Claimed By The Packless Alpha

07 Dead End

Sienna’s POV

I did not waste time packing up to spend two days with Maya. We were not going there to have fun. We were on a mission to search for Kael, and even though a small stupid part of me wanted to believe we would find him quickly and fix everything, the rest of me already knew nothing about my life was ever that simple. My life did not believe in easy. My life preferred dragging me by the hair through embarrassment first.

The moment we got to Maya’s house, we started searching online. Social media. Search engines. Pack forums. Old tagged pictures. Anything. Everything. Men with the name Kael. Men who looked like Kael. Men who had the kind of face that could ruin a woman’s life and then disappear without taking her phone number. We searched until my eyes burned and my head began to ache. Maya went through hundreds of profiles with me at first, then slowly started blinking too much, then leaning too much, then finally falling asleep on the chair like betrayal had not just entered my life wearing a handsome face and dangerous teeth.

I kept scrolling alone for a while, my fingers moving even when my mind felt numb. Kael. Kael. Kael. I typed the name so many times it started to look fake. Maybe he had lied about that too. Maybe he had looked me in the eye last night, smiled with that dangerous mouth, and handed me a fake name because men like him were born already knowing how to ruin women and leave no trail.

‘Or maybe he simply does not live online like every attention-starved i***t,’ Nyla said in my head.

I rubbed my forehead. “Not now.”

‘You keep saying that, but somehow now keeps getting worse.’

I ignored her because she was right, and I was not emotionally strong enough to admit it.

After breakfast the next morning, Maya and I continued the search. She made coffee. I barely drank mine. She tried to make me eat toast. I stared at it until it went cold. Food felt useless. My stomach had been clenched since I found the mark on my neck, and I did not think anything could pass through it except fear and maybe more bad decisions.

After we searched over a thousand profiles and found nothing useful, Maya pushed the laptop away and groaned.

“This is useless,” Maya said, rubbing her eyes. “There is no way we are finding him like this.”

I stared at the screen, refusing to give up even though the truth was already sitting beside me.

“He has to be somewhere,” I whispered.

“Yes, Sienna. Obviously. Unless he dissolved into smoke after destroying your life, which honestly, with the way things are going, I will not even be shocked,” Maya said.

‘Ask the motel,’ Nyla said suddenly.

I froze.

“What?” I whispered.

Maya frowned at me. “What?”

I sat up quickly. “The motel. Moonfall Motel. Maybe he paid with his card or left an address. Maybe they have his full name.”

Maya blinked, then slapped her palm against her forehead.

“Goddess, why did we not think of that first?” Maya asked.

“Because we were too busy trying to find every Kael in existence,” I muttered.

‘And because panic makes you both useless,’ Nyla added.

I stood so quickly the chair scraped against the floor. “Let’s go.”

We got ready and left for Moonfall Motel. The whole ride there, my stomach twisted in knots. Hope was dangerous. I knew that, but I could not stop it from rising. Maybe the motel would have his details. Maybe there would be a surname. Maybe there would be a phone number. Maybe by the end of the day, I would be standing in front of Kael, screaming in his stupid handsome face and demanding he fix what he had done.

The moment we arrived at the motel, regret hit me so hard I almost stopped walking. The building looked ordinary in daylight. Cheap paint. Small sign. A front office that smelled faintly of old cleaner and stale air. Nothing about it looked like the place where my life had been destroyed. That felt insulting. Places where lives ended should look dramatic. There should be thunder. Broken glass. Blood on the walls. Not a bored receptionist chewing gum behind a desk like my ruin was just another weekday.

How could Kael do this to me? He knew the way the wolf community worked. He had to know. No one would ever want me if he was still living and breathing. Even if he died, it would still be hard to find another mate. A claimed woman was complicated. A woman claimed by a stranger was worse. My only option might be settling with a human, and that was prohibited in most packs because of the risk of breeding wolfless children. My father would rather set the house on fire and stand inside it than accept that.

I was doomed.

Completely doomed.

‘You have said doomed so many times now it is starting to sound like a nickname,’ Nyla muttered.

“Nyla, please.”

‘Fine. But if we survive this, I am naming our first dramatic breakdown Doomed.’

I almost laughed. Almost. But the tears were too close.

Maya squeezed my hand before we walked to the reception desk. The receptionist looked up at us with the kind of expression that told me she had already decided we were an inconvenience. She had long nails, glossy lips, and the tired confidence of someone who knew people needed her more than she needed them.

I hated her immediately.

But we needed her help, so I swallowed my pride.

“Please, I need to know if a customer by the name Kael left any details,” I said carefully.

The receptionist stared at me as if I had asked her to lend me her kidney.

“We do not disclose our...” she began.

I placed money on the desk before she could finish.

Maya’s eyes widened slightly beside me, but she said nothing.

“Please,” I said, my voice shaking despite my effort to control it. “Lives depend on this information.”

The receptionist’s expression shifted. The annoyance did not vanish completely, but concern softened the edge of it. She glanced at the money, then back at my face, and maybe she saw something desperate enough there to make her stop enjoying her little power trip.

“What is his name?” the receptionist asked, turning toward the computer.

“Kael,” I said.

She raised an eyebrow. “Kael who?”

I swallowed.

“That is all I have got,” I said.

The receptionist stared at me again, and this time the look made me want to disappear.

‘Excellent,’ Nyla said dryly. ‘Nothing screams responsible adult like searching for a man by one name after letting him chew your neck.’

I bit the inside of my cheek.

The receptionist sighed and started typing. “When was he here?”

“Two nights ago,” I replied quickly.

She clicked through something on the computer. Every second felt like a year. My heart pounded so hard I could feel it in my throat. Maya stood close beside me, one hand brushing against mine, reminding me that I was not alone even though fear made everything feel lonely.

“There is a Kael here for eleven forty-three,” the receptionist said.

My breath caught.

Kael.

He had used the name.

Maybe it was real.

Maybe this was something.

“What is his last name, please?” I asked eagerly.

The receptionist frowned at the screen. “Didn’t say. It just reads Kael.”

My hope cracked.

“What?” I asked.

“It just reads Kael,” she repeated.

Frustration rushed through me, hot and sharp.

“How can you give a room to someone when you do not even know his last name?” I snapped, raising my voice.

“Sienna,” Maya warned quietly, touching my arm.

The receptionist’s face hardened immediately.

“I don’t know what your problem is, lady, but you need to watch your tone,” she said. “Is there anything else you want?”

I forced myself to breathe. We needed her. I could not afford to fight with the only person who might have any information on Kael.

Maya leaned forward with a calmness I envied. “What about the name on his credit card?”

The receptionist looked back at the computer. “He paid cash.”

Of course he did.

Of course the mysterious Alpha who claimed me and vanished paid cash.

‘At this point, I will not be shocked if he came out of the forest, claimed us, and returned to a cave,’ Nyla said.

I pressed my palms against the desk. “Do you have any information other than his first name?” I asked, and my voice broke.

I did not realise I was crying until I felt the tears sliding down my cheeks. I hated crying in front of strangers. I hated looking weak. But my life was hanging on a computer screen, and all we had was one name and a cash payment. Kael had left almost nothing behind.

The receptionist stared at me for a moment.

Then she said, “Well, he left a phone number.”

The world stopped.

My head snapped up. “He did?”

“Yes,” she said.

Relief hit me so hard I almost grabbed her hand.

“That is great,” I said quickly. “Awesome, in fact.”

I took out more money and placed it on the desk.

“Please let me have it,” I added.

The receptionist looked at the money, then at the empty office around us. She picked up a small piece of paper and scribbled something down. My heart pounded with every movement of her pen. When she handed the paper to me, she held on to one end tightly while I tried to take it.

“You did not get this information here,” the receptionist warned.

I nodded quickly. “I understand.”

She released the paper.

“Thank you,” I said, holding it like it was the only thing keeping me alive.

Maya and I left the reception as quickly as we could. We did not even walk far before I pulled out my phone and dialled the number. My hands shook so badly I almost pressed the wrong digits twice. The phone rang once in my ear, and for one mad second, I thought he might answer.

Then the automated voice came through.

Switched off.