Hunting My Mate

Chapter 9

*Calvin*

I don’t say a single word during dinner. Sure, the Alpha and Luna spoke, but I refused to respond. I do try to use my manners and correct fork throughout, but I don’t really care what anyone here thinks. They think they are better than those in their pack. They think they are better than my sister. I refuse to cooperate more than is necessary.

You’re not going to answer them at all? Peter asks through the link. I’m sure he’s concluded that if he asks me out loud, I won’t answer him either.

They don’t respect Molly.

They do now, he tries to explain, but I don’t care. They did not at first. It was a grave concern we all had regarding her.

She’s better than all of these f***s.

Peter smirks. Yes. She is.

“Perhaps we should show Calvin around the grounds,” Luna Grace says, and Peter agrees, firmly grabbing my arm to lift me.

I glare at him, but he stares me down, leaving no room for my refusal.

“Fine,” I grumble, following the Alpha and Luna to lead us out. Peter walks just behind me, no doubt, to make sure I actually follow.

“We spend a large portion of our budget on these gardens. It’s a shame we couldn’t arrange your arrival for a time when the rocks are glowing. It’s what we’re most famous for,” Grace says as we walk outside, and they lead me down an ornate staircase. There are hedges and plants to be seen for miles. She continues to speak, but I wander away, trying not to hear her drone on about how much they’ve spent on, well, everything.

I kneel beside a rose bush, carefully running my finger along one of them. “This is a Claude Monet rose,” I comment, not really to anyone, but I turn to the Luna. “They’re hard to grow. Your gardeners are impressive.”

“Yes, the gardens are impressive,” she agrees with a smile.

I shake my head. “I said your gardeners. Your omegas who tend to all of this. Very impressive.”

She swallows hard, and the Alpha leads us along the path, pointing out various exotic and expensive plants. I hate these two. I hate their wealth and how they don’t respect those who work hard to make this place look so good.

The blonde girl I saw in the kitchen approaches us, and I can’t look away. There’s just something about her.

She bows to the Alpha. Bows! “What can I get you, Alpha?”

“Bring us two bottles of wine and four glasses,” he tells her curtly, barely even paying attention to her. He must have linked her.

Peter looks at me sternly as she looks away. He knows I’m trying not to say something rude or to just walk away.

You’d rather be out here than inside dancing, correct?

I stifle a sigh because I know he’s right. Still, they’re dreadful.

I’m not dancing with this b***h. The way she treats the Omegas here is awful.

Peter doesn’t say anything else to me as he turns and speaks to Adrian. He has more to say, though. I could see it on his face. I suppose we’ll be having a nice, long talk after the events of the evening finally come to an end.

“You’ll have to excuse our Omega’s appearance,” Grace tells us. “She’s new and hasn’t quite learned how to behave properly. Or to fix that mess of hair.”

“I think her hair is nice,” I challenge her. Sure, it’s a little messy, but what does it even matter?

She smiles curtly and says nothing else. A moment later, the girl returns with the wine and glasses and hands them to Adrian. They don’t even acknowledge her presence as she turns away.

“I’m sorry,” I say, reaching out to touch her arm. She turns to me, hazel eyes reflecting the stars. “I didn’t catch your name.”

“Dorothy,” she tells me with a small smile.

I nod. “Thank you, Dorothy,”

She turns to leave again, but this time, Peter stops us. “Dorothy,” he repeats the name. “You are Alpha Barrett’s daughter, correct?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” she says, bowing to him.

“I’m very sorry to have heard about your parents,” he says, glancing at the Alpha and Luna. “I have been attempting to find your locations to verify you girls were alright after he was overthrown. Where is Ada?”

I can see tears begin to form in her eyes. She has a sister. Could this be the connection I feel to her? Her sister is my mate?

“I do not know,” she says softly. “Once we left the territory, we were unable to link each other. I can still feel our family bond, so I know she is alive, but I do not know where.”

Peter nods and looks at me. “Calvin, why don’t you take Dorothy inside and get any information you can while I discuss with the Alpha and Luna WHY it was not disclosed to the King that she was here? It has been around a year since the girls fled.”

“A year?” I ask, looking at the girl.

She nods slowly. “Yes.”

A year. A year since they fled. A year since I’ve felt my mate’s pain. Is it possible?

I offer her my arm and realize that Mrs. Audrey would be proud of me for the movement. I escort the girl back inside the packhouse and to my room. She looks nervous as she enters, and I realize too late that bringing her here wasn’t my best idea, but it’s not my packhouse. I don’t know where I should have taken her instead.

She won’t look at me. “I think your sister is my mate,” I tell her, trying to make her more comfortable. “Something about you drew me to you, but you aren’t my mate.”

“What makes you think my sister is?” she asks, wrinkling her forehead.

“I can’t explain it,” I say. “I may be wrong, but there’s a lot that goes with it.”

She nods as she stands nervously before me. I pull on the bowtie and pull it loose before undoing the top button of my shirt. “I hate these things.”

She smiles at that. “My dad did, too.”

Peter enters and looks at the two of us, shaking his head. “You could have gone to his office.”

“I realized that after,” I tell him with a slight shrug.

Peter leads her over to the small couch, gently explaining the situation the best he can. She looks terrified when he tells her I can feel that she’s scared or hurt.

“We were separated when we ran,” she says softly, wiping her eyes. “When our bond with Mom was severed, Ada fell, and someone grabbed her, but I saw her get away. A friend kept dragging me and wouldn’t let me stop, but I know I saw it.”

“What of your father? They claimed he was dead, but Seth still has not felt the bond sever. It is complicated, though. His bond as the Alpha severed when he abandoned the pack like he did.”

She smiles sadly. “That’s why he made sure I crossed before him. I can still feel the bond, but I don’t know where he is either. I had hoped they were together…”

“Maybe they are,” Peter tries to reassure her.

Dorothy looks up at me and shakes her head. “If she’s being hurt, he’s not there. He’d do anything to protect us. He tried to stay with Ada because she didn’t receive the training that I did.”

“I’m going to find her,” I tell her firmly. “I’m not going to stop looking.”

“I believe you,” she says softly. “What can I do to help?”

“If there’s any other information that you think could be helpful, we’d love to hear it,” Peter tells her. “If any other packs were helping them overthrow him, that would be helpful. Even if you just suspect it and don’t have proof. We’ll look into anything.”

“The Alpha at the Cold Moon pack was visiting quite often for months before,” she shrugs. “I’m not sure it was anything, and he was always friendly, but it seemed a little odd since we didn’t have any trade with them.”

Peter nods, writing this down. “That is strange, though I suppose they could just be friends. I’ll check into it. Anything else?”

“Why didn’t Alpha Adrian tell you I’m here?” she asks.

Peter looks at her sadly. “I’m afraid the answer I received isn’t the truth. I’m going to reach out to another pack and would like you to move there.”

“Where?”

“Lunar Falls,” he tells her. “It’s where the Queen is from and where we have been the past few months. The Alpha is good, and you can do whatever you’d like there.”

She nods. “It’s not that I think I’m too good to work and help out,” she says, almost defensively. “I just don’t like how they treat the Omegas here. But they’ve kept me safe.”

“Would you like to upset them more?” I ask her, arching a questioning eyebrow.

She nods and smiles. “What do you have in mind.”

“I’ve been told I’m required to dance at this damn ball tonight,” I tell her and Peter smirks. “Would you please join me?”