Wild and Free

Chapter 23: Lost and Unfound

(Mason's POV)

It's amazing how composed a person can seem, their entire life, but one thing can happen to make them change entirely.

Riley had always been the most composed, selfless, respectful person I'd ever known, always making sure there wasn't some other option before resorting to violence. Not once had I seen him raise his voice at anyone without probable cause and even though on the battlefield he was a ruthless warrior, he would never have the stomach or heart to torture someone or sentence them to death like an Alpha has to. Riley was a good person, through and through, and having Cassie in his life just made it better for him.

But the guy standing in front of me in that moment, wasn't Riley.

Greyson and I literally dragged his thrashing body away from the group of people in the lobby and into the nearest empty room. That room just happened to be my Father's office.

I used all my strength to keep his arms restrained but one slipped past my grip and unfortunately landed a nice painful sounding punch on Greyson's right cheek. He groaned and stumbled back on impact. I felt bad for Greyson but the shock in that moment gave me the opportunity I needed to pin our psychotic friend to the ground.

It took a while but slowly, Riley calmed down. All of us were breathing heavily and I was still holding my friend by his throat to the floor. Our clothes were still soaking wet and despite the help of being warmer than the average human would normally be, we still shivered from the cold of them clinging to our skin.

Once I was sure Riley wouldn't knock the living daylights out of me, I released him. I got to my feet but he remained in a broken heap on the floor.

"I'm sorry Grey," he muttered.

Greyson glanced at me. It was so like Riley to think about someone else in such a tough situation. We knew he hadn't meant to hurt Greyson but we couldn't do anything to stop him from feeling bad. His mind wasn't his in the moment.

"I have to get him back," Riley said, forcing himself off the floor and turning himself toward the door.

Greyson and I stepped forward and pushed him back. He looked at us like we were crazy but we knew that we couldn't let him leave.

"No you're going to stay here," I told him, guiding him to the large brown leather couch in the sitting area of the office.

"To hell I am!" He yelled. "You think I'm just going to sit here in your dad's office and let some idiots put in their half assed attempts at finding him? He's my brother!"

"I know that! But if you go out there now, you're going to rip someone's head off or do something else you'll regret," I explained in a stern voice. I wondered if that was how parents scolded their kids.

"Bullshit. You think that I would waste my time on some random people that get in the way? Hell no. I need to find Ben."

To say I was a bit taken aback with his response would be an understatement. The guy I knew always listened to reason whether he believed it was true or not. And Riley almost never cursed, let alone twice in a single statement.

I shook my head, "I'm sorry but I can't let you leave."

"Both of them are probably miles away by now if not dead and your men are still looking on the grounds!" He yelled, the anger and frustration evident in his tone.

"Would you think about this straight?" I asked him. "Ben isn't the only one missing. Beta William and his family are probably freaking out just as much if not more. You can't just go barreling into the forest without thinking first."