Page 75 of Alpha Fate

I pace back and forth in Jagger’s office, clenching and unclenching my fists. Thirty minutes have passed since Sierra burst in here, frantic because Savannah took off without warning. Thirty excruciating minutes of Jagger assembling a search party while I sit here, uselessly, trying not to lose my mind.

I can’t take it anymore!

Jagger is barking orders to the others, gathering our best trackers and fighters. I recognize the team – Callum, Casey, Tarkin, Barrett. More are showing up by the minute as word spreads through the compound. There’s a buzz in the air as they strap on weapons and provisions for the search. I’m ready to go right now, but instead, I’m sitting here waiting.

I grind my teeth and glare out the window, imagining the open space beyond our walls. Savannah is out there, scared and alone. Or worse. And here I am, obeying orders instead of using our bond to find her.

I can’t take it anymore.

Rising abruptly, ignoring the surprised looks from the others, I storm toward the door.

“Where are you going?” Jagger moves to block me, gripping my shoulder. I shove his hand away, my wolf raging inside.

“I can’t wait here another minute knowing she could be in danger!” I snarl back at him. It’s a serious breach of protocol – speaking to my Alpha this way could earn me some serious sanction, but I’m beyond worrying about that now.

Before he can stop me, I burst outside, ignoring the shouts of the others behind me. I sprint behind the barracks and strip, then let my wolf take over.

Fur sprouts along my skin as I drop to all fours, my hands and feet stretching into massive paws, my limbs contorting, my features elongating. Jaws snap.

The change brings clarity and focus, my wolf’s instincts guiding me now. When I pad through the paved walkway that leads to the giant gate protecting our garrison, nobody gets in my way. There’s the clatter of steel and chain as the gate rises slowly.

Too slowly.

I’m out and bounding as soon as there’s room for me to duck under it.

The moment I emerge from the gates, my paws hit the forgotten roads, cracked and overgrown with weeds. My nostrils flare as I catch the myriad scents carried by the breeze – damp earth, rotting wood, but most importantly, her.

I stop abruptly, head elevated as I scent the air. I open my jaws and let it waft over my tongue. I can taste her. I know it so well, it feels like it’s part of me.

I’m coming!

Surging back into motion, I’m on her trail, each stride powered by a desperate need to find her. Savannah’s scent is faint – she has a lead on me – but it’s there. My wolf homes in on it, nostrils twitching, ears perked for any sound from her.

My paws pound the pavement with a steady rhythm that matches my racing heart. Abandoned buildings rise and then disappear as I hurtle past them; nothing springs out at me. Although I can smell her, I know she’s not here. The landscape is changing as I leave the territory we know well, but I push on.

Where did you go, dammit?

I slow at an intersection where nature has begun to swallow the road. A choice lies before me – a path veering into dense woodland or a street lined with crumbling facades of what used to be homes. My wolf sniffs at the air, head cocked. Then it hits me – a fresh note in Savannah’s scent.

Into the woods.

I lunge into the trees without hesitation. Branches whip at my fur as I dodge and weave between trunks. Here, her scent strengthens; she’s close! I can feel it. It’s not just the musk of her wolf calling to mine; it’s something deeper, something primal that connects us.

The bond we share is magnetic. It pulls at me from within my chest – a force beyond just physical tracking. I can feel her presence like a tug on my soul, guiding me more surely than any compass could.

My pace quickens as her scent grows stronger still.

It wasn’t long since she was here.

I slow down as the trees begin to thin, my hackles rising. Something isn’t right. The air smells…tainted, somehow. Beyond the trees, the landscape opens into a more desolate vista of crumbling structures and abandoned lots.

Savannah’s scent hits me strongly here, mingling with the reek of mildew and rot. She was here…and recently. But there’s more. Other wolves have been here, too…not from Steel Lakes. And they were here recently.

My lips curl back, baring my fangs. A low growl rumbles in my throat. Whoever they are, they don’t belong here. This is far beyond the boundaries of any allied pack. If Savannah ran into them…

I lope cautiously toward the nearest building, a warehouse with half the roof caved in. The big sliding door hangs crookedly off its rails. I pause there, one paw raised, and sniff the air.

Yes. She went inside.

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