In a Heartbeat (MxM)

Chapter 20

A/N: Sorry for the delay and for how short this chapter is, I again was having trouble with this jerk's pov again lol. The next two should be faster (and longer) as we return back to Simon, our smol bean who must be protected.  We're almost to the end of part one of this book which is something I did not expect to reach tbh. There's about 4-6 chapters left depending which pov I decide to close it at. I will also be working on the side stories shortly, mainly Dwaine and Grant's as I have most of the plot figured out for them over Cedar's story.  Let me know what you guys think, and thanks for the views, comments,  and votes so far!

Chapter 20

Vince's POV

I had been on edge for months now. Even the slightest thing made me irritable. With no sign of Michael or Simon, I was at my wit's end. Xavier and Lucas had been looking, but I often wondered if they were actually trying.

But I wasn't the only one who was irritable. The patrol betas were getting more and more antsy as the influx of rogues circling our territory was alarming. They were working overtime most days and a lot of times the rogues seemed gutsy enough to get within a few feet from our property line. I could only assume that Michael had some part in all this. And with the frequency of rogues, pack members were getting more cautious and fearful of leaving their houses.

Even Sarah was irritable these days. Despite our big fight, and moving out of our room, she offered to keep her title as Luna for the sake of the pack. After discussing and pleading with her, we agreed that a pack without a Luna would probably fail. She continued to help during pack meetings and keep up the appearance of a happy pair, but as soon as she was alone with me, all the contempt and anger she felt for me was unleashed.

It was frustrating, but at least there seemed to be some sense of normalcy when she would play the part. I wasn't sure how long this could last, but I was going to appreciate every moment of it.

"Vince, we got a problem," Dwaine announced, moving his phone away from his ear as he walked beside me. "The betas found a dead hunter near the northern border this morning."

I stopped in my tracks. "What?"

He listened to the person on the phone for a second before hanging up and putting it away. "Leo. A theta. His mate reported him missing last night after he went for an early run yesterday. Xavier and Sarah are at the scene already."

There was already a large crowd of people when Dwaine and I arrived, mostly nearby neighbors, the betas and Leo's family. I spotted Sarah crouched down hugging Leo's mate, as she sobbed silently into Sarah's shoulders. Their two kids also huddled next to their mom, sobbing. The betas parted to allow for us to see the victim, the neighbors murmuring amongst themselves. Sure enough, in his wolf form was what was left of Leo.

I rarely interacted with most thetas, but when I did participate in hunts frequently, he often received high praise for tackling big game. It had only been a week ago that he had approached me about retiring from the hunting party, something he had put off for a while in the wake of the recent rogues.

There was something very sobering about seeing someone you know, someone you've just seen, dead in front of you. Especially someone so lively suddenly so....dead. And suddenly it reminded me of that crazy nightmare I had. Simon's crumpled form, blood from his punctured neck. Looking at Leo made me question if Simon was out there, dead in the middle of nowhere. It was a thought I didn't want to dwell on.

It took me a while to process, but I noticed the extent and gravity of Leo's injuries. Most rogue attacks were simple, clean kills, a bite to the neck, leg wounds, sometimes the stomach. With Leo, it had looked like he had been attacked and played with by a bear. Puncture wounds littered his entire body, his legs obviously broken, one sticking through his skin. Parts of his skin seemed ripped off, blood staining every inch of his coat. And the most gruesome was where his throat had been, completely torn out, the blood still seeping out onto the grass.