Chapter 8
Brandon
After another twenty minutes or so of playing in the water, Rebecca and I go our separate ways. She left her clothes on one side of the woods and I left mine on another, so we kiss and promise to meet at her place around seven.
And I have no idea what I’m going to bring to dinner.
I have a little skip in my step as I make my way back to the office and I have Rebecca to thank for that.
Today couldn’t have gone more perfectly. I know that things between us aren’t going to be easy or simple, but today she showed me that she’s willing to try. She’s willing to give it a shot. She’s willing to give us a shot and that’s the important thing about falling in love.
Relationships aren’t easy.
Being an Alpha’s mate isn’t going to be easy.
Rebecca can do it, though. She’s got this. She can handle this. Together, we can make it through anything. We can make it through the darkness. We can make it through any issue or problem the pack might encounter and we’ll do it together.
And then I get back to my office.
And all hell breaks loose.
“Where have you been?” One of my wolves screams at me. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you.”
“You didn’t tell anyone where you were going,” another says.
“What the fuck were you thinking?”
Everything is in chaos.
I was gone a little over an hour and everything is in chaos.
Everyone is screaming.
Everyone is shouting.
And this is not the way an Alpha lets his pack behave.
“Enough!” I growl at the top of my lungs. Instantly, the wolves stop moving around and stand perfectly still and look at me. They’re each quiet.
As they fucking should be.
“You,” I point to a young wolf. He’s probably around 20. Jared. “What seems to be the problem here?”
“Well, um, sir, um, Alpha,” he stutters, looking helplessly at the other wolves in the office. None of them seem to be in a rush to help out Jared. “There’s a cub missing, sir, and we can’t seem to, um, locate her.”
Of course this would happen on the day I’m supposed to have dinner with my mate. I’m supposed to have dinner with Rebecca and make love to her. I’m supposed to cherish her and care for her tonight. I’m supposed to woo her with my body and with my love, but that can’t happen anymore.
Now I have to be the Alpha my pack needs.
Now I have to be the leader.
And Rebecca?
She’s going to be okay.
We’re going to be okay.
We’re strong enough to get through this.
It’s not the first time a cub has gone missing from the pack. Wolves tend to let their cubs run around town because it’s a very safe place and we all know each other. No one is going to let any harm befall a little cub. We all look out for each other. Still, sometimes a cub does wander off or get lost or forget to go home on time.
“How long has she been gone?” I ask.
“Her mother came in half an hour ago,” Abigail says. “She was last seen at the playground. Mrs. Thomann was talking with her girlfriend and when she turned back to check on Jemma, the girl was gone.”
“Wait,” I say. “This is Jemma Thomann?”
“She’s nine years old,” Abigail looks at a piece of paper in front of her. “Brown hair. One green eye and one orange one.”
“I know who she is,” I say. “Where’s her mother now?”
“Mrs. Thomann left after she notified us that the girl was missing,” Jared says. “We tried to find you, but couldn’t locate you. We dispatched four groups of wolves to start searching the surrounding area for her: one group in each direction. Mrs. Thomann dropped off a couple of Jemma’s shirts so we could catch her scent.”
He points to a pile of clothes on the desk. It’s standard procedure when a cub goes missing. It only makes sense that we would catch the missing little one’s scent ourselves and find them. We’re wolves, for dragon’s sake. We’re excellent hunters. We’re incredible.
And we can find anyone.
I don’t panic. Jemma loves to wander, but she knows Wolfe City. I can’t imagine she would have gone far.
“Where have you searched so far?” I ask, and Frederick, a middle-aged wolf, points to a map on my desk.
“Here,” he points to the northern fields. “Three wolves are checking the fields. Two have gone to the western woods. Four went to the eastern side of town and three went south.”
“What about in town?” But Frederick shakes his head.
“The playground is in the center of town, but Mrs. Thomann insists her daughter wanted to go to a new place. She said that all morning, Jemma kept talking about traveling and exploring. When she couldn’t find her at the playground, she came right here, insisting that Jemma must have decided to go on a trip by herself.”
I look at the map in front of me.
I look at where the playground is.
I look at each area the wolves are searching and run my finger over the map. Jemma is curious, to be sure. Most cubs are. She’s not reckless, though. I’m sure her mother is worried. I’m sure she’s completely freaking out. I’m sure she’s wondering where her precious cub could have possibly wandered off to.
Jemma wants to explore.
She wants an adventure.
She’s a quiet cub, but she’s a good cub.
And then it hits me.
It was there the whole time, right in front of my face.
“Call off the search,” I tell my wolves. “I know where to find her.”
I motion for Jared and Abigail to come with me and we head off down the street.
“Um, should we be shifting?” Abigail asks, looking around. “Shouldn’t we change forms so we’ll be faster?”
“No need,” I tell her. “We’ll be there in five minutes.”
“Call Jemma’s mother,” I tell Jared. “Have her meet us at the bookstore.”
“The bookstore?” Abigail raises an eyebrow.
“Absolutely.”
I don’t speak again as we make our way quickly to The Dusty Shelf. The front of the shop still shows a Closed sign. I’m guessing Rebecca went to pick up some lunch before she returning to the store.
“It’s closed,” Abigail points out the obvious. “Why do you think Jemma is here?”
“She loves to read. She comes here all the time. There’s no better adventure than losing yourself in a book. There’s no better way to travel than experiencing another world right in the pages of a story. She’s here.” I pull on the door, but it’s locked. “Check the back door,” I tell Abigail. Jared is nearby on the phone, chattering quickly. I assume he got in contact with Jemma’s mother. Good.
I pull my keys from my pocket and unlock the front door of The Dusty Shelf.
“Jemma?” I call out when I walk inside. “Jemma Thomann? Are you in here, cub?” I walk into the shop and flip the lights on, but I don’t see her.
“Back door was ajar,” Abigail confirms, coming in from the back of the shop. “Rebecca must have forgotten to lock it when she went for lunch.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I point to a little pile in the corner of the children’s section. “We found her.” I smile. “We found her.” I kneel beside the sleeping cub. She’s curled up with a copy of The Boxcar Children. She must have sneaked in the back of the shop and then fallen asleep reading.
We found her.
And she’s safe.
And everything is going to be okay.
“What time is it?” Jemma wakes up and stretches lazily, sleepily. Then her eyes pop open. “Oh no! What time is it? My mom is going to worry! I didn’t tell her! I have to get back to the park.”
Suddenly, Jemma seems to notice that Abigail and I are squatting next to her and her mouth goes wide.
“Oh, um, hi Alpha,” she squeaks out. “What brings you here?”
I look at the little cub and let her sweat it out for a second.
“My mom freaked out, didn’t she?” Jemma asks.
“You gave us all quite a scare, little cub.”
“I’m sorry I sneaked off,” she whispers. “I didn’t mean to make anyone worry. It’s just that Mom was talking so much with her friend. I was going to ask her, but I didn’t want to interrupt. I didn’t think they’d notice I was gone. And the shop was closed, but I remembered the back door is sometimes open, so I just came in. I wasn’t going to steal any books. I promise.”
“I know you weren’t, cub. I know.” I offer Jemma a hug, wrapping her up in my arms.
“Jemma Thomann!” I hear a voice at the front of the shop and I smile.
“Looks like your mother is here, kiddo. Good luck.”
“Thanks,” Jemma groans. “I’m gonna need it.”