Neaera-“You have a new mission.” Alpha Zach said, not bothering to knock as he entered my office.Looking up from the paperwork I was working on, I raised my brows at him. For the five years I have been here, I figured he would be better at communicating with me. Not that I could really complain, considering I wouldn’t be who I am today without him.“Hey Neaera, how are you? I know you just returned from a mission, but I have another one for you if you’re up for it.” I said in a mocking tone, deepening my voice to make it sound similar to his.“I think you have known me long enough to know I don’t care for unnecessary pleasantries.” Zach moved from the door and came to lean on the edge of my desk.“As you should know by now, I don’t like being told what to do.”Leaning back in my chair, I crossed my arms over my chest. My eyes narrowed on him, as I silently challenged him to argue with me. He might be the Alpha, but I was done having others attempt to control my life.It wasn’t that
Neaera- Seeing the name of the Alpha, I sat up straight in my chair. My hands tightened on the folder, as shock reverberated through me. I had to blink a few times to make sure I was reading it correctly and I wasn’t just imagining it. “No.” I stated simply before throwing the open folder on the table. My eyes remained glued to the folder, but my hands now felt as if they had been burned. It took me a year to come to terms with my past. Another year for me to let go of it fully, enough to move on completely. “This isn’t open for debate.” Zach said, picking up the folder from my desk. I wanted to throw something at him enough to knock him out cold. He knew about my past and for him to ask me to return there was beyond my understanding. Looking up at him, I noticed he was hiding his emotions well. “How can you stand there and ask me to go back?” Disbelief filled me as well as betrayal. “It isn’t like anyone would recognize you. You aren’t the same person you were when you left. As
Stryker-“The two we sent out, just returned. They report that they haven’t found anything yet. Shall I send the next two out?” Mathew, my Beta said as he entered my office.For the first time in five years, I felt utterly defeated. Every day I have been trying to find Neaera, but I keep coming up empty-handed. I knew everyone was getting tired of looking for her. I just wasn’t ready to give up.Every pack across the country that I was allied with, was helping me search for her. I kept getting complaints that I was wasting resources trying to find a human girl. It didn’t matter, until I found her, I wasn’t going to stop.“I need to find her.” I said through clenched teeth.My tolerance was getting low. I knew I should accept I was probably never going to find her, especially since she was possibly dead. I couldn’t understand how she could just vanish so easily.For all I know she was taken in by someone that found her or killed by the same vampires that murdered my parents. It has bee
Stryker-“Who?” Mathew shoved himself up against the window to get a better view.“Nea.” I breathed out as relief filled me.Before I could stop myself, my body reacted. Racing out of my office, I ran towards the front door, only to stop as my hand covered the door handle. Realization settled over me as I considered what would happen if I ran out to her right now.She has been gone for five years; I couldn’t run her off right away. Now that I knew she wasn’t dead, she must have had her reasons for staying gone for so long. I needed to play this by ear and find a way to make sure she doesn’t run off again.Taking a deep breath, I calmly opened the door and stepped out. It was difficult to keep my wolf in check as Nea came to stand in front of me. For a brief moment, I saw a flicker of recognition on her face before it was completely masked by indifference.“Hello, Alpha Stryker, I am Alpha Zach, and this is Slayer.” The unfamiliar male spoke while motioning towards Neaera.I did my bes
Neaera-Standing inside my old room, I was overwhelmed with many various emotions. Returning had proved to be more challenging than I had expected. From the moment I saw Stryker, to the moment I locked myself in my old room, I had nearly succumbed to the same girl I had once been.If there was one thing, I was good at doing, it was hiding what I was feeling, even though it was nothing more than a façade. I had thought I would be okay when I arrived, but that thought quickly vanished when I saw Stryker. Just like myself, he has changed a lot over the years, losing his boyish charm and becoming more rugged.I wasn’t sure what to feel regarding him. On one hand, he looked like the brother I once knew, while at the same time he didn’t. The only thing I knew was that my feelings for him weren’t simple. Hopefully, I can complete this mission before I have a chance to figure it out.Pulling out my phone, I looked at the screen to check the time. In about two hours the sun will be down. Once
Neaera-Having decided not to let it worry me about if I was found out or not, I returned to my room to get a few hours of sleep. When I woke up, I was surprised to find an array of dishes on the dining room table. All my old favorite foods were scattered around the table, as well as some other types.Stryker was sitting at the head of the table, where our father used to sit. I had to remind myself that it was Stryker’s father and not mine. Expecting that his parents would be joining us for breakfast, I felt a moment of panic.Since I arrived, I haven’t run into them, even though I knew it would be a matter of time before I did. I was tempted to turn around and wait until later to come downstairs. Taking a step back I thought I could get away without being spotted.Before I could take another step, Stryker looked up and a smile spread across his face. Oddly, I felt strange with the way he was looking at me. An image of him from when he was younger flashed in my head, and I nearly forg
Neaera-Arriving at the school, I had mixed feelings about going inside. The school was my biggest regret and held the most memories. Pausing just outside the glass double doors, which would take us inside the school, I couldn’t stop myself from remembering everything I went through.Stryker turned towards me and for a moment I thought he was going to find out the truth about who I was. I couldn’t think of a good enough excuse as to why I was standing here, afraid to go inside. Without looking at him, I could tell he was watching me closely.“This is where all the kids in the pack attend school. Everyone from preschool, all the way up to high school. I know it doesn’t look like much, but this is also where we do most of our training and pack meetings.” Stryker explained, although I already knew why we were at the school.I was just thankful that he didn’t see through my hesitation. Unlike other packs, this one focused more on training and education. Therefore, there wasn’t a large pac
Stryker-Hearing Chloe question Neaera had both my wolf and me wanting to lash out at her. From the way Chloe was staring her down, I could tell she was trying to show dominance toward Neaera. Taking a step forward, I was about to force her to submit to me, but I stopped when Neaera started speaking.“I suppose you want me to prove myself to you?”A smirk appeared on Chloe’s face as she folded her arms over her chest. At this point, I wasn’t sure what to do. My first instinct was to protect my mate, just as I always have. As I looked over at Neaera though, I realized she wasn’t the same as she once was.Other than her eyes and the knowledge she was my mate, there wasn’t anything I knew about her. In the five years that I missed out on, it was obvious that so much has changed. There was a powerful aura around her that was hard to miss.“That is exactly what I am saying.” Chloe said with a show of arrogance written all over her features, from her head all the way down to her toes.“Name