His Missing Luna

CHAPTER 66

The Pack Run 2

The pack fed off Engor’s energy as he charged ahead of them. His thick paws thundered heavily on the ground, scattering sand and stones in their wake.

Rakiel’s wolf, Vanka, licked her mate’s snout playfully, yipping happily, exhilarated by the thrill of the run. Her chest pounded with love for both the wolf beside her and the pack behind her.

Growls of approval reached them from the members. This was not new to them. Their Alpha and Luna had never shied away from openly displaying their affection for each other.

Their king and queen.

Engor veered off the path, the pack following, towards the edge of the forest. Before reaching it, they took a left, heading for the open fields. They raced through the soft grasses swaying in the wind. The grasses caressed their fur like a lover’s gentle touch. The sound of grasses against furs, paws against the soft soil, a symphony that even the night creatures stood in awe of.

Inside the forest, they leapt over large stones and fallen logs, their blood pounding in their veins, breaths coming in short bursts.

The forest seemed to bow to their presence, holding back every other sound. The moon followed ahead of them, lighting their path, making their fur glow against the darkness of the forest. From above, they looked like a mass of silver rolling through the trees.

Engor linked the men who would assist him in tracking the animals for tonight’s feast. Midriel was among them. They replied with loud howls, acknowledging the honor, increasing the thrill among the members.

The run always ended with a feast. They danced, drank, and ate their fill.

As Engor flew over a thick log and landed, he sensed something was wrong. The ground felt softer underneath his paws, just at the edge of where he landed.

He growled a warning to Rakiel, but it was too late. As her paws landed, the ground collapsed beneath her.

“No!” Malachai and Engor released a blood-curling roar, eyes wide with fear as they watched their mate fall into the large ditch.

Malachai shifted instantly, running to the edge, heaving in fright and his protective instincts taking over. His eyes widened in both fear and shock when he saw inside.

Rakiel had miraculously fallen to the side of the ditch, rather than into the middle where long iron spikes were buried in the soil.

She was shifted, curled into a ball, covering herself with her arms, shivering.

Malachai growled a warning to the pack members and Midriel to stay back. “My love, are you okay?” His voice trembled with fear as he crouched at the edge, looking down at her. Engor whined at seeing their mate trembling, but safe.

“I am,” she replied, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she spoke, glancing from the spikes to him.

His green eyes flashed a deep gold, instantly shifting to Engor’s. “I will find whoever did this!” His roar tore through the forest, unsettling the quiet night. “Can you shift for me? Please?”

“I want the person found immediately!” Malachai screamed at both his Beta and Gamma. Since the incident, he and Engor have been alternating presences and syncing when necessary.

“The men are checking the cameras as we speak,” Finch replied. “We will find whoever did this.”

“Yet you are here,” Engor snarled. “Standing uselessly before me.”

Malachai’s growl thundered through the room. “What is your use to me as Beta and Gamma if you leave the investigation of the attempted murder of my mate to others? Why do I have you?!”

Both men bent their heads in submission to their alpha and king.

“We are doing all we should do,” Gary answered, his wolf submitting to his alpha.

“I want you to check them! Now leave my sight and don’t return until you find whoever did this!”

“Yes, Alpha,” they nodded and left his chambers.

“You were too harsh,” Rakiel softly scolded from the bed where she lay under the covers. Her body had stopped shaking.

Malachai continued pacing, frowning unapologetically. “I don’t care. You’re all I care about.”

She sighed, relaxing into the bed. Shivers racked her body again as images of the spikes flickered through her mind.

Was that how her life would have ended? Death on iron spikes.

“I will turn the entire pack upside down if it’s the last thing I do. I will command everyone, read their minds. Every one of them.”

Rakiel’s smile held both happiness and sadness as she watched her mate muttering and pacing. His worry wasn’t new to her. But the fear that his reaction would have been more extreme if she had indeed lost her life saddened her.

“I want to feel your arms around me, my love,” she called out to him, and with two long strides, he was beside her on the bed.

He tugged her close, burying his face in her hair. “I am sorry.” He scolded himself for being a terrible mate for even a second. His mate needed to be comforted.

“It’s okay. I am safe now that I am in your arms.”

“I won’t rest until I find whoever set that trap for you,” he promised her.

She raised her eyes to his face. “How did you know it was for me?”

“I always jump higher than you every time we run through that place. The person knew you would be the next after me and would never jump as high because of your wolf. Also, the ground was softer than it usually is.”

The fallen log was thick and took up much space on the ground. Engor always landed far from it. Vanka was lithe and would rather jump gently and land close to the log.

The ditch was planted exactly where her paws would land.

“This was someone who has been watching us for years.”

“Oh goddess. Someone wants me dead,” Rakiel whispered, shaking as she spoke.

“They will have to go through me first for that to happen,” he growled just as his Gamma linked him.

“We found something, Malachai.”

“What is it?”

“A video. You should come see it.”

“I am on my way,” he cut the link and looked down at Rakiel. “They found something. Think you can come with me to check?”

She pulled out of his arms, moving to the bed’s edge. “I am coming with you. I won’t allow anyone to steal my joy or make me look weak before my pack. I am the Luna of the Silvercrest Pack.”