Strength to Find Her Way

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Liam POV

Why is going home from this goddess forsaken place so hard? I asked myself that question for the third time as I sat in the driver's seat of my car still not having moved from Midnight Pack's parking lot.

'You know why,' my wolf sneered. He was still angry that I wasn't willing to go take my mate by force tonight. He can be so pushy sometimes.

'We will see her tomorrow,' I replied in my head.

'So sure? Do you know you'll see her tomorrow? What will you do if you don't see her? What if she actually ran off with another wolf?' he mocked me.

That really got my blood boiling. The thought of her with anyone but me was enraging. 'NO,' I barked.

'Exactly,' he said.

'So what do you suggest?' I asked. 'I am not going to disrupt her first shift because we can't keep it in our pants for one night.'

'And why not?' he retorted.

'You know why not,' I snapped. 'Let's go with a middle ground. We find out from Ethan's mate where she is and we go to her. We can watch her from afar and know she's safe and ours but we don't need to disrupt her,' I offered.

I could feel him mulling over my words for a moment before he replied, 'Fine.'

And with that I turned on the engine and headed back towards the entrance of the great hall. I quickly jumped out of my car much to the surprise of the guards still posted at the entrance. They swiftly bowed and gave me questioning glances. I had no time or desire to explain myself to them. I brushed past them and quickly entered the ballroom.

Ethan and Suze were unsurprisingly exactly where I had left them. I approached them interrupting more of their newfound intimacy. I didn't care. I was on a mission.

Although caught off guard, Ethan pulled himself together quickly and gave me a questioning glance.

"I need to talk to Suze," I demanded. He paused for a moment, then looked her way. She looked hesitant. I must look a bit more menacing than I did in our previous meetings. "It's fine, Suze," Ethan assured her. She nodded and turned to face me.

"What's up, Prince Liam?" I ignored her use of my title. We could address her use of formalities another day.

"Suze, what pack are you from?" I asked.

"Diamond Crescent," she quickly responded.

"You could have asked me that," Ethan grumbled under his breath.

"Diamond Crescent," I repeated, ignoring Ethan's comment. "That's only an hour from here. I can make it there in less time than that."

Ethan understood what I was getting at and his eyes got big. "Oh no, Liam. You're not actually going to go get this girl are you? Do you want to start off your relationship with force?"

Suze was trying to follow our conversation and suddenly something came to her. "Wait...you think Quinn is your mate. My best friend Quinn is your mate?" I couldn't tell if she was talking more to herself or to me since she was looking off into the distance. "Does she know?" she suddenly asked me.

"No," I replied sadly.

"Why not?" she asked.

"I never got the chance before she left," I responded.

"Well, I can fill you in on some important things about Quinn on the way if you want to head back to Diamond Crescent tonight. We can all go there now. I think Ethan and I have fulfilled the purpose of the mating ball," she shyly smirked his way. "Do you want to go, Ethan?"

I saw the gears turning in his head. He wanted to go with his mate but he wasn't sure if he was ready to meet her family within hours of meeting her.

"We're going," I commanded. He had no way to deny me when I used my alpha command on him.

He gave me an incredulous look but nodded, "Yeah, let's head out now."

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Not only was I going to finally see my mate but I had her best friend here and I was going to learn some information about her. That's a topic I could listen to someone talk about all day.

Ethan grabbed Suze's hand and the three of us headed towards the door. When we reached the marble steps to head out to the car, Ethan paused for a moment. "Really dude? Could you have parked like more of a jerk?"

I looked at what he was referring to and I could see that I hadn't left my car in the best location. It was practically sideways parked on the gravel drive. There were cars waiting to get around my haphazard park job. Any other day I would have felt bad but tonight I can't think of anything but my mate.

"You drive," I said to Ethan as I tossed him the keys. He looked at me incredulously. I could tell he was upset I'd be taking him away from his newfound mate.

Before he could argue, I told him, "I need you busy so I can talk to your mate. I trust you to drive fast but I don't trust you to give your mate a moment to focus on what I need to hear from her."

He grumbled but grabbed the keys and jumped in the driver's seat. I got in the passenger seat and Suze was in the back. It's a sports car with a small back seat but luckily she wasn't too tall to fit. Ethan started up the engine and we drove away. He waved apologetically at the line of cars waiting to pass as we headed down the long driveway out of the pack.

As soon as we were on our way, I turned around in my seat to look at a startled Suze. "Okay, tell me everything," I demanded.