The Alpha's Runaway

Chapter Seventeen

Something brushed against my neck as I woke the next morning. I shifted away from it, only to have Grant pull me closer. Oh. He kissed my neck again, this time on the spot where he marked me the previous night. Shivers ran down my spine, and I giggled, turning to face him.

“Good morning.” I smiled.

“Good morning.” He murmured before kissing me deeply.

“Don’t we have training soon? You told Lance we'd be joining this morning since we missed last night.” I asked.

“We could just not go. I’d rather spend the morning in bed with my mate.” He kissed me again, wrapping his arms around me.

I giggled, pulling him closer.

“Oi! Lovebirds! You’re late! If you’re not on the field in five minutes, you’re running extra laps!” Lance threatened, pounding his fist against the door.

Grant growled before releasing me and sitting up. We rushed getting ready and practically ran to the training field. I couldn’t help but smile when I saw Lance scowling at us.

“I don’t care if you’re the Alpha and Luna, or if you’re newly mated. If you’re late again, I’ll kick your asses.”

“Yeah. Good luck with that.” I shot back, grinning.

“Then I’ll get Henry to kick your asses!”

“No, thanks. I’d rather not get involved.” Henry shook his head.

Lance glared at him and I laughed, turning to see Gwen wearing a knowing smirk.

“Soo, how was your date last night?” She asked.

“It was good.” I said, blushing slightly before changing the subject, “Charlie left this morning for the Shadow Peak pack, right?”

“He did. Hopefully they catch the rogues soon.”

I nodded in agreement. As training started, I sparred against Henry. He pushed my abilities to their limits. When training was finally over, we were both exhausted.

“Who won?” Grant asked, amused.

“We tied again.” I huffed.

“One of these days, I’m going to win.” Henry panted, out of breath.

“Sure. You keep telling yourself that.” I laughed.

“Has anyone told you that you’ve become really arrogant when it comes to fighting?” Jess inquired with a wry smile.

“Not arrogant. Competitive maybe.”

She shook her head, laughing reluctantly.

It was my turn to spend the day in the library with Gwen. After a quick shower, I met her there. She already had books scattered across her workspace.

“Did you find anything new?” I asked.

“Not really. Everything so far has more or less the same information. Hidden Grove is the oldest werewolf pack in the country. It was established the same year as Jamestown. They are the largest and most powerful pack in the country, while Harvest Moon and Silver Woods are close seconds. They have a history of ruthless Alphas. That’s how they gained so much power. They attacked and conquered countless other packs.”

“Did one of the others tell you our family has a history of mental illness?” I asked.

She nodded, “Henry did. Your grandfather was schizophrenic, right?”

“Yeah, our great-grandfather as well. We thought Dad was too. Turns out, he’s just a terrible father.”

“I understand why you went to the lengths you did to get away. With this much power… It would be hard to stay hidden from him.”

I nodded, “That’s why we were so lucky to find a rogue working in the police force. Without him, we would have been caught eventually. He taught us to fight and helped us change our names. He even got them to seal the records since we were victims of domestic abuse.”

“If he is aware of the situation, what are the chances he kept an eye on your old pack?”

“I’d say it’s pretty high. He gave us his number in case we ever needed him. I always transferred the contact every time we moved and replaced our phones. I’ll call.”

“What about your mom?” Gwen asked.

“She was loving… Kind… She just… never stood up for us. Every once in a while, she would fight back, but it was rare. He was her mate. She would never leave him and she never put up with us saying anything bad against him. She wouldn’t help us. Mom would probably join him in exile.”

Pulling out my phone, I found the officer’s contact and hit the ‘call’ button. Immediately, an error tone played and the automated voice spoke.

“That’s weird.” I said, hanging up and putting away my phone.

“What happened?”

“The number is not in service. There’s no way he would have gotten a new number, especially since it’s only been a year.”

Gwen frowned, pulling her laptop closer and opening it, “What was his name?”

“Officer Bryce Tessaro. He lives in Dallas.”

She quickly searched his name. Looking over her shoulder, I watched as she clicked on a news article.

“He died six weeks ago.” She said, looking up at me, “I’m so sorry.”

I quickly skimmed through the article as grief hit me. We hadn’t known him long, but he was the closest thing we had to an actual father.

“It looks like he was killed during a home invasion. There were signs of a struggle but the article doesn’t note anything unusual about his death. No silver bullets or wolfsbane in his system.” I said, “I don’t get it. How did he die? He’s a wolf.”

“Even wolves can die from gunshots. If it’s fatal and we don’t have enough time to heal…” Gwen explained gently.

I nodded, brushing away the tears that slid down my cheeks, “Let’s… Um… Let’s keep going. We need to see if there is anything about Hidden Grove that we don’t know.”

The day passed in a blur. Grant and Lance didn’t spend as much time in the office, but there were several phone calls with Alphas Mason and Alex. They had lost the rogues trail and Charlie returned home much earlier than expected. Jess, Henry, and I grieved Bryce’s death and threw ourselves into training and working with Gwen. We sparred against both each other, as well as either Grant or Lance, out of range from the other two to prevent the increase in power. Our wolf forms started filling out, losing the thin, malnourished look that resulted from years of not having enough to eat.

The day before the full moon, Grant and Lance abandoned the office and Charlie managed to pull Gwen out of the library. The omegas prepared a plethora of food and we met at the pool, determined to enjoy the last day before joining the pack and leaving for Virginia.

Charlie and Lance cannonballed into the pool, sending a wave of water toward where Gwen, Jess, and I sat, relaxing. Henry and Grant were tossing a frisbee around on the expanse of grass beyond the playground. Jess yelped as she got soaked before laughing and swimming toward them as they resurfaced, splashing them. Lance grabbed her and she squealed, trying to swim away. Charlie swam over, pulling his mate into the water. Feeling like the awkward fifth wheel, I threw on my swimsuit cover and headed over toward Henry and Grant.

Henry tossed the frisbee toward me as I got closer. Raising my hand, the tips of my fingers caught the inside rim of the disk. As I tried to grab it, the frisbee slipped from my fingers and dropped to the ground. Frowning, I picked it up before throwing it toward Grant.

I walked over to Grant, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Hey. Tired of swimming?” He asked.

“Nope. Just felt awkward being the fifth wheel.”

He smiled, “We’ll go over there to eat in a few minutes.”

Henry threw the frisbee and it veered to the left, rolling until it landed at the edge of the clearing.

“I got it.” I told them. As I picked it up, I heard a twig snap.

I quickly scanned the trees, searching for anything out of the ordinary. A foul stench filled the air. Suddenly, a mass of brown fur slammed into me, throwing me back.

“Addie!” I heard Grant shout in alarm.

A rogue wolf pinned me to the ground, his claws digging into my skin. Its teeth hovered inches away from my throat. I kicked one of its hind legs out from under it, throwing it off balance. I managed to shove it off me, and I backed away, giving myself enough room to shift before lunging forward. Eleven other rogues hurled out of the forest. Grant and Henry had already shifted and met the attack. Charlie, Gwen, Jess, and Lance ran toward us in their wolf forms.

With a sweep of my claws, I sliced my attacker’s throat. I tackled the next rogue, clamping my jaws on the back of its neck and killed it. I went after the next, only to have one land on my back. I shook him off, but its claws raked across my back and I yelped in pain. I pinned the wolf to the ground, one paw crushing its ribcage. The wolf shifted into a young man. I growled threateningly, digging my claws into his skin. The man coughed up blood and grinned.

“Hid--Hidden Grove--sends their regards.” He coughed, his chest lurching.

What?

“He’s coming.” The man smiled grimly and the light left his eyes.

I stepped away from the corpse and looked around for the next wolf. Eleven bodies lay scattered around the field. The others looked bloodied but relatively unharmed. Lance was missing. I took a step toward them before pain shot through my back where I’d been wounded. My leg gave out from under me and I collapsed, my vision going black.