(COMPLETED) Hunted by the Alpha

Alpha Logan - The Truth

The less stress I've been under lately, the clearer my head was and the more I could focus on building something with Emily. She'd been sleeping in my room, especially on the nights she struggled to get to sleep, and I hadn't minded one bit. I shuffled through the envelopes on my desk, I should tell her, I should definitely tell her. I placed them down on the side, I couldn't tell her. She'd be angry with me, I just didn't think she needed the distraction right now. She still had so much healing to do... she didn't need distractions. A call was coming through on my office phone, I noticed the caller ID and let it go to voicemail. "Alpha Logan, its Beta Malik from the Rising Dawn pack, we aren't sure why you're not getting our intel, but please know that we've found an interesting discovery. I don't want to go into specifics if you are there, please just call us back."

I picked up the phone before it could disconnect, "Alpha Logan here, what's the discovery?" There was a long pause, "why haven't we heard from you Alpha Logan? We're asked for the support you said you would give and we've had nothing." I scoffed, "we can't all spend our days writing letters and making phone calls." I knew I didn't really have a right to be saying this to them, but I was worried that if Dominick knew, he would try to contact Emily again. I couldn't have that, not when the mating ceremony was so close, I couldn't have him coming back over now and complicating things. "We found a member of your pack wandering in the woods near the pack border." A member of my pack? "We think he was put under an enchantment. Our witches are working on it now." I placed the phone closer to my ear, "do you have a name?"

"He's speaking in riddles, we can't tell what's happened for sure, but speaking to him isn't an option at the minute." So they had a pack member of mine that was under some type of curse and they couldn't tell me a name? That in itself sounded suspicious. "Whitt, Alpha Dom's sister seemed to recognise him." He informed me, authority in his voice. "The alpha thinks it would be beneficial for Emily to speak with him, but he doesn't want to impose on her." Absolutely not. "Emily is no longer involved in any of this, Alpha Dominick asked me to make sure of that himself..." the beta cut me up, "Things have changed, the situation has changed. Whitt says this person's name is Barney? Have you not even noticed members of your own pack going missing? Have you not tried looking for him?"

I wasn't about to sit here and take abuse from a beta. "What do you think we've been doing over here? He was untraceable, his bakery has been shut for weeks. Emily has been distraught and the only thing I could do to help her get over all of this was to make her forget about it all." I heard a loud bang on the other end of the line, "forget about the situation or forget about the people?" I growled back at him, "what are you insinuating?" The beta cleared his throat, "now isn't the time to get into pack debates and leadership arguments. We have Barney, he is safe. Alpha Dominick and Whitt request that you let Emily know." I thought that was the end of the conversation, I went to put the phone down but he continued, "if you don't... we'll find a way to get the information to her ourselves." Before I could argue against his threat, the line went dead. How was I going to explain this to Emily?

I knocked on the library door like I usually did, but there was no answer this time. I pushed open the door gently and saw that the reading spot Emily usually inhabited was empty, I went into full blown panic mode. After what I'd just heard about Barney I was on edge, my pack had been infiltrated again, but this time it wasn't even from the inside. It was unsafe. I was about to call every member out of my pack to start looking for her, but then I heard a soft sound coming from inside the room, I walked further in, cautiously in case this was a trap. Then I saw her book open on the floor, she was strewn over the leather seat, fast asleep. I knew she hadn't been sleeping well lately, but I didn't think it was enough that she'd be having to take naps during the day. I thought sleeping with me would help her, would calm her like it usually did... maybe I was wrong?

I walked up to her beautiful sleeping body and stood over her for a minute, admiring how peaceful she looked when she was finally asleep, she didn't get enough of this. Suddenly, she stretched, her arms cocooning around herself, I smiled, she looked so adorable. "it's about time you woke up princess, I've got some news from the Rising Dawn pack." Her eyes snapped open, she looked as pale as ever. "I had the strangest dream.." she told me. I smiled down at her, "you can tell me all about it later, right now I need you to listen to what I'm about to tell you, okay?" She nodded, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "The Rising Dawn pack found Barney wandering around outside their border, Whitt identified him but he seems to be under some kind of magical manipulation." I watched as she took in everything I was telling her, she didn't move, it didn't even sound like she was breathing.

"He's okay," I told her, "as far as the beta could let me in on what's going on... he's fine." She nodded slowly "what about the replies? Why haven't they been replying?" I knew I shouldn't, I knew it was a terrible idea but I didn't want her to be disappointed in me, "they're just busy I guess." Her eyebrows creased, "and Whitt?" I sighed, "Whitt has a lot of learning to do over there, and now until Barney is returned, she's got that duty too..." she gulped, "I'm worried about Barney, but it seems like everyone is leaving me." My heart shattered, it wasn't that everyone was leaving her, it was that I was too scared that she would leave me. "Come with me" I told her, holding out my hand. She took it gently and hugged herself to my arm, my wolf purred against her touch. "Where are we going?" She asked, her voice still as whisper as she was waking up.

I opened the door to my office and led her over to my desk, she smirked and her eyes dogged over, almost like she was in a memory. "This wouldn't be the first time I've been..." she stopped herself, her cheeks growing red. I'm not sure I wanted to hear the end of that sentence. She looked up and me and her smile was shy, she looked down at the desk and it disappeared all together. Her eyes were glued to the pile of letters, bound together by a string. Her voice was so small as she tried to speak, "Please don't tell me those are what I think they are?" I hung my head, I couldn't even say anything, I didn't want to lie to her. "How long have these been here?" She asked me, her hands shaking as she went to retrieve them. "Seven weeks. Ever since they left." I told her, shame written all over my face. "I didn't want you to hurt and any mention of them was hurting you."

She looked at my face, and I watched as her features softened, "you were worried that I wouldn't want to spend time with you weren't you?" I nodded, I felt so ashamed. "Logan I've been spending time with you because I want to, because you make me feel good and because ever since I met you on that balcony... I haven't been able to stop feeling for you." My eyes widened, "what?" She smiled at me, "I want to know that my friends are safe, of course I do, but I spend time with you for enjoyment, not convenience." My heart shot through my chest, "so you aren't mad?" She looked down at the letters that her hand was now resting on top of, "oh I'm livid, but I understand why." She grabbed the letters and turned to sit on the edge of the desk, "ever since Lyla you've not trusted people to feel for you the way that you do for them... I want to show you that you can trust me. I want you to come to the ceremony with me."

I learned against the desk next to her, "I don't want either of us to be hurt." I told her, turning her face to look away from the letters and at me. "We are adults. We feel for each other and what happened with Lyla... I don't understand how that same thing could happen to you again. You are so lovely and giving Logan..." I held her eyes with my own, this woman was remarkable. "You deserve your happiness and I want you to come with me." I didn't think before I spoke, "okay." I told her. Her eyes widened and she dropped the letters to the floor, "okay? You'll come?" I smiled at her, "if I could have half the confidence that you do, I would never question it. Yes I will go to the mating ceremony." She gripped me in her arms and pulled me into a bear hug, it would've been cute but she was cutting off my airways. "Can't... breath.. Em." I tried to tell her. She instantly let go and backed off, straightening out her clothes, "you should probably get back to work?"

I pushed off from the desk, my cheeks were hot, why did I suddenly feel so nervous? "Yeah, I have a lot of pack things to do." I picked up the pen from the desk, "and filed paperwork to sort out," I fiddled with the pen as she backed towards the door. "I'll see you tonight?" She asked, pushing her hair from her face. I coughed, "yeah absolutely, just like always." Why did this suddenly feel so intense? Maybe it was the thought that the mating ceremony was a couple of weeks away and after that, I could finally have my Luna.