The Hunted Wolf – Chapter 42

MARK The whole world seemed to stop around me for a moment as Zayla’s words sunk in. If Adira was pregnant, that meant that I was going to be a father. I hadn’t really thought about what that meant exactly. I had just been so focused on trying to start my future with Adira, but I didn’t really know what that meant. I loved her and wanted to be with her. She was my family, and I never wanted that to change. I knew I wanted a future with her, and one day I wanted kids, but I didn’t anticipate that day to come so soon.

If it came. I had to get Adira back before a future with her could start. This was so much more now than just saving my mate. I had to save my mate to save my pup too. The world was spinning suddenly, and I needed a moment. I stumbled back and sat in the patient’s chair behind me.

“Pregnant?” I repeated, still absorbing the information. I knew what that meant, but somehow it didn’t feel real.

“You didn’t know,” Zayla said.

I shook my head slowly. “No, she didn’t say anything. Do you think she knew?”

“It’s possible. It depends on how far along she is. It’s possible she didn’t know. Is this something she would have kept from you, Alpha?” Zayla asked.

My eyes snapped up at hers. “Adira wouldn’t lie to me about something like that.”

Zayla put her hands up defensively. “I just thought I should ask. I don’t know if this is something you guys have talked about. Perhaps she was afraid to tell you if she thought you might not want kids.”

“I love kids,” I said quickly. “I still feel like one myself sometimes, but I want a family one day.” I paused for a moment, realizing this wasn’t a conversation Adira and I ever had. We talked about living a peaceful life, and her becoming the luna. We talked about growing the wolf pack, but we never talked about growing our family. I didn’t even know if she wanted kids herself. Maybe she knew, but she was too afraid to bring it up.

“Damn,” I said as a realization hit me. “She wanted to talk to me about something. She didn’t say what, but I ended up getting pulled away with pack business. I never did get back to her.” My heart hurt at the thought. My mate needed me at that moment, but I couldn’t give her even a few minutes. If she knew she was pregnant, she would have been dealing with this on her own. I should’ve been there for her.

I ran my fingers through my hair, frustrated at myself. Adira was pregnant and alone. I couldn’t protect her or my family, and she had to deal with all of the emotional implications on her own. The anger started building inside of me again. I had to find her and protect her and my pup.

Zayla put her hand on my shoulder. “We’ll get them back, Alpha. None of this is your fault.”

I looked up at Zayla, my walls slowly breaking down. She wasn’t the type to comfort others, so this meant more coming from her. After taking a deep breath, I stood up, knowing nothing would get done if I just sat there.

“I should get going. Thanks, Zay. Keep me updated on any progress with that serum.”

Zayla nodded. “Of course, Alpha.”

I left the room, deciding to check on the progress with the search parties. I felt a little lost with how to proceed at the moment. I had a feeling Cain was involved in the kidnapping, but I didn’t know how to go about finding him. I didn’t know anything about him, which made it harder to know where to look for him.

I found Darian, Reyland, Mason, and Rie discussing the paths for the search parties outside. They were in the tent we had set up for warrior meetings outside. It was big enough to hold all the warriors currently residing at the pack house, but only the four of them were there at the moment.

“We should expand the area of searching,” Reyland said, pointing at the white board that had information written all over it. “If we start here and slowly bridge out, it will take too much time to find Adira.”

“I understand that, but we don’t have the resources to expand any further than this at the moment,” Darian said. “And if there is a chance she is being held nearby, we can’t risk missing anything.”

“It would make no sense for them to keep her near here, though. They have to know we are going to search for her. They planned everything out too meticulously to make such a simple mistake,” Mason argued.

“Unless that’s exactly what they would expect from us. What if they want to hide in plain sight?” Rie countered.

It was clear this conversation wasn’t going anywhere. “This conversation doesn’t seem to be getting us anywhere. Is there any kind of compromise we can make?” I desperately wanted to side with Reyland. I wanted to do whatever it took to find Adira, but I knew that was just my emotions raging currently.

Rie nodded. “Reyland is right, but Darian makes a good point. Until we have more werewolves to help with the search, we have to be careful. Maybe we can have one group searching farther out so we can try to cover more obscure areas. Hopefully, Scythe and Percy can figure out what’s going on with Pack Sallow and get reinforcements, but until then, we have to work with what we got. We just have to make it as fast and efficient as possible. I think we all want Adira back right now.”

“That’s a compromise I can live with if everyone else is okay with that,” Darian said. He looked to Reyland for approval.

Reyland thought about it for a moment. “I will agree to that.”

I hated that this is all we could do with the information we had so far. I started to fear it would take a long time to find my mate, and I hated that thought. I hated my mate and pup being away from me any longer. I wanted to be there to support Adira and make sure she was safe.

Rie looked me up and down. “Are you okay, Mark? You look sick.”

I wanted to tell Rie that Adira was pregnant, but that wasn’t my place. Telling others needed to be a decision that Adira and I made together. I refused to take that away from her. Besides, it wouldn’t change the fact that we wanted to find Adira as soon as possible. Telling everyone she was expecting our pup wouldn’t change anything about the search, so I swallowed the news.

“This hasn’t been easy on me,” I told Rie. It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the full truth. I turned back to the group. “I wish we knew more about the way the attacker thinks. We could narrow down our search that way. I really do think Cain has something to do with it, but I know nothing about him. I can ask Ginger if she has any ideas about him, but for now, I say we take the safe route.”

Reyland’s facial shifted into one filled with realization. “If Cain is truly involved, I know someone who does know the way he thinks.”

Everyone turned to look at Reyland expectantly.

“How do you know someone like that?” Darian asked.

Reyland let out a sigh. “Cain is my wife’s true mate.”

Mason looked like he had been punched in the gut. “You and Luna Freya aren’t mates?”

Reyland shook his head, looking apologetic. “I know we made the pack think that. There was a point when we loved each other, well, at least when I loved her, but we were never true mates. It was a marriage for power, not love.”

Mason scratched the back of his neck. He seemed to be having a difficult time comprehending this information, but out of respect for his alpha, he didn’t say anything. Rie reached over and grabbed his hand.

Before an awkward silence ensued, I jumped in. “I know this is an awkward thing to ask, but do you think you can talk to her about him, see if you can get an idea of where she might have taken Adira? It would help with the search.”

Reyland nodded slowly. “Of course. If it will help bring Adira back.”

“I can talk to Ginger then and see if she has any ideas about where to look.” I looked at Rie, Mason, and Darian, remembering the conversation Scythe and Rie had with me earlier. “I trust the three of you will do what’s best when it comes to the search parties.”

Rie took a step forward, and she exuded confidence. “All right, Alpha Lyna, you talk to your wife to see what you can find out. Mark, see if Ginger knows anything that might help. I’ll reach out to Scythe to see what he and Percy have found out. Darian, Mason, can you two handle getting the search parties informed and going?”

It wasn’t very often she had to take a role like this. She always looked out for the pack, but this was the first time she truly stepped up to be a leader. It made me proud to have her as a beta, and I was grateful for her for making the logical decisions when my brain was too clouded to think properly.

–

ADIRA I closed my eyes and focused on Shadow’s presence. It was comforting to hear her voice and know I wasn’t completely alone here. This was the first time I had heard her since waking up here. Without my magic, I was having a difficult time reaching my subconscious plane where I had become accustomed to speaking with Shadow and Moon.

“We’ve been separated from our mate,” I explained to Moon. “We were taken against our will, and I can’t seem to use magic. I don’t know what he did to me.”

Moon disappeared from here, Shadow said in my head. It’s been hours since I’ve seen her. I can still feel her presence though.

This shocked me, since I couldn’t feel Moon’s presence in the slightest. “You can? Can you tell if she’s hurt or anything?”

It’s difficult to tell. I can’t see or hear her, but she’s here. I feel her fighting, but she can’t seem to emerge. It’s like something is keeping her away.

I opened my eyes and looked around the room. The walls had been covered in wallpaper, so I couldn’t tell what they were made of, but the door was telling. It was a metal door, and it reminded me of the handcuffs Theron had used on me to suppress my powers.

I stood up and pressed my hand against the door. I took a few deep breaths, really focusing on the door. For the briefest moment, I could feel it. It was created with fear and hatred to suppress magic. The entire room had to be made out of it, but that would have taken a significant amount of time to create a room like this, and I doubted Cain had the time to do that. Plus, the entire building had this metal infused with it. I wasn’t able to shift, even in the hallway.

This building had been here long before me. It must have been some sort of prison for sorcerers. That meant if I could just find my way out of the building, I could use my magic again. Maybe I could send some sort of distress signal to get Mark’s attention. The biggest issue was finding a way to actually escape.