Filed to story: The Alpha’s Pen Pal Book
“Not the hospital,” Wesley says. “Take him to the infirmary room in the cells. We can cuff him to the bed and sedate him in there, and we can keep this under wraps until we know more about what happened to him while he was missing and what he was or wasn’t involved with regarding the poisoning and the rogue attack.”
I nod my agreement, even though Wesley doesn’t need my approval. But it’s a wise decision. We don’t need his pack members or anyone else to know he’s been found yet. It will be easier to get him treated and get our answers first, so we have solid, verified information to present to his pack, and hopefully a solution for them if he loses his title.
“We’ll head back now,” Wesley adds. “I’ll call your dad to let him know to meet you all at the cells. We’ll return to the packhouse first, and once you’re ready to question him, let us know.”
“Or if they want me to help,” Taryn says, and I growl, not bothering to hold it back anymore.
“Let’s go,” I say, my lip curling as I release Taryn from my grasp and grab her hand.
Gigi walks up to us and hugs us both, one arm around each of our bodies. “I’ll see you both back at the pack,” she says, kissing Taryn on the cheek.
Taryn nods, and as soon as she releases us, I turn and march towards Wesley’s truck, Wesley following us with long, hurried strides. The voices of the others fade to a dull murmur as we move closer to the truck. Nolan exits from the driver’s seat and joins them as we all get into Wesley’s truck and buckle up while he starts the engine.
It isn’t until we turn onto the main road that the tension in my body releases. I let out a long breath and lean my head against the headrest, pinching the bridge of my nose and closing my eyes. Taryn takes my free hand in both of hers, grasping it with all her might and leaning her head on my shoulder. My body aches for her, longs to pull her into my arms and onto my lap, but the winding mountain roads are no place for that, even more so since we’re in the backseat of my best friend’s truck.
Instead, I turn and kiss the top of her head and bury my nose into her braids, inhaling all of her, calming myself and my wolf. Dominic’s injured state didn’t matter to us. He is and always will be a threat to us, to our happiness as a family unit. He can’t take my girl from me—my mark on her neck ensures he can’t—but he could take my pup away. She is his heir, after all, and while my wolf and I both agree she is very much ours, the genes are his.
Even if he didn’t have a hand in the sabotaging of his pack, I can’t imagine him giving his heir up without a fight. A fight that will exhaust us, but that will be worth it in the end if—no—
when we get Sour Patch all to ourselves.
We stay like that—my hand in both of hers, my nose pressed into the top of her head—the entire drive back to Crescent Lake. Wesley and Haven are quiet, too. There is so much to say and yet nothing that needs to be said. Our worry and fear are palpable, and they both know better than most anyone that words can’t assuage the stress we feel. The stress won’t go away until all this is behind us, a tiny speck in the rearview mirror of life, and we have our Sour Patch in our arms.
“Why is Ben here?” Haven asks as we pull into the packhouse parking lot.
I lift my head from where it’s resting against Taryn’s and glance out the window. And, sure enough, Ben’s car is parked right in front of the packhouse.
“I don’t know,” Wesley says, checking his phone after parking. “I don’t have a missed call from him, but the cell service was shitty up at Silver Ridge.”
“Well, let’s hope it’s nothing urgent. We have enough on our plates right now,” Haven says with a sigh before she exits the truck.
The rest of us follow her and leave Wesley’s truck in the parking lot, strolling towards the packhouse steps where Ben waits with an older she-wolf.
“Oh, Goddess, Taryn!” she cries, launching herself off the steps and towards my mate.
She catches me so off guard with her exclamation and spirited movements that I don’t have time to move between her and Taryn. Her arms wrap around my mate in a tight hug, and Taryn stiffens for a moment before relaxing and returning the hug, patting her on the back.
“Luna Merina,” Taryn says, catching my eye. “I’m glad to see you.”
“Oh, I am so glad to see you too!” Merina says. “I have been stuck at Amber Forest since the attack. I tried to get over here before the storm hit, but Alpha Benjamin was insistent that everyone needed to stay in the pack they fled to after the attack. And I tried and tried to call, but there was limited service during the snowstorm, and Alpha Ben said Alpha Wesley was very busy, so I had to wait until the storm cleared.”
“It’s fine, Luna,” Taryn says as Merina releases her. “I’m sure the Silver Ridge members understand.”
“Yes, they have been most gracious in assuring me they hold nothing against me for not being here for them, too. And everyone is so worried about Dominic and has been so kind to me…” Her lip trembles, and her red-rimmed eyes fill with unshed tears. “Have you found any sign of him? Or heard from him? I thought maybe he’d try to contact you through mindlink to at least let someone know if he’s trapped or injured and needing help.”
“We haven’t found any sign of him yet,” Wesley says, pulling Merina’s attention away from my mate. “We were just up at Silver Ridge examining the damage and searching for any trace of him, but we came up empty.”
She covers her mouth with her hand and squeezes her eyes shut, a tear falling down her splotchy cheeks. The evidence of her emotional turmoil is clear on her face and in her body—the dark circles under her eyes, the red tip of her nose, the hair that looks like she attempted to style it but didn’t have the energy or the heart, and the overall fatigue in her body as she tries but cannot maintain a proper, luna-like posture.
“I’m so worried about him,” she says into her hand. “He’s a powerful alpha, but rogues are vicious and ruthless. Goddess knows what they may do to him or force him to do.”
“Haven,” Wesley says, glancing at his mate. “Why don’t you find Maddie and have her help you get Luna Merina set up in a guest room so she can connect with her pack members here? I need to speak with Alpha Ben and Reid and Taryn for a moment, and then I will come find you.”
Haven nods and takes Merina’s hand, leading the weeping woman away from us. They walk past us and into the house with us right behind them, and as they turn down the hall towards the guest rooms, Merina glances back at Taryn and me once more before disappearing around the corner.
“Did you really need to speak with me?” Ben asks in a whisper as we walk in the opposite direction towards Wesley’s office.
“No. I just needed her to stop asking questions about Dominic. The less we have to lie to her, the less we have to worry about keeping our stories straight.”
“You found him?” Ben asks as the door to the office closes behind us.
Wesley nods and plops himself down in his desk chair. “Found him wounded and bleeding. He looked like he’d been running for a while, and Levi suspects the wounds are self-inflicted. Dr. Russo will confirm when he examines him.”
“Why would he injure himself?” Ben asks, leaning against the window with his arms crossed.
“Maybe trying to escape the rogues? If they chained him up, he might have done whatever he could to get himself free,” Wes says, shrugging. “Levi wasn’t completely sure they were self-inflicted. He only has EMT training, but he’s usually spot-on with his guesses. We just need his dad to confirm.”
“Or he did it for attention,” I say under my breath. “How’d he know we’d be at his pack? I’m not convinced it was coincidence that he stumbled onto his pack grounds while we were there. That’s too easy. He had to know we were there.”
“How would he have known? We didn’t tell anyone where we were going, and even if we had, he was too far away for anyone from his pack to mindlink him,” Taryn says.
I shrug and sit down, pulling her into my lap. “I’m just saying.”
Ben stares at me—at us—and then sighs, leaning his head back against the window. “Every time one of you finds your mate, I get more antsy to find mine,” he says, bumping his head against the glass in a steady rhythm.
“I’m sure she’s out there somewhere,” I say, wrapping my arms around Taryn.
“Have you gone to any mating balls?” Taryn asks.
I frown and glance at Wesley, who wears a matching expression on his face. No one from our pack has been to a mating ball since the disaster of one we attended six years ago. The one where Nolan’s mate rejected him on the spot.
“I haven’t had time,” Ben says, lifting his head to look at her. “I’ve been too busy ensuring my pack will be a safe place for my luna when I find her.”
