Filed To Story: The Guardian Wolf and her Alpha Mate
“How you doing?” I ask looking forwards at the stream. With a stressed huff Reed looks down at the ground.
“Not good huh?” I continue talking. “I know that was hard to look at and you’re feeling angry. But I need you to listen to me.” With that I look at Reed calmly as he nods his head in understanding.
“I know Sophie is your mate and that there is a lot of emotion involved when it comes to your parents but i really think we assumed the worst. Sophie has also suffered greatly at the hands of the hunters, she lost her birth mother, she has had to live life as a rogue her entire life because of them and she’s seen how losing Novas mother affected her father. Kingsley has never hidden what they did to him or anyone else from her. Do you really think she would have been spending time with a group willingly that have caused so much hurt to people in her life?”
With that Reed is silent as he continues to gaze at the stream, “I think she’s been played Luca” I say quietly before continuing, “the lady clearly covered her tattoo or attempted to, and why would that be? She didn’t want people she was spending time with to know she was a hunter, Sophie could easily have not realised if the thought wasn’t on her mind. I honestly believe this stinks of Novas grandfather, I mean he could have been using Sophie to try find Nova the last few years.”
With a quiet crack Luca shifts and sits beside me deep in thought. “True” he sighs tapping his leg nervously.
“Did you tell her about your parents?” I ask.
“Yes, this morning actually. It was the conversation before we mated, I was looking at photos of them on my phone as I do sometimes and she came into the room. She knew already that they had been killed by hunters but I gave her more details when she asked” he tells me.
“Did she seem like she knew those details already?” I probe.
“No” he sighs, “I never sensed her lying to me either. But..”
“But what?” I ask.
“But I don’t really know her properly yet” he says sadly, and we haven’t completed the bond so I don’t know for sure.”
“I get that” I say quietly. “Look I’ve got Laurence sending my brother her photo, if anyone can find her it will be him. I’ve had my border patrols check the territory and there are no signs of struggles, or any suspicious scents. I think she left willingly, and we will find out why. But I think it’s best we don’t assume the worst but also be prepared.”
“You’re right” he sighs. “I jumped to a conclusion.”
“So did Nova, and it’s understandable. They were your parents, you caught Sophie in a lie even if she didn’t lie on purpose” I comfort him.
“If she truly wasn’t involved then she is going to be so hurt by my reaction” he mutters quietly.
“She might be, but if she’s like Nova she will be able to rationalise it and understand why” I say calmly. “Shall we head back? I know Nova is worried about you and let’s face it, keeping busy will help occupy your mind.”
Standing and retrieving a pair of shorts from a nearby tree I hand them to him to slip on before he stands and follows me.
“I hate not knowing” I hear him admit from behind me. “Being Beta, as I’m sure you understand with your role, I like to be in control. Know information on situations I am involved in and those of my pack and people I care about are involved in. Recently we have too many unanswered questions and it makes me uneasy.”
“You and me both brother” I tell him turning and clasping a hand on his shoulder, “but none of us are alone in that. We need to work together to get to the bottom of everything.”
“I’ve been thinking” he says as we start walking again, “if Kingsley put a tracker on Sophie’s phone don’t you think it’s possible the hunters did the same?”
“Yes it is” I reply, “I’ll get Laurence to look at her phone. Let’s get some food in us and we can get to work.”
Nova POV:
It’s late by the time we have spoken to Axel and gotten some food and I’m exhausted. “We still have to go to Caroline” Kia sighs to me. Internally swearing as I realise it’s not going to be an early night I decide I need a coffee and excuse myself from the office.
“Anyone else fancy a drink?” I ask before I close the door.
“Whiskey” Jax grunts his brows furrowed in concentration as he stares at his computer.
“Lots of it” Luca mutters from the sofa in the corner.
Chuckling at them I head downstairs enjoying the few minutes of quiet I have. As I methodically make the coffee and gather the whiskey for the men I let out a deep sigh as I struggle to switch my mind off. After pouring my coffee I turn to get some milk and freeze as I sense a presence behind me. Taking a deep breath i catch no scent causing me to frown momentarily, realising I can’t do much if I don’t look I turn slowly as my eyes search the dark corners of the kitchen. “Maybe next time you’ll turn the light on” Kia says snarkily to me.
“We can see perfectly fine what’s the point” I snap back before a figure steps out from the pantry doors shadow.
“Sophie?” I gasp in shock. Taking in her saddened features and her eyes with dark circles underneath I feel my heart clench in sympathy.
“You know?” She whispers.
“Know what?” I ask slowly unsure of her reason for reappearing.
“That Hannah is a hunter” she says in a monotone voice.
“Yes” I murmur quietly. “Luca and I, we saw the photo of you both together last time you saw her and we saw her tattoo.”
She lets out a humourless laugh, “that fucking tattoo” she snarls surprising me with the venom she has in her voice.
“Sophie I don’t understand” I say quietly, “how long have you know?”
Looking at the clock by the window she shrugs, “about 10 hours now.”
“She’s not lying” Kia says confirming what I already know, her heart rate is steady and she is looking at me clearly as she speaks with no signs of nerves.
“Do you want to sit down?” I ask gently, “why don’t we have a chat?”
“Thank you” she whispers as her bottom lip trembles. As she sits down I get her a glass of water and some snacks which I put in front of her before sitting on the other side of the breakfast bar. As she reaches for her water I take in her appearance properly and can’t stop the gasp from escaping me. Dried blood is covering her bare arms and there are droplets sprayed across the front of her dark top.
“Are you hurt?” I worry.
“It’s not mine” she replies darkly. “It’s Hannah’s.”
“The hunter?” I check.
“The one and only” she winces at the mention of her.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?