‘Til We Meet Again

Chapter 16: Heart to Heart

Alpha Chris

It was well past midnight when I heard the loud knock on my bedroom door. I sighed and jumped up. The closer I got to the door, the more I could make out the faint sound of a quickened heartbeat. I opened the door. To my surprise, Trinity was standing there with tears streaming down her reddish face. The first words out of her mouth made me slightly panic.

"They took him. Christian is gone! Some guys from the Northern territory ..."

I immediately mindlinked Hennessey, one of my most skilled warriors and an excellent tracker. If anyone could assist with a matter so dire, it was him. He lived in one of the guest suites just behind the packhouse and made it in record time.

"Which way did they go?" His voice thundered down the hallway, nearly frightening Trinity, as I didn't miss the jump and facial expression when he spoke. She stared at him, her jaw dropped. I cleared my throat.

"Trinity?" She shook her head and looked back at me.

"Uh, they took him East." Her voice cracked a little as she frowned.

"I thought they were from the Northern territory." Hennessey glanced at me before returning his gaze to Trinity.

"They, uh, they had tattoos that are unique to that region." Trinity stammered, obviously nervous.

"Are you sure they went East?" I tried to speak in a tone to helpease her nerves a bit. She seemed to slow down a little and nodded.

"I'm positive."

"Show us." Hennessey began walking down the hall toward the Beta couple. We all followed him outside, shifting and racing. Trinity caught up and took the lead. I remembered suddenly that I couldn't mindlink her. I also didn't know her wolf's name. I made a mental note to have her meet me in my office at the packhouse so that I could officially make her a member of my pack. Trinity slowed to a stop and stood beside a tree. Blood. I could smell it. Hennessey sniffed the air around us.

"Take her back, Sam."

"Yes, Alpha."

Sam's wolf, Codi, nudged Trinity and gestured with her head for her to follow. She looked hesitant, but left with the Beta. Hennessey shifted back and walked around the area, searching the ground. He crouched just a few feet ahead and picked up something small. He slowly walked back to where my Beta and I stood.

"A ring." He narrowed his eyes as he stared down at the piece of jewelry.

"I can sniff them out. They did head East, which means they may have taken a detour to throw off any attempts to track them. I will put a call out to patrol. We are going to bring the young Alpha home, if it kills us."

Hennessey's last sentence was chilling. Not because it sounded scary, but because I knew he meant it. I nodded. My Beta sniffed around the bloody tree and dropped his head.

"Let's head back. We have to plan. The whole pack should be on alert."

Hennessey shifted back and we all ran to the packhouse. Whoever took my son had hell to pay.

***

It was afternoon. Trinity had gone to her room and fallen asleep. I decided to let her rest while my patrol and I gathered in my office. Some men were all for storming the pack and leaving no one alive. Others just wanted to locate Christian, grab him, and go. Others preferred a stealthy mission, where his abductors wouldn't even notice he was gone until it was too late. One thing we all agreed upon was bringing Christian home alive. I hadn't heard from Marjorie and made several attempts to reach her. She said she'd call me to check on our pups. I was beginning to worry. She was still my mate, Luna of my pack, and the mother of my two pups. I decided I'd try again when things slowed down a bit. Hennessey and his assigned team went ahead to track the abductors and get an idea of where they were headed. I was awaiting a report back.

A soft knock interrupted my thoughts as I cleaned up my office after dismissing my warriors.

"It's open."

The door slowly opened and Paige peeked around, a sullen expression on her face.

"My dearest daughter." I tried to greet her warmly. I knew she was worried about her brother and her mom.

"Any word from mom?"

"Not yet. I'll let you know as soon as she calls."

"Do you think they hurt him?" She stared down at the floor.

"No. I don't think Christian is hurt. But don't worry. We're going to find him and bring him home."

"It's her fault." She glared at me, clenching her jaw.

"Who?" I furrowed my brows.

"That cursed wolf. Trinity the traitor."

I sighed a deep sigh.

"Paige ..."

"It is! She could've helped him." She scoffed and rolled her eyes.

I was scrambling to find the right words to respond to Paige's harshness. It wasn't Trinity's fault. The only person-- or people-- at fault were the ones responsible for abducting Christian. I started to speak when Hennessey filled the doorway.

"We're heading out. I sent two men to track down the Luna. I also have an update about the other matter we previously discussed."

My mind went to Clementine. I had forgotten about that in all of the chaos. I suddenly felt drained. Everything was hitting me at once. I needed to clear my head.

"Good. Thank you, Hennessey. Paige, if you'll excuse me." I dismissed them both and went out back. I needed to let Cayman out. He ran through the forest with much determination. Meanwhile, my thoughts were racing. Clementine left. She had to know something. Marjorie hadn't called. Christian was abducted right within our borders. I wished Selene could tell me why she was testing me. There was something much bigger going on. I intended to uncover whatever it was. Cayman stopped abruptly, growling at a squirrel that was sitting in his path.

I chuckled to myself. For some reason, Cayman hated squirrels.

"Go around, Cay."

"Piss off."

I couldn't do anything, but laugh. And I needed that laugh. The squirrel eventually trotted away and up a nearby tree. Cayman stretched and shook himself off. He walked to the edge of the trees, where the pack pond glistened under the sunlight. He took a drink, which made me scoff. He then sat by the water's edge, whimpering. For an Alpha, he sure had his puppy moments.

"We'll find them. I promise."

"I know. I'm frustrated."

"We have to keep our heads leveled. The moment we lose our cool, we lose everything."

"We lost our cool protecting Clementine. You should have known that would create problems with our Luna."

"Like you weren't at her cottage eating sweet potato skillet with cinnamon and sugar."

"Don't start with me." Cayman growled lightly.

I let him have it. I didn't need to go back and forth with my stubborn wolf. After a few more minutes, I coaxed him into running back to the packhouse. We had a long day ahead of us. The first thing I needed to do was speak to Hennessey.