MATE AND HIS LOVER 9

#28 Miss my life from before

Dark, eerie, and almost always dry, the blanket of pine forest behind the Stanton Mansion is Ian's own personal running ground when he lets his wolf form out.

He had only ever allowed one person to run with him in the forest. They both would often race.

And Daisy always won.

As Ian's wolf now runs through that same familiar terrace, Ian tries to outrun the rage inside him as well, from his failure in Mexico.

She was so close, he thinks. But yet again he let her slip through.

Ian runs through the forest till the sunset, circling back every time he reached the end and kept running.

The skin on his paws have become thick, cracked and colored with spots of blood.

Eventually he stops, and returns to his home.

After cleaning himself off, Ian goes into his study room where one of his men is waiting.

"Boss, here's what you asked for," the man says, placing a dossier on the desk.

Ian picks it up and starts to leaf through it.

The man says, "He's highly favored by the pack in spite of being the Alpha's bastard son. Especially after what happened with the Croway rogues."

"About that..." Ian says, "found anything on who helped him?"

"Not yet. They seem to have covered their tracks well. But Liam is still working on it."

"Good. Anything else on Nate? Anything we could use?"

"He's clean as a whistle. No bad habits. No girls. No drugs. No bribes. Nothing. Nothing we can use against him."

Ian smirks. "I doubt the guy has no weakness. Everyone has one."

"He's close with his friends who are also good fighters themselves. Other than spending time with them, he's either at home or in training. We'll keep looking into him, however."

"And about the other guy?" Ian says.

The man shakes his head. "We couldn't find even the flight manifests for Daisy and the guy with him. His face was not caught in anything — CCTV, dash cams... nothing. The search is still ongoing based on his build alone."

"She would've been careful at hiding his identity. But, why?..." Ian says, turning in his chair and putting down the file on the desk. "Was he a bodyguard? An accomplice? She usually works alone. Why she needed that guy to visit Pablo?"

"I'll ask our men in Mexico to expand their search. I'm sure we'll find something on him, Boss."

"In the mean time," Ian says. "Put together some of our best men. Send them after Nate. I've run out of patience regarding the Raketrope pack's affair."

"Yes, boss," the man says and leaves the room.

Ian flips open the dossier again and picks up Nate's photo clipped to the first page. "Let's see if you're really everything they say you are." 

"GOOD FIGHT," ROSS says as Nate jumps down from the boxing ring. "You've really been in good form lately. But..."

Nate stops taking off his gloves and looks at Ross.

Ross says, "You seem more... calm, lately. Not that I'm complaining. Just wondering."

Nate makes a small smile and leaves it at that. He can't say, the reason his Alpha hormones are not running wild like they used to is because he's on suppressors.

DAISY PULLS UP the collar of her jacket further up while trying to remember which turn to take. It's been a while since she has been at the red light street.

The displays around the shops are rotated so often that Daisy wouldn't be able to search for the place she's looking for if it weren't for the fact that the brothel owners stick with their unique signages throughout each makeover.

Soon enough Daisy finds Poppy's shop. She stands next to a nearby streetlight and checks if anyone suspicious is around. She has taken care of all the cameras.

Once she's sure, she enters the brothel and asks at the reception for Poppy.

While Daisy waits in one of the tables, a blonde girl approaches her.

"Looking for company?" the girl says.

Daisy shakes her head. "I'm waiting for someone."

The girl sits next to her, and places her hand over Daisy's thigh. "Want me to wait with you?"

Daisy gets upset. This is one of the reasons she doesn't like coming to places like these. The prostitutes can be overbearing at times.

Daisy pushes the girl's hand away. "Leave me alone."

"If you want to be left alone, why are you here? Is this your first time?" the girl says.

Then they both hear Poppy's voice from behind. "Get lost, Stella."

The girl gets up while glaring at Daisy and leaves them alone.

Poppy sits opposite Daisy. "I'm guessing you've taken every precaution you can not to get caught while coming here."

"Don't worry," Daisy says. "It's safe."

Poppy smiles and takes Daisy's hand into hers. "How are you?"

Daisy smiles back. "I'm fine... given the circumstances. You?"

Poppy sits up straighter. "I'm sure you can tell the business is booming."

Daisy laughs, and then nods at the direction Stella left. "I'm not so sure, actually. Some of your girls need some class."

"She's new," Poppy says. "Still in training."

Daisy takes out her phone. "I need your help with something."

"I know you wouldn't risk visiting here for nothing. Something serious?"

"Truth be told, I don't know. There's someone who took some help from Ian. I need to know if they are still in touch."

"Who's the guy?"

Daisy opens a photo in her phone, places the phone on the table and slides it to Poppy.

Poppy recognizes the face. "Patrick?"

Daisy looks surprised. "You know him?"

"One of our recent regulars."

"He comes here with Ian?"

"No. For as long as I know, they don't know each other."

"But they do."

Poppy turns her head and looks behind her. Then she faces back towards Daisy. "The girl that just left..."

"Stella."

"Yeah. Patrick is her client."

"And you said he's a regular?" Daisy says.

Poppy nods.

"Can you find out if Patrick and Ian are in touch without alerting the girl? I don't trust anyone else with this request."

"Of course, I understand. I'll figure something out to get what you need. But, can I ask why you're asking about Patrick? I heard he's an Alpha's son."

Daisy shakes her head. "The less you know the safer you are."

"You sure you're not in any serious trouble?"

"Other than Ian hunting for me, I promise you, I'm perfectly safe where I am now."

Poppy gives a sad smile. "Even though I'm glad you escaped from Ian, I wish we could hang out like we used to."

"Yeah," Daisy says, feeling down. "In a way, I miss my life from before." 

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