Healed by the Alpha (Hunted Book Two)

Chapter Thirty

Dominick

The drive to the summer house wasn't long, it was just outside of Logan's pack territory, but just far enough away that he shouldn't be notified of our visiting. The less the alpha had on his plate, the better at this point, we didn't want to worry him when there was no need to. Malik had said that he'd go ahead and scope out the area. I didn't have reason to believe that Ferdinand would try anything, but at the same time I also didn't know the guy and I didn't have a reason to think he wouldn't.

This disagreement I'd had with Malik was still playing on my mind. He hadn't wanted Emily involved, he thought it was too dangerous and that she wasn't trained enough. I'd argued that she was capable and that she wasn't stupid. She wouldn't put herself in a situation she didn't think she couldn't handle. After all she had been through, it felt disrespectful to assume she didn't have the ability to make decisions for herself. Maybe it was my feelings clouding my judgment, but I wanted her to feel needed and to feel useful.

Like the good beta he was, Malik followed my orders and we'd agreed to talk about it after this initial meeting was through. I guess the bigger part of me enjoyed having her around and the less I let her do, the less I thought she'd want to be here. It was selfish, completely selfish, but I was feeling things that I didn't fully understand and decisions weren't as straight forward and they used to be. I rubbed my eyes as I pulled into the parking bay outside the house, I needed to focus and get my alpha head on. I couldn't afford to mess this up.

We needed answers and the only way we were going to get them was through meeting with this guy. The leaves on the trees were bowing in the gentle breeze, I watched them flapping around for a moment before I spotted Malik walking from my right. He nodded to me, the coast was clear.

I opened the car door and slammed it shut, signalling my arrival. Just because this man possibly had the moon goddess's necklace, there was no way of knowing if he was human or not. I didn't want to frighten him, I didn't want him to feel threatened and run. We had to do this carefully.

Malik walked up to the door a knocked, as gently as I wanted to do this, Malik clearly had other intentions. His knuckles pounded against the wood. The red chipped paint started to crack under the pressure, it was clear that it had been quite some time since anyone had been here. "Hey, asshole, I thought we agreed the steady approach was best." Malik looked around us, his first not leaving the door, "I just want to get in and get out. This is already creeping me out." That I could understand, the surroundings were eerie at best.

"Coming!" Someone called from the other side of the door, it was a male's voice, but it had an edge or an accent I wasn't quite sure of. The door opened and a tall man with dark hair leaned against the wood. "Welcome to my crib," he smiled. "Just because you were given a key for a few hours, does not mean you instantly own the place." I warned, "I'll be taking it back before you leave."

Emily's father had met with Ferdinand a few days ago to give him the key. I'd told them that I was more than happy to be the first person at the summer house, but they insisted that we needed to make Ferdinand feel trusted. Hopefully he would open up more if he felt that we trusted him to start off with.

They didn't mind giving me the information to investigate, but when it came to actually questioning him, they didn't want to be involved any more than that. I respected their decision, being this close to Logan's pack and inviting a stranger into their summer home wouldn't look good on their end.

Especially when Logan was unaware of our previous meetings, or what we were even up to here. The Russell's respected their alpha, as they should, but they had also always prioritized the safety of everyone.

It was one of the biggest reasons my parents trusted them, the safety of all had always outweighed any pack law. I respected them enough to make sure this guy didn't still have their key in his possession by the end of the meeting. He held up his hands in defence, "okay, chill out man, I was just playing with you."

I rolled my eyes and I walked through the door, "can we just hurry this up? I kind of have a lot to do today." Malik shot me a warning glare, he was well aware that my schedule was clear. What? I mounted to him, shrugging my shoulders. I thought he wanted to get out of this as quickly as I did.

Ferdinand paced the whole room before sitting down on one of the antique chairs near the unlit fireplace. "Where do you want me to start?" He asked. I took the seat opposite him, "how about we start with exactly how you're supposed to know the moon goddess?" He smiled and let out a short laugh, "that's easy, I work for her." I was quick with my reply, "how?"

He placed his elbow on the corner of the chair and leaned on it, "She recruited me." What the hell did he mean recruit? Pardon me for being unaware that she had a long list of job applications. "I don't understand, how do you get recruited by the moon goddess? Are you a wolf?"

He looked up at me from under his lashes, "no I'm not a wolf, but she visits you in your dreams." My heart began to race, "she has access to the dream realm?" He laughed again, "she has access to everything. She's a goddess, it's kind of the point."

Okay smart arse.

"What is your job here?" Ferdinand twitched in his seat, anyone else would've missed the slight movement, but not me. "I'm here on official duty, I'm just making sure destiny runs its course. Regardless of who you are, I can't divulge that kind of information."

I shot up from my seat and gripped his shirt in my hand, pulling him slightly towards me as I did. "My sister has been hunted for months. People have been kidnapped and the Alpha of the Midnight Moon pack was almost assassinated this winter..." I gritted my teeth before I carried on, "I need answers and I need them now." His head shot to the door suddenly, a slow grin spread across his lips. "Do you want to invite your friend in before we continue, or is she okay with being left outside?"

Before I could question what he was talking about, he reached inside his pocket and took at the moon amulet. He held it up to the door and closed his eyes, when he opened them again the door had disappeared completely. I couldn't question where the hell the door had gone or what he'd done with it, I was too busy staring open mouthed at the woman in the doorway. "Emily?" She was paused in the position she was caught in, her legs slightly bent and her ear now facing where the door had been.

"It's still there," Ferdinand answered my non verbal question, "but now you can see straight through it. It's normal on her side though, she'll be unaware that she was even found out. " I let go of him and stood straight, "how did you know she was there?" Again, that annoying smile made its way onto his face, "let's just say it's a perk of the job. Now are you going to invite her in?" He was eyeing her like she was an all you can eat buffet, "I'd love to get to know her better."

The door snapped back into place as quickly as it had vanished. I wanted to kill him, I wanted to take his eyes out of their sockets for the way he had looked at her. Instead I walked over to the door and twisted the handle. My jaw tightened at the thought of her being in this room with him. She looked up at me, clearly shocked that she'd been found out. "Emily, why don't you join us inside?"