Healed by the Alpha (Hunted Book Two)

Chapter Twenty Eight

Emily

I know that I'd promised Dom that I'd help him with anything other than visiting Ferdinand, but I couldn't help my own curiosity. I wanted to know more about this person and if they knew the moon goddess like my parents had claimed, it would almost be like seeing a part of her in person. Now that was an exciting idea. How could he expect me to just miss out on an opportunity like that?

I'd left him to speak with Malik, the information about the time they were meeting him was all I needed. My parents owned the summer house they were using so I already knew where that was. What I wasn't sure about, was how Dom would react if they found out I was planning this. I don't want to disappoint him, but I was so much more than just a person to bring in when the situation was already handled. I wanted to be part of the handling.

I'd been training with Dom's pack for over a month. I wasn't the best. But I was definitely okay at holding my own. I walked straight for my room and shut the door, how the hell would I pull this off? I rushed to my wardrobe and searched through the clothes, the outfit I was currently in wouldn't cut it. Instead I found some combat boots and a dark green leather jacket. If I needed to hide somewhere nearby at least I'd be somewhat camouflaged. I took a small backpack to shove my clothes into, it seemed like it would fit over both forms.

I stopped by the mirror on the way out, was this such a good idea? I was actively going against everything I'd said to Dom and probably putting us all in a lot more danger. A small smile made its way to my face. The Emily that would sit back and wait for everything to happen died when the alpha of the Midnight Moon pack broke her heart. I didn't hold anything against him now, but it changed me. The girl in the mirror knew just as well as I did. I didn't want to sit on the fence anymore, sitting on the fence made me weak.

I crept to my door and opened it slightly, as I was peering out, I could see that the top floor was deserted. Perfect. I slowly made my way to the stairs, peering over the railing. I saw Malik and Dom standing in the middle of the entryway. I ducked down fast enough to make my head spin. What was I meant to do now? I watched through the bars as they had a heated conversation about something. Malik was shaking his head, his arms crossed in front of his chest. Whatever they were talking about, it didn't seem like Malik liked the idea.

They moved suddenly, Dom stormed towards the door and Malik walked towards the kitchen. What the hell was all of that about? I didn't have time to think about boy drama, I needed to get out of this house and find a way to my parents' summer house before the Alpha and Beta found out I'd left. I ran down the stairs, crouching the whole way. Which was incredibly difficult in combat boots, I might add. The door was still open to the front of the house, but Dom had literally just left that way. I had to be smart about this.

I tiptoed down the hall towards the plastic covered wooden floors and walls. This was the construction that Dom was talking about, the library that he was having built. I felt an instant pang or guilt. He was doing this for me and yet I couldn't even stay in the house for him? It's not like I was even confined to the house, I just wasn't permitted to meet this potentially dangerous stranger.

The room was huge and from what I could see, the book cases were being built into the walls. Obviously there were no books in here yet, but I couldn't help wondering just how beautiful it would look once the dust had been swept away and the books were resting in their places. I walked towards one of the wooden covered openings in the wall, it looked like a window open as being put in here but they'd boarded it up for the time being. I pulled until the wood gave way and stumbled back as it fell towards me. It was heavier than I'd initially thought.

I managed to hold it up and slide it to the side. I couldn't cover the window back up from the other side, but I wouldn't be out too long anyway. I just wanted to have a look, I told myself. I hopped down from the ledge and onto the grassy floor beneath, the boots made the landing pretty uncomfortable. I stripped down quickly, looking left and right to make sure no one was around. Once I was done I shoved everything into the backpack and attached it to my back. This backpack had a buckle in the middle, hopefully I could go the whole way without it falling from my back.

My body started to break and bend, it didn't matter how many times you shifted, it would always feel the same. It's not like it didn't hurt or it got better, you just got used to the feeling. It was like breaking a bone, eventually you just got used to the pain and knowing it was there. It was more of an inconvenience than anything. Soon enough while fur started to grow from my body and a snout was in place of my usual button nose. Then I was off, sprinting through the trees away from the Rising Dawn pack and towards the pack grounds that I hadn't been on since the ceremony.

Part of me was nervous about Logan finding out that I was back at the pack. It wasn't about my feelings anymore. It was more about him finding out about Ferdinand and ruining everything before we got a chance to speak to him. Logan was hot headed, everyone knew that. He acted on instinct instead of thinking things out first. We couldn't afford this meeting to be disrupted before we even got a chance to find out who the hell this guy was.

I say we.. the three other members of this meeting didn't exactly know that I was on the way right now. I was impressed at myself, ever since training with Doms pack, my wolf's speed and agility had increased considerably. She was weaving between trees at a speed I don't think I'd ever reached before, expertly dodging the broken branches and rocks. We slowed down to a gentle run as I started to see the summer house owned by my parents. We'd need to find somewhere to dress and quickly.

I turned my paws to find a tree to hide behind and smacked straight into a pair of legs instead. "Why did I have a feeling I'd be seeing you around?" Malik was looking down at me disapprovingly. "I suggest you change before Dom finds out you're here. The worst thing you could've done was come in wolf form. You don't think that guy knows your scent all the way to his core?" I looked down at the ground, my wolf wanted to square up to him, but she wanted to square up to everything and anyone.

He knelt down beside me, "go, before Dom catches you. I doubt he'll be in the best of moods." I wondered if that had anything to do with the confrontation I'd seen back at the pack house but I couldn't say anything until I'd shifted anyway. I ran off towards the tree line and shifted as fast as I could. I scrambled to get into my clothes and patted myself down when I was finished, this wasn't turning out exactly how I'd wanted it to. It was then that I noticed a man watching me from a bush near the house. Had he been there the entire time?

My face heated as I thought about what he could've seen, what he shouldn't have seen. I could just about make out a smile on his lips as he walked towards the house.

Wait.

Had I just seen Ferdinand? Wasn't he meant to be in the house already? And how the hell did he know I was out here. Not even Dom had been able to sense me yet. A chill ran down my spine. Who or what exactly was this man?