Neither Gray nor his father wanted to take that risk. His parents were currently visiting a pack in Oregon, then planned to transfer to a different one in the Midwest. As soon as their five years were up, they could return to Tennessee, with Gray’s father taking his place as a Pack Elder.
“I know, Gray. It’s just been so long. I’m not giving up hope, but—”
“We’ll find them. Any updates from the trackers?” Gray needed to change the subject. He couldn’t think of what might be happening to the cubs.
Their best trackers had searched the property. They’d found tread marks from an unknown vehicle on the back road leading out of the compound, and the security cameras installed during Gray’s father’s reign as alpha were disabled. Three distinct scents discovered nearby belonged to the kidnappers. The unfamiliar scents troubled Gray further. How had strangers gotten into their compound undetected? And how had they known where to find the cubs?
He had no leads, no clues, and no cubs. All he had was his enhanced sense of smell, and he inhaled deeply, the air outside the SUV revealing no trace of the cubs or their attackers.
The majority of the pack searched the surrounding area alongwith Gray and Liam. The parents of all the missing cubs frantically tried to pick up the familiar scent of their own cubs. The trackers hunted as well, the strange scents they’d picked up from the compound added targets to their search.
Taking a moment, Gray listened again for any sound from the cubs. He focused on Garon, his son, willing their connection into being, but he only heard silence. Some part of Gray knew Garon was still alive, and it was more than just a parent’s desperate hope. He could feel the slightest tug of Garon’s presence but couldn’t trace it.
His thoughts returned to that day. He’d been in town, handling pack business at the local bank when he’d heard the cries for help. Gray had run out of the office, the brief scream of “Dad, help!” running over and over in his mind. The terror in his son’s voice would haunt Gray for the rest of his life.
By the time Gray had arrived back at the compound, he’d contacted the rest of the pack, and they had all rushed home from their jobs in town. Everyone present started the search, all of their enhanced senses used in every possible way to bring their children home.
Now sixty hours after the cubs had gone missing, they were still searching. Gray’s thoughts were interrupted by his cell phone ringing. After checking the caller ID, Gray answered. “Hey, Becky. No news.”
Garon’s mother, Becky, currently lived in California with her mate, Alex. When Garon was six, they’d held the celebration to honor Gray’s ascension to alpha. She’d met Alex, a visiting wolf from a California pack, and immediately known she’d found her life partner. The discovery had left her with a terrible choice: leaving her six-year-old with his father and following her instincts to join her mate, or staying where she was, without Alex.
Most cubs stayed with their mother in the event of a pack transfer. The heir to the alpha, however, was required to stay with his home pack. Becky’s mate was an alpha himself, so there was no chance of him transferring to their pack. She’d denied Alex for nearly a year out of a desire to stay with Garon. In the end, she’d accepted that Garon’s place was with his father, and hers was with her mate.
Becky growled in frustration. “Where is he, Gray?”
He wished he had an answer for her. “We’re doing everything we can. I will find him, Becky. I swear to you that I will find him.”
“He’s still alive. I know he is. I can feel him. When my dad passed, it was like this empty place where he’d been, but I don’t have that with Garon. Maybe I should come, Gray. I can be on the next plane. Maybe I can find him.”
It wasn’t a bad idea, and Gray was nearly desperate enough to agree, but Becky’s mate wouldn’t want her to leave their young cubs behind to go into a dangerous, unknown situation. Gray couldn’t blame him for wanting to protect her. “Bec, I won’t tell you not to come, but…”
“I know. Alex has gone over and over it with me. I just feel like I should be there, like I should be helping. He’s my son, too!”
Gray had never denied Becky access to their son. It was one of the things they’d discussed many times before she’d decided to leave the pack to be with her mate. Alphas typically didn’t frequent each other’s pack lands, as it was considered a threat to an alpha’s territory. The exceptions were only made for pack celebrations. Gray and Alex had worked together to find a way around that tradition so each could be welcomed into the other’s pack without any repercussions.
“I know that, and if you feel like you have to come, you know you’re welcome here. I just don’t know that there is anything you can do. I don’t want you here if this gets worse. I swear to you that I’m doing everything I can, using every resource I have. Nothing is more important to me than getting our son back.”
“Gray,” Becky said, her voice shaking, “do you think this is—”
“No, it’s not. You are not being punished, Becky. You did the right thing. Garon is fine. He gets to talk to you all the time, and he gets to see his mother happy. What better gift can you give him?”
It was a discussion they’d had too many times over the past few years. When Gray had come home from college at twenty-three, having attained his BA and master’s in finance in five years, he was ready to do nothing but party that first weekend. He’d missed his pack and his friends.
One too many beers for both of them had led to around of sex in the middle of the woods that they’d both regretted afterward, and after a brief period of awkwardness, they’d resumed their friendship like nothing had ever happened.
Until she’d found out she was pregnant. The news had stunned everyone, especially since Gray had made it clear to his pack that although he occasionally enjoyed the company of a woman, he generally preferred men. Add to that fact that unplanned pregnancies were rare in their culture, particularly for an unmated pair. It was expected they’d take each other as mates. But they hadn’t, and the uproar it had caused still made Gray angry.
After a while, everything had settled down, and they’d raised their son like any other couple living apart, splitting time and sharing responsibilities. When Becky had met Alex, it had turned her world upside down. She’d realized before any of them what accepting Alex as her mate would mean and had turned him down flat. She would not leave her son, and that was the only option available.
When Becky had made the choice to go to Alex, she’d convinced herself she would be punished for her actions, no matter how many times they all tried to reassure her that she was being ridiculous.
Nearly sobbing, Becky said, “Gray, promise me you’ll find him. I just need to hear it one more time. I know you will, but please, just say it once more.”
Before Gray could answer, he felt the tug of excitement from Cade, then a call through their mind-link.Alpha, the cubs have returned. They are safe.
“Becky, they’ve been found. He’s safe. I’m on my way back to the compound. I’ll call you back.”
He heard her burst into tears of relief as he hung up the phone.I’m on my way, Cade.
