Anna's Tale

The Missing brother

The next day there is still no word from Carter and I am worried out of my mind. Christmas isn't a big deal to the pack, wolves celebrate the seasons, like winter solstice and such. So today is just a normal day. A normal day that has me worried out of my mind about my brother. Where in the hell is that man. I have called him so many times that it isn't funny and Bryce has people out looking for him, but no one can find him. 

"That is it, I am going to the house to see if he left any clue as to where he was going! I am going crazy just standing around waiting for signs of life." I tell Bryce. "The warriors have looked there already, Anna. We will find him, I promise" he tells me and I know he is doing his best but I can't be idle. "You can go with me or not, but I am going. He has been there for me my whole life and I won't turn my back on him when he needs me the most." I storm off to get dressed. I hear Bryce sigh and follow me up the stairs. 

I walk into our closet and grab my black skinny jeans, my Harley Quinn tee, a black leather jacket that Bryce bought me for my birthday and knee high black leather high heeled boots Izzy bought me. I change quickly and throw my long hair up in a ponytail. When I come out, Bryce is leaning against the door frame with his car keys in his hand. "Ready?" He asks. I nod and we head out to his truck. As we are driving the five minutes to my old home, Bryce looks at me and grins, "You look hot in leather, Little one." I giggle. He laughs and we pull up to the house. It looks eerily empty, no lights on and almost looks haunted.  "Well, this is creepy. " I shudder and he nods. We make our way to the front door and Bryce pushes it open. My jaw drops. "Did the warriors do this?" I ask looking at the wreckage. Everything is thrown all over the place. We walk farther in and all the cabinets are open with everything scattered and all the drawers have been pulled out. We check each room and they are all the same. Bryce is mind linking with his team. "No, when they were here everything was in its place. Someone has been here recently." He starts sniffing the air, " I don't recognize the scent." I take one deep breath and it hits me like a ton of bricks. "I do, it's my mother." "When is the last time you saw her?" He asks gently. "Eight years ago, she left and never looked back. What in the hell is she doing back here now?" "What is her name? I will have to contact the other packs to figure out where she came from." He asks while typing quickly on his cell phone. "Mary Clay, she may have a different last name now. She met her mate, Ben and then left us." I sniffle. Damn her, I swear if she hurt Carter, I will end her! 

"Calm down, love. I can feel your anger and I understand. We will find her." He pulls me into his arms. "Let's get back home, I have called an Alpha meeting. I will get answers." I nod and we leave. He holds my hand all the way home and I am grateful. I need to be strong, though, I am their Luna, their leader and I need to show them I can take care of them. "Trust me, they know, Anna, they know and they are glad that you are Luna." Bryce must have bypassed my mind link, being alpha and my mate, he can do that. I squeeze his hand and jump out of the truck. 

We make our way to the meeting room, which is in the basement of the pack house and there are five Alpha's waiting for us. WOW, he works fast. "Welcome, Gentlemen. As you know, we have a missing wolf and we believe a wolf from another pack might have information on his disappearance. Right now, we place no blame, we just want information." Bryce is cut off by a man a few years older than Bryce, who by the way is twenty-two. "Bryce, who is this beautiful young lady?"I look at the man. He is tall with long blonde hair and brown eyes. He has a kind face and just like every other man in the room, he is very muscular. "This is my Luna, Anna-" "Bryce this is no place for a woman, get her out so us men can talk." Another large blonde man cuts Bryce off. Bryce growls, "You will show my mate some respect, it is her brother that is missing, Toby. She is not just some woman, she is the Luna of my pack!" Toby growls back, and I can see this is going to get out of hand quickly and we don't really have time to waste on a pissing contest. "ENOUGH! A pack member is missing, and we are asking for your help, if you are not here to offer that help, then leave. My name is Anna, and I am asking for help finding my brother, not just as the Luna of this pack, but as a sister. Think about if it were your pack mate, your brother. Wouldn't you want all the help you could get? Wouldn't you ask your friends and neighbors? Well, that's what I am doing. You are our friends and neighbors, our allies. Please, help me, help us." I plead with the room. I meet each of their eyes and each man nods. I reach Toby's intense gaze, he pauses searching my eyes, then nods. "Thank you, all." I sigh and look at Bryce and nod. He smiles proudly at me. "Well, your mate is quite the diplomat." The first man says. Bryce nods "Yes she is. Anna this is Manny, he is the alpha of the Blue falls pack. Next to him is Kyle the alpha of the Black nights pack. Then Joe, the alpha of the Rock creek pack. Then Robert, the alpha of the Crescent Heights pack, and Toby, the alpha of the Ridge creek pack." I nod and greet each man. 

"What can we do to help you, Luna?" Kyle asks. "Please, call me Anna. We are looking for a woman by the name of Mary Clay. Her last name may have changed since she found her mate, Ben. I smelled her scent in my brother's home and it was fresh like she had been there less than an hour ago." "I my Beta's name is Ben Saunders and his mate is Mary." Joe says. "Do you remember when they mated?" I ask him. "Eight years ago. I remember because she was married with a couple of kids and Ben was devastated that she wouldn't bring the children. He said it was unfair for her to walk away from them and leave them without a mother, but she wouldn't hear it. She said it was her chance to start over." "Yup, that's her then." I said dead planned. "How is it you know this, if you don't mind my asking?" Joe asked gently. "Because she's my mother." I said looking him right in the eyes. His eyes widened and he flopped back into his chair. "OH, Anna, I'm so sorry." "It's quite alright, we did just fine without her." I said simply. "Where is she now?" Bryce asked. "At home, I would suppose, I will ask Ben and have them both report here asap. If she had something to do with his disappearance, I will turn her over to you." Joe said sympathetically. "Thank you." Bryce said. "We will put out trackers to cover the whole state of Texas. Someone will pick up something, don't worry, Anna." Manny said and all the Alphas agreed. They each shook our hands as they left. There was nothing left to do but wait for mommy dearest now.  

"Well, it seems you have won over all the alphas in the state of Texas, My mate." Bryce said with a laugh. I just grinned at him, "Girl power." that earned me another laugh. Joe joined us in the kitchen for some lunch while we waited for Ben and Mary. To say I wasn't nervous would be a lie. I haven't seen my mother in eight years. I was hurt, mad, sad, and excited. It never occurred to me that she wouldn't recognize me. I had my Dad's dark hair and skin tone, Carter had mom's blonde hair and brown eyes. I am the only one with blue eyes in our family, weird, I know. 

We were laughing at a joke Joe had told us when Ben and my Mother walked in the kitchen. "Alpha, you sent for us. What can we do for you?" Ben asked Joe. I was staring at my mother, she had not changed a bit. Before Joe could answer, her eyes met mine and she glared at me. "What the fuck are you staring at, Bitch?" I felt like I had been slapped, she didn't even recognize me. Bryce growled at her, "You will treat my Luna with some fucking respect, pup!" Ben was quick to apologize. "Forgive my Mate, Alpha Bryce, she has issues with other women." Bryce looked at Joe and nodded. Joe Looked directly at Mom, "Even when that WOMAN is her own DAUGHTER?" They both gasped and stared at me. "Anna?" Ben whispered, tears forming in his big brown eyes. I looked at my Mom, she was just staring at me. I nodded, "It's me. I am a wolf too, you know. The full moon is tomorrow and I will shift for the first time." "If you shift, I will kill you." My mother's voice was cold and we all gaped at her. "What the fuck, Mary?" Joe roared. "I can't let her wolf loose or she will kill me." She said almost sadly.