Female Novel
Chapter 42
Kade’s P.o.v One Week Later With each passing day, my patience seemed to thin. We could find no witnesses who spotted Aurorathat night. Our first step was heading to the nearest bus terminals, speaking with security to access thecamera’s. After an agonizing three days, two of four bus terminals had searched through their footage.Two had not gotten back to Alec or I. It was reasonable to assume Aurora had taken a bus to Atlantaairport and then flew from there. When my patience had run too thin, Alec contacted the Atlanta Airporton my behalf. Our territory covered Atlanta, meaning we had the authority to demand this of ourpeople. Alpha Garrett was determined to help us locate Aurora, though his reasons differed from our own. Hewas still unhappy with his daughter’s mates, but I could’ve cared less. I couldn’t risk hurting Aurora orAlpha Garrett would have been rotting in the dungeons by now. I knew without asking that Alec felt thesame. We went as far as to track her banking statements, but the most recent purchases were here in town, aweek before she had left. The cellphone Tori had given her sat untouched on the bed, missed calls andtexts flashing across the screen. It seems Aurora had been quite the little mastermind, going as far as ditching her cellphones andwithdrawing the money from her bank account. If she weren’t gone, I might have been amused at thelengths she went to. Naturally, Tori was distraught when she heard what Aurora had done. She had been in denial for days,claiming she must’ve been kidnapped. While kidnapping wasn’t out of question, it was highly unlikely.As much as it pained me to be away from my mate, I understood why she would choose to leave. And as her mate, I couldn’t let her get away. If she rejected us for bringing her back, then so be it butwe had to try. A country-wide search for Aurora was our next step should the bus terminals and airport prove to beuseless. We wanted to keep her identity private, sparing her from being hunted by every werewolf in
the country. Most days, I spent my time with Grace. Despite the numerous times we had slept together, I had neverknown the true depths of her obsession. With the putrid scent of the dungeon ledged behind my frontallobe, I made myself familiar with her screams and ragged sobs. Torturing Grace had been pointless, expending energy for information she did not have. Grace crackedwithin the first hour, much as Alec and I predicted. Her face resembled Aurora’s when she had hurt her.Eyes swollen shut, the skin dark and purple. Her jaw might have been broken, but I hadn’t caredenough to stop. ‘She’s been planning to leave this entire time.’ Grace spat, her eyes bright and wild despite the sob thatleft her b****y lips. ‘She couldn’t wait to get away from the two of you.’
I reigned in the fury that made me want to take Grace’s life, and refused to entertain the thought.Instead of taking her life, I left her to rot. Her d***h would be agonizingly slow, for every moment Aurorahad been afraid of her. ‘Guys, we got a problem.’ Justin growled through the mind-link, interrupting Alec and I’s time withGrace. A ragged breath left her lips, one of relief as Alec and I were called away. She’d be given enough foodto kept alive, but that was the extent of our generosity. ‘What happened?’ Alec’s panic mirrored my own. ‘Alpha Julian and his men are here.’ Zane grunted; his usual care-free tone was replaced with one ofdistaste. ‘Stopped at the borders, but insist on being let through.’ ‘Says you keep canceling a meeting with him.’ Justin continued, ‘He’s insisting to be seen.’ ‘Tell him, if he wishes for an audience he will have to wait.’ I snapped, tired of Alpha Julian’s inflatedsense of importance. ‘Bring him to our office, keep an eye on him and his men the entire time.’ ‘Got it, Alpha.’ Justin called out, ending the mind-link. “He waits for us.” Alec nodded approvingly, “We take our time, show him he cannot come onto our landand demand our attention.”
Alec and I spent some time visiting the bus terminals, watching over the footage ourselves for anysighting of Aurora. Unsuccessful and extremely irritable, we headed back to town. Justin and Zane had been helpful, bringing Alpha Julian to our office outside of the packhouse. Ouroffice inside the packhouse was personal, reserved for those we trusted. We wouldn’t allow just anyoneto enter the home we resided in. Alpha Julian was brought to another building on the other side oftown. The building itself was meant to fool the eyes. Large and imposing, an office building in thecenter of a quaint town. The building was located in the busiest part of town, citizen’s walking thestreets along shops and restaurants. Gardeners tended the flowers that formed in large clumps alongthe sidewalks, while others trimmed the grass. This was where we held meetings with other Alpha’s,showing our position and the size of our pack. A good three hours later, we arrived at our office. This particular office was meant to fit many, andsported a round table with multiple chairs. A fully stocked bar ran the length of the wall. The bartempted others to get comfortable, but they were quickly reminded whose territory they resided on. Alpha Julian sat in one of the empty chairs, his face etched with irritation at being kept waiting. Julian’smen lined the wall, their silent eyes watching their Alpha. Justin and Zane were nowhere to be seen, asmart move on their part. Alpha Julian would know how unimportant he was, as he couldn’t get anaudience with either Alpha or either Beta. Justin and Zane met us outside, both shooting irritable glares at the office inside. Justin and Zane bothhad the same towering build, a perk of being two of our best warriors. Justin’s hair was the color ofsand, reaching down to his shoulders in gentle waves. Zane’s hair was the color of gingerbread, partedto the side of his head. “Want us to join, Alpha?” Justin asked, to which I nodded. The four of us entered the building, heading down the hall and to the left. A set of double doors led intothe large office space. Alpha Julian stood as we entered the room, the irritation fading from his face. Alpha Julian stood a littletaller than Alec and I, but his build was much smaller of the two. With thick dark hair that reached hisshoulders, Alpha Julian looked nothing like a rogue despite the nature in which he received his title. Hisnovelbin
suit was dark, but the blue in his eyes stood out alarmingly. “Alpha Alec and Alpha Kade, a pleasure to finally meet you.” Alpha Julian approached the two of us,extending a hand. I ignored his rueful tone and the way he had spoken the word ‘finally’, accepting hishand. “Beta Zane and Beta Justin, pleasure.” “We had other matters to attend to.” Alec informed him, strolling over to the bar to pour himself a drink. I watched the irritation flash in Alpha Julian’s eyes as he looked at my brother. Alec moved as thoughhe had all the time in the world, taking time to choose and pour his drink. “Anything I could help with?” Alpha Julian questioned, his eyes flitting over to me. I took a seat at the table, farthest away from Julian. Leaning back in the seat, I surveyed the man infront of me. Once a rogue, now an Alpha. Julian had built a pack of his own from rogues, using forceand charisma to secure his place. Word has it his pack is fairly loyal and civilized, nothing like therogues you see today. Alpha Julian had been insisting on renegotiating our territory, a meeting Alecand I were not looking forward to. “Unnecessary.” I shrugged, my eyes bored and tone flat. Once Alec was finished, he took the seatbeside me. Justin and Zane leaned against the wall, joining the men they had sent to watch over AlphaJulian. A knock sounded on the door, and I signaled one of our men to open it. Alpha Garrett stood in the doorway, sending a new wave of murderous anger into our blood. “One of my men told me of Alpha Julian’s arrival.” Alpha Garrett nodded once at Julian, then turned hisattention to Alec and I. “I feel as though I should be here, considering my territory is nearby.” The last thing I wanted was to deal with another infuriating Alpha, but he was right. Alpha Garrett cameinside, taking a seat at the table. “Now–let’s get down to business.” Alpha Julian gave Alec and I a serpent-like smile, looking much likethe rogue he used to be. “My numbers grow as more rogue’s come to join my pack. As we all know,there is a vast amount of unclaimed land just south of your pack.” “And what would you ask of us?” Alec spoke first, his eyebrow raised as he gave Julian a look ofamusement. “Should we let you and your entire pack cross through our lands for this territory? That
would be quite the risk.” “I would never ask such things, not unless it is a last resort.” Alpha Julian kept his tone polite, but hiseyes were hard and determined. “Speak plainly then.” I let my impatience shine through. I hadn’t the time for carefully crafted words, aslocating Aurora was more important than a disgruntled Alpha. “We ask that–“ The high-pitched chime of a phone went off, and my head snapped down as I felt my pocket vibrate.Dismissing Alpha Julian’s words entirely, I placed the phone against my ear. Atlanta Airport securitywas on the other line, their words taking my attention from the other Alpha’s in the room. “The girl you’re looking for–I think we’ve found her.”