My Female Alpha

TWENTY EIGHT

lenora

I lope alongside the pack territory perimeter and keep my nose as close to the ground as I can. I've been smelling out trails that the rogues made during their ambush with a few other wolves. I'm hoping we can find a particularly strong, pungent odor that would undoubtedly indicate an Alpha-type wolf.

Someone is ahead of this little rogue army and I know they have to be somewhat involved. Maybe they never got close enough to the fight for me to notice them. Or maybe I was too gung-ho to see who was right in front of me.

The sound of footsteps makes me slow down. Carter's smell meets me before his large, swaggering wolf emerges from the underbrush.

I turn to him as he shifts. Following suit, I stand up and cross my arms.

"Leaving?" I ask.

"While we can," he says with a wink.

Nodding, I look around us with a long sigh. "I'd go too. You all need to rest and spend time with your pack."

"Right." He scratches his neck. "Did you talk to everyone? Tell them what they want to know?"

"Yep. Two packs are sending scouts down to help us track these fuckers."

Carter smirks. "You just wave your pretty paw and all the packs send help, hmm?"

"You're an ass."

"Oh, loosen up!" He swats playfully at me and I just glare back. "Anyway, I'll see you again soon. If you get any wind of what's coming, call me. We'll come right back."

"You've helped a lot as it is, Carter. I'd hate to ask you for anything more."

"Eh." He shrugs. "It's been fun camping down here. I wish it was under better circumstances."

"That makes two of us."

He extends a hand to me, and I shake it.

"Take care," he says before shifting and disappearing into the foliage.

For a moment, I just stand there and breathe in the forest around me. Just hours ago we were fighting enemies amongst these trees. Now it's still and quiet. The birds haven't even returned yet.

I take a deep breath and intend to shift back into my wolf to get to business when I hear someone else approaching.

Sniffing the air, I wait for my Beta to come swooping through the underbrush. He never lets me down.

His smoky gray head appears through the bushes just a second later, followed by the rest of his body. He stops short at catching sight of me, and he shifts immediately.

"Alpha," he greets with a pant.

"Beta." I nod at him. "How was Em?"

"She's fine. She wanted me to mention that the kitchen is low on food. She's worried about running out if the rogues come."

Bobbing my head, I say, "Of course. My Little Luna, thinking ahead." I bite back a smile. "Why don't we finish up this round of the perimeter and head back? I'll have the next shift start. You can supervise while I take Em and some helpers to get groceries?"

"Sounds good."

—(—)—

Once we return to the yard, Denver and I part ways. He leaves to find set on shift while I throw on a pair of shorts and a tank from the bin we keep on the porch.

I nod at a few of my wolves as I move through the kitchen, glancing about for my petite blonde. Finding the bottom floor devoid of her, I climb the stairs up to our room.

Before I even cross the threshold, I can tell she isn't here. The gentle patter of her heart and her delectable scent are missing.

I search the room and bathroom anyway, just to be sure. Finding them empty, panic sets in.

If I were a rogue, I think, I would take her.

A furious growl rumbles out of me. Before I launch into a full, destructive rampage, I realize that I would have smelled the rogue if it stepped foot in this house.

Taking a deep breath, I head downstairs. She has to be here somewhere. Someone has to have seen her.

I grab the first body I see. Desiree flinches as I leer over her.

"Have you seen Emery?" I demand.

She swallows, blinking rapidly while she flounders for a moment. "I—she—Luna took off in your Jeep!" she squeaks.

My blood scorches through my face. I release the girl and drag a hand through my shirt.

"You saw this?" I say. "You saw her drive it off? No one was with her? She wasn't being taken?"

"She was in the driver seat, Alpha," Desiree tells me. "There was nobody with her."

"Fuck."

Before I lose my ever-loving shit, I storm up to Denver's room and grab the keys to his bike. Reparations will be made later.

As I jog out to the carport, one of my Gammas calls after me. I spin on Delaney with a sharp look.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, Alpha," she says as she catches up with me. "We found something on the perimeter . . . something I don't think you're going to like."

"Is it urgent?" I snap.

She grimaces. "We found a pair of boots hanging from a tree limb. Cowboy boots."

My thoughts screech to a halt, my nostrils flaring. "What?"

The visual of a willowy redhead wearing a devious grin appears in my mind's eye. Her pale,
slender legs are tucked into a pair of distressed blue jeans, her feet capped with leather boots. Spurs glint in the bright sunlight, belying her appealing facade with a certain menace.

"Alpha?" Delaney says cautiously.

"How fresh was the scent on them?" I ask, grinding my teeth together.

"A day or so. She probably strung them up before they reached us."

My scowl returns in full force. "Burn them. And tell Denver that I want the perimeter patrols doubled. I'll be back soon."

"Yes, Alpha," she says and scampers off.

Straddling Denver's bike, I crank it with more force than strictly necessary. The beast rumbles to life between my legs. I give myself a moment to process the news while the machine warms up.

If Arabella was on my pack's territory during the fight, I would have smelled her. And no one else would hang boots over a tree. It was an inside joke we had when we were . . . whatever we were.

She wore those stupid boots everywhere, even though they had holes in them. I once threatened to throw them up into a tree if she ever pissed me off since she cared more for those damned shoes than anything or anyone else.

My eyelids reel shut as the old memories slice through me. I haven't thought about her in ages. She didn't deserve the space in my head after what she did to my heart.

I don't have time to deal with her on top of all this other rogue bullshit. I don't know what she wants, but she better stay the fuck away from me and Emery.

Opening my eyes, I rev the engine and roll the bike out from the carport. Then I hit the throttle and take off to search for my mate.