Beloved

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Emanual's POV

"Are you sure?" Noah asked. My beta was seated with Shawn, my Third in Command in front of my desk. Both, especially Noah, looked almost as exhausted as me. The whole pack had been on high alert ever since some of my pack members and I had caught the scent of a certain human.

"Yes, why would she enter the land and even walk far into it, only to leave again?" I answered his question with one of my own.

"Maybe she changed her mind," Shawn suggested.

"I just don't believe it. Her scent wasn't there for a long time. If she entered the territory and left again, she would have to be running at almost inhuman speed." I crinkled my forehead.

"Maybe she wasn't the one doing the running..." Shawn added slowly and carefully, while his eyes watched my reaction. An image of her being dragged through the dark woods crossed my mind. In my head, her eyes were large and scared, tears filling them like I've seen them do before.

The pen in my hand tore in half only seconds later. Anger covered my frightened self, and I growled lowly before standing up.

"We have to fucking find her. I know she's here, somewhere." My voice had turned ten times deeper than earlier, and the two men in my office clearly noticed.

"Yes, Alpha." They both answered in an almost soldier-like way. I placed my palms on the sturdy desktop, leaning my weight on the table. My eyes shifted between the two men. They both sat still, with what I assumed was plans running through their minds. Noah was about to open his mouth when there was a knock on the door.

"Yes?" I asked the visitor inside, while sitting down in my chair again. I forced my heart to slow down. Anger wouldn't help me. A man around the age of 30 walked inside the office, after carefully peaking his head through the half-opened door.

"It's lunch time, Alpha, so I thought I'd bring some food for you, the Beta and the Third in Command." A plate was balanced on his open palm and behind him stood a younger man, holding two similar dishes. I answered with a simple nod, and the two men hesitantly walked to the desk and placed the plates.

"Thank you, it looks delicious," Shawn smiled to the two men, and they both hurried out. I felt far from hungry, but I hadn't eaten for almost 24 hours and I was growing weak. I frowned and slowly began eating the heated food.

"What should we do? A huge search across the land?" Noah suggested, after a few silent minutes of eating.

"Yeah, probably." I muttered. My fists were tightening around the utensils.

"We have people living all across the territory. Members would tell us if they saw or smelled anything not werewolf." Shawn stated before putting a piece of meat in between his lips.

Our conversation was once again interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come in," I spoke loudly, and in walked Calvin. He wasn't wearing anything special, but his chest was rising and falling quickly, as if he was out of breath. I ground my teeth at the appearance of him but kept silent. With a single look from me, he started speaking.

"I caught a whiff of Kristen at the Pineclearing, Alpha. It seemed pretty fresh, but it disappeared around Cleanlake." I sprung up from the chair, the plate scraping against the desk as the entire table shook. Though it was Calvin telling me this, he was one of the best trackers of the pack. I wasn't going to waste any chance of finding my mate.

"Stay here, Calvin." I commanded him in a harsh voice, and his head lowered in submission. An unintended growl sounded from my chest and I stormed out of the office, down the hallway and out of the pack house. I had barely stepped out of the front door before I set off into the air. My bones and skin bent in unnatural ways. And not even a second later, my large paws dug into the muddy dirt, and I raced into the woods, heading for Cleanlake. My heart thundered in my ears and worry spread across my entire chest. Growl after growl erupted fiercely from my throat. I had never pushed myself to run this fast before, but the image of my little mate drowning in the lake or lying on the cold ground, half unconscious, kept me going.

The rough pillows of my paws tore through grass and into the earth as the lake with the blankest of water reached my sight. I stayed in wolf form, sniffing the air around me. I let out of a huff of breath when nothing in the air reminded me of Kristen. Did Calvin lie to me? I took in another deep breath, the oxygen starting to feel heavy around me. I let out of snarl of discomfort, followed by a fit of coughs. As my movement got slower, my senses followed. I fought against my body. Everything I wanted in that moment was to rest. To give up. But instead I continued stumbling around myself, as if my paws couldn't find a stable patch of ground to rest on. Growls suddenly sounded around me, and my head moved as fast as possible towards the threat. My gaze met eight medium sized wolves. They stood with low heads. The skin around their mouths was curled up, glistening teeth showing.

I responded with a growl and a bark, but it seemed as if the sound barely left my throat. Trying to maintain a dominating stance, the one that came so easily for an Alpha, suddenly seemed impossible. I knew I had been poisoned by now, but as a powerful wolf, I hoped my strength would win.

It only took one more weak growl from me, for them to pounce.

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Hi!! Thank you so much for reading this chapter! I don't have a lot to say this time, really. I was on a ski trip up in Norway while I wrote this (yay for being able to write offline on wattpad) and I can really feel desire to write again, so hopefully when this is published, I've already written an okay amount on the next chapter.

Please remember to vote and comment (I love hearing your thoughts) and I'll see you guys later :)

(I do not own the photo at the top. It was found on Pinterest)

- a freezing snow-pal