Never Yours, Mate

Chapter 22 -

Zachary

My phone rang during training. I ignored it. I had been ignoring everyone for the past few days. Anger was consuming everything I did. Every time I punched that bag I saw a ghost of a person. Whoever killed Althea was going to pay no matter what. 

The phone rang again. I ignored it and got back to beating the crap out of the bag.

The phone rang again. I picked it up answered and yelled "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?".

I could hear a quiet chuckle. "I've got something you want Zachy" He said. His voice was calm and collected with a rough sound.  "I've got your mate"  My blood was boiling and I could barely see straight. How dare he.

"I will find you and I will make you pay for killing her." I growled into the receiver. He just laughed.

"Oh she's not dead" he said, "She just found a way to remove your mark." It was my turn to laugh. Did he really think he could fool me. Everyone knew it was next to impossible. Althea was smart but there was very little chance she could have removed her mark. The chance was negligible and but I still found myself hoping. We had never found her body. To this day I was still having people out searching for her body. 

I could feel the hope growing. Maybe just maybe she managed to survive. It meant I could have my mate back. 

A chuckle brought me back to reality. "I knew you'd believe me Zachy. I'm betting you want proof." he said, "well here you go!"

I could hear metal grates opening and a struggle. Someone was fighting him. The phone fell on the ground as I heard a crunch. But I didn't lose connection. "GET BACK HERE YOU BITCH! I'VE GOT TO TURN YOU IN TO YOUR MATE!" He yelled at the girl who I assumed escaped. "You want your mate back Zachy? She's running around near the beach." He said before hanging up.

I mind linked every tracker. "Go to every beach in a 50 mile radius. I have a tip she might be there". I raced out of the gym and ran out of the house shifting as I ran. 

We scoured the beaches for hours and only covered about 1/3 of them. I couldn't smell her, I couldn't sense her. My wolf was going insane at the lack of his mate now that there was a chance she could be found. I could hear the exhaustion in my trackers so I let them rest. I kept looking though. I would never stop looking until she was found. Dead or Alive.  

I thought I caught her scent. It wouldn't have been the first time. It seemed like every time I got near the edge of the beach I would catch it. I searched around for hours but there was nothing there. She was good at covering her tracks. Too good.  

I called for one of my trackers to come over and see if they smelt her. As she was running she tripped over something. I watched as the rocks that marked the end of the beach started to open. Her scent grew stronger as I walked closer and closer. 

This was were she was hiding. Her scent was the strongest I had smelt in a long time. She was here I was sure of it. Dead or alive though I couldn't tell. I started to growl at the thought of her dead. 

I howled for my warriors to join me as I raced  towards the cave and into the mouth. Hundreds of scents met my nose. The scents were putrid and disturbing like people that hadn't bathed in weeks. Men and women scurried away like rats as they heard ourselves coming. My warriors spread out as we searched the entire base for her.

One of my warriors called me down a hall. Cages lined the wall, her scent grew stronger as I reached the end. There in the cage where her scent was strongest there were two men. One unconscious and one sitting in the corner calmly. 

I shifted back to my human form.

"Where is Althea" I growled as I stepped into the cage. 

"Long gone" he replied. His voice was calm and level but his eyes gave it away. He knew who I was and he was terrified of me. 

"Where is she?!" I growled even louder, "Where is my mate?"

"She's dead" he replied. I smirked, I heard his heart rate pick up. He was lying. I turned to the warrior. "She's alive, fan out and find her." I growled to him. 

I grabbed the man who dared to lie to me by the throat and pushed him up against the wall. He started to panic, his eyes wild and his body thrashing against mine. "I don't know where she is, she left a few hours ago." He said, his voice high from fear. He seemed seconds away from pissing his pants. I threw him against the cage before  leaving and shifting. I had to find her I was so close. 

"Wait!" I could hear him yell in the background. "Let me help you! She trusts me." I weighed my options. Trust the brat or possibly lose her forever. I shook my head for him to follow. He pointed at the ceiling. That must have been how she escaped. He jumped pushing out a tile before climbing through and disappearing. I went to follow him. I climbed up into the shaft before losing consciousness and falling back to the ground groaning. He jumped down and hit me in the head again as I blacked out.