The Lost Beta 2 - The Hunt Returns

Emily felt a chill go through her as the howl reverberated through the night. She only knew that it frightened her; she had no idea why.

Alexander was on the move already. He flung open the window and looked at the shadowy tree line. His golden eyes were as keen as a predator's, and his muscles were taut.

Emily's fingers continued to trace the unknown mate mark on her skin as she sat motionless in her hospital bed. Something told her this wasn’t just an ordinary wolf’s cry.

"Stay here," Alexander commanded in a stern tone.

With her heart racing, she swallowed hard. "What is happening?"

He didn't respond. Instead, his heavy boots reverberated hard against the floor as he raced out of the room.

Emily held the blankets so tight. She was struggling to keep herself composed then, a faint voice echoed in her mind, signaling that time was against her.

The person out there wasn't there to support the pack.

They were here for her.

---

Outside, Alexander found Alpha Damien waiting, his Beta at his side.

Damien stated calmly, "We're surrounded," but his eyes were blazing with rage. “A rogue pack has gathered at our borders. They want the girl.”

Alexander’s fists clenched. “She’s not going anywhere.”

Damien tilted his head, a slow smirk forming. “And why should we risk our pack for her? A rogue? A girl with no memories?”

Alexander’s wolf growled. “Because she’s mine.”

The smirk disappeared and the tension between them was so great that a sword might sever it.

Damien stepped closer. “And what if she’s dangerous? What if she’s a threat?”

Alexander didn’t blink. “Then I’ll be the one to deal with her.”

Damien studied him for a long moment. Then, with a dark chuckle, he turned to his Beta. "Get the warriors ready. We will remind those outlaws whose land they are infringing upon if they do not depart."

Alexander barely heard him.

His mind was already on Emily.

Why were they after her?

And what was she hiding whether she knew it or not?

 ---

Emily hugged her arms as she sat on the bed's edge. Like a whisper she couldn't quite hear, the mark on her shoulder burned persistently but not cruelly.

Her mind flashed pictures. Shadows in the forest. A deep voice calling her name. Fire.

In an attempt to remember she closed her eyes tightly but the harder she tried holding onto the memories, the more they eluded her grasp.

“Who am I?” her eyes became moist as she murmured.

She barely noticed when the door opened.

Alexander’s scent reached her first woodsmoke and earth, something familiar yet foreign.

“You should be resting,” he said.

Emily forced herself to meet his gaze. “Tell me the truth.”

His jaw tensed.

She pressed on. “You called me your mate. But I don’t remember you.”

Pain flickered across his face, so brief she almost missed it. “I know.”

Emily hesitated. “What if I never do?”

He breathed out gently, passing a hand over his hair. "Then I will remind you."

Something in his tone ignited a feeling of warmth in her heart.

Yet, before she could respond, a resounding crash echoed through the walls.

The attack had begun.

---

The Moonshadow warriors clashed with the rogues in a violent explosion of fur and claws.

Alexander tore through the enemy, his wolf unleashing years of rage. He was outnumbered but he didn’t care.

One thing drove him forward.

He had to get back to Emily.

A rogue lunged at him, but Alexander sidestepped, slashing its throat before it could react. Blood sprayed across the dirt, but he was already moving, already searching…

Then he heard it.

A scream.

Emily.

His heart nearly stopped.

---

Emily resisted being pulled through the trees forcefully. The rogue was too powerful, even when she kicked and twisted it wasn't potent.

"Let me go!" She let out a gasp.

A cold laugh. “Not a chance, princess.”

The word sent a jolt through her.

Princess?

Her mind spun. Before she could respond, she was flung onto the ground.

A tall figure with bright red eyes stood over her. "You don't recall, do you?"

She shot him a fierce glance. “Who are you?”

He crouched beside her, tilting his head. “Your father would be disappointed.”

Her breath hitched. “My…”

A sharp pain exploded in her skull.

Darkness swallowed her whole.

---

Alexander ripped through the forest, his wolf barely contained beneath his skin. He tracked Emily’s scent, his pulse thundering.

Then he saw them.

The rogue holding her unconscious body.

Rage unlike anything he had ever known surged through him.

He shifted mid-air, crashing into the rogue with a snarl. They hit the ground hard, rolling through the dirt.

The rogue slashed at his side. Alexander barely felt it.

One clean bite and the rogue went limp.

Panting, Alexander turned to Emily and without hesitation he fell on his knees, resting his hand on her cheek and uttered "Emily, you've to get up now."

She moved slightly and gave a wink.

Then her lips parted, and she murmured a name softly.

Not his name.

But one that made his blood run cold.

“Lucien.”

---

Alexander carried Emily back to the pack, his mind racing.

Lucien.

The name was familiar. Too familiar.

It belonged to a man who should have been dead.

A rogue Alpha. A war criminal. The same man who had been executed years ago by Alpha Damien.

So why had Emily whispered his name?

And worse... Why did she say it like she knew him?

---

Back at the packhouse, Damien was waiting.

Alexander didn’t hesitate. “Who is Lucien?”

For the first time, Damien hesitated. It was brief, but Alexander saw it.

“You don’t want to know,” the Alpha finally said.

Alexander’s wolf snarled. “I think I do.”

Damien’s eyes darkened. “Some secrets are better left buried, Beta.”

Alexander took a slow step forward, lowering his voice. “And what if Emily is the key to one of those secrets?”

Damien’s silence was answer enough.

A chill ran down Alexander’s spine.

His Alpha wasn’t just hiding something.

He was afraid.

Emily’s whispered name “Lucien” reveals a dangerous truth. A rogue Alpha once thought dead may be tied to her past. And Alpha Damien knows more than he’s admitting.

---

Abruptly Alexander's grip tightened around Emily’s wrist as he searched her face at the packhouse. “Where did you hear that name?”

Emily’s head pounded. Flashes of fire, blood, and piercing red eyes burned through her mind. She slowly stepped backwards, her breath quickened.

“I…I’m uncertain,” she murmured. “But... I think he’s coming for me.”

Before Alexander could respond, the doors to the packhouse burst open.

A scout ran in, breathless, his face pale with terror.

“Beta! The rogues” He swallowed hard. “They left a message.”

Alexander’s blood ran cold. “What message?”

The scout hesitated, then spoke.

“Tell the girl her father is waiting.”