Chapter 42

BETA XAVIER

As I arrived at the pack borders, I saw our best warriors and trackers waiting for me.

“Beta Costa, we’ve got intel on the missing girl’s location,” one of the trackers informed me as I briefly glanced at Marquez.

“The girl is alive?” I asked him.

He nodded his head.

“Tell me more,” I told the tracker.

He stepped forward and showed me his phone. There were pictures of the camp. There were three tents forming a semicircle, and in the center, there was a cage with at least five girls.

My blood boiled when I saw the girls huddled together in fear.

“This camp is about three hours from our pack. We scouted last night, and it looked like they were packing to leave, Beta Costa.”

“What should we do?” one of the warriors asked me.

“Gather our allies. Bring them home, and make sure the rogues are dead,” I commanded.

I saw Benjamin lingering in the background. He was useful on our last mission. I don’t trust him completely, but I guess he’s trying to prove himself and I think it’s time I give him a second chance. After all, he was my best warrior and a good friend before all the drama.

“Benjamin,” I called when he looked at me with alarm. “You will lead this group. Bring the girls home safe.”

“Thank you, Beta Costa,” he said, sounding delighted.

I looked at the warriors to confirm no one objected.

“Best of luck,” I said and the warriors nodded their heads as they ran into no-man’s territory.

Groups like this existed in nearly every part of town. They usually operated in small packs of five to eight rogues.

We’d already taken down three such groups in the past year, and while I was relieved we'd found the missing girl, I had more urgent matters to deal with now. I still needed to find the rogues who were trying to kill Eleanor.

ELEANOR

As I arrived at Samuel’s office, I knocked on his door and waited until I heard his voice.

“Come in.”

I pushed open the door and walked in to see Rebecca there as well. I was shocked when Xavier informed me that the rogue Ivan was meeting was actually his mate. I was relieved that he wasn’t a traitor, and I was happy for him.

I was officially meeting Rebecca for the first time. I met her in passing at her initiation ceremony, but Samuel took that lead on that so he could calm any worries from pack members about her previous rogue status.

“You wanted to see me?” I asked him.

He nodded his head and gestured for me to take a seat.

“Rebecca here came to ask me if she could join the patrol,” Samuel began. “And I agreed, but I thought that she might feel more comfortable on duty with you. Would you spare some time to go on patrol with her until she becomes familiar with the territory?” Samuel asked me.

“Sure, I would love to. But you know I’m not that great in combat skills.”

“I’m not planning to send you two alone, Eleanor. That would definitely not be a good idea. I’ve already assigned a warrior to go with you,” Samuel said.

“When can we begin?”

“I’ll inform you two about your schedule,” he said.

We nodded our heads and got up from our seats.

“Thank you so much, Alpha Derek,” Rebecca said.

He nodded his head. Both of us left his office, and as soon as the door was closed, Rebecca turned around to face me.

“I’m Eleanor,” I introduced myself.

“Rebbeca. Ivan has talked a lot about you,” she said, and I smiled.

I was glad that he wasn’t upset that I was suspicious of him.

“I’m happy to see a new face in the pack. When are you planning your mating ceremony?” I asked her.

“Soon,” she answered as we took a left and walked into the empty hallway.

“How is mated life treating you?” I asked Rebecca as I began walking toward my office with her beside me.

“We haven’t actually done anything yet,” Becca quickly said.

“You expect me to believe that?” I asked her with an arched eyebrow.

I mean, when I first met the two of them earlier, I felt the sexual tension in the air, and it was a wonder that they hadn’t jumped on each other’s bones yet.

“That’s the truth. Apparently, Ivan and his mother have family traditions that they want to follow.”

“Oh?”

“You can only complete the mating bond after the mating ceremony is over,” Becca said in a dejected tone.

“And it looks like someone is getting sexually frustrated?” I joked as a smile formed on her face.

“No, even though I was a little disappointed, I will never disobey his mom’s wishes. I never had a family, and now that I have her and Ivan, I’m ready to do whatever to be a part of their family. Even if I had to wait for a year, I would.”

“You are truly a different species,” I mumbled as I reached my office. I pushed open the door and walked in.

“Forget about me. So when did your mating ceremony happen?” Becca asked me.

I froze for a moment at the question.

“I…we…didn’t have one yet,” I hesitantly replied.

“Why?” Rebecca asked me with a look of confusion.

I began fidgeting with my fingers. Even though Xavier and I are on good terms now, we haven’t talked about a mating ceremony.

“Just a little complicated,” I vaguely answered.

“Oh, I’m sorry if I’m a little nosy, Eleanor. I…”

“No, that’s all right. My relationship with Xavier is a little complicated, but I know we’ll have a ceremony one day,” I said.

Rebecca walked toward me and placed her hand on my shoulder. “Yes, and I’ll sign up to be one of your bridesmaids.”

“Okay,” I said as I smiled.

She pulled me into a hug. Even though it was still early in our friendship, I have a feeling that Rebecca and I will be very close in the future. “Call me Ellie,” I told her.

“Call me Becca,” she insisted and I nodded my head.

~Knock, knock.~

We quickly pulled back, and I glanced up at the clock. It was eleven o’clock.

Oh no. I completely forgot about my appointment.

“Becca, I have a meeting with a couple soon. Can we catch up later?” I asked.

A confused look crossed her face.

“You didn’t read the names of the couple you’re going to meet today, did you?”

“No, I was so focused on all the paperwork I forgot. Maybe it’s time to hire a personal assistant,” I said.

The door opened, and I saw Ivan standing there.

“What are you doing here?”

“Rebecca and I are here for our appointment. Is now still a good time?” he asked, and this made me facepalm.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” I asked Becca as Ivan walked into my office and closed the door behind him.

“I thought you knew,” she said.

I waved my hand and gestured for them to take a seat while I sat behind my desk.

“Okay, so when are you planning to host your mating ceremony?” I asked them as I took out my book to jot down my notes.

“About three weeks from now,” Ivan answered.

After that, I began asking basic questions, and time flew by with us discussing their upcoming mating ceremony.

Once the meeting was over, I went back to Xavier’s house where I saw the lights were all turned on.

“Xavier? Are you home?” I called out as I walked inside.

“I’m in the kitchen.”

I closed the door and walked to the kitchen.

As I walked inside, I saw him place a steaming bowl of pasta on the table.

“What’s the special occasion?” I asked him with a smile as I took a seat.

“I wanted to cook for my mate. We haven’t been able to spend much time together and thought it would be nice,” he answered.

“That’s wonderful, Xavier. Thank you.” I sat at the table and started eating.

“How did your meeting with the warriors go?” I asked him.

“Do you remember the girl who was kidnapped a few weeks ago?” he asked me, and I nodded my head.

“Well, we found her.”

“She’s alive?” I asked him, shocked.

He nodded his head. “We are in the process of getting her back and the rogues who did this will be dealt with,” he said.

I felt an eerie coldness come over my heart. Even if she was rescued, I can’t imagine what she must’ve gone through.

“She will go through therapy, and the pack doctors will take care of her,” Xavier consoled me when I realized that I was crying.

His arms wrapped around my shoulder as he pulled me into a hug.

UNKNOWN

“You know, I could have made myself a ring out of those diamonds. But you gave it to that fucking rogue, and now look who has it,” my wife grumbled.

She was getting on my nerves.

“Would you shut up!” I growled.

“I told you we were going to get caught, so why did you insist on going there?” she asked me.

“I wanted to show that son of a bitch that he can never catch me even if he tries,” I said. “And I think I proved my point.”

“Well, I think it was a stupid move,” she said, and this made me curl my hand into fists.

“Can you please stop talking?” I snapped.

She looked at me, surprised. “What did I do?”

“You’re driving me crazy,” I said, rubbing my temples.

“I’m just trying to help,” she replied, her voice trembling.

“Well, you’re not,” I retorted. “Just be quiet for a minute.”

She fell silent, her eyes wide with hurt.