The next day, I maneuver my luxurious Mercedes-Benz into the parking lot.
As usual, it is the center of attention on the campus, with heads turning to admire my baby for the umpteenth time. Alongside Alpha Romero and Beta Jace's Cadillac Escalade and Maserati Levante Trofeo, my ride is the most expensive in the car park, but actually in the pack as well.
As the most talented marksman of all the packs in this region, I have already made a small fortune at the early age of 15. Online, I offer my services as a private detective and sniper for the Alphas of the various pack and mates who suspect their better half of infidelity. Without revealing my identity, I take orders and execute them with perfection. So far, I have only satisfied clients and they were generous in paying my hefty fee.
My parents almost freaked out when they saw the pricey car I bought for myself a few months ago. My father immediately wanted to see proof of my income. I explained that I was a successful application developer for companies. I was able to convince him with some invoices from my own secret offshore detective agency. But after this extravagant purchase, I kept a low profile, no more expensive presents to myself.
"Lori, have you heard? It's all over social media. Louise, the Chief Warrior's daughter, is missing". My best friend Meg runs up to me, her face all concerned. "She was out late last night. Alpha Romero confessed to spending the night with her. She left his house in the middle of the night and was never seen again after that," she rattles on as she pulls me along to the entrance of the school building.
As we are about to climb the stairs, we see Alpha Romero sitting on a bench, his head resting in his hands. Meg hesitates but steps over to him anyway and sits down next to him in silence. I study him closely; he looks terribly tired and defeated. Like me, he is eighteen, although I am two weeks older than him. His body promises to grow into formidable manhood, partly because of his many hours in the gym.
"Alpha," Meg whispers after a few seconds. "I know you blame yourself pretty badly for not taking her home yourself. But you couldn't have foreseen this to happen. And who knows, she might turn up one day," she tries to comfort the young man. Slowly, he lifts his head and looks at her with empty eyes. He nods.
"I really hope so. I blame myself for not being more careful. My dating record doesn't look particularly clean," he sighs sadly. Meg pats him on the shoulder. She has always been so worried about this Alpha well being.
"Aaahh, don't worry. You still have three years to find the future Luna. When you meet her, the Moon Goddess will make sure nothing goes wrong, she will love you unconditionally, nothing will keep her away from you. Have faith, Alpha".
I frown in surprise at my bestie's words. I pray she too does not become interested in Romero either. It would hurt me terribly to have to deal with her too. Her friendship means the world to me.
When Meg rejoins me, the Alpha looks up at me for a moment. Of course, she doesn't recognize me, as always. A pang of betrayal and sadness washes over me. Still, I manage to nod politely and continue on my way into the school building with my friend.
"I feel so sorry for him, Lori. There must be a curse on him. All the women he has a date with avoid him like the plague. A few have even fled the pack without an explanation for their strange behavior," Meg whispers now. As always, she does not expect an answer from me. I am always a silent listener, conversing is not really my thing. By now she is used to having a monologue with me.
We walk into our science class, almost all the students are already there. This university is a mixture of all the surrounding packs, built through joint investment.
I find the usual seat, throw myself on my chair and pull out my books. The lecturer has not yet signed in, so the students are standing, talking together in groups. And the topic of the conversations is none other than Louise's disappearance.
I sharpen my were-hearing. Most of them feel sorry for the Alpha and agree with Meg that he should just wait until he meets his Luna. Every parent has already forbidden their daughter to meet him or even talk to him. He is shunned by the females. I chuckle, if only Louise had heeded this warning. She was a beautiful woman and could have tried her luck with the future Beta instead, the pack's man-whore. But that bitch thought it was better to fish in bigger waters and that was fatal to her.
I sigh deeply and flip through last week's homework on my iPad. This Science teacher is strict, everyone gets her personal attention when it comes to working out assignments.
With a grin, I look out the window towards the pack border where I dumped Louise. I doubt she survived the encounter with the rogues. A woman in their hands is rare and I’m sure they will make good use of her.
Hearing the teacher step in, I shift my gaze.
Meg comes to sit next to me and opens her books as well.
"Have you finished your assignments? You left my house late last night, but luckily we had it largely figured out," she murmurs.
Yes, that was why I hadn't been able to detect Louise earlier. Science is a pretty difficult subject and Meg and I concentrated on getting the homework in order. With my attention completely elsewhere the bitch was able to sneak into the bedroom with the Alpha unnoticed.
"I did it," I tell her briefly, probably the only words she will hear from me for this week. But she is used to it and soon we have all our attention on the job.
Hours later we walk down the steps to the car park.
'All members of Eclipse Howl must sign up for a pack meeting with Alpha Thoseo this afternoon,' echoes through the pack mind link.
When Meg freezes, I look at her calmly. In no way am I surprised by this. Although it has not been announced, I am sure Louise is the subject....
Future Alpha Romero's POV This is unbelievable! Another she-wolf ditched me and disappeared.It really happens too often now to keep ignoring it. Every time I try to have a date with a woman, she changes her mind at the last minute. A few of them even leave the pack with their families for fear of repression from the Alpha family for turning me down. And this time it's Louise, the head warrior's daughter. Here I am, thinking she was in love with me. She was a good match for me and for a moment I hoped she would turn out to be my fated mate in three years when I turn twenty-one. Louise is the only woman who has made it to my bed. Our sex was wonderful, she was very experienced and kept me going all night.Only now do I know why my Beta is constantly chasing females and has an insatiable appetite for sex. Since he was 16, Jace has had many dates and one-night stands, with she-wolves even fighting to get into his bed. When he talks about his e
Still Alpha Romero's POV From the raised stage, I stare over the pack that has responded in large numbers to my father's call for this meeting. There is much speculation about Louise’s disappearance, her parents sit in the front row. Their eyes are red-rimmed, it is clear they are grieving for their daughter. The meeting hasn't started yet, so I head down the stairs to Head Warrior Henry, his mate and their son. Mykel is my best friend and when his father retires, he will succeed him. As I approach them, I can almost feel their aura turning hostile, but they suppress it. Humiliating the future Alpha will not work in their favor."Head Warrior, auntie. I am so sorry for what happened," I apologize. "I did not behave like a gentleman, I should have taken Louise home. And then we would know where she was now". The regret in my voice is genuine, I have known these people all my life. It is definitely embarrassing to admit that I
Still Alpha Romero's POV "A witch? Is that even possible?" Bewildered, I look at my Beta. We are now sitting on the private balcony of my apartment. He shrugs nonchalantly. "What's the harm if our parents go that way with their research? We'll just do our thing and get on with our plan," he points out laconically. "But whatever is going on, Louise is not dead. We would definitely have felt the break with the pack link if that was the case". "No, I didn't feel anything and my father didn't indicate he noticed anything either," I indicate certainly. "She's alive, that's for sure. She might just reappear one of these days after all. But we can't just sit back and wait. She could be in danger and need help. We have to take action". Jace nods in agreement. "Yes, I think more of the latter is the case here. I will ask Meg today itself if she is willing to cooperate. We will also offer her an upfront fee and if we find out who or
Loriann's POV "Lori, I have a date with Alpha Romero." A wide smiling Meg dribbles onto the chair opposite me. Her blue eyes are bright and her long black hair moves with the shake of her head as she looks at me. It is clear that she is thrilled with this opportunity that many long for but were too fearful of the consequences. Right now, I am sitting in the school cafeteria at our regular place. I had been concentrating on reading a science website on my iPad while waiting for Meg to finish with the teacher. Her exclamation is like a sword slicing through my body. 'Goddess, not my only friend. Not Meg,' I pray to myself. I would hate myself if I had to get rid of her too. Like Louise, I would have to kill her, since her parents would most definitely not move out of Eclipse Howl. They are high ranking, maybe not of the highest level but still important enough for the pack. With widened eyes, I stare at her while frantically trying to cont
Several miles from the border of Eclipse Howl... "Please stop. Please let this stop. Have mercy on me, this is too much". A young woman groans from the pain inflicted on her by her assailants. Exhausted as she is, she cannot even feel her legs, her body is completely numb. But the men keep ramming into her, relentlessly and insatiably without caring about her screams. And this has been going on for several hours now, the woman is on the verge of passing out. A few days ago, she fell half dead into the hands of a group of lecherous rogues, always prowling at the pack's borders in search of defenseless prey. They dragged her to an abandoned cave where they holed up, removed the arrows from her arm and shoulder and smeared the injuries with some herbal herbs. Patiently, they waited for her wolf to heal her completely and then threw themselves at her without pity. No matter how much the woman begged them, they were merciless. It is not every
Her scent fills my nostrils, tantalizing me and drawing me irresistibly to her. My eyes are glued to her face as I carry her to Rachel's cave, I try to imprint her beauty in my memory. Her head has fallen against my chest, leaving her neck open and exposed, and I can't stop my lips from curling and my canines from stretching. They itch to be buried in that alluringly fair neck, my wolf trash in my head, demanding that I mark her. 'Mate! Mine!" Xander bursts in my head, almost giving me a headache. 'Mark her, human. She is ours!' He does not want to know that the woman in my arms is now unconscious and must also give us permission to claim her. For the moment, even her wolf is disabled, especially after the men's assault. I have yet to deal with them, all those who attacked her I will finish off as soon as I coordinate with the Alpha. Alpha Alvarez hates it when his orders are disobeyed. These men under him are like unguided missiles, they refuse to l
Still Beta Zalev Never before have I enjoyed killing wolves so much. The rage I felt gave these rascals no chance of survival. When I freed them, they thought they had regained their freedom. The look of surprise on their faces was worth its weight in gold when I told them what the actual case was. They all knew they were dead when they saw my face. The destructive energy emanating from me was palpable to everyone standing around us. The men all tried to attack me at first, their only hope of hurting me. How wrong they were! Cries of pain and the thudding sound of bodies hitting the ground echoed around us. A few soon gave up and began to beg for their lives. But I was too far away, vengeance was coursing through my blood. Xander clawed to take over, but then it would be over too soon. I wanted to see these assailants of my mate suffer before they closed their eyes forever. They didn't feel sorry for her then so they needn't expect that no
Louise's POV The bright light seems to want to blind me. After blinking a few times I get used to it and can keep my eyes open longer. And now I realize that the light is coming from an old lamp hanging from the ceiling. But otherwise, it was dark all around me. I try to raise a hand to feel my face, it is heavy, but I manage to lift it anyway. "You're awake." I am startled by the voice next to me. And when I see the person who has just spoken, I am shocked. A witch. Have I been lying here unconscious with a witch around, I ask myself in horror. She sees my reaction and smiles. "Don't worry, you are safe with me. I am not a black witch and will not harm you". Of course, I know that witches are anything but trustworthy, but if this one has kept me alive I do think I owe her the benefit of the doubt. I continue to stare at her as she looks back kindly. "What's your name? I'm Rachel,