"Alpha, please," Tyler pleads through the mind link.
"Leave me alone!" I demand as I snap my snout at one of my Betas.
"Landon!" Laney snaps at me as her white wolf steps into the clearing. "It's been three weeks you need to come back."
Just as I'm about to push myself off the ground, by the rock I had first seen Andi, a searing pain erupts in my back. Nausea spirals in my stomach as I feel my mate being tortured. Cursing at Selene, the moon goddess, for giving me my mate to only have her taken from me. Letting out a whimper as Laney nuzzles my neck, I slowly pick myself off the ground.
The two gray wolves follow behind my sister as she helps me back to the house. Once there, Tyler throws my arm around his shoulders to help me inside. They take me to my room which only reminds me more of what I'm missing as the scent of strawberry fields invade my nose. Quickly, I shower and dress before heading to my office.
"About time," Jaxson huffs from the couch as he sits up from laying down. "We might have found out where Andi is being kept." He informs me as he motions me to follow him to the desk that had been replaced. "According to the information, my second in command has found. There have been countless disappearances throughout species. Apparently, a Fae couple raising an adopted child was attacked around the same time Andi's parents were killed. Both parents were found drained of their blood and the 16 year-old daughter had vanished."
"There were four other attacks on human families before Andi's with the same MO," Destiny, Meredith's apprentice, adds walking into the room. "My guess is that the same demon has all of them, but…" she trails off.
"What?" I demand to know.
"Well," she shifts on her feet uncomfortably, "two of the four girls before Andi were found in the same condition as their parents."
Smacking my hand on the desk, "Fuck!" I look back at Jaxson, "Where is she?"
"Well, I can't tell you where exactly she is," he says while walking to the US map hanging on the wall over the table. "But according to the police report, both bodies had been found in Arkansas along the Mississippi River. And based on the amount of decomposition, it said that they had been in the river for a couple of days. So my hunch is that she is somewhere either in Illinois or Iowa."
"But the Missouri River connects to the Mississippi," I point out. "So how certain are you?"
"There was a drought in Nebraska causing Missouri's water levels to drop drastically," Destiny chimes in. "So I'd have to go with his hunch. It's the safest bet."
"Alright," I say, mind linking with Tyler and Trenton to have them come to my office.
"You wanted to see me Alpha?" Tyler says upon entering.
"It looks like we're going to try to find our Luna. So Ty, I need you to gather a team and head to Iowa. Trent, I need you to do the same but they will be heading to Illinois with me. I need you to stay here to watch over the pack while we're gone."
"But Alpha I can-" Trent starts but I cut him off.
"I know you can help, but I need my best fighter here to protect the pack." I pat his shoulder, "Plus I highly doubt my sister will be very forgiving if I take you away from her after you just returned from overseas."
"Yeah, I guess so," he mumbles before leaving with Ty.
"What do you plan on doing if we do find them?" Destiny asks curiously.
I'm about to face her when a searing pain crawls up my leg making my knee buckle. Catching myself with the table, I clench my fists in anger.
"The same thing I should've done when I had first laid eyes on him. Rip his fucking head off," I say slamming my fist on the table splitting it in two.
"Great! Now I have to order a new table," Jaxson sighs, shaking his head.
~⛥§⛥~
"Fucking Jaxson!" I yell into the night sky.
"We have spent a week searching the area and we are no closer to finding her than before," I hear Sam talking into the phone he uses to talk to Destiny. "Uh-huh… Yes… No! I'm not going to tell him that!" Groaning, he turns to me. "She says that we might be looking too close to the river. That we need to look for a farm or abandoned house."
"She's not here! I would feel her if she was!" I snap.
Flinching, he relays the message to Destiny. "Seriously? Do you want me to come home? Alive, I might add?" After he hangs up the phone, he says, "She suggests that we continue upstream."
Grunting, I stand up from the log I was sitting on. Shifting, we head upstream through the trees. After walking for about 20 minutes, Fang stops whimpering. 'There! Do you smell that?' Sniffing the air, I catch what he did. The sweet scent of strawberry fields hangs faintly in the air on the breeze coming from the east. Taking off, I head east, startling the five wolves following me.
A faint scream in the distance urges me to run faster. Burning erupts in my chest as her emotions hit me like a ton of bricks. At this point, Fang has taken over pushing his way through the trees. Flying over rocks and streams like they weren't even there. A bright light shines through the dense trees just slightly north of our trail.
'There!'
Running faster, we head towards the light as it fades. The screams sound much closer but still in the distance. The light flashes again getting brighter the closer we get. Panic swells in my chest as the light fades.
"No! Let her go!" I hear Andi's voice scream through the tree.
"Go!" Another feminine voice yells back.
"No, Maddy!" Andi screams.
"Andi stop! We have to keep going!" A second female yells.
"Let her go!" Andi screams as a blinding light appears.
Running into a meadow, I watch as the light fades into Andi's outstretched arm. She was blinding the demon who had let go of a girl only a few years older than Andi. She scurries toward Andi as the demon recovers. Extremely pissed, Fang and I attack.
~⛥§⛥~
(Andi's POV)
"Andi, we have to go now," Bryce whispers while holding back my hair as I vomit into the toilet.
"You're already starting to show due to the already exhilarated growth rate from the werewolf side and now your morning sickness is getting worse," Maddy agrees, rubbing my back comfortingly.
"I know," I say after wiping my mouth with a rag.
Just then, the door bursts open as Phenex walks through. "What's this? My pets conspiring against me? How naughty," he tsks.
He grabs Maddy by the hair, throwing her toward the bed. After slapping Bryce hard enough to stun her, he pushes me into the wall behind me. Instantly repulsed, I try to break free from his grasp, but he blocks me with his hand causing my baby bump to press into it. Instinct kicks in as I bare my teeth hissing my warning at him. Regret washes over me as a fire ignites in his eyes while anger washes over him.
Though as quickly as it was there, it was gone as he slumps to the floor. Maddy jumps back dropping the metal pole she had hit him with. Wasting no time, we make our way out of the house he was keeping us in. As we reach the porch, a furious roar erupts from behind us.
Maddy is shoved into the railing while Phenex kicks Bryce in the back sending her flying into the air. Spinning around, I watch as he goes to swing at me with his claws. Panic swells in me, screaming as my hands fling up to block him. My arms burn slightly as a blinding light appears out of my hands. Phenex screams in pain, holding his face while stumbling backwards.
"How did you do that?" Bryce asks as Maddy and I pick her up off the ground.
"I don't know," I answer as we run into the trees.
"Well, just keep doing it," Maddy says as Phenex roars again.
Running into a clearing, we trip over a hidden log. We all scream as his bright red eyes appear above us. The burning in my arms erupts as I hold out my hands once again producing the light. We try to make it across the clearing though Maddy trips again. Phenex wastes no time pouncing. He grabs a hold of her by the hair dragging her to her feet.
"No! Let her go!" I scream stopping in my tracks.
"Go!" Maddy yells back trying to fight against him.
"No, Maddy!" I scream as he sinks his teeth into her neck while staring me in the eye.
"Andi stop! We have to keep going!" Bryce tries to grab a hold of my arm.
Shoving her off, I hold up my burning arms. "Let her go!" I scream as a brighter light shoots out of my hands.
Phenex drops Maddy to cover his eyes from light. She is quick about getting away as he stumbles back. His death glare locks with mine as Maddy reaches us. A deafening roar that makes my heart flutter erupts in the clearing as a giant shadow encases Phenex. Scared, the girls try to pull me away from the bloodbath before us as Phenex is torn apart by the shadow.
Pulling my arms free from their grasps, I run to my golden eyed protector. Wrapping my arms around his massive neck, I grab fistfuls of fur as I fall to my knees crying. I feel him shift in my arms as his fur turns to skin that sends tingles through my body. His arms wrap around my waist as he buries his face in my shoulder, breathing in my scent. I pull back to look at him, though he has other plans as his lips capture mine.
"I'm sorry to break up your reunion," Bryce says behind me, "but we need to get moving."
"Why?" He asks after breaking the kiss.
"Because you can't kill something that's already dead," I say looking him in the eyes.