Chapter 1 - Silent.

~ This chapter takes place around book 2, ‘The Beta’s Feral Alpha’ ~

Wyatt

I let out a loud sigh, running my hands over my face up to my hair in frustration, leaning back in the chair because trying to focus on this paperwork is torture, as my mind drifts back to the same thing again.

To them.

Constantly wondering if they’re okay, if they’re safe, if they have shelter, clothes, food, and of course, where the fuck they’re hiding because not knowing, not being able to see them, talk to them is fucking killing me!

This has become my daily routine for almost 3 months.

Well, 2 months and 2 weeks, but who’s counting?

And of course, my newly found mother, who encouraged her to run in the first place, although she disputes that, won’t tell me anything, while my Gamma quite literally can’t tell me because she commanded him.

All my mother said that night Corinna ran, after she revealed that my father, Benjamin, was alive, was that she and Elijah were safe and that no one knew about it or the person who was with them outside of herself and Tess, before she too disappeared with Gabriel in search of my father.

They and the two elder A****ns have been going back and forth between my pack and the Sanctuary, while searching for Benjamin and the missing A****n.

When he was here last month, Gabe confirmed that Xander is indeed hiding something and that it must be important to him, since the place is fortified to the brim. However, it’s not a risk he’s willing to take, which I agreed with him.

I think Gabe, for the most part, just goes along with it to appease my mother and to make sure they don’t get hurt or worse, get captured.

Fuck, I don’t even know anymore because between trying to convince the Sanctuary females to come here, some warriors still being out in the field with the other half amping patrols around the pack, all while half, if not all, of my ranked members are preoccupied or scattered dealing with their mates and families, myself included, we’re stretched pretty fucking thin!

This is why this fucking paperwork is pissing me off!

I let out a frustrated, angry growl and swipe the papers off my desk, slamming my fists hard on it.

I unlock and open the top drawer of my desk, where I keep a phone given to me by my mother, my only lifeline to Corinna, to check once again if maybe today is the day she finally answers me, but, as per usual, it’s left on read.

This has become my only proof, sort of, that she’s alive, but it’s not enough.

A low whistle echoing through the room gets my attention. I snap my head up in the direction it came from, softly growling in annoyance, and see it’s Godric standing by the door with a lopsided, amused smirk, looking at the mess I just created.

It’s so fucking creepy to see the guy who used to wear a scowl as his happy face be this cheerful now. I also hate him for it because out of us all, he seems to be the only one who’s having any luck with his mate, even though they’re still unmated.

I won’t lie, once Angela got used to how we do things here, she became less skittish and has been a welcoming breath of fresh air, not only for Ric but for the whole pack. The few pups we have adore her sweet and caring nature, and everyone is eager to learn new things from her. The same holds for Maya and Gia whenever they visit, and vice versa.

Turns out, they’re not great at fighting as wolves, so it’s been going well, but it would be better if everyone could get on board and stay here permanently, because this constant coming and going makes us vulnerable.  

“What’s crawled up your ass?” Ric asks as he walks over to my desk and sits down.

I hold up the phone before tossing it back into the drawer.

He presses his lips together, slowly nodding in understanding.

I lock the drawer, put the keychain around my neck, and tuck it under my shirt for safekeeping.

It’s not that I don’t trust my pack members, but it’s my only lifeline to Corinna, and I’m not taking any chances with it.

“Still no answer?” He asks.

I shake my head. “No. Other than the monthly text of one word, ‘safe’.”

“And your mother still won’t budge?”

“Nope.” I say, popping the ‘p’ sarcastically. “But then again, she’s never here long enough for me to ask. As you know, she comes, eats, sleeps for 20 hours and then heads back out, chasing 30-year-old ghosts.” 

“Aren’t you worried?”

I scrub my face with both hands because another thing that has been happening to me is the lack of sleep. “Of course I am. The woman is in her 50s, has literally spent half her life as an invalid, cut off from her wolf to all of a sudden shifting and running around like she’s been doing it all her life. Gabriel has said she still finds it exhausting and hard to shift, but she’s too stubborn to listen to reason.” I sigh, placing my hand on top of the desk to push myself up. 

He lowly chuckles behind his palm that’s hiding his mouth. “Ah, so that’s where you get it from…” He says, amused, standing up with me.

I stop to give him a deadpan, unamused look before I resume walking towards the door. “Was there something you wanted?” I ask.

He catches up to me in two strides, all serious now. “Yes, we’ve had word from one of our spies that Alpha Damon is preparing to send his warriors to Ezra’s pack.” He lowly snarls.

“Does Angela know?” I ask, knowing this is his worst nightmare coming true. Again.

He blows out a breath but doesn’t say anything until we reach the common room and see Angela sitting on the floor with the pups huddled all around, some of the younger ones curled up under the blanket with her, hanging on to every word as she reads from her book.

“No, and I really don’t want to, but I promised I would never lie to her.” He says, sounding conflicted.

“I mean, I understand your reasoning, but this…”

“Yeah, I know, and I hate knowing that it may ruin the progress she’s made. We’ve made.”

‘Have you guys discussed marking?’ I ask, switching to the mind link.

‘It has come up once after Ezra attacked, but it was too soon, and she flipped. Without saying too much, she has been getting more… comfortable with me touching her, but after that reaction…’ He pauses, shaking his head. ‘I’m just taking it slow, letting her take the wheel because I don’t want to spoil it.’ He heavily sighs.

“Alpha, Ric, is everything alright?” Angela asks, her polite, soft tone breaking our conversation, her eyes moving back and forth between us as if she knows something is up.

“Hello, Angela. Yes, everything is fine. Or rather, the usual for me.” I say with a slight one-shoulder shrug and polite nod. My ranked members and their mates know what’s been going on, but at this point, most of the pack is probably aware that something is going on with me.

She gives me a soft, understanding smile. “I’m sure one of these days you will hear from her.” She confidently says.

I nod but don’t answer.

“So, uhm, Angel, are you done reading? Because we need to talk about something. Oh, and hi, you look beautiful today.” He says the softest, kindest voice I’ve heard come out of his mouth with his hand extended. She does a little embarrassed giggle, and a faint pink blush appears on her cheeks as she takes his hand with no hesitation.

Well, alrighty then.

Correction, hearing him speak like that is fucking creepy as shit.

I clear my throat. “So, I’m gonna go to Dean and see what he’s doing cause…Yeah,” I say, pointing with my thumb at something over my shoulder, not even attempting to hide how uncomfortable I am.

As I walk away, I hear both of them chuckle as they walk in the other direction.

I spent the rest of that afternoon with Dean, who’s also in a broody mood, with him finishing the tattoo on my right arm before returning to my office.

I open the door and sigh when I see that the papers from earlier are still scattered all over the floor. I quickly pick them up, and by the time I finish the reports, I realize I missed dinner.

Never mind, it’s not like I have much of an appetite or want to be around people these days.

I grab something quick from the kitchen on my way to my room. I end my day exactly how I start it, by writing good night to Corinna, waiting until the ‘delivered’ sign changes to ‘read’, where I breathe a sigh of relief and put the phone down, closing my eyes with the knowledge she’s still there.  

Two weeks later, everything changes.

Xander lost an ally and pack, whereas I lost my Lead Warrior, but I gained a new ally, an Alpha, along with his brand new Luna and a pack willing to help us.

For the most part.

Thank the Goddess that when the attack happened, Gabriel and the Amazons were already at the pack and were able to help us, but when the fog of the fight cleared, I was left with no choice.

I asked Gabriel and my mom that, for now, I need them close by with two packs, one with barely any members, to help us because of how thin and spread our resources are.  

“It’s time we train the women.” Corinna’s sister, Gia, pipes up one day as she looks around at the almost barren pack, but her attention keeps going back to the women. She’s another who has been staying over at the pack and comes every day to help us.

I stop what I’m doing and look in the same direction as her.

The women who were left behind are still quite weak and terrified of us, so we’ve mostly kept our distance. They did latch and responded almost immediately to Angela, and then some of the volunteers from the Sanctuary, including Tess and Amber, who have also been coming up as often as they can to help.

“That’s up to them and their Alpha and Luna. But I agree with you. It wouldn’t be a bad idea considering how surprised they were when they saw you and some of my female warriors fighting, although the element of surprise is probably lost now.” I say, watching how the women respond to Ric.

They seem less skittish around him now, despite having accepted him as their Alpha over a week ago.

Good. They’re making progress.

She shrugs. “Maybe, or maybe not. Just because something appears broken doesn’t mean that it is.” She says, the side of her mouth twitching.

We spend the rest of the day cleaning up the last of the debris while some of my pack members bring more supplies, such as clean blankets, clothes, water, and easy-to-cook food that could be cooked over open fires, taking away the old ones to be cleaned.

I approach Ric and Angela to ask them, yet again, to come back to my pack, knowing they will refuse to leave their pack members alone after they, too, decline my offer. We then go over what we need to do next.

After a week of cleaning and burning, we can finally see clearly what needs to be repaired. Hopefully, they can have the basics soon, such as running water, electricity, and an actual roof over their heads that isn’t on the verge of collapse.

Just as I say my goodbyes for the evening, Angela stops me.

“Wyatt, some of the women wanted to have a word with you, if you don’t mind?” She politely asks.

Since Ric is a close, dear friend whom I never want to call me Alpha, especially now that we are equal, as we should have been, I told her to stop calling me Alpha as well. She agreed as long as I don’t call her Luna. I agreed, but I still do on occasion. I will stop when it has sunk in for her, as I can’t think of anyone more deserving to be a Luna than her.

I smile and nod. “Of course.” Now I understand Ric’s personal nickname for her. It is hard to say no to her.

I stayed longer than I expected, giving the women time and space to say what they needed to say. Once everything was said, they surprised me by coming over, hugging me, praising me for freeing them, and then insisting that I and some of my pack members stay for dinner, as they wanted to cook for us.

Typically, we would have politely declined, but we’ve learned from Tess that, in this situation, for the most part, it's best to go with the flow when dealing with victims or survivors.

So we stayed, and as we ate around the fire, they seemed more at ease around us and talked far more freely as the time passed.

Though it was nice to see everyone together, smiling and laughing, especially them, I was faking it for the most part because no matter what, it doesn’t take away the torturous ache I feel in my chest.

By the time we all get home, it’s late, and we're all exhausted.

At least my pack members can sleep, whereas I’m lucky to get more than a few hours.

I’ve just come out of the shower, wearing just a towel, preparing myself for another night of aimlessly staring at the ceiling to find Gabriel in my room, standing with his back to me, arms crossed as he looks out the window.

“You know that’s creepy on so many levels, right? I am mated to your daughter after all.”

He turns to me and frowns. “Funny.” He says, unimpressed, pointing to my side. “How long has your wolf been silent? Because that should have been healed by now.”