Mystery of the Rejected Alpha ✔

Chapter Sixty-Seven

Alina

My breath hitched as my wolf screamed at the back of my mind. I saw everything around me go black, my mind felt hazy and I was unable to comprehend what Neil and Ron were talking about.

I kept wondering why my wolf was acting up all of a sudden. I could feel her pace at the back of my mind, howling loud enough to cause a migraine.

"Alina?" I heard Ron ask.

I closed my eyes and inhaled.

"Earths too, Alina. Stop spacing out." Neil joked and went back talking to Ron.

"It hurts." I croaked out after a few minutes.

"What happened?" Neil shouted, getting up from his seat he rushed towards me along with Ron. He placed his palm on my forehead, trying to measure my temperature.

"My wolf is in pain."

I saw everything around me spinning in circles. My wolf howled in agony and I could tell something was wrong. Neil suggested that it had something to do with James and we went to his room. He was not there.

We looked for James inside the packhouse but couldn't find him. We tried to look for Jace and mind link him, no success. We couldn't find Jace either. We were certain that both of them were outside the packhouse.

Fortunately for us, we were able to catch a faint trail of James' scent a few metres away from the packhouse. Following his scent, we ended up at the route that connected the Dark Moon pack to the Graveyard of Doom.

We stood there quietly, wondering if it was a trap. My wolf went restless at the sound of some crows.

We noticed that the house where Hailey was held captive, the same place where Drake died, was not far from the route itself.

"I think Alpha James noticed how the fingers were deliberately bent towards this direction and decided to have a look at himself." Ron looked at me, almost as if he read my mind.

"Yeah, I think so too," Neil said. "I know for sure that he won't find any clues. We didn't find anything so I'm certain he won't find anything either. I feel he will come back home when he realises that there is nothing much he can possibly do."

I shook my head.

"I am feeling restless. I—"

"Look at this." Ron interrupted pointing at the ground. We saw some black soil, scattered in multiple directions on the grass.

"I reckon whoever stood here got a front-row view," Ron said after a slight pause.

"You mean—" I trailed off.

Ron and I were looking at the direction of the house. We could see its clear shape. It was easy for us to see everything behind the house from where we stood.

"Do you think the abandoned wolves witnessed the whole scene of Beta Drake's death?" Neil asked Ron.

Ron nodded. "There is a possibility. To me, it looks like the abandoned wolves have recently used this route to sneak inside the pack."

"I am going to the graveyard. I can't rest until I see James. My wolf is threatening  to take control." I said and walked towards the graveyard.

"We'll follow along."

It was a windy afternoon. The sun was hidden behind thick grey clouds, indicating the possibility of rain in the next couple of hours.

"Where the fuck is he!?" I growled.

"I have no idea. His scent is all over this place, but faint." Neil said looking around.

We split and tried to search the graveyard. The graveyard itself was situated covering a vast area, making it difficult for us to trail. I wanted to ensure he was safe especially when we knew that the Dark Moon pack was the main target for the shapeshifters and the abandoned wolves.

"Damnit." Neil groaned as the three of us gathered. "Where the fuck did he disappear?"

I inhaled.

"Are you sure your wolf is in pain because of James?" Neil frowned. "What if we are here looking for him then to just find him safe and sound at home while you experience heartburn from something you ate?"

I wanted to hit him on the head, hard. "What the hell, Neil!?" I yelled. "Are you saying I don't know how to differentiate between heartburn and my wolf howling in pain?"

"Calm down, Alina." Ron interrupted. "I think James came here to look for clues as well. He probably went back to the packhouse. Stop stressing yourself out."

"I am not stressing myself out for no reason. My wolf is flipping out on me and I can tell that something has gone wrong, terribly wrong." I answered. "We need to look for him."

"We will find him, calm down," Neil said and Ron nodded in agreement.

We looked for another hour, eventually eliminating the possibility of his presence at the graveyard. It seemed like the only living creatures present at the Graveyard were us and a bunch of crows.

"He must have gone back, or somewhere else. I'm sure he is not here." Ron said looking at me. "Even his scent his non-existent here at this point."

I sighed and closed my eyes.

Where are you, James?

We decided to walk back to the packhouse when suddenly Neil stood in his tracks. He turned around and faced the graveyard again, sniffing.

"Can you two sense it?" Neil asked all of a sudden.

There was a sudden gust of wind, shuffling the leaves on the trees.

The scent of soil.

"No." Ron and I said in unison after sniffing the air.

Neil frantically shook his head. "How can you two not sense it?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked. I looked at Ron to see a similar look of confusion on his face.

Neil growled soon after. Instead of replying to my question, he ran further inside the graveyard.

Ron and I exchanged glances and ran after Neil.

Neil growled a few times, continuously sniffing the air as he ran.

"What the fuck is going on?" Ron asked while we ran after Neil.

I shook my head, unaware of what Neil was talking about.

"How can you not smell that?" Neil asked once again, running at full speed.

I sniffed the air, trying to sense James' scent, but failed once again.

Neil came to a sudden halt.

All three of us stood near the graves.

What the hell is going on? — I mind-linked Ron.

I don't know. — He replied.

"Luke." Neil breathed, as a figure appeared from behind a tree.