Lucas' Point of View. (SURPRISE)
Our Alpha is depressed.
Our Luna is gone.
45 days.
It's been 45 days since Maya disappeared and Alpha Josh is getting worse by the day. He feels every bit of Maya's physical pain, the Moon Goddess' way of drawing mates back together. But he can't find her, we can't find her. I've basically taken charge along with Alpha Allen, Josh only comes out when it's time to go raid a pack or catch Crescent Moon wolves. He stays in their room, inhaling her scent and I'm pretty sure crying. A good portion of the night he screams, it echoes throughout the whole house. Everyone can hear it, not to mention the amount of pain and sadness that's going through the pack link.
Kris, we're about to tie him up. His wolf wanting to take over entirely and go feral, he would kill anything in sight to get his charge back. Jax would be doing the same thing if he weren't so depressed. We know she's alive, neither one of them have lost what little connection is left, nor have we lost our connection to our Luna.
I don't know what to do. We've searched and conquered Crescent Moon, it isn't officially ours – not until we kill Kermit. We've searched Alpha Thomas' territory, his pack has completely disappeared. Do their pack members know they have weak leaders? Slowly we're catching loyal followers to Crescent Moon, Kermit and Thomas. We interrogate to the point of them begging for death but nothing. No one knows anything. Kermit's leadership has completely disappeared, it's almost unheard of. People, not even wolves can just fall off the grid.
Not only do I have an out of control guardian, a lost Luna and a depressed Alpha but my mate hardly gets out of bed. She sleeps or cries and only eats when I force feed her. The entire pack is in disarray, even Allen doesn't know what to do to boost morale…
Riley, my beautiful mate was already asleep by the time I walked into the room at 8 o'clock this morning, I didn't sleep at all last night. As soon as my knee hits the mattress, Alpha's pain pierced scream reverberates off the walls. I'm already at the door before the next one sounds. When I walked in, I see nothing out of the norm. Well the norm from the past 44… now 45 days. Lying on their bed, the entire mattress is coated in her clothes with his nose buried in them. He clutches her pillow as if it was Maya herself. "I NEED HER!" My heart breaks for my best friend.
I don't know what to do. Story of my life for the past 45 days. He hurriedly wipes his tear stains either so I won't see, or so it won't ruin her scent on anything. He looks terrible, dark bags under his bloodshot eyes and the only reason he doesn't have a beard but a 5 o'clock shadow is because of Luna Amy. He's lost weight, and you can see where he's been tugging at his skin from the pain that's being inflicted on Maya. "Lucas I need her."
I just nod my head. There's nothing else I can say or do to comfort him. "She told me she couldn't survive another round of this." He whispers brokenly, "I couldn't protect her. I – I should have, I only feel like a tenth of her pain, I can't even imagine what she's going through. I love her so much, w-what if I don't get her back?"
This isn't the Alpha I know, this isn't my best friend. We need to get back on track, I'm just a Beta. "I can't run this pack without you Josh." I muster out, "I don't know how you're feeling and I pray to the Moon Goddess I'll never have to but, this pack needs a strong Alpha. We need you and Jax to find your mate to find our Luna."
His glare focuses on me, "You don't think I want to find her?" Slowly he stalks towards me, I stand there and just watch him. "I would do anything, I'd give my own life to save her! I would switch places in an instant but they've gone off the fucking grid!" He rubs his face and I can tell he's fighting back the tears.
"We need you back Alpha Josh. Get mad, unleash your wolf. We need Jax to find her! We've searched in both packs, they're hiding somewhere and we need you to fight through this and come back to us!" I all but yell, it's the truth I can only do so much. Yes, I'm a well-respected Beta but other packs don't respond to me and our pack is hardly functioning now that Maya is gone. We're running trackers and warriors non-stop, patrol wolves are constantly searching for any sort of scent.
That's when Josh clutches his neck in his hands. "Fuck." He whispers and removes his hand before putting it to his mark. "Son of a bitch." He growled and that's when I feel Jax' presence coming to the surface. The Alpha power radiating off of him, "He marked her. Son of a bitch he fucking marked her."
"Maya's mark is still on you." His body begins to shake in pure and utter fury. Another male is trying to claim what's his and that never sits right. I'm growling thinking about someone trying to mark Riley. "She can't hold his mark. He'd have to mark her all the time."
"Take me to the cells." He growls before throwing the door open and cracking it against the wall in the process. "SHE'S MINE!" His monstrous roar has pictures on the wall shaking.
"Alpha we don't have any live or conscious wolves. Kermit's nor Thomas'."
Before I can think twice I'm pushed up against the wall. Amber orbs stare back at me, Jax doesn't like being questioned. I'm not even mad I'm just glad we have Jax taking charge. "I didn't ask that. In fact I didn't ask anything!" He tightens his grip on my throat, "I told you to take me to the cells and I will tell you again, get the fucking keys and take me to the cell."
I'm thrown to the ground and for the first time in weeks a smile is on my face. "Yes, Alpha."
I have the keys.
The first couple weeks, Kris and Alpha Josh would go to the cells and reek absolute havoc looking for answers. Josh killed some wolves that we had captured, and since we needed as much information as possible I couldn't have us losing any more prisoners. Alpha Allen and I both agreed on this, it was my turn to stay here for the day while Allen went to Goddess only knows where with some trackers to help find Luna. Snatching the keys off my dresser, my mate stirs in her sleep and slowly opens her eyes. I give her a small smile, she doesn't return it. For the first few weeks she tried, but that honestly hurt worse than not smiling at all. "Hey princess."
"Anything?"
This is routine. I just shake my head and lean in to kiss her sweet lips. They always taste good, "But, Jax took control." Her eyes brightened, but dulled almost instantly. My wolf whines at the sadness she's relinquishing out on the mate bond. "We'll find her princess. I love you."
"I love you too." She sighs and is asleep again before I even make it to the door. She's exhausted all the time, only waking up to eat and ask about Maya. I should have Dr. Packwood check in on her. I know she's upset over Maya but, I don't know something isn't right. Josh is already pacing outside of the dungeons when I walk up.
"What the hell took you so long?" He growls out and storms towards me, snatching the keys out of my hand.
"Sorry Alpha. Comforting my mate."
His amber orbs flash a light yellow with my excuse, "The comfort that my mate isn't getting!" Josh slams open the door and storms down the steps. "OH KATIE!" He sings and stops in front of a cell and flashes his canines, "Good day John, Melody, Katie. Let's have a little chat!" He throws the cell door open and menacingly grins. Grabbing a fistful of Katie's hair he drags her out of that cell and into the interrogation room with her screaming. He's choosing the weakest one, we put John in here after he tripped the sensor. It was because of him that Crescent Moon wolves crossed our territory.
Stupid prick.
We should have locked Katie up immediately. We tried to play too many mind games, we tried to play it their way and we lost Maya. "Stay out here. Or you can talk to John." Jax flashes his canines and slams the solitary cell, locking him and Katie away from everyone.
GMWGMWGMWGMWGMW
Josh's Point of View.
You ever felt like dying? I have. Twice now.
Maya.
I need her.
I want her.
I have to have her.
I lost her.
It's my fault that she's going through everything. I should have gone with her, I thought with the sensors and patrol that we'd be fine. The longer she's gone, the less I feel her. I can't feel her emotions, I can feel her pain. There's so much of it, so much and I don't know how to handle it. I don't know what to do, or how to help her. I wallowed in sadness, the only time I came out of our room was when we went to raid packs or follow any leads we found. I just soaked up her scent in an effort to prevent myself from going feral. It was hard to stop that, especially when I felt her being tortured. I can only imagine what my baby girl is feeling, the minute I find her she's never leaving my side again, that's the one thing I kept repeating to myself, because I refused to not get her back.
The first 4 weeks of torture was the absolute worst. I could pinpoint the exact times when she'd be receiving it. I'd lock myself in our room and cry, scream and try to reach out to her. Kermit isn't just hurting Maya, he's hurting me. And he knows it, that was his plan and unfortunately it's been working.
But as soon as I felt Maya get marked, something inside of me sparked.
Jax took over.
We're even more determined to find our mate. I hardly heard Katie's screams as I drug her from the group cell – since we seem to be very full – to a solitary cell where some… instruments were already at my disposal. She's refused to talk, we don't like torturing people and we certainly don't like torturing she-wolves.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Throwing her across the room, she collides with the lone chair. "Do you know what all Maya has gone through?" Stalking towards her, I lift her back up by the throat and throw her again. Her back colliding with the concrete, a resounding crack is heard over her shrill scream. "I'm not going to go easy on you." Setting the chair back up, I grab the silver entwined rope and use the pain from the rope to further fuel my hate fire. Grabbing the back of her hair, I drag her towards the chair to tie up her legs and arms.
"It starts at 8 p.m. that's when it starts." Going towards the tray, I snatch a silver knife. "I'm going to put you everything that she goes through in a day." I toss the knife in the air and Jax smiles at the fear in her eyes. "First a searing pain in the arm." I drag the knife in the exact spot that I feel it at 8 p.m. I block out her scream and set it down. "Then she gets abused for a good hour." I growl and spit in her face.
Throwing my fist back, I connect it to her face. "I don't like abusing women!" I punch her again, ignoring her cries to stop. "But this is EXACTLY WHAT YOU PUT MY MATE THROUGH!" And again. "Only 59 minutes to go!" I growl out and throw her and the chair across the room. "Do you have any idea how it feels to not only feel the pain of your mate dying by the day but to know that your own pack members are the cause of it?"
"Please stop!"
I punch her again before setting her upright in the chair. "Maya's pleas are going unheard. You're crying out to deaf ears. The only thing I'll hear is the location of where my mate is. Until then I will be in here every day, putting you through the exact same thing she is suffering because of you. Same goes for your mother and for your father." Blood rolls down her cheeks and from her mouth, tears fall from her eyes and Jax is ecstatic.
Maya would hate that I'm doing this, I can deal with her being mad at me if she's here with me. If she's in my arms or even in the same room then I can handle her being mad at me. I just have to get her back, I don't care at what costs at this point.
Jax notified me once 45 minutes had passed. I was out of breath and sweating from the pain I'm inflicting upon her. "Now, the next is tricky. I'm pretty sure I've pinpointed exactly what it is." I muster out while grabbing the whip. "I've never been lashed, Maya took them for me – because of what you did. However, for 30 minutes I feel a sting on several places on my body all at the same time. Over and over, and over."
She's barely conscious as I speak out sweet nothings. "I don't want to do this Katie. I'd rather you just give me the answers and then I'd kill you." Shrugging I take a few steps back, "You will be decorated with these scars as my mate will be when I find her." I've hated lashes, I took down the whipping post that my father hadn't used because I don't resort to those tactics. I never have, the fact that I'm doing this now shows I'm close to desperate.
No, I am desperate.
The moment she was taken away from me, I was desperate. When you feel like you can't breathe, when your heart is shattering and you can't seem to do anything, that's when you're desperate. I'm holding the leather in my hands, the tails of the whip that will kiss her skin are coated in silver.
Jax notices I'm hesitating.
He takes over.
GMWGMWGMWGMWGMWGMW
30 minutes later I'm closing the solitary cell and splattered with blood. Lucas stares at me wide eyed, I don't remember what happened after Jax went feral. Jax says Katie went unconscious after a few hits. Again, show casing how strong Maya is. "Did he talk?"
He shakes his head no, and I can't help but growl while stepping in front of John's cage. As soon as he sees me, he's tugging at his chains. "WHAT'D YOU DO?!"
"THE SAME THING MY MATE GOES THROUGH DAILY! AND GUESS WHAT YOU SON OF A BITCH, I'M NOT DONE! I COME BACK IN 2 HOURS AND INFLICT MORE PAIN! TOMORROW IT WILL BE YOUR WIFE AND YOUR DAUGHTER!" I focus my gaze on his wife who is crying and trembling, "All 3 of you will be put to death as soon as I hear what I want to hear. Months apart so you can suffer, the way Maya is suffering the way I am suffering."
"I will kill your wife first." I growl out and open the cage, Jax' thirst for blood won't and can't be sated. "That way you and your whore of a daughter will feel the loss of a loved one." My fist connects to his face in a fluid motion, we don't care if our pack members fear us, they will respect us. The fact that this went on, right under our noses is enough to make our blood boil.
"I-is she alive?" Melody cries out, begging for the right answer.
My canines elongate, "Yes. She is alive. Unconscious, passed out from the pain but unfortunately she's alive. I'll be back in 2 hours, Melody will be taken away next. I'd think long and hard John, I'd hate to scar up her pretty face."
I punch him a few more times before exiting the cage. Lucas and I stay silent until we exit the dungeon. He stands right in front of me with his neck exposed. "Alpha what happened in there."
"What needed to happen." I answer vaguely and sidestep him. "Nothing is too far for my mate Lucas. I've been too nice. People, my pack members think they can go behind my back? They think they can do this to me and my mate? They'll all learn to think again."
Stepping into the pack house, I don't see anyone as I'm walking to our room. Lucas must have told everyone to stay away. I'm standing outside of our bedroom and I can't bring myself to go in. If I do, I will be right back where I was. Depressed and bathing in her scent that's growing staler every day.
'Farkle, bring clothes from my bedroom to the spare bedroom on my floor.'
After he replies yes, I throw myself into the shower to get the blood off of me. During the day, I don't feel anything. It's almost as if he's switched her schedule, I think that part is specifically for me. I have to be up during the day for raids and if he's hurting her at night… I'm not going to sleep.
Stepping out of the shower, I hurriedly get dressed and saunter towards my office. 'Lucas, father, office. Now.'
Once I'm inside, I can't even remember the last time I was in here. There's maps all over the place with 'X' placed over certain territories and areas that are shaded that we have gone through already. The door opens and my father steps inside, Lucas in tow. "What do we know?"
No beating around the bush I don't have time for this.
Thomas marked my mate. I can't just sit by anymore, I shouldn't have let someone else be in charge of finding my mate, even if I went on raids. I gave into the depression of losing Maya. It was unacceptable. "I've been informed of your playtime in the dungeons."
"Thank you Lucas." I growl out, "I'm not seeking your approval and I don't give a damn. Catch me up, what do we know?"
My father sighs and just shakes his head. "It's about damn time your back." He pulls me in a hug and I push him away almost immediately. The longer they stall the longer I'm without Maya. The longer she's in that hell.
"Let's go, I have to be back down there in slightly over an hour."
Lucas nods and walks towards the map on my desk, "We've searched all of Crescent Moon, as well as Alpha Thomas' pack with our best trackers. We raided homes in a few of our allies' packs as you know and had no luck. Alpha Thomas' pack has seemingly up and disappeared, we've collected a few runners turned rogue from Crescent Moon that didn't want to leave with the rest. They have no idea where the rest of his pack went, we've contacted our allies and no new packs have moved in around their territories. I've even tried contacting unallied packs and the ones that cooperated had no new information."
My teeth grit together, "They can't just disappear. Their packs weren't huge, but they had enough to make a difference. There was no scent, was there?" They looked at me as if I was insane, "When Maya was taken." I whisper, I just ran around the forest like a mad man searching for Maya's scent that I couldn't find either.
"No Alpha."
'Farkle, office now and bring your laptop.'
Seconds later Farkle is stepping inside, "Pull up the sensor triggers from the day Maya was taken."
He nods and presses a few buttons before turning the computer screen towards me. I can see where they entered, when John said it was an accident. "I don't see a trigger when they left. Nothing until 2 days later. When we went on our first search." I growl and slam my fist into the wall. "THEY NEVER LEFT THE TERRITORY!"
Everything around me shakes. "SEARCH EVERYWHERE!"
GMWGMWGMWGMWGMW
Hello lovebugs! Firstly, I hope you loved this chapter. Secondly, I know this chapter may be slightly controversial because of the abuse on Katie, but she deserves it. Lol, but honestly I really am sorry if this may have hurt anyone's feelings. Thirdly, I wanted to talk to you about my update schedule. Plain and simple, I don't really have one… oops. Lol, I try to update at least every 2 days, lately it has been 3 since I have had some health issues that I am currently trying to work out and I've been sleeping… a lot. On previous books, I updated daily and that's because the chapters were about a thousand words shorter. But I'm pushing my limits and wanting to write better and bring in more readers with this book as well as Sweet Cheeks.
I do love updating and I will try to get back on track for y'all. Thanks!