Chapter 10 - Questions Without Answers
1374 Words
Roman hadn't slept properly in three days.
He had managed a few hours here and there, usually after exhaustion finally dragged him under, but each time he woke, he found himself staring into the darkness with the same restless feeling sitting heavily in his chest. He had expected the first night to be difficult after what had happened in the forest, but he had assumed that once enough time passed, the tension would disappear and everything would settle back into place.
Instead, the opposite had happened.
The longer Raven remained gone, the more unsettled the pack became.
At first, the questions had been easy enough to dismiss. People wanted to know where their Luna was, why she hadn't attended the morning meeting and whether she had gone somewhere without telling anyone. Roman had kept his explanation simple, telling them that Raven had grown tired of her responsibilities and decided to leave the pack.
It should have been believable.
Raven had always been stubborn, and everyone knew she had disagreed with him often enough. If Roman told them she had finally decided that the life expected of an Alpha's mate wasn't what she wanted, there was nothing particularly strange about it.
Except the pack didn't believe him.
Roman had noticed it in the way conversations stopped whenever he entered a room, in the glances exchanged between warriors and in the growing unease among the people who had known Raven for years.
She had been too devoted to the pack to simply disappear.
That was the problem.
Roman sat behind his desk, staring at the papers in front of him without reading a single word.
A knock sounded at the door.
He already knew who it was.
“Come in.”
Drake entered.
His younger brother had the same dark hair as Roman, although Drake kept his shorter, and there was something in his expression that Roman had always found irritating. Drake had a way of looking at people that made it difficult to tell whether he was listening or judging.
Today, he was doing both.
“You haven't sent anyone after her.”
Roman leaned back in his chair.
“We've discussed this.”
“No, you told everyone she left.”
“And she did.”
Drake's expression remained unchanged.
“She left without taking anything.”
Roman's jaw tightened.
“She was upset.”
“She left without telling anyone where she was going.”
“She doesn't need my permission to leave.”
Drake stepped farther into the office.
“She's your mate.”
The words irritated Roman immediately.
“I am aware of that.”
“Then why haven't you sent a search party?”
Roman stared at him.
Because she was dead.
Because he had watched her collapse.
Because he had left her in the forest knowing there was almost no chance she would survive.
He couldn't say any of that.
“She made her choice.”
Drake frowned.
“Raven would never abandon the pack without speaking to someone first.”
“You seem very certain about what Raven would and wouldn't do.”
“I've known her almost as long as you have.”
Roman's expression hardened.
“Then you should know how stubborn she can be.”
“I do.”
Drake held his gaze.
“That's exactly why I don't believe she simply walked away.”
Silence settled between them.
Roman felt his wolf stir.
The sensation came suddenly and sharply enough that his fingers tightened against the armrest.
Go find her.
Roman pushed the thought down.
His brother was still watching him.
“You're making this into something it isn't,” Roman said.
“Am I?”
“Yes.”
“Then send someone to look for her.”
Roman's patience began to wear thin.
“There is nothing to look for.”
Drake's eyes narrowed.
“What does that mean?”
Roman realized his mistake immediately.
He forced his expression back to calm.
“It means I know Raven. If she wanted to be found, she would have made sure someone knew where she was going.”
Drake studied him for several seconds.
“Then why does your wolf keep looking toward the forest?”
Roman went completely still.
Drake's expression changed slightly.
“You've noticed it too.”
Roman's jaw tightened.
“Leave my wolf out of this.”
“I would if you weren't behaving strangely.”
Roman pushed himself to his feet.
“I am the Alpha, Drake.”
“I know.”
“Then trust my decision.”
Drake didn't move.
“I trust you when your decisions make sense.”
The words landed harder than they should have.
Roman stepped around the desk.
“You're questioning me.”
“I'm questioning why you haven't looked for your mate.”
“She abandoned the pack.”
Drake's voice remained calm.
“Then proving it should be easy.”
Roman stared at him.
Drake continued before he could answer.
“Send a patrol along the eastern border. If they find nothing, I'll accept that she left. If they find her trail, then we'll know she didn't.”
Roman's anger rose.
He couldn't allow that.
The forest was the last place anyone could search.
If they found Raven's blood, they would ask questions. If they found her body, they would ask even more.
And if, by some impossible chance, they found her alive...
Roman forced the thought away.
“She is gone.”
Drake watched him.
“You sound very certain.”
“I am.”
“Then you won't have a problem sending people to look for her.”
Roman clenched his jaw.
His brother was pushing too far.
“You're dismissed.”
Drake didn't move immediately.
For a moment, the two brothers simply stared at one another.
Then Drake nodded.
“I'll leave.”
He turned toward the door.
Before opening it, he stopped and looked back.
“If Raven really left because she was unhappy with her duties, then she deserves the chance to explain that herself.”
Roman's expression hardened.
“Drake.”
His brother looked at him.
“Be careful what you imply.”
Drake held his gaze.
“I haven't implied anything.”
Then he walked out.
The door closed behind him.
Roman remained standing in the middle of his office, staring at it.
His breathing had become heavier.
His wolf was restless again.
Go after her.
Roman slammed his hand against the desk.
“She deserved it.”
The words came out harsher than he intended, but he needed to hear them.
Raven had challenged him for years. She had refused to accept his authority, refused to understand what being his Luna required and had eventually become a threat he could no longer tolerate. He had made the decision he believed was necessary, and there was nothing left to question.
Yet the image of her lying in the forest returned with cruel clarity.
Blood had covered her face, her body had barely been able to move, and even then she had looked at him with that same defiance that had driven him to this point. He could still hear her voice when she had promised that he would regret what he had done, and the memory irritated him because some part of him still expected her to somehow prove him wrong.
Roman pushed the thought away and returned to his desk.
The pack was still talking outside his office, and he could feel their uncertainty spreading with every passing hour. They didn't believe Raven had simply abandoned them, and if Drake continued asking questions, Roman would eventually have to give the pack something more convincing than a story about a mate who had suddenly walked away from her duties.
He would deal with it.
He would give it another day or two, then send Cameron and Vance back into the forest.
They would find her body, bury it somewhere far from the pack and return with enough proof to silence the questions.
Once that was done, there would be nothing left for anyone to wonder about.
Roman leaned back in his chair, convincing himself that was all he needed.
For some reason, his wolf disagreed.
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