Saving the Alpha's Dream Mate

Gossiping

My hands trembled as I reached out for the paper Alpha Walker had just written my name on, but I couldn't feel it beneath my hands or pick it up to read again.

I held my breath for a moment when Alpha Walker leaned over the paper, but my heart shattered when he screwed it up and left it on the table as he stood up and walked away from the desk.

He had seen me - wherever we had been, we had been there together.

Another knock at the door was followed by the handle rattling before Alpha Walker could get to it.

"Simmer down," he spoke clearly but firmly and whoever was trying to open the locked door stopped.

"Alpha," a young man waited on the threshold of the room when the door was opened.

He looked at Alpha Walker closely for a moment and blushed at the sight of his Alpha with no top on, but he kept his eyes fixed on Alpha Walker's face.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, but some of the Pack want to speak with you," the young man bowed his head.

"I'm not fit for company," Alpha Walker's voice was flat, and he shrugged calmly.

"They're worried about you," the young wolf swallowed nervously when Alpha Walker shot him a dangerous look but continued in a shaking voice, "it would mean a lot to the Pack if you could put our minds at ease."

"I'll come out later," Alpha Walker sighed, "when I can speak to them with a clear head. I know I can't hide away forever, but...I need some time to think about this."

"Of course, Alpha," the young wolf bowed his head again, then turned to leave.

"Wait." Alpha Walker's voice was choked and he cleared his throat before he continued, "I need you to do me a favor, while I finish getting dressed and get my self ready to come out."

"Anything, Alpha," the young man nodded and waited patiently until he was finally spoken to.

"I need you to find out what has happened to her," Alpha Walker closed his eyes and turned away to hide the fact that he was crying again, "I know it's not a pleasant task, but...I need to know where she is and what has happened."

"You mean...?"

"I mean Lady Katelyn. I need you to find out what is going on and report back to me."

"I understand," the young man nodded decisively and averted his gaze.

"That's all," Alpha Walker sighed, and the young man backed away to leave.

I watched him walking slowly away as Alpha Walker began to close the door, and in a moment of impulsive curiosity I slipped past Alpha Walker to follow the young man.

As I brushed past Alpha Walker I was reminded of his distinctive scent - the ancient pine trees and moss of the forest along with the musky, powerful scent of a man in his prime. It was a heady mixture that felt like it was burning in my nose, and it was too much to ignore; I sighed, and turned back to him.

I wasn't even sure what I was doing, and I only carried on after the young man because Alpha Walker shut the door and I didn't want to try to go through it to get back into the room.

I followed him through the corridors of the Packhouse, and my stomach twisted when I realized he was going to wherever Lady Katelyn had been taken.

"Anthony!"

The young wolf stopped in his tracks and turned to look at the woman who had called his name.

"Mother," he nodded courteously and waited for the short, silver haired woman to approach him.

"What were you doing in the Alpha's wing?" she frowned.

"The Alpha asked me to find out what happened to Lady Katelyn," Anthony bowed his head and answered without any hesitation, but his mother raised and eyebrow at her son's answer.

"Yes, but what were you doing there? Why were you at his room?"

The young man blushed and stared down at his feet.

"It was nothing, I was just... I thought...it seemed as though..."

"Anthony," she folded her arms and her son cleared his throat.

"I thought this might be an opportunity to prove I can be trusted with more, mother. Nobody asked me to go to him, but..."

Anthony's words faded as I moved further from him and his mother - their conversation was of no interest to me, and I decided it was better to find out what the rest of the Pack thought about this, and whether they suspected my Pack could have been behind the murder.

I padded down a spiral staircase and wandered further into the depths of the Packhouse until I found myself surrounded by worried looking women.

I felt uncomfortable in their company; women like this group had never been kind to me in the past, and it took me a moment to realize that wasn't going to be an issue when they didn't even know I was there with them.

"I heard that Alpha Walker is already thinking of who to take as a new Mate," one of the younger women gossiped with no hint of the distress I had seen in her Alpha's eyes.

"I don't believe it," an older woman shifted uncomfortably, "there is no way Alpha Walker would simply put aside his feelings for Lady Katelyn so quickly."

"Well, I heard it from Marie and she heard it from Rose..."

"How would Rose know something like that?" a younger woman scoffed.

"I don't know, but if you don't believe me you could always ask her," the gossipy young woman smirked, but the conversation began to drift in another direction.

"I don't know how we're supposed to go on without Lady Katelyn," a pretty woman in an elegant pale blue dress wailed, and I found myself facing the sobbing woman who couldn't have been much older than me.

"She was supposed to be everything to us, and now she's gone," the woman sniffed, "and who is Alpha Walker going to bring as his new Mate? Who is going to be willing to move here after this?"

"I'm sure that Alpha Walker will find an appropriate Mate," the older woman leaned forward to pat the younger woman's shoulder, but she shrugged the comforting gesture off. "He just needs time to get over what has happened, Cecilia."

"What if he brings someone in from another Pack? What if she is killed, too?" the young, sobbing woman wailed again.

"You're worrying over nothing, dear. I'm sure that Alpha Walker needs time before he is ready for another Mate," the older woman sighed, "there's no rush, and he will choose someone who is right for our Pack when the time comes."

"What if she is killed, too?" the young, sobbing woman repeated her doubts.

"Now is not the time to be worrying about this. Right now we should be in mourning for Lady Katelyn, and we should be finding whoever killed her," a man standing behind me spoke with a voice that was firm, yet calm.

"Of course," the younger woman sniffed, "you're right, Alpha ."