Luna's Rejected Vengeful Mate

Chapter 3 - Alpha Blake Hunter

Dark Moon Stone pack, California - One week before

I had been working in my office, reviewing the new alliance proposal by the White Creek pack, a small pack near our borders. They desperately needed my assistance as rogue attacks had been more frequent and efficient over the previous six months. It was as if someone behind those attacks knew each pack's weakness and took advantage of it at the right time. One by one, the smaller packs requested my help to eliminate the rogue problem. In my ten years as the dark Moon Stone Alpha, things had changed drastically, and I was now considered the Alpha of the toughest pack in our area.

The White Creek pack's Alpha, Jack Saunders, offered to step down from his position and merge his pack with mine to protect the lives of his pack members. He was in desperate need of help. Being childless, he thought that was the best solution to save his pack from the rogues. He and my father had a good relationship, and I respected that.

I was about to call Alpha Saunders and tell him I accepted his proposal when my Beta Lucas and Gamma Jacob entered my office without knocking. They were the only ones that had the right to do so. My childhood friends, Lucas and Jacob, were my most trusted men, my brothers. The word "brother" left a bitter taste in my mouth, and I closed my eyes to hide the pain I felt at the thought of my brother, Drake, who'd betrayed me without a second thought.

Their expressions warned me that what they were about to tell me was not pleasant. I looked at Lucas and waited for him to open the discussion.

"Blake, someone came to see you, and he is waiting for you in the living room with your father." He looked at Jacob meaningfully, and then his eyes were on me again.

"And?" I urged him to continue, starting to lose my patience.

"Well, hm, I need you to stay calm when you meet with him, for your father's sake," Lucas said, gaining a questioning look from me.

I didn't like the sound of that. "Who is he, Lucas?"

"Alpha Rey White, of the Moon Howlers pack." Lucas spilt the beans, and without thinking, my fist slammed on my desk, a loud growl escaping my mouth.

"WHO LET HIM INTO MY PACK?"

"That would be your father, Alpha," Jacob replied, and I looked at my Gamma, surprised. "My father?"

"Yes, Alpha, your father." Jacob didn't look at me when he replied.

"Hunter, you need to keep your cool, man. For your father's sake. Remember what you promised him when you took the Alpha position ten years ago after the incident with you know who," Luca's voice was low, almost a whisper. "You promised on your mother's loving memory," he continued.

"Lucas, that's enough. I get your point. Ask them to come to my office. Let's find out what that old goat wants."

I was seething inside, but I was determined not to show that man how much his visit had affected me.

I left my desk and walked to the window. Looking at the garden outside, I tried to control the urge to attack the older man when he entered my office.

Soon, there was a knock. I turned, facing the door, and my father entered my office, Alpha White and Lucas following him. I watched as they stood still, waiting for me to make the first move. My father had a plastered smile on his face, whereas Alpha White looked at me once and then looked down, his face flushed with embarrassment.

"Blake, my boy, I was the one who asked Ray to come," my father started, and I didn't reply, waiting for him to continue. "May we sit down first?" my father requested, and I nodded, walking back to my desk and sitting in my chair, facing them. Lucas came and stood next to me as he always did.

"May I know why you asked Alpha White to come here, father?" I asked coldly, and my father nodded.

"The Moon Howlers pack is constantly being attacked by rogues, Blake. I told Ray he should come here and ask for your help," my father replied, and Alpha White looked at me, his face still flushed.

"And why would I help him?" the sound of my voice was low and steady, not revealing my genuine sentiments, the anger and loathing that I felt towards the older man and his pack.

"Now, Blake, my boy, don't you think we must put old things behind us and look ahead? Ray was never at fault for his daughter's betrayal, as I never was to blame for your brother's. I will not allow anything to break the bond between Ray and me. If it weren't for Ray, I would not be alive. He was the one who rescued me during a rogue attack years ago. I owe him my life, Blake. Don't you think that is reason enough for you to help him now that he is in need?"

"What a stubborn old man," I thought, looking at my father, who had placed one of his hands on Alpha White's shoulder.

"Alpha Hunter, I know how you feel about my family and me, and you have every reason. I am here today because I am responsible for the lives of so many innocent people-I cannot sit idly by and watch my pack members lose their lives to rogue attacks. I do not want to plead for my life - I am only asking you to help me protect my pack members who are not at fault for my daughter's behaviour." Alpha White was known for his pride, and he was begging me for help.

Something inside me stirred-it was the pleasure of a small victory. I had promised my father I would not harm any of his friend's family members who were not at fault for what happened so many years ago. I never promised I would not take revenge, though. A chubby smiling face with dark blue eyes came to mind, and I started forming a plan to give me the pleasure of sweet revenge.

"I need some time to think it over, father," I replied, not even looking at Alpha White. When I finally turned to face him, the older man's expression showed his apprehension.

"Alpha White, I will notify you soon. Please expect my call." I stood up gracefully and left my office in long strides, leaving my father alone with his friend.

I mind-linked Lucas to come and find me in my car. I set off and left the pack grounds when he got into the passenger seat in my black SUV.

"Hey, man, are you okay? Where are we going? My Beta's worried voice broke the silence in the car.

"Lucas, I need you to find out where Natalia is."

"Natalia? As in Natalia White?" Luca's surprised voice made me turn and face him. The look in my eyes startled my Beta, and he swore under his breath.

"Sh.it, man? What the he.ll?"

"Her father must be in touch with her. Let's find that hacker friend of yours. I need him to trace Alpha White's calls and see where she is."

"Why is it so important to you, Blake? You haven't searched for her before. Why now?"

"If her father wants me to help him deal with the rogues, I need to secure this alliance between us, don't you think, Lucas? His precious Natalia will be my bargaining chip for this agreement between her father and me."

"Blake, are you sure? You are the one that told me that the only reason you regretted your actions back then was Natalia's frightened face, especially when you started breaking things into her house, attacking her father and pack members who tried to calm you down. You threatened to harm them, and she disappeared that same night-no one has heard of her since then."

I hit the brakes, and the car stopped in the middle of the street.

"Hey, man, are you out of your mind? Are you trying to get us killed?"

"Lucas, this is the last time you mention Natalia and what happened back then. I need to find her before the end of this week. And I want a report with full details of her life over the last few years. I have to know everything to set my terms for the alliance. I don't trust that old man," I explained to my Beta, and he picked up his phone and dialled his friend's number.

We reached the town and parked. We entered a building and took the elevator to the twelfth floor, Lucas leading the way. Soon we were in his friend's apartment.

He had already hacked the Moon Howlers packs' phone records and tracked down a few numbers Alpha White had frequently called from his private line. Some of them were in California and others in L.A.

I watched as he scrolled down, and a foreign mobile number came into view. I asked the guy to search how often Alpha White called that number and at what time.

"It's in Italy, and he usually calls around eleven in the evening twice a week," he informed us.

I closed my eyes, and a crying chubby face came into view, watching as I destroyed everything in the Moon Howlers packhouse. My father had helped me calm down and accept Elisabeth's rejection, despite the pain and embarrassment he felt at my brother's behaviour. Natalia had been the least of my concerns that day and in the days that followed, and I was shocked when I heard that she had fled the same night, frightened by my threats.

The image of her wide blue eyes, shocked and fearful, filled with tears, came to my mind and the sudden heartache and knot in my stomach mixed with unease, robbing me of my breath. I moved slowly and sat on the sofa; my legs suddenly weak.

"What on earth am I thinking? So, what if she fled? I will make her come back and become my weapon to exact revenge for everything."

"Just make sure the revenge doesn't backfire on us, human," my wolf Aries commented and startled me.

"What do you mean, Aries?"

"Nothing much. Just think carefully, Blake. You can fool anyone but not me, remember? I can testify as to how you felt just now. Are you sure you can get your revenge through that female?"

"Positive!"

"Hah!" my wolf replied mockingly and blocked me. I ignored him and faced the hacker.

"Can you track this number in Italy and the person who owns it? And find out more information about the owner?"

The guy looked at me and replied, "I can, but it might take a couple of days. I will contact one of my sources in Italy and get back to you when I have the information you requested."

We left his place and went back to the pack. We entered my office and worked on a contract for the future alliance with Alpha Ray White and the Moon Howlers pack.

Two days later, I received a call from the hacker informing me that the number in Italy belonged to Ms Natalia White, a corporate advocate in a distinguished law firm in Milan, Italy.

"So, that's where you have been hiding all this time, Natalia. A corporate advocate, huh? You probably achieved that to stop feeling embarrassed about your excess weight, kiddo," I thought and remembered how she stubbornly insisted on getting straight-A to overcome the weight problem that made others make fun of her at school.

I called Alpha White and arranged a meeting at the end of the week -Friday, around seven thirty in the evening. To make it more formal, I asked Lucas to contact some of the Alphas I worked with and ask them to join us at the Moon Howlers pack Alpha meeting.

Lucas, Jacob and I drove to the Moon Howlers pack on Friday afternoon. We had arranged to meet with the other Alphas around seven outside Alpha White's packhouse.

Upon arrival, Alpha White welcomed us and led us to his conference room. As the head of the Alphas, I took the lead.

"Alpha White, I wish to inform you that, after consideration, I decided to help you and your pack deal with the rogues, with the help of the rest of the Alphas that have joined forces with me. To make things formal, I have prepared a contract for us to sign. If you agree with the terms, we can proceed with the signatures.

Lucas and Jacob gave everyone a copy of the contract I had prepared. They all looked at me, confused when they read what was written in the agreement. Alpha White's face paled when he finally spoke to me.

"Blake, you don't mean that. Why would I involve Natalia in this? What did she ever do to you?"

"Oh, but I do, Alpha White. It's the only way I can think of to ensure you keep your part of our deal. You see, I cannot fully trust you after what your dear daughter did to me back then."

He was speechless, and I felt sorry for him for a moment.

"I know it's still early in Italy, but it's best to let your daughter know about my condition on the contract. I will cancel our contract if she doesn't show up to keep her part of the deal by the end of next week."

"How do you…?"

"No need to get stuck into minor details, Alpha White. Please call Natalia."

He stood up, confused and sweaty and left the conference room. I followed him to his office to make the call.

Listening to his first sentence, I realised that he had already informed Natalia of the help he had requested from me. When he told her about the condition I put on the contract, her voice was loud enough for me to hear her reply.

I entered the office and took the phone from his hands authoritatively, and he just stood there, dumbfounded, listening to his daughter's protest.

When he heard my dispute with her, his face went even paler, and he lost consciousness. I gave Natalia a quick reply and hung up the phone, rushing to the older man's side. I picked him up and lay him on the couch, mind-linking Lucas to ask someone to send the pack doctor to their Alpha's office.