Chapter 9

Blake POV

“What do you mean missing?!”

Alpha Donal was a fearsome man at the best of times. I had been doing my best to keep the fact that no one had seen Aiden since he left to propose to Ciara under wraps. But it had been 3 days now with no sign of him. As Aiden’s future Beta, it was my duty to break the news to Alpha Donal.

“I’m afraid that’s all the information we have Alpha. Aiden was last seen 3 days ago, by me, before departing to issue his proposal to Ciara as his chosen mate and future Luna. According to her, he never arrived and no one has seen or heard from him since.”

I flinched but tried to remain calm as Alpha Donal’s fist collided with the wall dangerously close to my face. I was a competent warrior, but no match for an Alpha, even an aging one. He moved in close, his menacing expression fixed directly at me.

“Find him pup. Do not find yourself in front of me again unless you have succeeded.”

He grabbed me by the scruff of my shirt and shoved me out of his office, my back colliding with the far wall as he slammed the door behind me. I knew why he was so furious. He suspected Aiden of abandoning the pack and his role as future Alpha. I didn’t agree. I knew Aiden, he was like a brother to me, he put his pack and his duty above all else. He didn’t want Ciara as his Luna, but that was something he would do willingly for the good of the pack. No, something was amiss here. If Aiden was missing, there was a damn good reason for it. Regardless, I was going to find him.

I took the path through the forest that led to Ciara’s cottage. I knew Aiden would have taken this route to attempt to calm his nerves. Declan, my wolf, had already picked up his scent and was leading me in the direction Aiden had taken.

“Stop,” Declan growled from my mind. “He shifted here. The scent changes from Aiden to Ronan. He ran north, off the path toward the dark corner of the forest. There’s another scent, distant and unfamiliar… yet, enticing. Perhaps he followed it?”

“I’m going to give you the reigns my friend. Take us to him.”

I shifted mid-run and let Declan loose. He was an expert tracker and an extremely cunning hunter. If Aiden was out here, giving Declan free reign was my best chance of finding him. It was risky. As much as Declan was a loyal wolf he was also unpredictable, I rarely gave him full control.

The forest flew past at warp speed as Declan sped after Aiden’s scent. Eventually, we came to a halt in a clearing, just off a ledge that looked down into a deep pool of water. Declan sniffed the air a few times before he spoke.

“He was here. And recently, hours ago, maybe less…”

His ears pricked up and he took us closer to the edge, with the heightened vision that came with our wolf-form I could just make out a silhouette behind the curtain of the waterfall. There were voices, muffled by the running water.

“How do we get down there?”

“Not sure. But this wolf doesn’t swim. If we’re going in the water, we’re doing it in human form…”

Declan relinquished control and we shifted back to human form. The downfall of an unplanned shift was always the ensuing nudity. I suppose the water would’ve ruined any clothing anyway. I dove from the ledge into the pool below hoping my splash would be hidden by the sound of the waterfall.

As I resurfaced, I swam toward the waterfall and carefully hid behind some rocks as I broke through from beneath the curtain. Trying my best to be silent, I remained in the water and moved toward the voices.

“It’s Aiden…” Declan’s voice echoed in my head.

“With… a woman?” I replied as I squinted and rubbed my eyes. I couldn’t quite believe what I was looking at.

There was Aiden, passionately kissing a beautiful platinum-haired woman. That seemed to perfectly match the description of the mystery woman he was so convinced was at the Harvest….