10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The Alpha's Claim

Axel

I burst through the pack house doors, the scent of my own panicked sweat mixing with the lingering traces of Lila's vanilla and cinnamon aroma. My heart pounds against my ribs as I shout, "Lila's been kidnapped!" My voice echoes off the wooden walls, and I watch as the pack members lounging on plush sofas or gathered around the stone fireplace turn to face me, their expressions morphing from relaxed to concerned in an instant.

Ethan steps forward from the crowd, his brow furrowing as he takes in my disheveled appearance. I know I look a mess - my usually impeccable hair is wild, my clothes are rumpled, and I can feel the panic in my own eyes.

"What happened?" Ethan asks, his calm tone a stark contrast to the chaos in my mind.

I take a deep breath, trying to organize my thoughts. The memory of Lila's terrified eyes as she was dragged away flashes through my mind, causing my wolf to howl in anguish. I clench my fists, willing myself to focus.

"I was driving back from the lodge," I begin, my words tumbling out in a rush, "out of nowhere, a strong sense of unease washed over me, leaving me unsettled. My wolf was restless, urging me to find Lila. It was... intense, like nothing I've ever experienced before." I pause, swallowing hard, the memory of that moment still vivid. "Moments before that I received a text of Lila in front of the Cozy Bean's, but by the time I got there, it was too late. She was being forced into a car by unknown assailants. I couldn't reach her in time."

The pack members exchange uneasy glances. Whispers break out among the group, a mix of concern and confusion. Marcus, one of the older pack members steps forward, his expression grave.

"Axel," he says, his tone cautious but firm, "we understand your concern. But we have to prioritize the rogue threat. They've been causing chaos in our territory for weeks now. We need to focus on protecting the pack."

A low growl rises in my throat, my wolf bristling at the idea of abandoning Lila. Find mate. Protect mate.

The instinctual drive to rescue her consumes me, warring with my responsibilities as Alpha. I can feel my control slipping, the urge to shift and hunt down my mate nearly overwhelming.

"I can't just leave her in danger," I argue, my voice strained. I look around the room, meeting the eyes of each pack member. "My wolf believes that she's my fated mate. I have to find her. You all know what that means."

The room falls silent. Their eyes reveal the conflict between destiny and pack safety, with the added fear of humans turning feral. I understand their hesitation, but my heart screams for Lila.

Ethan steps closer to me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Axel," he says softly, his expression grim, "there's more you need to know. Elena disappeared last night while investigating the rogue threat."

The news hits me like a physical blow. I stagger back, my mind reeling. A pack member missing, and now Lila... It's almost too much to bear.

"We need to find them both," I say, my voice hoarse. "But I don't think they are together. I'm still not convinced that rogues took Lila, what would they want with a human?"

Marcus nods, his brow furrowed in thought. "It seems unlikely. Which is why we need separate search parties. We can't afford to ignore either situation."

I take a deep breath, forcing myself to think like an Alpha rather than a desperate mate. I close my eyes, centering myself. When I open them again, I meet their gazes with steely determination.

"You're right," I say, my voice steady despite the turmoil inside me. "We need to approach this strategically. We'll form search parties." I turn to Ethan. "You lead one team to follow Elena's scent trail. Retrace her steps to pick up her scent."

Ethan nods, already mentally selecting the best trackers in the pack for the task.

"Marcus," I continue, "you take another team to investigate the recent rogue sightings. Look for any patterns, any clues that might lead us to Elena."

"And you?" Marcus asks, though I can see in his eyes that he already knows the answer.

"I'll track Lila," I say, my tone brooking no argument. "I have the strongest connection to her. I'll be able to sense things that others might miss."

The pack members nod, their earlier hesitation replaced by determination. As they disperse to prepare for the search, I feel a flutter of hope amid the storm of worry in my chest. We're coming, Lila. Hold on.

Days pass, each one a torment. I scour the city tirelessly, following every lead, no matter how slim. The urban landscape blurs into a maze of concrete and steel, each street corner and alley a potential clue to Lila's whereabouts.

My wolf grows more restless with each passing hour, its primal instincts driving me to exhaustion.

Find mate. Protect mate. The mantra echoes in my mind, a constant reminder of my failure to keep Lila safe.

"Grr, she's not ours, she's not our mate. I haven't claimed her." I spit out in frustration.

WHO's fault, my wolf cries.

I barely sleep, catching only brief moments of rest in my car between searches. When I do sleep, my dreams are haunted by visions of Lila in danger, her cries for help just beyond my reach. I wake in a cold sweat, my heart racing, only to throw myself back into the search with renewed desperation.

On day five, when I'm about to die from exhaustion, my phone buzzes. The screen illuminates with an unknown caller ID, sending a jolt of adrenaline through my weary body. I answer immediately, my voice hoarse from lack of use.

"Hello?"

"I know where she is," the voice crackles through the speaker, tense with urgency. "She is in an abandoned house with a red barn in the back on the outskirts of town." he pauses, and my heart skips a beat. "You need to hurry." Then the phone falls silent.

"I can only think of one abandoned house with a barn that we haven't checked yet," I say out loud to my wolf.

My entire body tenses, hope and fear warring within me. It may be a trap, but if it takes me to Lila and I can save her so be it.

Trap, no trap, save her, my wolf agrees as we head out.

A low growl rumbles in my chest, my wolf picking up on a shift in the atmosphere. It's a slight alteration, hardly detectable by my human senses, but my instincts as an animal are sharply aware of it. I halt in my tracks, straining to listen as my wolf's ears pivot towards the origin of the disturbance.