Page 13 of Alpha's Claim

Chapter thirteen

Weston

Somethingwasn’tright.Isat up from a dead sleep, gasping in a lungful of air. I patted myself down to check that I wasn’t injured, because that’s what it felt like. It felt like a physical wound on my body, but there was nothing. I turned my light on and confirmed that there wasn’t even a bruise on my chest where my heart was pounding inside my ribcage.

Cora.

I had to call Cora. I grabbed my phone and hit her contact, pulling the phone to my ear. It rang out, going to voicemail. After three missed calls I called Yari and a few emergency contacts to come to my house and convene. These were people I trusted, who my mother trusted. Our pack didn’t have politics- in my opinion, we were a democracy- but these people were my friends. I had never been so glad to have people who would show up at my doorstep in the middle of the night because I had a ‘bad feeling.’

“I think Cora is in trouble,” I said. Yari crossed her arms over her chest and leaned her weight on one leg, a grim look on her face. “My mate. I haven’t made an announcement yet because she’s a member of the Onyxfang pack. She’s the Alpha’s daughter.” A few uncertain looks were exchanged at this point, but I had expected that. “Right now I think she’s in trouble and I need people I trust out there searching for her with me. I’ll go directly to the Onyxfang estate and see if she’s there. The rest of you are needed on the ground in the forest searching for her. She’s got long, black hair and green eyes and her wolf form matches. Howl if you find her.”

As Alpha my own instructions were simple- find her and then howl for a return to home base. They’d know the difference if they heard them. The pain in my chest got more insistent as every second ticked by, so I shifted and took off, leaping from the porch to head to the estate. The only thought in my head was her. I had to get to Cora with every fiber of my being. I don’t think I had ever run so fast before and I was operating almost completely on instinct. My senses were keeping me in tune with the world, my brain processing them faster than I could consciously.

I was able to disregard my panic completely and focus all of my attention on my sense of smell. There were thousands of millions of scents on the breeze but none of them were her. I’d be able to tell instantly that she was near, so I was hoping as I got closer to the estate I’d be able to scent her more easily. It would take time to get there, though, and I was aching to see her alive and in one piece. The distance felt like I was dying and I was furious that I just couldn’t push my body to go faster.

I felt my heart thump in my chest when I finally caught her scent. She was nearby. I was praying she was inside her home sleeping with her phone on vibrate and this rescue mission through the woods would be a big joke in the morning about how I just had heartburn or something and sent us all out into the night for no good reason. Best case scenario I found her in her room. I didn’t want to run up on their estate like that and kick off a big thing just because I got worried, but that dull ache in the pit of my stomach let me know I wasn’t wrong even before I saw her.

I shifted to quiet my breath and I was able to see her father through the trees near the front gates of their estate and I could see her in his arms. She was hurt- I could smell the blood. It was killing me- I wanted to run over and take her from his arms so I could tend to her. I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard her voice talking to her father. I couldn’t tell exactly what was being said, but it wasn’t important. What was important was that she was speaking- she was alive and awake and in the safety of her father’s arms. I may not have liked the guy, but I figured he was probably the best possible person to be caring for her while she was injured. He wasn’t the kind of person to mess with, and messing with his daughter was… bold.

People could say that about me too, though. Finding myself mated to this man’s daughter was a surefire way to get my ass kicked. I’d been through that estate and seen the goons. When it came to me, though, I couldn’t find it in myself to care even a little bit that I could get hurt. I had to be with her. I needed her by my side- but not tonight. Tonight it would start a fight and the last thing she needed was her mate confronting her father. It didn’t stop me from being determined to find out at least something of what had happened to her out in the forest. I could smell her blood and the trail it left behind. It would take me straight to where whatever happened to her happened.

I watched as Henry Onyxian carried his daughter into the estate. I watched until they were out of sight in the low light and then I shifted back. The blood trail was easy to follow and when I got to the original source I felt sick to my stomach. There had clearly been an attack here- it was chaos. There were splinters of wood from the cracked and broken branches of trees around me. There were pawprints all over- one set running and the other set straight out galloping straight toward Cora. Her blood was everywhere, but it didn’t seem to be fatal. She would be okay in her home and with her family, I was certain of that.

After a moment I moved to catch the scent of whoever had done this, and though it was faint I could still smell it. There was a trickle of her blood leading away from the site in another direction and I followed it ardently. I followed it slowly and carefully to find the source- the person who had done this to my mate. What I found alarming was that the trail was leading straight back to the Onyxfang estate. I got as close as I could without being noticed by keeping low to the ground and creeping only in the shadows. I envied Cora for her deep black fur. She would blend in so beautifully in the shadows, but I was incapable of that. My silver fur stood out in the low light so I kept to where the light dappled through the trees while I crept up on the house, hoping that the pattern would confuse my form if anyone looked outside.

Once I was sure that the only trails to and from the scene of the attack came from the estate I started to make my way back. She was safe with her father. Her father was a big wig who everyone feared- she was safe in there. If I couldn’t keep her safe myself then she was in the only other hands I could think of that would keep her as safe as mine would.

I was tempted to turn and run into the forest just to tear myself away from her, but it was a stupid idea. The whole point of the stealth into the situation was to make sure she was safe without stepping on her chance to talk to her father about us. I wouldn’t take that from her.

It felt like ages that I crept through the woods until I was far enough out that I felt comfortable letting loose. Before I started to run I sat back and filled my lungs with the damp night air and let out a long, low howl to send everyone home. I waited for a few returned cries before I took off for home.

My run took twice as long going back, I thought. Yari was already waiting on me on the porch, handing me a robe as I got up onto the steps.

“Where is she?” She asked, and I grimaced slightly. “You didn’t find her? But we heard your signal.” She seemed genuine in her curiosity so I shook my head slightly, pushing my hair off of my forehead.

“I found her. She was hurt.” My voice was coming out as weak in my own ears and I rubbed my eyes to fight off the exhaustion. “Her father was with her. He carried her back into the estate.” I explained, and she pursed her lips slightly.

“So what’s the full story?” She asked, and I sat heavily in a chair on the back porch.

“I don’t know yet, but I don’t like any of it. I found where she was attacked. I followed the trail of her blood right to it. It was such a mess, Yari. It was like back in Wilkes-Barre when the attacks were happening then. Just as bad. But the crazy thing is that when I tried to follow the trail back to whoever did this, it led straight back to the Onyxfang estate.” Yari didn’t look impressed by my detective skills.

“I mean it makes sense. They’re kind of awful.” She said, her tone on that razor’s edge between trying to lighten the mood and her actual anger. “I’m not shocked at all with how they treat everyone in the valley. Like maybe daddy doesn’t know or whatever but I bet that someone from the pack did this to her.”

“Why, though? Why hurt the future Alpha?” I asked. “Wouldn’t they be afraid of retribution?”

“Maybe,” she said softly. “But we don’t know anything about how they work, just that they’re messed up.” I nodded. She had a good point. “There’s nothing we can do tonight. I’ll see you in the morning, okay? Try to get some sleep. If you neglect your sleep you’ll be useless when she calls. And she will call. You’re her mate too.” She said, ruffling my hair casually before she turned to walk to her own house. “Goodnight, Weston.”

“Night,” I said in return. After a moment I went into my house and turned the lights off. Yari was right, I needed to sleep. I’d be completely useless to her if I didn’t manage to catch at least a little bit of sleep. There was no point in putting anything on, so I just flopped down into bed naked. I spent what seemed like days staring up at the ceiling in the dark and I hated it. This almost never happened to me.

Usually I could sleep so easily that it caused people around me to be jealous. It wasn’t often that I had a night where I tossed and turned or even had a bad dream. That’s just how it had always been. Tonight, though, I felt like I had to fight to even lay still. I just kept checking on my phone as though I’d somehow miss a call or text from where it was resting in my hand. Eventually I did make it to sleep, curled up on my side with my phone on the pillow next to my head.

Chapter fourteen

Cora

Ihadneverhada hangover like this. Nothing had ever compared to this headache. I woke up with my head pounding with pain to the point I barely wanted to open my eyes. My body ached like I’d been hit by a car. Luckily I’d heal from it relatively quickly, but the bruises and cuts were still painful at that moment. What was worse was I couldn’t remember anything about my attacker. I remembered being attacked, vaguely, but it had happened so fast that I hadn’t caught a real look at the assailant and only the briefest of scents, and then my father was carrying me back to the estate.

The curtains were drawn thankfully so I could take my time getting up and getting ready to head out of my room in my pajamas. There was no way I could put on real clothes right now and I needed food and answers. Getting down the stairs was a little more difficult than usual, but I found I moved surprisingly well. No breaks, just cuts and bruises I thought.

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