CHAPTER NINE

--Xavier--

Back in the Packhouse, the tension was palpable. It had been five whole hours since Alyssa, my mate, had run away, and my anger was growing by the minute. My blood boiled with each passing second, and every glance at my watch felt like a ticking time bomb. I was Alpha Xavier, ruler of the pack, and it felt like the entire world was falling apart just because my mate had vanished.

Alpha Kane, the Alpha of this Pack, informed me that Alyssa lived with her grandmother, who was on her way to the Packhouse.

Everyone had gone home by now, their festive spirits dampened by the chaos that followed Alyssa's disappearance. My mother, the one person who had been more eager than I was to find my mate, was arriving shortly. She had always been obsessed with me finding my mate, convinced it was the key to my happiness. Now, she'd be upset by the turn of events, fearing that my mate might reject me. She couldn’t.

The guards continued to scour the woods, searching tirelessly, knowing full