Strength to Find Her Way

Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Liam POV

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU FOUND NOTHING?!" I screamed into the phone.

My men found no trace of Quinn or Suze once they got to the main road. Their scents just disappeared. I knew it was a possibility since they were in a car but my men are trained royal guards. They should be capable of a simple tracking mission.

'I bet Quinn would've picked up on the scent,' my wolf chided me.

'I don't need your smart mouth right now. You're the reason we're in this situation to begin with,' I snarled back.

'You're not innocent yourself. Just get my mate back,' he retorted.

"I plan on it," I said aloud though no one was in the room with me.

It was time to show these incompetent wolves who they're really dealing with. I've been pleasant and agreeable the whole time I've been here but as the future king with a missing mate, I need to set my expectations straight. I want her found and I want her found now. I will not go another minute without having some sort of idea of what happened to her.

I burst out of the office in search of Alpha Tobias. He was in a temporary office down the hall since he'd given me his office for the duration of my stay. I entered without knocking. I didn't care if he was involved in something important, finding my mate was the most important thing he would do in his sorry existence.

"Tobias," I growled as soon as I entered the room.

He looked up, a bit surprised by my unexpected entrance. "Yes your highness," he said as he stood and then bowed. "What is it that you need?"

"My mate is missing. I want all available men searching for her."

"Missing?" he asked. "What do you mean missing? She should be at school."

"Well she never made it there. Two hours ago Darrell received a phone call from the school saying she and her friend never arrived."

"Why was I not informed of this?" he asked incredulously.

"I figured your head warrior would pass along the info to you. Though he didn't seem to think much of her disappearance so maybe he had some involvement in it as well," I mused. I'd never thought about the fact that Darrell could have been lying to me.

"I will rally my guards at once," Tobias responded. "I'll put my best trackers on the case. We'll bring Darrell and Reggie here to discuss your query as well. I too want to know why they kept this important information from me. The future queen going missing is not something that should be brushed under the rug."

"Keep me updated," was the last thing I said before leaving the room.

I then decided to reach out to my guards again. This time I used my mind link.

'Diamond Crescent guards and trackers will be joining you in the search. You are not to give up until she is found. I'll be sending for the palace's top trackers as well. They'll be here within the hour. Inform me of any and all information you find. Once the reinforcements have arrived, expand your search. Send a few men to the school to question anyone who might have information. Start with the boys in Quinn's class. She was talking with some of them yesterday and I didn't get good feelings from them.'

'Yes, your highness,' was the only reply given and it was the only one needed. My men will do everything in their power to ensure the safe return on their future queen. I had one more person to reach out to.

'Father,' I called into my family mind link.

'Liam,' he replied, sounding a bit surprised. 'What has you reaching out? Is there something wrong in one of our border packs?'

'No father. Quinn has gone missing. I can explain more later but I need our best trackers here within the hour. I'm sure you understand.'

'Of course son,' he replied. 'I'll have them on their way as soon as I'm done with you. Please keep me updated. I'm very much looking forward to meeting my future daughter-in-law. Be safe.'

He cut the link and I knew he did so in order to expedite my orders. He was a man of his word.

Unfortunately, now the only thing for me to do was wait again. I hated to be out of the action. I decided to go check on Ethan. He's been quiet for quite a while.

I walked to the room he'd been staying in but he was nowhere to be found. I sniffed the air but there was actually no scent of him in that room. There was only one possible explanation for that. I walked up the stairs to the second floor. Instead of heading right to my room, I turned left and knocked on the first door. No one answered but I could smell Ethan from a mile away. I turned the knob and opened the door to find a disheveled Ethan laying in the middle of Suze's bed with what looked like one of her sweatshirts clutched in his hands.

"My goddess," I said. "Get a hold of yourself. You're the royal beta for goddess' sake and you're just lying there blubbering like an idiot."

Ethan made no move to respond. He just laid there staring off into space.

"What are you doing to get her back? Have you made any effort besides wallowing in self pity?"

Again he didn't respond.

I hated to do it but it needed to be done. Mustering all my power, I said, "Ethan get your lazy butt up and do something productive."

His wolf couldn't deny the command and he jumped out of bed. He scowled at me. "What the hell can I do? There's nothing for me to do! They're gone and all I can do is wait to see if they'll be back. This is all your fault. If you could have just kept it in your pants for just a little longer, Quinn never would have left and she wouldn't have taken Suze with her. Maybe you are a lousy mate."

I lunged toward Ethan and pushed him against the wall. "You take that back," I snarled.

"No, I won't. It's all true. This is your fault."

I didn't know if he was right or not but my wolf wanted blood for his disrespect. He may be my best friend but he still disrespected me and my relationship with my mate.

I picked him up and threw him across the room. He landed on top of a desk and it splintered beneath him. Just then someone burst through the door.

"What the hell is going on in here?!" Reggie cried.

"I'm settling some business," I snarled in his direction.

"Well settle it somewhere that isn't my daughter's bedroom. She needs to sleep here."

"That's if she ever makes it back you fool," I growled in his direction.

I was tired of acting all proper and polite. These people were idiots to think that everything was okay and my mate would just return on her own. Her own mother was kidnapped and they haven't even jumped to that conclusion. I was starting to lose control. My wolf needed to be let out and if I let him out in here, there's no telling the destruction that would follow me.

I let out a ferocious growl that shook the entire pack house before sprinting for the front door. Everyone around me was useless.

As I jumped from the front stoop, I shifted to my wolf mid-air. Not stopping to think about where I was headed, I ran off into the woods. I didn't know where I was going but what I did know was that I needed my mate back. She was the only one who could calm me now. I've turned into a monster without her.

If one hair on her head is hurt when I find her, I will gut whoever is responsible and tear them to shreds bit by bit. No one messes with what is mine and gets away with it.