Finding Her

Chapter 3

King Luca’s POV

“Slim pickings around here.”

Beta Johnny grimaces and loosens his tie as he scans the dining hall, which has been painstakingly decorated with cheap white tulle and fairy lights, for some poor female to pour his charm onto.

Clearly, the decorations here were on a tight budget, but it still looks nice.

Feeling guilty as an extremely young girl holds up a rather wobbly tray of plastic champagne-filled flutes for me, I smile kindly at her and take one with a nod of thanks.

As much as I hate to admit it, my brother might have a point.

My presence most likely does have a financial strain on small packs like this one who would never expect a King to RSVP yes to such a last-minute invitation.

Making a mental note to send a sizeable monetary gift for the new Alpha, I take a small sip of the cheap, bitter champagne and try not to grimace as the bubbles leave a nasty, burning taste down my throat and into my chest.

“That bad, huh?”

Johnny grins next to me.

He could at least pretend not to enjoy how bad I am feeling for showing up somewhere where they so clearly never expected me to come.

I can practically hear his mind screaming, ‘I told you so’.

“It’s fine.”

I take another sip and turn my head so that he doesn’t see me practically choke it down, my eyes watering with the effort not to cough.

Johnny laughs beside me before he politely refuses any champagne for himself.

“Ooh…target acquired.”

Following Johnny’s gaze, I notice a red head who keeps looking not so discreetly at my Beta, her lips twitching upward as she flips her long, straight hair over her shoulder and says something to her less attractive companion.

“Yes sir. I will catch up with you later.”

“Have fun.”

Johnny takes a step forward but then hesitates, glancing longingly at the red head.

“Hey, why don’t you come with me…she has a friend.”

“I’m good.”

“Maybe she has a more attractive friend?”

“Still good.”

Johnny palms his face and shakes his head disparagingly.

“Listen, I know you want to save yourself for your mate, but you should get some experience for when you do, you know?”

“Don’t worry about me. Go on.”

Johnny hesitates.

“You will find your mate one day, but for now, you could at least talk to a woman. No harm in that.”

I place my barely drunk plastic flute on a small table behind me and give Johnny a stern look.

“I will be fine. Go on and don't worry about me. I will happily wait for my mate. And I know I will find her.”

“That you will, my good King, and it will have been worth the wait! It was worth it when I met my Mary, let me tell you.”

A croaky voice interrupts and Johnny and I look in surprise at an old man swaying to the music by himself, a large mug of foamy beer in his hand.

“Uh, yeah. That’s great. Thanks.”

Johnny makes a comical expression over the old man’s head.

“But if you’re feeling impatient, you could try visiting the witch. She can help you find your mate.”

Johnny chuckles and I smile politely at the man as he takes a large sip of beer, taps his foot to the beat, and glances around the room before he catches my facial expression.

“Ah, you don’t believe me.” He shrugs. “But it’s true. She helped my son find his mate when he had all but given up. And he never would have if she hadn’t helped him because his mate lived in this little bity pack over two thousand miles away that we had never even heard of before.”

Johnny continues to look amused, but I frown at the man.

Can this be true? Could she really help me find Rose?

“How does she manage to find one’s mate?”

Johnny stares over at me in disbelief, his mouth dropping open.

“You can’t possibly be considering this.”

The man leans closer and speaks in a secretive, hushed tone.

“Magic. She uses a locator spell or something.”

“Oh! Of course! Come on, King Luca, how did you not realize that she uses magic?”

But I ignore my Beta, holding my hand up to silence him, feeling intrigued.

“Where can I find her?”

“She’s in an almost hidden cabin about eight miles northwest of the pack territory.”

“Thank you.”

The old man smiles and turns to speak to another guest as I make up my mind…turning and briskly cutting a path through the dancefloor, Johnny on my heels.

“Luca, no. You cannot be serious?”

“Witches exist.”

“Yeah…but they can’t tell you where to find your mate! If that were true, everyone would be doing it.”

“Worth a shot.”

Johnny throws his head back in a dramatic groan.

“Come on! We aren’t going to stomp around an unknown forest looking for some hidden cabin of a witch instead of enjoying the party, are we? Can’t you see how completely ridiculous this is?”

I’m at the door and I use my back to push it open, looking at Johnny as I go through it.

“Don’t come. Stay here.”

Johnny hesitates but begrudgingly follows me through the door.

“Can’t believe you are doing this.”

He grumbles as he looks back at the party longingly.

“That red-head was totally feeling my vibes too.”

“Maybe the witch can tell you where to find your mate too, so you don’t have to worry about hooking up with random girls at every pack we go to anymore.”

Johnny grins.

“And why would I ever want to do that to myself? Think of all the disappointed ladies.”

Rolling my eyes, I take off in the direction the man indicated at a fast-paced jog, Johnny reluctantly following a few feet behind me.

The closer we get to the indicated spot, the more I cannot help but be filled with hope, my heart racing at the thought of finally being reunited with the girl that I know is my mate.

Why had I never thought of using a witch before?

Maybe because they are so rare to find.

They don't exactly shout their existence to the world.

Most likely for this exact reason right now, strangers stomping through the forest trying to find them to ask for help.

“It should be close by here…look around.”

Johnny comes to a stop behind me and glances around, squinting as he sniffs the air.

“I’m not picking up on any scents.”

Me either.

Was the old man pulling my leg?

“Do witches even have scents?”

Johnny looks at me questioningly and I shrug in response.

"I would think so. Maybe she is hiding it."

Or maybe the old man gave me bad directions…that might not have been his first drink of the night.

Sighing, I pull back a branch and duck under it.

Might as well look around some more before heading back.

I’ve already come this far...

What's that?

Catching a small, flickering light ahead, I squint as I stare in its direction, but the light is no longer there. However, when I move nearer to where I saw the light, I can just make out a wooden door covered in thick, green vines. When I get even closer, I see the entire outline of a small cabin that looks as if it was literally built around a giant tree...blending perfectly into its forest surroundings.

"What do you know? The cabin exists."

"You stay back. I'll let you know if I need you."

Johnny looks apprehensive as he scans the dark cabin, but he steps back obediently.

Lifting my hand to knock, I can't help but do what I have done for the past eight years and mentally tell my Rose...'I'm closer, Rosey, I can feel it. I will be with you soon.'