Her return

Chapter 35

Alec's POV:

I bury my head in my hands, groaning.

Idiot. Idiot. Idiot. 

I promised myself that I'd never hurt her. I knew that if I told her the truth, it would hurt her and put her in a compromising position, but not telling her also hurt her nevertheless and I'll never forgive myself.

Riley is disappointed in me now and I hate that feeling. I wish I could go back in time and do things better, to have the guts to look vulnerable in front of her.

I knew I needed to make things better, but I was giving her time to cool down. To be honest, I am too ashamed to face her right now.

I get up from the couch and walk toward the bar situated in the corner across from the fireplace and the sitting area.

I pour scotch into a glass and bring it to my lips but it falls to the floor mid-way, making a mess on my feet.

I suck a breath and press a hand where I felt the sting in my chest. I knew immediately that something happened to Riley.

Before reaching the door, Carmen burst inside, panic morphing her face.

"I think something is wrong with Riley!" Carmen cries out.

I walk out of my room calling Riley's name.

"She went on a run," says Carmen while we speed up to the common room and outside. "Carter went ahead to check on her"

My breath escalated at the thought of my mate hurt. What could have happened? I felt a sharp sting in my chest, but then nothing. I knew she was alive, but I couldn't feel her, I didn't know what she was feeling and I knew she must have passed out or something, or how else could I explain this?

We reach where Carter is, the spot where Riley's scent fades.

"WHERE IS SHE?!" I growl to the sky, knowing no one knows her whereabouts.

"Her scent ends here," remarks Carter, sniffing the air.

"She couldn't just vanish!" Carmen exclaims, raising her arms in the air for emphasis.

"We know" I growl menacingly.

This wasn't an accident. Someone took my mate and knew what they were doing. This was planned.

My chest hurt from the pressure my lycan was making. He wanted out. He blamed me for pushing her to her attacker.

"Guys!" screams Rebecka from afar. She stops breathless along with Felix. "What happened to Riley?? Is she alright??" she looks around frantically.

As a pack, we are all bonded with each other, sensing when someone is in danger. We didn't know that was possible until we felt Felix being hurt, later finding out he was stabbed when Rebecka was trying to practice her aim with a dagger. She is now not allowed to sharpen dangerous weapons.

"Someone took her" Carter is the one delivering the news, neither I nor Carmen had the stomach to say it out loud.

Rebecka and Felix growl furiously.

"Who is dumb enough to dare to hurt the royal princess??" Carmen starts pacing around, the snow crunching under her boots.

"I bet it was Elena!" jumps Rebecka, her eyes turning black. "That bitch tried to get rid of her since the beginning!"

I growl, incrusting my punch into a tree, the bark breaking sounds oddly satisfying and when I retrieve my fist, the tree starts falling toward me but stops when it crashes against another tree close to it.