Page 30 of Alpha's Choice
“We’ve secured the site the best we can with it not being on our land. My Beta will return with a GPS unit to pinpoint the location and let you know.”
Sebastian hung up. I was glad he was the investigator. He had a stellar reputation and a solid record for solving cases. I wanted to know who and what took down my patrol wolf.
* * *
Emma
I paced back and forth in our living room. The tension in Tobias had been evident when he brought me back. He wouldn’t say what happened, but whatever it was couldn’t be good.
Before he got the mind link, he was relaxing in his wolf form, almost sleeping with his head on my lap. His huge, beautiful wolf head. He might have preferred I call him handsome, but beautiful fit.
His fur was soft when I stroked it, and even though I didn’t feel the sparks when he was in that form, it still affected me. It felt right.
The door to the apartment opened, and I stopped my pacing, turning to look at a naked Tobias. He took a few big strides and wrapped his arms around me, burying his face in my hair.
“What’s wrong, Tobias?” I clutched him tight, his breaths coming out in pants like he ran the entire way here.
“Something killed a patrol wolf.”
I could feel the grief pouring out of him. It was so strong. “I’m so sorry.” I ran my hands over his back, encouraging him to let his feelings out.
“We haven’t lost a wolf on patrol since I became Alpha. There have been some minor skirmishes with rogues looking for trouble, but no serious injuries, let alone deaths.”
“What can I do?” I doubted my ability to help in this situation, but I wanted him to know I was there if needed.
“I hate to ask, but my mother is an hour away and this can’t wait.” He pulled back to look at me. “I need you to go with me when I break the news to his mate.”
My heart stopped for a moment, and a weight settled into my gut. What did I know about comforting a grieving wolf? Was this part of a Luna’s job? “Is there really anything I can do? I’d rather not make things worse.”
“Wolves find comfort in a Luna’s energy. I know my mom is still the Luna right now, but you have that same energy since you’re my mate.”
“If you believe it will help, of course I’ll come with you.” My words were quiet, but I meant them. If I was going to give Tobias and me a real chance, I needed to at least try to be a Luna. “Do you want to get cleaned up first?”
He was sweaty and muddy, not to mention naked. He turned and headed to the bedroom. “I’ll just throw on some clothes.”
Tobias was back in a minute wearing shorts and pulling a t-shirt over his head. I had never seen him dressed in such a casual way. I took his hand and let him pull me along at a half-run, the urgency of the situation apparent.
“She’ll already know something is wrong. The bond breaking will have alerted her, but the denial phase blocks the truth,” he said. “I want to reach her before she passes that point.”
We hopped in his car, and he raced out of the garage. Normally no one drove unless they were going outside the pack or needed to move something too large to carry. But this situation called for more speed than I could manage. Within minutes, we pulled in front of a one-story house a few blocks from Mom and Greg’s place.
“Do they have children?” I asked in a rush as he pulled me along the walkway, wanting to prepare myself for what we might find.
He stopped for a second before cursing. “Unfortunately not.”
“Why is that unfortunate?”
“Children can help a wolf survive the loss of a mate. They give them something to live for.” There was a heaviness to his tone that struck me in the gut. “Without a strong tether, she may die of a broken heart.”
I gaped at him. If the situation wasn’t so serious, I would think he was telling a horrible joke. “For real?”
He nodded. “One reason we have so many pack activities and runs is to help our members have strong ties to each other. It can help when tragedy strikes.”
Louisa would know how to handle this. I did not. But it was too late to change my mind, as Tobias was already ringing the doorbell. The door opened as soon as the bell sounded, as if she expected us.
A young woman with brown hair and worried eyes opened the door. “Alpha. Please, come in.”
“Thank you, Jenny.”
