Page 3 of Moon Fated

The phone scraped against his cheek. “Merrill. Beth.”

Air hissed through my teeth. “What the hell? Since when?”

“Merrill left back in May. I didn’t think much of it. He wasn’t—you know what I mean.”

Yeah. I did. Merrill had always been a little off.

Blake exhaled. “But Callie wouldn’t do something like this. Neither would Beth.”

"We'll find her, Blake.” I tried to sound more confident than I felt. What was I saying? We? There was no we, not anymore. I’d told Callie as much last time we’d talked. But this was in my skill set. How could I sit here and not try?

As if reading my thoughts, Blake cleared his throat. “Nathan’s up north.”

“For how long?”

“Not sure. A week, maybe? We’re not the only pack having trouble.”

I stared at the cream backsplash behind the faucet, forgetting to blink until my eyes burned.

"Will you come back?” Blake asked. He already knew the answer. When I didn’t reply, he said, “We don't know what we're dealing with yet. Be careful."

"I will," I promised, still holding the phone to my ear after the line went dead.

Callista was missing. Callista was missing. She was my rock, the one person who had always been there for me, no matter what. The thought of something happening to her was too much to bear. I had to do something, had to find a way to help. I owed Callista that much and more.

As I dropped my arm and strode out of the kitchen, the weariness from my long shift vanished, replaced by a fierce, unwavering resolve. I moved through my apartment with purpose, gathering supplies.

I packed a duffel bag with a few changes of clothes, a flashlight, snacks, and all of the cash I’d stuffed into the back of my underwear drawer. Questions swirled in my head but there was one that kept drifting to the surface. Had Nathan hurt her too?

Guilt swirled through me like a drink mix in a water bottle. If I hadn’t left, maybe Callie would still be there. If I’d spoken up. If I’d gone to the council. If I’d been the loyal beta. If I hadn’t abandoned my pack. If. If. If.

Not helpful. Anger and grief simmered until I could feel my wolf under the surface again, gnawing to break free. No. I drew on my crisis training, honing in on the task immediately in front of me as I forced air into my lungs.

Slamming my toiletries into the bag, I zipped it shut and hoisted it over my shoulder, then surveyed the room for anything I might’ve missed.

Nathan’s up north.

A week. I had one week, possibly less, to find what I could and disappear again. I loved Callie, but I would not allow my alpha to look me in the eyes again.

With a deep breath, I stepped out into the hallway, closing the door with a definitive click. The hunt was on.

Chapter

Two

Rowan

My office didn’t look like much at the end of the day. Reports strewn across my desk, part orders and receipts stacked in their respective baskets. I needed to go digital and get rid of the endless paper trail, but with the pack’s rising needs in prior months, I hadn’t been able to scrape away minutes for myself let alone a records overhaul.

The room hummed with the air filter, the soft tick of the wall clock the only other sound echoing through the space. I rose from my desk, rolling my shoulders to ease the tension that had settled there like a stubborn squatter. My muscles protested, a reminder of the physical toll my human form endured while shouldering the responsibilities of an alpha.

"Finished," I murmured to the empty room, and even spoken to myself, the words felt like a lie. Nothing had truly felt finished since Nathan's betrayal, since the day he turned his back on us and tore this pack apart at the seams.

Once a guardian who stood by my side, once a brother-in-arms, he’d ripped away the trust that had bonded us. Even five years later, his name was like a snarl on my tongue, a growl trapped within the confines of my chest that yearned to be unleashed.

He had been one of us, part of the Black Lake Pack, until his ambition poisoned him. Until he became a traitor not just to me but to all we had sworn to protect. I hated that our current circumstances dredged all the memories to the surface.

I forced those thoughts aside for now. There would be time for retribution, time for letting the wolf inside roam free and seek justice. But not yet.

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