-----Bryce's POV---------
Nine months, it had been nine whole months since I had seen her. At first I was frantic, desperate to find her and make sure that she was okay and unharmed. Then, eventually I accepted that she didn't want to be found and I stopped looking.
I ended up moving to the lake house full time, partly to escape the guilt of losing my mate and also abandoning the search for her. I left pack business to my brothers in my absence and my father managed affairs with neighboring packs. I didn't care that it made me look weak, or that I was distancing myself from everyone because I'd lost Bennie, I needed to be alone.
"Bryce." Ace's voice rang in my ears and my attention was pulled from the still water.
"What?" I asked, throwing the rest of my coffee into the water.
"Look man, we're all pretty worried about you-"
I cut him off.
"Get to the point."
He sighed.
"We found something, a trail, it's real."
I nodded and threw on a shirt before following him back to the house.
I knew I was being callous and curt with my brother, but I couldn't help it. He didn't understand, he and his mate were perfectly content with each other with no issues. I was jealous and angry and I had almost no control over my emotions anymore.
We arrived shortly and I quickly rushed to the study where my father and brothers stood around the desk in the middle of the room.
"Son." My father greeted me, walking up to me and shaking my hand.
I nodded.
"What did you find?" I asked and he seemed a little disappointed before continuing.
"Well," we walked over to the desk and Adrian nodded to me before he continued.
"Ace was thinking about what you'd said a while ago about checking the pack. We found someone, and you were right."
He handed me a file and I opened it, my jaw clenching when I looked into those familiar eyes.
"Simon Lasten." I growled.
"I spoke to a friend of mine in Ganandor, he checked in the records hall, no one by the name of Simon Lasten ever existed to just one pack. It looks like he had this planned, he went looking for her in other packs before he found her in ours."
I nodded. "Does he have a name?" I asked.
Adrian was by my side in the next instant with a pen in hand.
"The people call him, 'The Dark Lord.' They claim to have never seen him, and that he dwells in his own castle. Only a few strong sorcerers have escaped the kingdom, they live on the outskirts of Ganandor. Apparently they're fighting a large war and many of the people have fled for safety."
"Was there a record of family?" I asked.
"He gave us a few documents and a book, it should be somewhere in here."
He rummaged through the stacks of paper and came back with a book, flipping through the pages until he came to one in particular.
"This is...just take a look for yourself."
He handed it to me with wide eyes and I took it from him, skimming the page until my eyes rested on his name.
"Silas." I growled and pulled the pen from Adrian's fingers and scribbling on the page.
Simon
Lasten
"Son of a bitch." Adrian muttered to himself when he saw what I'd done.
"He was hiding right in front of us the whole time." He replied.
"Nine months." I spoke.
Before anyone else could say anything, I continued.
"It's been nine months since she's been gone. She's either dead, or she doesn't want to return and I don't know which is worse. Fate was cruel and now his intention is to keep her from me but I won't let him. Bennie is mine and she always has been, nothing will change that, not even Fate himself."
My father sat down next to me.
"Son, I know this is hard on you, but I want you to know that we're doing everything we can to get her back."
I nodded, standing and walking to the door to the study. I swung it open and turned to them just before leaving.
"Good, because if I don't have her back soon...I'm going to kill somebody."
Just as I was leaving the house I heard Ace's voice from behind me.
"Bryce wait up, I need to talk to you." He spoke quickly.
"What?" I turned to face him.
"I need to speak to you about Bennie. Do you really think its best to go after her? After all this time?" He questioned.
"I know it's not ethical to think she'll want me back, but I have faith that when she sees me she'll remember the last conversation we had before I screwed things up. I told her how I felt about her, and that I would never give up on what we had." I replied.
"It's been nine months, and within that time you moved out. You moved out on your family, on your pack, do you think she would have wanted that?" He asked.
"I don't know what she wants, but right now what's important is what I want and what we deserve to have as a couple."
He scoffed.
"Of course, everything is about you, Bryce. Can you even hear yourself right now? Bennie knows that it was you that tried to stop her from going back to where she came from. What are you really trying to do?" He crossed his arms, waiting for an answer.
"I'm trying to prove Fate wrong. I will have a mate and children, I will have the life I was promised." I replied, turning my back to him and running toward the lake house, shifting in the process.
I remembered the dream that was given to me, the nightmare hovering over me as a constant reminder. I didn't care what the price was because I would prove the gods wrong and change my fate, no matter what the cost was.
Short I know! I'm sorry, I'll have another chapter up tomorrow to make up for last week! I'm already done I hope you enjoyed. I love you all and thanks so much for the support, it really does help. -J xx
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One True Love (Sequel to Turned Rogue)
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