The Beta's Arrival

Chapter 15

James’ POV

I have to do something. If I don’t then she might be able to put too much distance between the two of us. Her trail will go cold. All because my father wouldn’t allow me to go and get her. He didn’t believe that she was my mate, but I did. She was the only one who would be suitable to be my mate. She was the largest she-wolf in the pack as well as the strongest. She came from pure Beta lineage. She was perfect.

A chair flew across the room, shattering against the wall. As I picked up another chair, I heard someone knock on my door. “Sweetheart?”

“Who is it?” I growled.

“Your mother,” she responded without a hint of hesitation in her voice. “May I come in?”

“Do whatever you want,” I huffed as I set down the chair in my hands.

She pushed the door open and stepped into my room. “I know you are frustrated,” she began as she closed the door behind herself. “But you may need to let this go. If she is truly your mate, she will feel the pull of the bond and return her to you.” Her words were meant to bring comfort, but I couldn’t feel it.

“No, I need to bring her back myself. Her parents have brainwashed her, and now she is in a pack that will keep her from me without giving me a chance to get her back,” I responded, trying to keep my emotions under control.

“Sweetheart, I understand, but you can’t barge into another pack’s territory. It will start a war. The other packs will hear of it, and we will be under constant watch from them and the council. You have to think your actions through,” she pleaded with me. She made sense. She was always logical and empathetic.

I gripped the chair in front of me so hard that the back of the chair broke off. “I can’t think clearly without her,” I groaned. “I need her.”

“Let me call the pack and see what I can do,” she offered.

I nodded. “Fine, but if they refuse, I will go there myself,” I told her.

“Thank you for being patient,” she said with a tight smile.

I watched as she left the room and no doubt headed down to her office. She would make the call and she would be told that they would not be letting us come and get Helen. It would be her choice. She would choose to stay. She used to choose me, but then when her parents saw the bond between us growing, they brainwashed her. She doesn’t believe that we are mates and probably wouldn’t until I was standing in front of her.

Quickly, I went down the stairs and headed out the back of the packhouse. There was only one wolf that would help me. “Holand,” I said as I pounded on his front door.

“What do you want?” he grumbled as he pulled open the door.

Holand was once a rogue, but my father had seen fit to bring him into the pack. However, he was never able to truly integrate into the pack, which made him the perfect wolf to ask for what I needed. He was tall and bulky, had scars up and down his body and had the look of a murderer.

“I need you to infiltrate the Shadowlands pack and get someone for me,” I told him without bothering to give any details.

“Name?” he questioned with a mischievous glint in his eye.

“Diane Miller.”

“Timeline?”

“Tonight.”

“Do you want a message left behind?” he asked as he grabbed his coat which was next to the door.

“Leave a note saying ‘come and get her’,” I instructed.

“Understood. I will bring the she-wolf back here by midnight tonight,” he promised.

“I look forward to it. If you are successful, I will make sure you are well rewarded,” I promised him.

“Wasn’t asking, but I won’t turn it down either,” he said with a smirk.

I stepped aside, allowing him to pass by. Tonight her sister will be here and soon after Helen will follow. She won’t let anything happen to her sister. She will be mine, finally.

Helen’s POV

We walked back to the packhouse, my bag slung over his shoulder. “You were really going to run,” he stated.

“Yes, because if I stay then people will get hurt. I can’t allow my sister to be anywhere near that,” I responded with a sigh.

“And what about me?”

“You?”

“Yes, you know we are mates and yet you were willing to give that all up.” I expected to hear pain in his voice, but I didn’t. He was calm.

“Yes, because she takes priority over myself.” I stopped to face him. “I couldn’t protect my parents, but I will be damned if I can’t protect my sister.”

He didn’t respond, but instead, he set the bag down and pulled me into his arms. For the first time since my dad... I felt safe and warm. Before I knew it, tears were streaming down my face. “I’m here now. You don’t have to be alone,” he seemed to be promising me.

I couldn’t respond. I could barely think as I began to sob. I hadn’t cried since my parents were murdered. I hadn’t had a chance to even let it all sink in. His arms tightened around me. His scent embraced me, calming me. Slowly, I was able to calm down. “Thank you,” I whispered as I stepped back from him.

“Anything for you,” he responded with a smile as he handed me a tissue he had in his back pocket.

“I want to go back,” I told him as I wiped my tears and blew my nose.

“Of course,” he said as he took my hand in one of his and my bag in the other.

We made our way back to Shadowlands. We had been gone only a few hours and so Diane had not even realized I was gone. “Helen,” she said with a bright smile as she looked from me to Vincent.

“Whatever you are thinking, keep it to yourself,” I warned her, jokingly.

“Fine,” she huffed dramatically. “I’m hungry,” she said, changing the topic.

We all returned to the packhouse, got some food, and sat down. I felt almost happy, but I couldn’t let myself feel completely happy. Not yet. The evening went by. Diane and I went back to our room. Vincent went to his room on the Beta floor.

“He is your mate,” Diane said once the door to our room was closed.

“Yes, but you still take priority,” I promised her.

“I’ll be fine. You can go to your mate and be happy.” She smiled at me. I sighed, trying hard to keep my expression neutral. She couldn’t know that I was willing to give up everything to protect her. It would wreck her. “Please don’t give up on your mate for me,” she begged.

“I won’t,” I told her. It was a half-truth. I wouldn’t give up on Vincent unless I had to choose between her and him. Then she would always win. “I’m going to get ready for bed,” I suddenly announced, not wanting to delve further into what may or may not happen.

I went to the bathroom, undressed, showered, and changed into my pajamas. Once I was back in the room, Diane went to the bathroom. When she came back out into the room, we turned out the lights and crawled into our beds. Sleep came and took me away and, for the first time since I arrived in Shadowlands, I greeted sleep and the dreams it brought to me.

A sudden sound jolted me awake. I felt the cool night breeze rushing into the room. I opened my eyes to see that my sister wasn’t in her bed. The bathroom light was off and her slippers were still next to her bed. Slowly, I rolled over to look around the room, trying hard not to make any sudden movements. I prayed to the Moon Goddess that she was still in the room along with whoever belonged to the foreign scent. There in the darkness, I could barely catch the shadow of an unknown person.

Within a matter of seconds, I was on my feet and slamming the shadowed figure against the wall. In doing so, they released my sister from their grip. She fell to the floor and then quickly scurried toward the other side of the room. “Who are you,” I hissed at the person.

“Nameless,” he chuckled. “You’re strong.” He shoved back against me, causing me to almost lose my footing.

“Why are you after my sister,” I pressed for more information, trying hard not to shift and rip his head from his shoulders.

“I was asked to make a delivery,” he said coolly. He was calm.

The door opened and I knew Diane was trying to get help. In the split second that I lost focus on him, he knocked me to the ground and landed heavily on top of me. “I think if I brought in a different she-wolf, it would be okay,” he smirked.

“My turn,” Celestria growled in my head. She pushed past what I wanted and we shifted, throwing the man off us. He hit the wall as we crushed furniture. The room was too small for any wolf, let alone one as big as us.

“I do like a challenge,” he chuckled as he stood back to his feet and raised his hands to his face as though we were in a boxing match. Then he launched himself at us. He hit hard as though he had already shifted, yet he was still in human form.

Celestria was startled and we were pushed back, crushing the bed behind us. He punched at us again, but this time, Celestria snapped at his hand, catching it between her jaw. With the swing of her head, he was lifted from the ground and thrown into the mirror stand. Shards fell to the ground with some sticking out of the perpetrator's back. He spit out blood and then got back to his feet immediately.

“Well, this has been fun, but it would seem that our fight is about to be interrupted,” he said with a shrug. Then he was jumping out the window.

Celestria rushed to follow him. We leaped from the window, landing hard on the ground. We could hear others coming down from behind us. Celestria pressed us forward, chasing after the scent of the foreign wolf. I was going to catch him and I was going to find out what he was planning on doing with my sister. However, I had an idea. He was probably sent by James and so I figured he wanted him to grab Diane in an attempt to make me go back to Silvertooth... to him.

We followed the scent as far as it went, but it suddenly disappeared. It was gone. He couldn’t just disappear. Celestria stopped, sniffing around while the other wolves did the same. Everyone was confused, but then it hit me. He must have somehow doubled back in order to get to Diane when I thought I was tracking him. When we thought we had him.

Quickly, Celestria turned on her heels and headed back toward the packhouse. Instead of seeing Diane, I saw chaos. I shifted back, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around myself. “Where is she?!” I asked, pushing through the doors trying to find her.

“We aren’t sure...” an omega answered me.

“What happened? She was just here. She was inside the packhouse. She was supposed to be safe,” I stressed.

“She was here one moment and then gone the next. We don’t know what happened,” she responded, shaking.

“They have her then...” I muttered.

“Who has her?” I heard Vincent’s voice.

“By now... James has her and if I don’t show up in time, he’ll kill her.” I felt as though I were going to throw up.