The Tracker
1685 Words
*Gabriel*
I could have sworn she was here…
I flexed my arms to reach for her but only found emptiness beside me… I sat up and looked around. My room was untouched but her scent lingered on my hands. I reached for the pillow beside me and shoved my face into it. Greedily soaking in the scent that stuck to it… it couldn’t have been a dream if her scent was so strong in my room… but then again why did she seem like an angel against the light of the moon that glinted in through the curtains… why was her voice soft like a whispering ghost…
She threatened to leave if I moved. But despite how tightly I thought I had held onto her I still awoke empty handed… a few blissful hours of calm sleep as I held her in my arms once more… the most calm sleep I’ve had in days… despite only getting a few hours I woke up at 6:30 feeling far more rested than the day before. I sat with the sheets over my lap, staring around me at the bed that reeked of her…
“Gabe… you awake?”
The intrusion made my head pound.
“Yeah…”
“Gwen and Ivan are here…”
“Gimme a few to shower…”
I felt like I finally had enough energy to make myself at least presentable to Alpha Ivan and my sister. I started the shower, stripped my boxers off before going to unwrap the gauze around my hand. I stared at it, the broken skin had finally closed. It was still tender to touch but I could flex my fingers without it reopening or causing pain.
I slipped on a pair of black slacks, and tucked a dark blue button up into the belted waist. I combed through my hair, forgoing the gel in lieu of not wanting to have to rinse it out later in the night. I fixed my steel watch to my wrist, it had been sitting on my bedside table for a few days as I was too exhausted to even try to put it on.
I slipped on some black dress socks and a pair of black loafers before I stepped out into the hallway. I still smelled her in the hallway she was all over. She smelled so familiar, her scent like a nostalgic memory I couldn’t quite pick from the recesses of my brain.
My wolf even stirred momentarily. Sniffing and scratching at the edge of my brain to come forward now that I finally had some energy behind me. I tried to pacify him with a promise we’d find her soon. But he growled in my mind angrily, equally as upset, he threatened at my fingertips, at my canines, the back of my neck, and at my eyes.
“Relax…” I urged in a quiet breath. “We will find her…”
He huffed and finally faded from my mind. I rolled my neck and shoulders as I squeezed my fists a few times at my side and licked my receding canines.
I trotted down the stairs quickly and rounded the corner to my office. The door was already open and I heard chatter from the room. As I rounded the corner I heard my sister squeal as she rushed to me. Her tall heels carried her from my desk to me in a few short strides and she wrapped her arms over my shoulders and squeezed as tightly as she could muster. I squeezed her back in a bear hug as we rocked back and forth, her still squealing in my ear.
“I missed you sooooo much.” She whined.
I couldn’t help but chuckle, “I missed you too Gwenny.” I responded. She let me go and her hands landed on my shoulders, squeezing as she looked me over.
“How the hell did you get so buff?” She said in a teasingly disgusted tone.
“Lots of work.” I laughed, as she squeezed her hands down my biceps.
“What happened to my scrawny little brother?” She whined with a pout.
“Hey! I wasn’t scrawny!”
“Scrawnier than this!” She teased back. I rolled my eyes as I looked past her. Esen and Ivan smiled.
“Alpha Ivan.” I greeted as my sister released me finally, he smiled jovially and extended his hand. He had on a heavy steel wedding band on one hand while his other had a ring with a skull with Ruby eyes. He was dressed in a dark suit with matching wingtips and I could see a golden chain peeking from his unbuttoned shirt collar.
“Good Morning Alpha Gabriel.” He smiled. He had one cracked tooth in his otherwise perfect smile that he seemed to just never want to get fixed.
“Are you guys thirsty?” I asked. They both nodded. “Esen, send for vodka.” I said giving a point to Ivan, and he nodded approvingly with a big smile as he took a seat in one of the chairs in front of my desk. Gwen sat beside him and we waited a moment with idle weather chat before Esen returned with the bottle and glasses. They all took a glass as Esen poured. When he offered me one I refused.
“I’m good, E. Thanks.”
“Right…” Esen nodded as he remembered. As long as I knew Ariella would feel it I wouldn’t do anything to cause her anymore strife if I could avoid it. He slammed back the drink himself before leaning back on the wall beside my desk.
“Foregoing a drink? Goin’ soft on me Gabe?” Ivan laughed.
I chuckled and nodded, “Just trying to cut back… for my health.”
He took a swig from his class and cheered it to the air. Esen and Gwen joined him in a gentle toast.
“What is it that you needed to talk to us about by the way?” Gwen asked as she crossed one leg over the other and leaned toward her husband.
“Yeah, it’s not like you to call a meeting on such short notice.” Ivan said with a head tilt.
“I actually have a favor to ask of you Ivan…” I started, leaning over on my desk and pulling a file from my top drawer. I dropped the Manila employee folder on the desk and pushed it toward Ivan. He took a big swig from his glass before setting it down and flipping the file open.
“And that is…?” He asked as he raised a thick eyebrow to me.
“I want to employ your tracking skills…” I responded.
“Gabe, you know I haven’t tracked in years…”
I nodded “I know Ivan, and I’ll owe you a big favor for it…”
“Who is she to you?” He asked.
“Her Alias she used for employment is Ella Marie Constance…” I responded. “But I have reason to believe her real name is Ariella…”
“Ariella…” my sister piped in suddenly as she leaned over her husband's shoulder. Her eyes widened. “Thats…” she paused as she looked into the picture of Ariella. She shook her head and sat back in her chair. Ivan noticed her odd reaction to the picture.
“What do you need done to her…” he asked slowly, looking between Gwen and I.
“Nothing… I just… want her found…”
“You know I tracked for…”
“I know. I know… it’s not like that…”
“Gabriel.” My sister's voice was like a pressuring parent and I sighed.
“She’s… she’s my mate…” I responded with a sigh, raking my hand through my hair. “I met her at the Gala for the alliance, she applied as a housekeeper and was here for a few weeks. I asked her to come to the Gala in Silverfalls and we had a huge fight… when we got back she disappeared… no one could find her and I was a wreck…”
“Are a wreck.” Esen interrupted.
I scowled at him and nodded. “She came back when I was meeting with a new staff member for orientation… she rejected me, but when she went the new staff member went and we haven’t heard from them…”
“Sounds… suspicious…” Ivan scratched his chin. I nodded in agreement.
“So… you don’t want to hurt her?” My sister asked, raising her eyebrow at me.
“No, of course not!” I responded, “I just… need to find out what’s going on and why she’s running…”
My sister nodded and looked at Ivan as she sucked in her bottom lip for a moment. “I don’t think we will need to look far…” she said.
“What?” I asked.
“I… think this may be the girl I bumped into at the hotel…”
“What? You bumped into her?” Esen suddenly asked, kicking himself from the wall and stepping up to the desk to hear Gwen’s quiet voice better.
“When we got in from the plane… we were dropping our bags at the hotel yesterday before lunch and I knocked into a girl and dropped my bag… this looks just like her.” My sister nodded, tapping Ariella's picture. “I looked her right in the eyes… I’m sure that was her.”
“I… have reason to believe she was Alpha Arlos Daughter…”
“Really?” She asked, leaning forward with a serious look in her eyes. I c****d my head and looked at her in question.
“What?” I asked
My sister swallowed, “Have you… ever asked dad about Waning Moon…?”
“Not really… why…?”
“I think… maybe we should talk to him about our connection to that pack… before we hunt down Ariella…”
- Writer
