Chapter 8
1405 Words
Alpha Nicholas Williams was pacing in his office at Dark Moon Industries. It had been a week since Olivia Cook emailed him her resignation letter, making her leave from the company effective immediately. He was livid. Nick had wanted to see her when she returned from the Thanksgiving holiday and apologize. To tell her that he had been an i***t and he couldn’t stop thinking about her or their baby. She had taken that away from him and dropped off the map.
“Did you find her?” he asked Jacob as soon as he opened the office door.
“No,” Jacob said cautiously as he closed the door. “I have not found her yet.”
“Why not?!” Nicholas demanded as he punctuated his anger by smashing his coffee cup on the floor.
“Why not?” Jacob scoffed. “Because she is smart and wants to avoid you at all costs.”
“Were you able to track her phone?”
“Yes, for a while. But it looks like she has switched to a burner phone and changed her number because you would not stop calling her.”
“I want to explain and tell her I am sorry,” Nicholas huffed as he dropped into his chair. “I was an idiot.” He looked at Jacob as if he wanted him to disagree. “No comment from you?”
“Not a one. You were an i***t for treating her the way you did. When you figured out that you were wrong about telling her you wanted nothing to do with her or your child, you should have knocked on her door and apologized. Instead, you wait until she leaves town and call her quite literally a hundred times a day until she gets a new phone and changes her number.”
“Have you talked to her family?”
“I have called her entire family, and they all say they don’t know where she is.”
“Are they lying?”
Jacob shook his head and answered, “No. They truly do not know where she is. She has a long list of places that she wants to see and photograph. She could be anywhere in the country, and since she has a passport, she could be anywhere in the world.”
A deep growl filled the office. Jacob involuntarily bowed his head and bared his neck to the Alpha as he lost control of his aura when his rage flared. Nicholas stood, bracing his fists on the top of his desk.
“I want her back,” Nicholas spat through clenched teeth. “And I think I might have a way to ensure I get her.”
“What do you have planned?” Jacob asked.
“Nothing drastic,” Nicholas said with a smirk.
He turned to his computer and, after a few mouse clicks, began typing. From the corner of his lips turning up occasionally, Jacob knew his boss was up to something. After a few brief minutes, Nicholas stopped typing and read over what he had written. Then, with a final mouse click, he laughed and leaned back into his chair.
“There, let’s see her get away from that,” Nicholas chuckled.
Jacob heard his phone notification for his email beep. His stomach knotted when he pulled out his phone and saw it was from Nicholas. He opened the email and began to read. He could feel the color drain from his face. The pack Alpha’s official email said that Olivia had stolen something from him, and he wanted it back. Nicholas had even offered a reward for her return.
“Nick, what are you thinking?” Jacob questioned. “She didn’t steal anything from you. You threw her away. She is doing exactly what you told her to do.”
“I didn’t tell her to leave. I told her she would not be my Luna or mate. There is a difference.”
“You’re right. There is a difference. What you wanted Olivia to do was stay here and be ridiculed for having your illegitimate child and not being worthy of being your mate. So I don’t blame her for leaving.”
Nicholas roared, “I have already told you I made a mistake and want to make it right.”
“I know. That is the only reason I am helping you try to find her, but Nick, saying she stole from you and offering a reward for her return, will not help. You didn’t even offer it for her safe return. Some rogue might kill her and bring her body to you.”
“Fine, I will send out a revised flyer stipulating her safe return. Is that good enough?”
“No, but it is better,” Jacob sighed. “Look, I will review things and see if any new info has come in. If you need me, I will be in my office.”
Jacob was sitting at his desk, staring at the map on his computer screen. There were so many places that Olivia had mentioned when she spoke of traveling. He had a gut feeling she was still in the United States, but other than that, he had no clue. Her trail had dropped off in Missouri after two days of nearly continuous phone calls from Nicholas to her. That was when she stopped using her debit card and replaced her phone with a burner phone and a new number.
“Where are you, Liv?” he mumbled.
Jacob leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. He had to find her before some goon did and hurt her while bringing her back to Nicholas. His cell phone ringing snapped him out of his thoughts. When he picked it up to answer it, he saw the call was from Eric.
“Hello,” Jacob half groaned.
“What the hell is going on?” Eric demanded. “I know Olivia did not steal anything from him, so tell me what is happening and why she ran.”
“I can’t. All I can tell you is that it is personal.”
“Personal? Don’t you think it is personal that our i***t Alpha essentially put a bounty on my baby sister’s head? How much more personal can it be?”
“Very,” Jacob said softly.
“Seriously? You’re not going to tell me? Goddess! The last time I heard of anything like this, some crazy Alpha put a bounty on the woman who…,” Eric trailed off. “Oh…my…Goddess. No Jake. Tell me she is not pregnant with his baby.”
“I can’t,” Jake whispered.
“Goddess, Jake! Do you know where she is? Please tell me you know, and she’s OK,” Eric pleaded.
“Eric, I wish I did know, but I don’t. I feel like I let her down.”
“I just want to know…no, I need to know. Did he force her? If he did, I will kill him.”
“They both say it was consensual.”
“I’m guessing the rumors are true, and it happened on Halloween.”
“I can neither confirm nor deny that the rumors are true,” Jacob told him.
Eric chuckled a bit. “Smart move, so you can avoid the Alpha order if he tries it on you.”
“Right now, I am trying to keep my head attached to my body.”
“That bad?”
Jacob rubbed the back of his neck and answered, “This morning, the new guy in HR asked the Alpha if he wanted the short list of replacements for your sister. Nick knocked him through the wall between his office and his private bathroom. Don’t worry. The guy will be OK, and he learned a valuable lesson.”
“It sounds like our Alpha is losing it.”
“Let’s just say he has a thing for your sister and leave it at that.”
“I will. If there is anything I can do, let me know. I know if you find Livie, she will be safe in your hands. I gotta go. Take care, man.”
“Take care,” Jacob replied.
He tossed his phone onto his desk and looked at the map again. He had to find Olivia before someone else did.
- Writer
