After heaving his body inside the blaze, I stripped out of my bloody shirt and tossed it inside. I watched the fire flicker and roar, my jaw rigid as I thought about what could’ve happened to Reese if I hadn’t shown up.
I headed back up the stairs where my betas waited. They each looked me over as I emerged from the stairs.
“Raffa, have you heard anything from Montgomery?” I queried.
He shook his head. I grumbled and folded my arms across my bare chest. Chance and I hadn’t had any luck finding a trace on Montgomery. The last thing anyone heard from him was that he was traveling between Nevada and Arizona from one jobsite to another.
“Do you think he had something to do with this?” Ben asked.
I gritted my teeth. “I don’t know for sure, but he’s been missing for more than a month now.”
“Mike, I need you to reach out to The Southeast pack to confirm what that shitface said downstairs.”
“Will do, Alpha.”
“Chance.” I turned to my brother. “I need you to return to the last known location of Montgomery and track him down.”
“What about the other issue?”
I sighed. “That will have to wait. This takes priority over everything.”
He lowered his eyes but nodded. Chance had a situation of his own he was tracking down, but I needed his full attention on this situation. I couldn’t be sure that Montgomery’s disappearance was related to the attack on Reese, but it was highly suspicious that he went missing around the time I found my mate, and she ended up in harm’s way.
Montgomery didn’t have a pack to speak of. He claimed that he grew up a loner and never had a pack or that his memory didn’t go past his days as a pup. But I wasn’t trusting anything. For all I knew, Montgomery was a plant put among my pack by the Alliance to keep an eye on me.
He could’ve found out about Reese and told them about her before disappearing.
“You three can go back to your communes. We’ll be safe here, and you have families to get back to. Ben, keep me informed about the Southeast pack.”
He nodded.
“Chance, come with me. We’re going to visit Christophe.” Our youngest brother could use his computer skills to trace any sightings or anything on Montgomery or that damn Dr. Pines.
Whoever was behind this attack would beg me for death once I got my hands on them.
* * *
Reese
Two hours after Chael left me in the veterinarian’s office, I emerged from the bedroom again, after coming back, showering, and donning a pair of my jeans and a T-shirt. Chael had packed most of my clothes and brought them with us. Which made me question exactly how long he expected me to remain there.
“All set?” Ms. Elsie asked with a sparkle in her hazel eyes. I still couldn’t get over that the older woman standing before me, wearing a long floral dress and square-framed glasses, was also the same being I awakened to that morning licking my hand.
“I, uh, thought we were waiting here for Chael to return,” I said, shifting from one foot to the other in the middle of the kitchen.
“Oh, no. Alpha will be out for most of the day. He puts in very long hours.”
“Doing what, exactly?” Because he wasn’t a private investigator like he’d led me to believe.
She shrugged and grinned. “A little bit of everything. He takes outstanding care of his pack. Ohh, I can’t wait to show you around. We’ve waited so long for our alpha queen.” She clapped her hands, looking giddy. “Our alpha deserves the best mate, and I’m certain Mother Moon has chosen the right one in you.” She cupped my chin, peering deeply into my eyes.
I turned away, an uneasy feeling passing through my belly.
“This is probably overwhelming for you. As a human and all.” She gave me a look but waved her hands. “Come on. The sooner you meet the others, the better.” She didn’t even wait for me to agree. Ms. Elsie took me by the arm and led me to the front door out of the house.
I went along willingly because I might as well find out what else was in this community or commune, as they all called it. And Henry was back with Dr. Drake resting.
“It’s the middle of the day, so all of the children are at school,” Ms. Elsie said, talking as we walked. “Most of the adults are either at work in town or doing work at home,” she added.
