ERIC
Our cars crossed the Chicago pack’s borders, and after another half a mile drive, I stopped the car in front of the wide wooden gates. My father had already called Russell Young, the Alpha of the pack, who agreed to the meeting, but he didn’t mention how many of us were coming.
Two young men showed up behind the gates and I got out of the car.
“We’re here to meet the alpha.”
“We know.” One of the men craned his neck to look at the two cars behind ours. “The appointment was for Alpha Aaron and his son only,” he said coldly, piercing me with a gaze. “I’m afraid the rest will have to wait here.”
Our packs weren’t enemies, but we weren’t friends either. We knew that coming here with eleven other wolves would create mistrust, giving our visit some hidden, hostile meaning. But we needed some backup in case they refused to give us Spencer.
I looked down at my father through the open car door.
He nodded, then without looking at the other two men in the back seat, said, “Get out.”
As they came out of the car, I glanced at the men behind the gates and gave them a curt nod. When they pulled the gates open, I got back behind the wheel and drove through.
“Are you sure that was a good idea? Why didn’t you argue?” I asked my father while watching the men close the gates behind us in the rearview mirror.
“There’s nothing to argue about. Not yet. First, we need to make sure we came to the right place. That what we’re looking for really belongs to them.”
“And if we’re right and she is from this pack? Do you think Russell would just let her go?”
“Eric, you know the law, son,” my father replied, his eyes fixed on the road shaded by tall trees on either side. “Mates belong together. You’re just being impatient.”
“Yes, I know that. But we also know that instead of losing a wolf, he would rather get one, and expect me to move to his pack if I want to be with her.”
“The woman follows the man. Especially when it comes to a son of an alpha. You are my heir. No one will expect you to leave your pack. Not even for a fated mate.”
We reached the first houses, and I looked around hoping to see Spencer or catch her scent as I inhaled the air through the open window. But there was no trace of her anywhere.
After another few minutes, we arrived at the big front yard of a handsome two-story house. We stopped the car and got out, and at the same moment, the front door opened, and Russell’s daughter stepped out on the porch.
She was about my age, and she didn’t have a mate yet. Until now, neither did I, and it gave her hope that we would eventually end up together.She was the oldest of Russell’s three kids, but a woman couldn’t be an alpha, so her younger brother was her father’s heir. All she could hope for was to marry an alpha heir from another pack. I could imagine her disappointment when she would learn the reason for our visit.
“Aaron. Eric. My father is ready for you.” She stepped aside, and as I passed by her, she pierced me with a gaze. “Long time no see.”
“Hello, Skylar.” I gave her a faint smile. She looked cool on the outside, but she couldn’t, or maybe didn’t want to, hide her racing heart and inner joy of seeing me from my senses.
She followed us as we crossed the hallway and headed to Russell’s office.
“Aaron.” Russell got up from his seat and rounded the desk. “It’s good to see you.” He offered his hand to my father.
Yeah, right,I nearly rolled my eyes. But as he glanced at me, I gave him a polite smile.
“Thank you for meeting us,” said my father.
“Eric,” Russell took a step toward me, and we too shook hands.
Russell was a broad man with shoulder-length chestnut hair, and at first look, he could seem like a kind, welcoming man, but we knew that behind that nice façade was a suspicious, dangerous man with a short temper.
“To be honest I’m a little surprised.” He pointed toward the leather couch and the armchairs at the other end of the room. “You said you needed to talk. I was wondering what could be so urgent that you drove all the way up here right before the council meeting.”
The two of them sat in the armchairs and Skylar and I took places on the couch across from them.
“We were nearby.” My father leaned back and folded his legs. “And our visit has nothing to do with the council meeting, Russell. We’re here for personal reasons.”
Skylar fidgeted in her seat. I glanced at her sideways and her beautiful eyes locked with mine at once. She ran her fingers through her short pink hair and her lips twitched in a playful smile.
Oh man, is she thinking what I think she’s thinking? Poor you. I turned my eyes back at Russell.
“We’re looking for a newly turned wolf with the name Spencer,” my father continued. “We have reasons to think that she’s from your pack.”
It was impossible not to feel Skylar’s sudden change of mood.
“We don’t have a Spencer in our pack,” she spat out.
I gazed at her but didn’t say a word. Russell frowned as he looked at his daughter then at me.
“Are you sure?” my father asked. “We know she was heading here.”
“I would know if I had a new pup in my pack, Aaron,” Russell replied.
“Her first transition happened somewhere else, for some reason. At some private property in Asheville. But then she drove here. We need to see her, and I hope it’s not a problem for you.”
“I have eighty-three wolves in my pack, and I know them all by their names.” Russell was still frowning, but his tone remained polite. “We don’t have a Spencer here, Aaron. I can assure you.”
My father and I exchanged glances, then I pulled out my phone and checked the map. The friend finder couldn’t locate Spencer, which meant her phone was probably off again. Why? Why would someone turn their phone off every few hours?
I can’t locate her right now,I said to my father, connecting with him through my mind. I think something is wrong. That son of bitch might have—
Played us, my father finished my thought. They know about the phone. And it seems someone drove it all the way here to mislead us.
“In that case,” he said to Russell, “I would advise you to check your borders. I think there are wolves, unknown to both of us, lurking around them.”
“You mean they were following you?”
“No. We were tracking them, and they brought us here. Then we lost them somewhere around your pack.”
Russell’s face darkened. “I will give the order.” He was quiet for a moment, which meant he was talking to his men by linking to them through their pack connection. “Well,” he finally turned his eyes back to my father, “would you like something to drink while we’re waiting?”
* * *
“Sorry I couldn’t help you,” Russell said nearly one hour later.
“We’ll find that young wolf Spencer eventually, but those wolves we followed didn’t lead us here for nothing,” said my father. “Who knows what they’re up to?”
“As you know, I need to be heading to the council meeting, and so do you. But my Beta will keep looking, and we’ll let you know if we find the wolves.” Russell shook hands with my father. “See you in Tallahassee, Aaron.”
Skylar sneered as she looked at me, and I could feel her gloating inside that we failed to find what we were looking for. I shot her a disgusted look and headed outside.
Nearly a dozen wolves were standing outside the house now, and they all watched us as we walked to our car and drove away.
“Pathetic,” I scoffed as we took off. “What the hell was that for? It’s only the two of us.”
“His men informed him that we have wolves waiting for us behind the border. Russell didn’t expect so many of us to be here. He’s just being careful.”
“Or maybe he’s hiding something,” I barked. I was furious. I couldn’t believe I was tricked. Spencer was still with him, and I’d lost track of her.
“No. I can tell when he’s lying. He was telling the truth. Your mate isn’t here, son.”
“But the ones who got the phone here might still be around. We need to search the area ourselves. If we catch them, we could torture Spencer’s whereabouts out of them.”
“We can’t. I promise you we’ll find her. But now, we need to get to the council meeting. It’s a long way to Tallahassee. We’ll stop somewhere for the night, then we’ll hit the road again. This meeting is very important to us, we can’t be late. But we could check out that wolf’s house in Asheville on our way back. She could still be there.”
“Thank you, father.” He was right. First, we had to go back to his house.
* * *
Usually, the packs knew more or less what the council meetings were about, and what kind of problems they were meant to solve. This meeting, however, had a secret agenda. It was summoned once every five years and only the alphas, their of-age heirs, and representatives of the magical community could be present at these meetings.
I was at the last one, five years ago, and I knew all about it. The alphas and their heirs will arrive at the Tallahassee pack to witness their pack alpha, Marcus Grey, hand the ancient scroll and a compass over to my father. The scroll contained the secret location of the Great Alpha’s Temple, and the compass was meant to lead to the Great Alpha’s heir if such would be born. As our pack’s Alpha, it would be my father’s turn and his responsibility to keep the scroll and compass safe for the next five years.
Centuries ago, it was decided that the wolves would be the guardians of those important antique objects, but the witches demanded to be present at those meetings. They were the ones who put the protective spells on the relics, and they wanted to make sure that the spells weren't breached, and the objects were safe.
Alphas considered it a great honor to be the keepers of the relics, and I, as a future alpha, should’ve been feeling the same way. However, to me, it was just some old tradition with a pointless ritual.