A Luna's Escape

Searching

Cole's POV

"We've followed every lead we had, sir." Lucas sat across the desk from me. "We don't know where else to look."

"She has to be here. She couldn't have just disappeared." I put my head in my hands as I sat at my desk.

Five years I had been searching for Sophie. By the time we got to the car she was driving, Sophie was long gone. I checked every airport, bus station and train station in the area, but no luck. I finally was able to confirm that she purchased a new vehicle from a dealership nearby a couple days before she left. We tracked it as long as we could but since it was registered in Washington, I hadn't had any luck finding it. She was long gone from Washington and even the private investigator I hired had difficulty tracing it. We finally tracked it down a few states over. A private couple had purchased it from Sophie. They confirmed it was her who sold it by her photo. We weren't able to use her vehicle to trace her any longer. There was no way we could find out what she was driving now.

"There's got to be something. Something we missed. She can't just disappear."

"She has to be using a different name." Lucas suggested. It's the only way the P.I wouldn't be able to find her. He's using the wrong name."

"Even if that was the case, there's no way we'd know what name she's going by now."

"Sorry man." Lucas sighed.

I had been beating myself up since the day Sophie left me. For the first year, Maggie wouldn't leave me alone. She was everywhere I was, hounding me about making her my new Luna. She never got tired of trying to convince me that Sophie was long gone and I was never going to see her again.

After the two and a half year mark she finally relented a bit. Then, one day she found her mate. We had some visitors from a neighboring pack stay with us while we tried to work out an alliance agreement. Turns out, she was mated to the gamma. She wasn't too happy about not being Luna, but was thrilled to have found her mate. She spared no expense rubbing it in my face either. She was bitter about me cutting her out of my life the night Sophie left. So when she found her mate, rubbing it in seemed like her way to get revenge.

I was happy for her, though. Happy that she finally found the one person that was made for her. I'm glad she moved on, and glad that she moved out of the pack. I wasn't tempted by her, in fact, I was overcome with guilt when I saw her. Having her not around helped me to heal. I was able to cope with my guilt and able to manage my anger. I saw red when I saw Maggie. I was mad that together we had chased Sophie off, and I was mad that Maggie wouldn't give up on getting me back. Since she's been gone, I've been able to heal. I've been able to come to terms with what I've done and make the changes I need to make to myself to win Sophie back. I've been sitting with a therapist twice a week. Together we are working through my feelings, and getting a game plan on how to be the best me I can be.

Being an alpha in therapy seems so wrong. A big, strong leader having to work through his issues and feelings in therapy. But, I was glad I was going. It definitely helped me to process what I was going through and why I did what I did. It also solidified that I wanted Sophie back. Werewolves are still part human, and that human part still needs help sometimes. I have to find Sophie. Even if she doesn't want me back, I have to apologize to her. I have to let her know I am sorry, truly sorry, for what I've done. I don't deserve her forgiveness, but I'd like to have it. I'd like to hear her say she forgives me, so that I can begin to forgive myself. Even if she moved on without me, I have to find her.

"I was so stupid." I sighed as I got up from my desk.

"Yeah, but what's done is done. I know you're trying to make up for it. We'll find her. It may take a while, but we will find her."

"Luke, you've been the best friend and Beta I could have ever asked for. I don't deserve your kindness, man."

"No, you don't. We all make mistakes. Yours was pretty bad." Lucas chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. "But you're paying for it."

"Yeah." I smiled at Lucas. I was paying for it, and I would continue to pay for my actions until I found Sophie and hopefully could earn her forgiveness.

Lucas and I both jumped as the door to my office flew open. A tall man with a large, round gut blew through the door. He tossed a magazine down on the desk in front of me.

"Carl." I nodded, looking at the investigator I had hired, now standing between Luke and I.

"Take a look at that." He pointed to the magazine.

"What's this?" I asked as I picked it up. On the front cover was a beautiful blonde. She was perfectly posed in a skin tight, black dress. Her makeup was done perfectly under the airbrushed cover. I quickly flipped through the pages.

"Give it here." Carl gestured for me to hand the magazine over. I did as he asked and watched as he flipped the pages until he found the one he was looking for.

"My wife reads this magazine." He looked up at me from the page he was holding.

"Okay." I said, waiting for Carl to get to the point.

"She happened to be reading this on the couch next to me last night. I happened to look over and I saw the woman pictured in the story. Look familiar?" He grinned as he handed the magazine over to me.

I traced my fingers over the smooth pages, outlining the soft features of the woman in the photo. Her long, dark brown hair fell in ringlets, cascading over her slender shoulders. Her collarbone shimmered as it stood out against the low cut blouse she wore. Her lips were painted in a bright red and curled up in a beautiful, laughing smile. The Red of her lips contrasted against her bright, green eyes. A single speck of brown could be seen in one eye. She looked so happy, so carefree. She looked good. Better than I had ever seen her.

"Sophie." I whispered as I stared at the page.

"What!" Luke shouted, ripping the magazine from my hands. "Woah!"

"Carl, where is she?"

"Well, the article says she is working for Sondra Ellis."

"Who is Sondra Ellis?" I asked, completely confused.

"She's a fashion designer. A pretty famous one at that." Carl c****d his head, in awe that I had no clue who Sondra Ellis is.

"Dude, she started her own line. Sophie has her own fashion house!" Lucas said excitedly as he continued to read the article.

"Yes." Carl looked at me. "Sophie started her own line through Sondra Ellis. According to the article, Sophie has worked for her for five years. Sondra has been so impressed with Sophie that she helped her launch her own line under the Ellis company's name."

"But where can I find her?" I asked.

I was conflicted at this moment. I wanted to find her, to go to her. I was happy she was doing well. But at the same time, I was saddened by it. She had her own fashion line. She was doing well. She had moved on and how could I just swoop in and bring all of our bad memories with me?

"Sondra Ellis is based out of Charlotte, North Carolina."

"She's in North Carolina?" My jaw practically fell to the floor. We knew she had gone East. We traced the suv she bought to a nice couple in Colorado. I never imagined that she would go that far. I had even thought that she was nearby, and had just sold the car out of state to throw me off the trail. She was pretty smart like that.

"Yes." Carl said. He handed me a folded up piece of paper. "I dug into Sondra and her Employee's last night. I found Sophie's address. Looks like she bought a house there before she left here.

"What?" I was again confused. "How?"

"Didn't you say she was gone for a couple of days just before she left?" Lucas handed me the magazine.

"Yeah." I said as realization set in. "She had been planning this for a long time before she left."

This entire time I had thought that she just picked up and left one morning, but I was beginning to realize that wasn't the case. This had been weeks, maybe months in the making. She had planned the trip to Carolina long before she left. She went there to set herself up for when she left. I knew she had taken a large sum of money before she left. At first I was angry, but the therapist helped curve that anger by realizing that I owed it to her. She needed to get away and by taking the money she was able to take care of herself when I didn't take care of her. It was the least that I owed her.

"Sorry, man." Lucas patted me on the shoulder. "But, at least you know where she is now."

"I do." I smiled as I realized I held her address in my hand. "Carl, thank you. I am so grateful for your hard work. Thank your wife for me. Without this magazine, we may have never found her."

"You're welcome." He said before turning and leaving the office.

"Luke, you're in charge for a while. I need to go." I said as I sat down at my desk. I needed to book a flight and get packed.

"How long are you going to be away?"

"I'm not sure. At least a week. I'll let you know more when I get there."

"Sounds good man. Good luck." Lucas left my office, allowing me to get started on my travel plans.

"Good luck." I whispered to myself. I was going to need all of the luck I could get.