushed them down, choosing to believe that I must have startled her from my approach.

I marched to my car and got in to see Chase, my Beta on the driver’s seat. He’d been waiting for me in the car.

“How did…”

“I found her,” I cut him off mid-sentence. He frowned but then realization dawned on him and his eyes widened, locking on mine.

He knew about the dreams. Chase wasn’t just my second in command. He was also my best friend. I’ve known him since I was born as his father was a close friend of my dad and we’ve grown up together. He was the only one that knew of the dreams of the unknown woman that kept calling to me to save her.

“How? Where’s she?”

“She ran away,” I growled, a fresh bout of annoyance flooding my blood streams.

His frown deepened.

“What did you do”

“Nothing,”

You scared her. Axel said but I ignored him.

“I tried getting her attention but she bolted. She’s a student here and the principal was nice enough to tell me everything about her, including her name and home address.”

“Are we heading there now?”

“No.”

Yes!

Axel was getting more infuriated by the second but I wouldn’t let him rule my decision. I wasn’t just an alpha for the name alone. I was born into it and as such, I’d learned to be in sync with my wolf. Hence, I had some form of control over it and he couldn’t make me succumb to his wishes.

“As much as I want to go in search of her and as eager as I am to get to know her, I don’t want to scare her or have her run away from me again. That's why I want to assign you to her,”

Chase leaned back against the headrest, his eyes never leaving mine. One reason I loved Chase was because he was very loyal to me and would do my bidding without questioning because he knew I’d do the same for him. He was the only one I trusted with this job.

“You’ll be here to discuss the budget of the renovations with principal Barnett and you’ll also be here while the work is in progress. I want you to use that opportunity to keep an eye on her. The principal will show her to you and you must be very discreet about it. She must not find out that you’re watching her,”

“And how do you plan to reveal yourself to her again?”

“For now, I don’t know but just keep an eye on her. With time, I’ll know what to do. Now that I’ve found her, I don’t want to be careless and lose her,”

“Alright, I’ll do it,”

“Thank you,”

A grin stretched his lips and he flashed his brows at me.

“So you’re off the market now?”

“I’ve been off the market since I inhaled that scent in my dreams,”

“Mmm… So the women that have been sharing your bed all these while are…”

“Shut the fuck up and get your ass out of the car, Chase,” I slapped his head and he burst into a fit of laughter.

“Just saying…”

“If news of my previous escapades ever gets to her, I’ll cut off your balls and feed them to you,”

“All threats from a spineless bastard,” he muttered but was quick enough to get out of the car as I was preparing to punch him where it’ll hurt.

His resounding laughter sailed into my ears as I watched him round the car and made a love sign with his fingers, while grinning from ear to ear.

“Asshole,” I muttered under my breath but ignored him as I turned on the ignition and the car engine roared to life. I pulled out of the school compound, still consumed by the thoughts of the girl.

Anna, that was her name. It was a beautiful name for an enchanting girl like her. Although I’d only gotten a glimpse of her, those soulful dull-green eyes and the fearful look in them were going to be forever etched in my memory.

About twenty minutes later, I arrived at the pack house to meet one of the elders, Colton, in the company of a stranger I assumed was the foreign doctor I was expecting.

“Welcome, Alpha Shane,” Colton rose to his feet and bowed in respect. So did the stranger.

“Thank you, Colton,” I took my seat and they did the same. “You must be Dr. Nathan?”

“Yes, Alpha,” the stranger responded, a small smile stretching his lips.

“Welcome to BlackMane, Dr. Nathan,”

“It's a pleasure, Alpha,”

I looked at Colton.

“Is he here straight from the airport?”

“Yes. I’d driven down to bring him here. I thought you’d like to meet him and maybe discuss with him before we’d take care of his living arrangements,”

“That won’t be a problem, Alpha. I already made reservations at one of the hotels in town,”

“No, Doc. You’re my guest and I’ll be solely responsible for your living expenses while you’re here. One of the chambers here have been prepared for you and I also think it’ll be more convenient to have you here always, considering the job you’ve been hired for,”

The doctor nodded in agreement.

“That’ll be fine,”

“Good. If you’re ready, I’ll take you to see him,”

Again, he nodded and we rose to our feet. I led the way to my father’s chambers and the doctor followed me in while Colton remained at the door, out of respect for the sick alpha and to me.

“Here he is,”

The doctor took one look at my father, lying unconscious on the bed, looking sickly pale and frail. His brows knitted together in a frown.

“May I?”

“Of course,” I stretched my arm towards the bed, in consent.

I stepped back and he moved forward, leaning over the alpha’s sick form, feeling his temperature and then his pulse.

“His pulse is so weak and his temperature is so low. How long has it been this way?”

“For the past one year,”

He stilled, his eyes cutting to mine in astonishment but they returned to the sick man on the bed.

“He’s a very lucky man to still be holding onto life in this state.” he straightened his stance and turned to face me. “His case appears to be very severe but I’ll do my best to heal him,”

“How soon can you start?”

“Tomorrow, if that's fine with you,”

“Sure,”

Together, we exited the room to meet elder Colton at the door. 

“Thank you for your help, Colton,”

“It's all for the best interest of the alpha,” Colton responded but then, one of the sentinels that guarded the packhouse came running in.

“Alpha Shane…” His voice held a hint of urgency and I frowned.

“Excuse me, gentlemen, and Colton, please meet one of the maids and ask her to lead you to the chambers that have been prepared for the doctor,”

Without waiting for a response, I left with the guard and we moved into my home office.

“Speak up,”

He bowed his head.

“Another man has gone missing. He was taken this morning,”

The news of the missing man struck me with distress and a dreadful chill ran down my spine.

It wasn’t the first time someone has gone missing. In the past six months, we’ve lost more people to these strange attacks than we’ve lost to deaths. No one knew the whereabouts of the missing people, neither could we tell who was responsible for their disappearance. This issue was weighing heavily on me and as the Alpha of the pack, everyone was looking up to me to be their savior and to put an end to this.

“Where’s Kane?”

Kane was the chief guard and the one I’d put in charge of the town’s security, to post guards in every part of the town to ensure the safety of our people but in the past two days, three people have gone missing under his watch.

“He’s taken some guards with him to search for the missing man. Some trails were left behind on the scene,”

My jaw clenched as anger and frustration seethed through me. 

“As soon as he’s back, send him to me,”

The guard bowed before leaving. I paced the large office space, wondering how I was going to solve this case. I had no doubt that if it was my dad, he’d have found a solution to this issue and ensured his people’s safety but the longer it took for me to find a solution, the more it dawned on me that I may soon lose the respect of the pack members and they’d start seeking to find a better qualified leader.

Maybe I wasn’t cut out to be a leader?