My Female Alpha

THIRTY FIVE

lenora

"I will find a place for you in this pack," I tell these kids, these young wolves looking for something to cling to. "If you don't like it, you can leave. If you don't want to give it a chance, then I will consider a fate for you."

They consider me, some resentfully and some hopefully. I see something promising in Daniel, the one who shared the story about his last Alpha. He uses his pain as fuel. I did once and still, now, sometimes do. Pain is a good motivator.

Footsteps sound from the hall. I turn to see Denver running towards us. He's breathing hard like he's been running for a while. He's only been gone for five minutes, though.

"We need to talk now," he says. "It's about Emery."

My heart launches into my throat. I spin back towards the rogues.

"Think about your options," I tell them. "Once this shit show is over, you will be free to make decisions."

With that, I join Denver in leaving the basement. We don't speak until the door is sealed and locked behind us.

"What happened?" I demand. "Where is she?"

He points across the library and I see a plate of half-touched noodles on the table. Traces of Emery's scent lingers. It's fresh.

"She's not in our room?" I ask, already out of the library and heading for the door.

"Back door, Alpha."

I switch direction and growl.

"I followed her scent outside . . ." Denver swallows audibly behind me. "It mingled with Arabella's. We can track it but they have a strong head start."

"Do you think they're at the rendezvous point that kid was talking about?" I ask.

"I don't know. I'm assuming she took Luna to get to you. We need to catch them before she makes a symbol out of her."

"I know," I growl again and rip my clothes off. "Tell the others and then catch up with me. You know if something happens, you're to take my place."

"Alpha—"

I shift, ignoring him, and take after my mate. My whole body feels out of sorts and yet I have never felt my senses so acutely. It's completely dark in the forest except for the glimpse of the moon overhead, but I can see every leaf and limb in my path. I can hear every insect croon, every swoop of a bat's wing. Smells from other animals surround me, tempting my nose away from the blend of my mate's addictive sweetness and a rogue's rotten citrus odor. This rogue's odor has a hint of underlying musk. It's how I know for sure that Arabella has taken my girl.

I picture Arabella's face contorting with agony as I unleash my wolf on her. She's my biggest life regret. I should've never let her leave the pack, but Denver was right—she'd been my weakness back then. Now she's endangered the only person who makes my life worth living. If she does anything to Emery, I will kill her and everyone who has helped her.

Hours pass. I don't know how Arabella got away with Emery so quickly and so far. The only reasonable explanation is that she had help. When I hit a wall of scents, I know I'm getting close. I smile grimly to myself. The rogues insist on not being a pack, but they've staked out a rendezvous point and, by the smell of it, they have guards running the perimeter. How could they not see what was happening here?

I slow my pace to pay more attention to what's around me. The sun is crawling up the sky, dragging a curtain of dim pinks and purples behind it.

It's harder to see now in the dawn than in the full of night, so I rely more on smell and hearing. I fight to keep on Emery's trail, but it's getting hard with all the other smells.