Page 44 of My Possessive Alpha

Once the door was closed and I was locked in the backseat, I blinked through my burning tears and watched as Dad stepped forward to interfere, but he cowered the moment Jack threatened to raise a hand against him, too.

It was that moment when I realized how much of a monster Jack truly was.

How he manipulated my parents into following his every order, and even when they did, it still wasn’t enough. How that same behavior must have trickled down through their raising of me.

They were only throw-away pawns to him, yet to them, he was everything.

Even if their pained expressions seemed to reveal a shake in their faith, there was nothing they could do then to take back their involvement. The damage was already done as Jack jumped into the passenger seat, and the vehicle pulled away.

I sobbed into the tape as I watched them disappear, along with the pack grounds and everyone I cared about back at home.

While I should’ve been celebrating the existence of my growing child, I was whisked away in the night, unaware of when or if I’d be back again.

Chapter 25 - Sebastian

My cheeks ached from smiling as that positive atmosphere surrounded me, finding myself locked in a deep conversation with Roman, Levi, and Zoe as we discussed her plans to build the new local gym.

Even if the celebration was about the baby, we easily covered a multitude of topics, often laughing at one another’s antics as night set in and the bonfire illuminated the backyard.

It all seemed so picture-perfect, and for a time, I was able to forget about everything else.

As I laughed at something Ethan said, I glanced around me and noticed that Lydia still wasn’t back. I remembered her going to get a drink a while ago, but I couldn’t find where she went after that.

Brows furrowing, I strained a little more to get a better look at the pack around me. She wasn’t by my side. She wasn’t at the drink table or by the food, and from what I could tell, she wasn’t standing around talking to me anymore.

Getting more frantic then, realizing her scent seemed to be quickly fading from the area, I moved through the group of shifters, hoping I was mistaken.

“Seb?” Zoe called, evidently noticing my shift in behavior as I looked around. “What’s going on?”

“Have you seen Lydia?”

Concern etched into her features then at my words, but she shook her head and also began looking. “I thought I saw her a while ago, but now that I’m thinking about it, that had to have been at least twenty minutes ago.”

Startled, I couldn’t wrap my head around it. “No…there’s no way. I would’ve noticed…”

It didn’t make any sense to me. She had been with us, and suddenly, she was gone.

The guys also took notice of my more frantic state, and Levi was there at a moment’s notice, catching my gaze.

“Where’s Lydia?” I asked, loud enough for everyone in attendance to hear as I became more flustered, letting that worry grip my heart tightly. “Has anyone seen her?”

“I’ll check the house,” Zoe said, struggling to understand it too, as she hurried toward the house and pushed her way inside.

At once, everyone started looking, glancing around at one another and checking the area.

“Don’t worry,” Ethan said, putting a supportive hand on my shoulder. “You’ll find her. You have your bond, right? Can’t you use that to find her?”

My state of confusion infested my mind with a haze that I struggled to look past, but as his words sank in, I nodded absently. “Yeah…I just need to calm down first. I can’t focus like this.”

He nodded with understanding, directing me over to the drink table. “She came this way. I know that much.”

Pulling myself together, aware of what was on the line and how dire the situation was, I pulled in a deep breath and steadied myself, scenting her as the other pack members took to searching for themselves.

As my heart steadied and I searched for that tether, I felt its warmth, even if it seemed strange. I looked toward it as my guide, along with her fading scent, mapping out her trail in my head and heart.

“This way,” I mumbled as the guys followed closely behind me, keeping their eyes peeled while we exited thebackyard and moved through the woods. Before long, Zoe slipped in with us.

To my dismay, it was obvious her scent wasn’t as potent before, and as Zoe predicted, she had already been gone for quite some time. Even thinking about it made my heart ache. I couldn’t understand how I didn’t notice. She was my mate, for Christ's sake. I should’ve been able to detect that.

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