Alpha Rising

Chapter Forty-Five

Phillip’s P.O.V.

While I was honored that the ALpha asked me to ensure the safety of his mate and the female fighter from our pack, I was also rather annoyed. I had speed on my side, but he knew that Trevor was stronger than I was physically. Why didn’t he send him along with the ladies?

Vira and I had been on planes before, so we were able to get through the gate with relative ease, but Mariah had apparently never been on one before at all. So she was just thrilled at the size and bustling energy of the large New York airport. 

Mariah had also slipped up once on the plane, calling me Gamma in front of the stewardess. She realized her mistake very quickly though, and thankfully the tired flight attendant hadn’t been paying much attention to the conversation. 

But despite that, I could still tell that she was definitely not used to being out in a very clearly non-wolf world. That happened with some of the fighters, unfortunately. They were free to leave the grounds and hold jobs, but a lot of them didn’t stray too far from home if they could help it. This was likely her very first time visiting our southern-most sister pack.

The landing was rough. And I was absolutely terrified that I was going to rip the arms off of my seat with my strength. It took so much restraint. Oh Goddess I hated planes. They were unsettling beyond belief. I was a wolf. I was made to be on the ground and barefoot running through the forest, not up in the sky in some metal tube. It definitely didn’t help that we’d hit a nice chunk of turbulence somewhere over Tennessee. 

So by the time the plane landed in Mississippi I was damned near ready to kiss the ground. Once the three of us were out of baggage claim, we were met with a large black car, flanked by two of Alpha Nelson’s men. I could smell them before I could see them, so it wasn’t even like they were possible threats. 

Once the three of us were securely in the car, Beta Patrick was already waiting for us with some blessed, blessed coffee. “Oh, Goddess thank you,” I muttered, taking one of the offered cups, very much warm in my hands and bitter on my tongue as it tried to wake me up. 

Vira took one too, but our third companion looked like she declined. Oh well, more for us. The Luna let out a heavy sigh when Beta Patrick leaned in and whispered something to her. Just from the pain in her eyes, I was already fearful of our task at hand. 

I hadn’t even volunteered for the task force, to begin with. This was something thrust upon me. And the thought of screwing up so royally that a young Alpha pup might… No, I had to avoid thinking about that. 

“Beta,” I said, holding my cup with both hands and looking the very clearly tired male in the eyes. “Alpha Nikolai sends his best, and hopes that we can help find your Alpha’s heir for you.”

He smiled faintly at us and bowed his head in thanks. “I appreciate that, Gamma Phillip,” Patrick said. “I know that you’re being tossed right into the thick of this mess, but we’ve nearly exhausted all of our current sentinels.”

“How wide of a range did you give them?” Mariah asked as she pulled her hair back from her face with a bandana. 

“Ten miles.” Patrick was a very no-nonsense kind of Beta, and I very much appreciated that. The older man had run through the entire first day’s worth of paths, tracks, and every step that the Moonstone pack had taken to search the grounds around the site.  He was able to keep us informed while still keeping a level head, which I truly admired. I don’t think I would have been able to if it had been someone so close to me.

Vira spoke up, crossing her legs and leaning back into the plush car seats as we rounded a corner onto a long winding gravel drive. “You moved up into unclaimed land too?” she asked. “When my brother and I were attacked, we were on the edges of the territory, and they tried to lure us out into the ungoverned woods.”

Patrick nodded slowly. We all remembered the way she and her brother had been targeted in Black Opal. It was a distressing course of action that was only starting to get worse. “Of course,” Patrick added. “Our Luna is nearly inconsolable.”

“Mmmm, okay.” Mariah was taking notes the whole while and looked up from her notepad to address the Beta properly. It was then that her brow furrowed. Did she think of something else? “Beta Patrick, where are we headed now?”

I looked out the car window as the road broke through another stand of trees. Before us was a wide swath of land. I knew that we were close to the northern border of Moonstone territory, but I had no idea just how beautiful the land was. There was a river that ran through the middle of the land, and dotted along it were cabins in various states of repair. This must have been the land that they were trying to build back up. 

When we pulled up to one of the most remote of the cabins, there was a pacing wolf making its dutiful rounds circling the cabin. From the size, I guessed that it was one of the Moonstone fighters. And Beta Patrick confirmed that suspicion when he ordered the wolf to stand down and post up outside the main cabin entrance. 

“Alpha Nelson has refused to leave the cabin grounds until Marcus is found,” Patrick said as we made our way into the small cabin. 

“Understandable,” Vira commented. The same men who had picked us up from the airport were grabbing our bags from the trunk without us even asking, despite my silent offer to help. 

Something in the air smelled off. It wasn’t as though it smelled bad, but it certainly smelled different. I knew I had to wait to get a better look around, but something was still sitting poorly in my stomach. A shiver went up my spine that made me feel like we were being watched, though that likely could have just been the tens of guards that were patrolling the grounds. 

“I don’t care!” I heard a deep male voice roar as the cabin door flew open. “Calcite has the largest southern territory! They should be able to spare a few scouts!”

“Nelson,” a softer female voice said. “Baby please, you know that Alpha Davis is losing his mind for you.”

We came into the room with a gentle cough of Beta Patrick trying to get their attention. The frazzled form of Alpha Nelson emerged from the shadows, and it looked as though he hadn’t slept in days. 

Luna Bea, however, simply looked blank. Maybe she was just in denial, or maybe she was holding it together for her mate. In any case, Vira stepped forward and quickly took their hands in greeting. 

I couldn’t hear what was said, but it sure looked like it calmed down Alpha Nelson. Damn. Maybe she really was meant to be a great leader. That one was always full of surprises. 

My lips turned up in the faintest of compassionate smiles as Vira turned to introduce the both of us, and on instinct, I bowed deeply in a show of respect and recognition of their rank and authority.

Luna Bea ushered us out onto the covered back porch of the cabin, that already being the makeshift war-room for the search efforts. A large map of the territory was pinned down onto a long wooden picnic table, and marker lines were scrawled all over, marking out different trails, mines, even a few small lakes. 

The lump in my throat continued to grow as I took in all of the information. I still felt watched, and my wolf was feeling anxious at the sensation. It had him panting and pacing in my mind, and I could feel him itching to shift and run for the trees. 

Something was out there. I could feel it.