The Alpha Rogue and the Geek

Chapter 10

“What is happening here?! Who do you think you are threatening our Luna like that?!” roared Jeff as he entered the gym, his nostrils flaring and his chest puffing.

Shit is about to go down! worried Taylor.

Actually, Taylor lost all her composure seeing the River Moon’s Beta step in the gym, anger flowing through him like lava. This is exactly what she wanted to avoid at all costs.

A confrontation between Ash and a ranked member of her pack could only lead to disaster.

She was informed about Ash’s erratic behavior, tracking all unmated girls at the ceremony, and trying to identify his mate’s scent. She was also information about his crazy demands to Dean including his visit to the surveillance room.

She was hoping Ash would let it go when he could not find Bella. Instead, somehow, he managed to make a link between her and his mate, and he was hellbent on getting any valuable information out of her.

Jeff could not have entered at a worst time, right when Ash was threatening her!

She needed to act fast before Jeff mind-linked Dean or kicked Ash’s ass. Whatever Jeff decided to do, the consequences would be unbearable.

“Jeff, it is not what you think.”

“I heard him Tay.”

“We were fighting but nothing serious. Ash is an environmental activist and he had specifically asked me to make sure the menu is environmentally-conscience. But stupid, me, I had three dishes with red tuna, an endangered species.”

Jeff looked at Taylor, confusion, and doubt in his eyes. He knew his Luna was lying but he did not know why. Taylor is not someone who scares easily, so she is not lying because she is scared… Then why?

“I don’t know Tay; Let’s call Dean here and…”

“NO” shouted Taylor, desperation vibrating in her voice.

“She is scared.” Said Rob.

“Terrified. I have never seen her like that.” Replied Ash, surprised by Taylor’s voice and body language.

She was in full control when they cornered her and now that Jeff is by her side, ready to protect her, she is panicking!

“She does not want Dean to know about this dispute. Because she knows that the moment Jeff tells him about your threats, war will break out again!” said Carmen.

“Umm… I think Dean is not even aware of what happened!” stated Ash.

“She pulled out the escape of the century without informing her mate?! Nor informing anyone in command in the pack? I doubt that!” countered Rob.

“She was protecting her pack like that.” Whispered Carmen, impressed by her new friend.

“There is no need to involve Dean in kitchen quarrels, Jeff! I already apologized to Ash, and he agreed to let it slide. Right Ash?” asked Taylor, looking at Ash straight in the eyes, hoping he understood the gravity of the situation.

After a few seconds, Ash nodded, and Taylor let out a sigh of relief.

She was extremely worried and was struggling to control her emotions. She knew that Ash and his friends would pick on that but was silently hoping that they would believe she was scared of starting a war because of their clash… not because of what she did for Bella.

An awkward silence settled in the gym, Jeff still looking at Taylor and Ash and wondering what they were hiding and Ash and his friends thinking about their next steps.

“Let’s go Jeff.” Stated Taylor, picking up her towel and water bottle and heading towards the exist. She will have to convince Jeff to keep this discussion between them and not report it to Dean, which was not an easy task.

“You are welcome to join our Christmas eve party tomorrow. Ash, your sisters will be there, but I advise you to talk with them now and not wait until tomorrow.” She added, hoping that Ash will get her message and seek advice from his family otherwise he would jeopardize his future with Bella.

“I forgot about the Christmas Eve party! If your mate is from River Moon, she will not miss this party. It is an important tradition here.” Said Carmen, hopeful that this will calm Ash down.

“I did not plan to attend. Carmen you will go to the party. You are already friends with Taylor, and you can check to see whether any pack members are missing. Then we will investigate whoever is missing.” Instructed Ash.

“Ash, I do not feel comfortable spying on friends.” Complained Carmen.

“I thought I was your oldest friend, Carmen.”

“…OK… I will do it.” Sighed Carmen.

Carmen felt torn between her old and new friends and did not enjoy being in the middle. Her loyalty is to both parties and she did not feel like spying on Taylor, a woman who welcomed Ash’s sisters with open arms and invited her, numerous times, to join the pack.

“We can also try to hack their communication system to see who is not celebrating with the pack this year.” Suggested Rob.

“You know they are using a highly secure communication system with the best encryption ever. We will never be able to hack their system and listen to their calls. But we can listen to their discussions together. People gossip. Someone is bound to say something that might lead us to her.”

“Ok then I will instruct our people who joined a pack, to keep their eyes and ears open and to report to us anything suspicious.”

Unfortunately for Ash, and luckily for Bella, her identity and her whereabouts were not divulged during the Christmas celebration.

Many pack members were missing this year, either traveling, or celebrating with other packs. Not only from River Moon but from almost every pack in the neighborhood. Ash and Rob decided to hack the network of those packs and retrieve the names and contact details of all pack members. Tens of thousands of names will be investigated until they find his mate.

While Ash and his team were busy with this painstaking work, Bella was settling down in her new apartment in Santa Clara. She celebrated Christmas with Charlotte and Tristan and then took the next flight to San Francisco. She was supposed to settle in Santa Clara end of January which means she had to find a place to stay, and she wanted to talk with her work and see whether they can take her earlier. She has always been busy with work or school and anyway, she wanted something to keep her mind of her mate… Ash.

She was disappointed that he turned out to be exactly what she feared. An irrational man, who saw his mate as a possession, as someone who should be at his beck and call.

She secreted hoped that she was wrong. That he would behave differently. Maybe reach out to his pack allies and ask them to send her a message that he wanted to meet with her when she is ready… That he respected her need for distance.

Instead, she learned that he went after every unmated girl at the ceremony, that he threatened Alpha Dean and Liam and even worst that he went after Taylor.

Bella learned about the fight with Taylor through Tristan who had to deal with a highly pissed off Jeff. Jeff was on to them; he knew Taylor was lying to him and tried to get the truth from Tristan before going to Dean. Tristan and Charlotte admitted that something was going on but that for now, they could not reveal the truth for the pack safety. They had to do a lot of convincing but in the end, Jeff accepted to keep this dispute between Taylor and Ash a secret for now.

Despite all the drama in her life, despite feeling like a hunted fugitive sometimes, Bella could not complain. Not only her Luna had her back, but her move to Santa Clara went as smooth as possible.

Her landlord rented her an apartment on the same day she visited her. It was not the same apartment she had booked for mid-January, but it was the same size and had the same amenities. She spent the last days of December decorating and furnishing her apartment, updating her application and administrative papers to start her internship on the third of January, one month earlier than planned and discovering her new city and its surroundings.

She was busy assembling her Ikea bookcase when her phone rang. She picked up the phone and was surprised that Taylor was calling her through their secure communication app.

Why would Taylor call her today? They talked together last night, and she talked with her parents as well. Actually, Taylor and Bella agreed to video call every Thursday night, so that Bella can update Taylor on her stay in east coast, talk with her parents, chat with Charlotte and get updates especially on Ash’s “mate hunt”.

Bella started panicking, imagining all kind of nightmare scenarios, worried that something might have happened to her parents, or that Ash figured everything out.

“Taylor! Is everything ok?” She asked as she hurried and answered the call.

“You tell me Bella.” Said Dean, glaring at Bella through the phone.

Bella froze on the spot, looking at her Alpha, disbelief written all over her face.

Moon Goddess! Alpha Dean knows!