Chapter 73 Tangled In Your Own Lie
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"Burn the fucking forest down if you have to. I know she's near. Find her," I demanded. Locating the ruby necklace that once belonged to my mother gave me newfound hope, hope that I would soon have my mate back. The clock was ticking; time was running out. I couldn't waste my time thinking about what would happen if I didn't find Adeline because there was only one option: to find her.
The group instantly shifted into their wolves and fanned out in separate directions. The pack was pissed, which I realized was now being used as a convenient tool. I was satisfied to see that anger fueled their souls. This was their Luna, after all—it was the duty of the entire pack to protect her. The plan was to divide and conquer. If you saw a house, search it. If you caught a scent, call it in. If you saw something moving that you didn't recognize, kill it.
I leaped my wolf further into the forest. I could hear the paws of Beta Don's wolf hitting the forest floor closely behind. I slowed my pace when Beta Don's thumping suddenly stilled. I continued for a moment longer. Where the fuck had he gone? There was no time to enjoy a goddamn break. My mate's life was on the line here. I whipped my head back to find that Beta Don had shifted. He shot me a deathly glare and stood behind a tree with a finger pressed to his lips, signaling he had picked up on something. One wrong move could cost Adeline's life.
I lowered my body into a low crouch, getting as close to the forest floor and out of sight as I possibly could. My wolf was ready to pounce at any moment, waiting for Beta Don's signal to attack. Something was coming from far into the distance. Whatever it was, I would be sure it never saw the light of day. I caught the scent as it approached in our direction. It had been a fucking deer.
I rose on all four legs, fury blazing inside me. Did he have a death wish? I mind-linked Beta Don, "Are you fucking serious? That's what you picked up? I swear I'll rip your throat out right now," I scolded.
Beta Don stayed perfectly still, his feet firmly planted on the ground. I was sure he wasn't even breathing because I couldn't pick up any trace of him standing behind that tree. "Wait," he said, calm as a cucumber.
I returned to my crouched position. One more chance was all I was giving him. I would have reached the pack border by now if he hadn't slowed me down. A ruffling noise caught my attention, sifting and swaying through the trees. By the way it moved, I recognized it was another wolf nearby. "Is that another rogue?" I questioned through the mind link, remaining deathly silent as I lay against the forest floor.
"Doubt it. There's only one shifter I know who can move like that. Take it down when it passes through, Alpha," Beta Don replied. There was a certain level of nervousness in his voice. Who was he expecting to rush through these trees, and why was he nervous that I wouldn't be able to take it down?
There was no time to think because before I knew it, a large, familiar brown wolf blazed through the thick trees. My black majestic wolf soared forward at the sight of it, taking it down with a single leap. I landed on top of the brown wolf, and we rolled down diagonally until a shrub eased our fall. "SHIFT," I demanded.
Beta Don came rushing over, his wrath and exasperation making the brown wolf shudder before it shifted. The brown wolf whimpered and quickly shifted. Beverly lay there under my wolf's hold with a look of complete fear painted on her face.
I knew Beverly was helping with the search for Adeline, regardless of how she felt about our mating. She had stated that the pack was in danger with a shifter missing, and Midnight Moon would always be her first priority. "Why are you here?" Beta Don muttered through gritted teeth.
"I'm searching for the missing shifter like the rest of the pack. I thought I had a lead, but it was just an animal," she said. Her breaths picked up, her chest rapidly rising and falling. Her story checked out, but something about her behavior had my wolf on edge.
Beta Don moved closer to us, and I stepped off Beverly, moving back against the nearest tree trunk, trying to assess the situation. My throat dried up as I watched Beta Don about to barrel in her direction. Today was not the day to mess with him; his wolf was out for blood at all costs. Beverly stood up and took a deep breath. "Look, you can confirm with the guards. I told them I would be right back. I wasn't going to let a lead go to waste, especially if it was going to lead to her," she retorted and rolled her eyes as if annoyed to be there.
I stalked forward and pushed my arm against her throat, causing her to abruptly hit a boulder behind her. "SHE IS YOUR LUNA," I snapped. Pain shot through my body and suddenly made me dizzy; I wasn't sure how I was still holding myself up. A zinging noise flooded my mind. It became so agonizing that I couldn't help it when my wolf bared his canines at Beverly.
Beta Don scrambled to me, as if he could sense something was wrong. "All good, Alpha?" he said, struggling to hold me upright. I leaned forward, pressed one hand on the big gray boulder, and vomited excessively. "They poisoned her. I feel the pain from the mate bond," I struggled to answer Beta Don through the mind link.
"Get it out of your system. There's a stream nearby. I'll take you to it once I deal with this bitch," he replied, turning back to face Beverly.
"Asher just reported that you were with him on the other side of the pack, Beverly. I'm not fucking playing your games. The Moon Goddess knows I would have already killed you by now if it weren't for Jaxon wishing to choose you as his mate," he said in a low, deep bark.
I couldn't stop the constant flow of liquid leaving my body. Not only had Adeline been abducted and tortured, but now she was being poisoned. I pulled the ruby necklace out of my pocket. It still glowed, even more brightly now than ever. There was more amiss than I ever thought. I gathered all my energy and stalked over to Beverly, grabbing a fistful of her red hair and dragging her along the forest floor.
"To think I once wanted to take you as my mate," I stated sarcastically. Her frightful screams filled the forest. I was done wondering where her loyalty lay. She would either die innocent or guilty. Either way, she was about to die at my hands. I was infuriated beyond measure, taking her head in my hand and slamming it against the bark of the nearby tree.
"Where is my mate?" I questioned. Beverly had a large gash pouring blood from her forehead where she had been hit by the tree. Surprisingly, I felt no remorse for my actions. Instead, I was tempted to do it again.
"Alpha. Please," she begged, tears rimmed in her eyes. I smashed her head again, harder this time. The one gash had connected with another on her forehead. "Last chance," I muttered. All I could see was red, and my mate was running out of time. This would end now.
She panted hard. "Cottage. Cabin at the corner of the forest. Rumor has it, she's been locked up there. I was on my way..." she finally admitted. I dropped my hand from her head. I had all the information I needed, and her body pounded roughly onto the ground. I wasn't sure if she was going to live, but as the turn of events went, neither Beta Don nor I seemed to care much.
I nodded to Beta Don. No words needed to be muttered—we knew what we had to do. We raced toward the abandoned cottage. "Pull all enforcers to the cottage. They have three minutes to get there or else," I demanded.
"Are you sure you believe her, Alpha? What if she's leading us in the opposite direction to save her own ass?" Beta Don questioned.
It was undoubtedly a possibility, but I had to trust my gut. "All of them. Now."
