My Female Alpha

FORTY EIGHT

lenora

I feel tired. No, exhausted. I've slept for the better part of two days yet I can barely hold my eyes open. Groaning in my sleepy stupor, I slowly reach over to the other side of the bed. The pillow and sheets are stone cold. An ache sprouts in my chest, an unbearable loneliness that I have never experienced. Emery had been wrapped around me when I fell asleep. I'm not going to lie; I feel empty and sad knowing she left.

Whining, I turn onto my side. Everything about my current state screams weak. I hate it. I worked relentlessly for years to prove myself to the wolf community, but a few days of living with rogues has nearly broken me.

It wasn't just living with them that wore me down, though. I had been in constant fear of losing my mate at every moment. If she wasn't in sight, there was no way for me to know if she was alright. There was also the attack on my pack, losing wolves, losing almost entire ally packs, and having to play Arabella's little bitch until I knew she couldn't hurt Emery. My body deserves rest. I deserve a second to breathe.

My second is over, though. I force my aching arms to push away the sheets and crawl out of bed. As I pad towards the bathroom, someone knocks at the door.

"Who is it?" I grumble, knowing anyone but Emery would hear me.

"It's Denver," his low voice says.

I pause to face the door before remembering how woozy I am. Propping myself against one of the bed posters, I say, "Come in."

The door opens and my Beta steps into the room. His face is tense while he scans me over.

"Are you any better today?" he asks.

I shrug. "What's new? Has anything happened?"

"Nothing has happened, but we did receive communication back from Alpha Tara in Alabama."

Although the lightheadedness isn't helping, I am shocked by his words. "Is she okay? Are our scouts alive?"

"She's alive," he tells me, "but barely. She was nearly burned to death and has been in critical care. Our scouts stayed to assist in the cleanup. From what I understand, they lost many pack members and their pack house was destroyed."

"Fucking hell," I mutter. "What else did Tara say?"

"She wanted to see how we had held up. I updated her on everything up until now."

I nod slowly. "There's more. Ara told me something that changes things."

A dark look crosses Denver's face as he says, "What is it?"

"There's a ringleader named Jacob. He's elusive enough that she didn't even know much about him, but he's been finding everything. We need to find him and get rid of him."

"Is he a wolf?"

"Not sure. She didn't provide any specifics, but I could tell that she was afraid of him."

"Well." He crosses his arms. "How are we supposed to find Jacob if we don't know anything but his name?"

I rake my hands through my hair and cringe at how tangled and oily it feels. Forcing my hands back down to my sides, I meet Denver's eyes. "You aren't going to like what I have to say."

"When do I ever?" he retorts. "Tell me what your plan is."

"It's not much," I admit. "Arabella would know more than anyone else. I want to trap her and torture her until she gives us answers."

"Christ." Groaning, Denver drags a hand down his face. "Surely we can torture someone else. I'm sick of that bitch."

"Tell me about it. But I don't have any other ideas. I don't know anyone else who knows this Jacob asshole."