2: Luke

We came to this sh*t hole of a town because we had just found out it was the last place Gemma had been seen. That was nearly eighteen years ago. I don't understand what the obsession is with finding this one she-wolf, but my dad told me we can't ever stop looking for her. It's not like she was my dad's mate or anything. He told me when I find her and bring her home to the pack, he will explain everything.

That girl Lila at the diner caught my attention today. She is gorgeous with her pale skin, dark hair, and those green eyes. She was striking. It was hard to keep my eyes from trailing every inch of her body. I didn't want to scare her, though. She truly didn't seem to know what I was talking about when I asked her about her pack. She didn't smell like a rogue, though. She is either a very good liar or something else is going on. I'm going to find out before we leave this little town, though.

"Hey, Jake, what did you find on the girl so far?" I asked as he comes barging into my little motel room.

"Dude, not much. She moved here with her dad in the first grade. She doesn't have much of a social life. Her dad is a firefighter and also a drunk. She spends a lot of her time looking after him."

"What about her mom?"

"Nothing, it's weird. I can't even trace the girl's birth certificate down anywhere. I don't know how she got into school without this on file. She and her dad just showed up. It's just the two of them, and she is pretty much on her own, given his drinking problems."

"Were you able to trace down any packs nearby that maybe she is connected to?"

"There aren't any packs within a hundred miles of this town. I don't think she was lying. I can't find anything connecting her to a pack."

Jake is my beta. I would trust him with my life, and he is a genius behind a computer. If it's available on the internet, he will find it. So the fact that he can't find much about Lila is really strange. Everyone has an online footprint. This girl, though, seems almost not to exist, and to say I'm interested in discovering more would be an understatement.

"I didn't scent her as a rogue, though she must belong to a pack," I said almost under my breath.

"How old is she?" Donte asks. He's my Gamma, and he is a very logical guy and knows a lot more about our history than I ever will.

"She is seventeen; her birthday is in a couple of weeks," Jake replies.

"So she won't smell like a rogue yet; her wolf hasn't appeared. You can't truly belong to a pack or be a rogue until you've shifted. She hasn't had her first shift." Donte says in a very factual tone.

I lose myself in thought. Could she really not know about packs? If she doesn't know about packs, does she know about what it means to be a werewolf? Who is going to help guide her through her first shift? Most of us meet our wolves well before our first shift. I haven't ever met anyone who grew up without any wolves around them. I wonder what she knows.

I can't stop thinking about her. I wake up at one in the morning with thoughts of her invading my sleep. She is by far the most gorgeous woman I have ever seen, and the erection I have is just proving my point. I know we need to keep looking for Gemma. I don't have much time before I need to go back and check on the pack, but I don't want to leave. What if Lila has no one to walk her through her first shift?

I give in and call my dad.

"Did you find her?" My dad answers the phone with sleep in his voice.

"No, we haven't found her."

"Why are you calling after one in the morning then?" He asks, and I can hear the irritation.

"There is a girl here. She is a wolf. She doesn't belong to a pack, and there aren't any nearby. She is going to be shifting soon. We will stay here, and we can try to see where Gemma went after leaving this town. I don't want to leave the girl to shift alone either." I said.

"Luke, you need to find Gemma she is our last hope."

"Last hope for what dad?" I ask incredulously. He is so stuck on finding this woman yet won't tell me why we need to. He seems to forget he is no longer the Alpha I am.

"I told you I'll explain everything when you have her."

"No, I'm not doing this anymore. I have humored you long enough. I am the alpha now, not you. We have looked for this woman, and we can't find her. Let's be honest. She's either dead or truly doesn't want to be found. Jake will keep trying to look into her, but we were done with this in two weeks. If we don't have more information, we'll stop the search for Gemma if you can't even tell me why she's so important. I have a pack to run, and I appreciate you filling in while we have been out, but I need to be there for my pack, not chasing after some woman whose pu**y was apparently so good you can't let her go after eighteen years." I say with a growl. I know this will set my dad off, but he needs to know this is ending, and it's ending soon.

"Luke! Stop. I will not have you speak about her like that ever."

"What does mom think about your obsession with Gemma?" I ask coldly.

"Luke, Gemma was your mother's best friend, not some random girl I slept with. and if she heard you speaking about her this way, she had your hide."

My parents are infuriating. Why, why did I just now find out she was my mom's friend? I run my hand through my hair. I'm standing up, looking out the window, and I see her. There is Lila climbing out of a a car wearing pajamas and heading into the bar.

"Dad, I've got to go."

"Luke..."

I hang up the phone, pulling on jeans and a T-shirt. I slip on my shoes and am across the street walking into the bar. I see her with what must be her dad. He's slumped over the bar and has one arm around her, telling her what a great daughter she is. She speaks to the bartender, closing out her dad's tab. The bartender looks at her with pity.

"You need help getting him out to the car?" asks the bartender.

"No, thanks though. I've got it." She says standing up from the stool as her dad uses her for support.

"I'm not done. The fun ju..just strarted.. " Her dad almost yells.

"Yeah, I know. We can come back. I just want to go get a burger with you" she says sweetly.

"Mmm burgers, I don't want any honayse on mine." her dad slurs.

"Yeah, no mayonnaise, I know." She makes her way out and gets him settled in the car.

I can't help but watch her in awe. She is so patient with her father and so kind even though you can tell she was woken up to come get him. This seemed to be a regular night for her though. People don't even bat an eye as they watch her take her dad out of the bar. They just smile and some say hi and wish her goodnight. I need to learn more about this girl.