Chapter 14

Alpha Eric's POV

“How could he just vanish?” I slam my fist into the mirror on the wall as my team of idiots gives me an update on what they have found on my dear nephew.

“He hasn’t checked in at the group home in days, sir. He was suspended from school, so he hasn’t been there either.”

“And I’m pretty sure if he went to the pawn shop, he won’t be going anywhere near that place for a while. The kid is in hiding. My guess is he could hide for months and no one would find him. The only person that seemed to care at all about him is the guy you murdered.” Stefan, my head of security chimes in, and he is the only one who doesn’t fear me. Truth is, I don’t think he cares if he lives or dies after his mate was murdered, and if he ever finds out I'm the one who did it he won't be much help to me at all.

“What about that little piece of shit kid who gave him up so quickly? Maybe he has more information.” I grab my coat and keys. “We’re going to go pay him a little visit.”

My men follow me and we head to the school. I don’t bother going in to talk to the idiot principal, school will be out in a few minutes, so we just wait out front. When the bell rings a sea of hormonal teenagers pours out of the building, but this kid sticks out like a sore thumb and I see him almost instantly. He sees me too and as soon as it registers in his feeble brain that I’m there for him, he takes off running. He makes it to the back of the building before I grab him and lean him not so gently up against the wall of the football stadium.

“Where ya going?” I ask him and he just shrugs his shoulders. “I need more information on your buddy,” I say and I slowly let the kid down. “Don’t run, we’ll catch you in a heartbeat, and this guy here,” I point to my lead warrior, “He’ll just rip your legs off to force you to stay put.”

“I told you, he isn’t my buddy. I hate the guy.” The kid squirms and I grip him a little tighter.

“Look you little maggot, I don’t give a shit. I want to know who else Leo hangs out with. Where else does he go?” The kid stumbles backward slightly when I let him down and smoothes out his jacket and pants.

“I - I don’t know much about him.” He says. “He has like one friend, and she isn’t around. She’s on vacation.”

“What’s her name?” I ask, hoping maybe this is the lead that I need.

“Angie, she’s on the soccer team. She hangs out with the loser and is the only one I’ve ever seen Leo talk to. She doesn’t come back until next week I guess.”

I don’t want to wait that long.

“Tell me, how can Leo, a good looking highschool kid have zero friends? Are you telling me that he has no one? No girlfriend? Nothing?” I find it hard to believe.

“Leo is a homeless freak. Everyone knows he’s a piece of shit.” The kid really hates him, and I don’t know why, but his insulting a member of my family pisses me off.

“What’s your name again?” I ask and he responds.

"Donavan."

“Look Donavan, you seem to put an awful lot of time into hating a kid you say you don’t care about. What, are you jealous of him? You afraid he just might be better than you?”

“Fuck you,” he says, and I get real close to twisting his head off, but Stefan pulls my arm.

“Let’s go. This kid is useless.”

We just about get out of his sight when he comes running towards us.

“Wait! Wait there was a girl! I never saw her before, but she was with Leo at the coffee shop.” I raise my eyebrows and now he has me interested.

“She - She was real pretty. He said they just met.

“You get a name?” I ask and he thinks about it for a moment.

“When he left he said ‘Nice to meet you Elise’, I remember because I looked her up in the yearbook, but didn’t find anyone by that name.” He puts his hands in his pockets and starts to rock from side to side. “That’s it. That’s all I know.”

“Donavan, you’ve given me what I needed. I’ll be back if I need you further."

I walk away with a grin on my face and we climb back into the SUV; Stefan sits in the passenger seat and chuckles.

“Fucking Elise. You know what this means don’t you? If it turns out to be the same Elise we all think it is, you’re a little bit fucked.” he laughs and my anger ignites. It's like he is enjoying the fact that this could cause me problems.

“Let’s make a visit to the coffee shop, see if they have any video or receipts to confirm how fucked I truly am,” I say bitterly. If this girl turns out to be Roman’s daughter, things are going to get a whole lot more complicated.

Leo's POV

I can feel the sun hitting my face before I open my eyes, and I take a deep breath and just let the warmth of it soak in. When I finally open them I see Elise wrapped around me and something inside me smiles with the knowledge that this girl believes she is meant for me. She is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I reach down and gently stroke her hair when she wakes and stretches her arms across my body.

“Good morning,” she says in the softest of voices and smiles at me.

I smile back and think about how insane my life has gotten over the last few days.

“Come on, we have a lot to do today.” She stands up and picks something off the table. “Here, this is for you.”

She hands me a cell phone and I’m confused. “I - I can’t afford this Elise,” I say, a bit embarrassed as I hand it back to her.

“Think of it as a loaner then. We need to be able to reach each other. This will allow us to keep in contact. Okay? Just for a while.” She pushes my hand gently back and kisses me on the cheek. “I’m going to go clean up a bit. I’ll meet you back here for breakfast. Any requests?”

I shake my head and she laughs. "I'll have a bunch of stuff made." She opens the door and gives a small startled yelp when she sees her father on the other side with a younger kid.

“Oh gosh! Dad, you scared me!” He reaches down and gives her a hug good morning. “Alpha Jonathan, how nice to see you up and around. Would you like to request anything for breakfast, I was just going to have something sent up for us.”

“Hmmmm, waffles?” he says.

“Back in a little bit!” She says and heads out of the room, allowing Roman and this other new person to come in.

“Good morning Leo, how did you sleep?”

I panic. He clearly saw his daughter in here and knows she was here all night. He’s gonna kill me.

“Calm down, Leo.” He notices that I’m nervously wringing my hands together. “You’re mates. It’s different in our world. We aren’t like humans. We expect when you find your mate you are together right away. For most wolves, that’s around seventeen or eighteen. Sometimes it can take longer.” He pats me on the back and gestures for me to come closer.

“Leo, I’d like you to meet Alpha Jonathan. Jonathan, this is Leo, Aria and Augusta’s son.” Immediately Jonathan drops to one knee and bows his head.

“It is an honor to meet you Alpha King Leo.” He says and it makes me uncomfortable.

“Please, it’s just Leo,” I say and extend my hand. “Pleasure to meet you as well Alpha Jonathan.” He rises and shakes it and then stares up at Roman looking for what to do next.

“Come, let’s sit.” Roman takes a seat at the table and we join him.

“Leo, Jonathan is from the territories in the south. He is the Alpha of the South Hill pack. A peaceful community.” I look at him and he looks really young. I see all of the bruises healing on his face and it looks like he may be in a bit of pain.

“Jonathan’s father was killed in a car accident earlier this year, and Jonathan took his rightful seat as Alpha several years before it is intended, and he has done a fine job of it.” Roman pats Jonathan on the back, but the young boy doesn’t seem so convinced, and he shakes his head in denial.

“My pack was stolen from me. My beta was murdered trying to protect me. Eric had me dropped here in the North with every intention of killing me. If it weren’t for Alpha King Roman and his men, I woulda been a goner.”

“I - I’m so sorry,” I reply, not really sure what to say. “I had someone close to me die protecting me too.” I think about Frank and sadness swells up in my throat.

“Leo, Jonathan spoke to your mother before he was dropped here. She told him about you and how important it would be to find you to help stop Eric’s reign of terror.”

“You know my mother?” I ask, still struggling with the realization that I have a mother out there, and that she actually cares about me.

“Yes, she is a wonderful Luna. She and your father were loved by everyone in the Southern Territories. When your father was killed, Eric forced her to marry him.” Jonathan replies.

“I need to see her. I need to go to her.” I say as Lucas walks into the room carrying a large tray of all sorts of food.

“Good morning!” He says as he places the food on the table. “You know kid, you are going to have to tell us what you like so Elise doesn’t have the kitchen make everything known to man.

I ignore the breakfast that is set down, although my stomach grumbles when I smell it. But, I need to go find my mother.

“Roman, I need to find her. I can’t just sit here and do nothing. I want her to know I’m okay.” I stand up but Lucas puts his hands on my shoulders and sits me back down somewhat forcefully.

“Nope. You are gonna stay put kid,” he says, and a spark of anger ignites in my belly. “Our scouts are returning this afternoon and they will provide us with a debrief of what is really going on down there. They’re also checking in on your mother. It’s best if we just sit tight. Once we know what’s going on we can figure out our next steps.” Lucas turns to Roman and nervously runs his hand through is hair. “Roman, we are going to need to tell the council soon. There are rumors starting and that can only lead to trouble. We can’t hide him here forever.”

“Leo, we will meet at dinner after our scouts are back. I promise to tell you everything we find out. You will start your training tomorrow as well.”

'About time! Leo, I want to train fully. You will need to shift. '

The voice in my head is loud, shouting almost, and it makes me nervous.

“Leo, what’s wrong?” Lucas asks.

“The voice, in my head, it’s angry,” I say quietly.

“We will need you and your wolf completely whole in order to move forward. We can help you.” Roman replies, but I’m not so sure.

“I’m nervous,” I admit

“Well, I suppose that’s natural given you didn’t grow up knowing anything about any of this life. We will guide you, and Elise will be there when you shift for the first time. She and her wolf will be there and can help the first transition go easily.” Roman walks to the door and gestures for Lucas to follow him.

“Lucas and I have meetings today, but Jonathan you are welcome to stay and visit with Leo if you like. I’ll send for you both after the scout team gets back.” Roman walks out and Lucas pauses before he follows him.

“If you need anything, just give me a call. I put my number in the phone. Got it?”

I nod and watch the both of them walk out, but I can hear my stomach grumbling louder. I look down at the tray of food, and Jonathan is already digging in. I decide I may as well too.