Snagged by the Rogue [COMPLETED]

44.

Alex.

Some relief that was turning out to be. The dead girl was not Anaya. Great. So where was my mate? That recurring question had become constant.

I kept in constant touch with the home base and as the search intensified, it yielded nothing. I felt a wave of excitement each time the phone rang, but with each call, I only ended up feeling frustrated.

When I got home on Saturday morning, I thought that I must be at the wrong house. Huge billowing canopies dotted the entire landscape. The grounds looked like some kind of amusement park. Bouquets of fresh flowers hung on poles scattered around my gardens. Thick red carpets dotted the lawns. The decorators were still at work, but even as yet I could tell they were doing a great job.

It was a rude awakening. It was the day of Selene's wedding. To me! I had completely forgotten about that in the flurry of the past few days. If I had remembered, I wouldn't have come back home. I was climbing up the stairs to go to my room when I felt someone tug at my shirt tails. It was Selene.

"Allie," She sounded hoarse. When I turned around, I saw that her hair had been done up in some complicated looking updo. Her eyes were swollen and red. She must have been crying. A lot. "Where in the world have you been?"

"About...."

"My Parents have not laid their eyes on you since they arrived," She sounded plaintive, "The guests are arriving in a couple of hours. Please go and get dressed."

"What guests?"

"Please don't embarrass me any more than you already have. Our guests are coming from far and near and we are going to put up a united front...."

"You're the one embarrassing yourself Selene. I am not marrying you. I have said that time without number. So, whoever your groom is today, it isn't me. When you find him, I wish you a very happy life together. Cheers!"

Her face turned a bright shade of pink, but Selene was not one to give up, Especially not today, her wedding day.

"Our wedding is going to be the talk of the entire Lycan clan,"

"You could say that again," I muttered as I climbed up the stairs.

●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●

I got through to Kyan on the phone, I was desperate to know if there were any new leads. Nothing had changed, he assured me. Our men were stationed permanently at the Pack borders. Travel had been restricted, and travelers in and out were thoroughly searched.

"We've looked virtually everywhere, Alpha. She's definitely not still in this pack," Kyan concluded.

"Good job Kyan," I offered, "Is that what I'm supposed to say? Praise you for doing nothing? This is your entire job, what you're supposed to be the best at,, yet,, somehow, my mate has been gone for how long now and all you have to say to me is 'she's not in this pack. If she's not in this pack, find out where she fucking is! If that girl is not found, and soon, I promise you, heads will roll."

I thought about throwing the pack doctor in the dungeons. He had been beyond careless with my mate. He knew that she was my mate. The gossip mill in our small pack is notoriously vigorous . Plus he had certainly seen firsthand how devoted I was to Anaya.

Someone must have picked her up from the Clinic. I couldn't figure out a motive, but it had been too easy for them to walk in and snatch her. And if they had bundled her away without being seen by one single staff, then their negligence bordered on the criminal.

Or so I decided. Thinking about her, I felt the familiar tightening that often signified that Anaya was in some kind of physical or emotional pain. It shot through my left breast, sending spasms to my head. As the feeling embraced me, I cracked a smile. Even if she was in pain, Anaya was alive. I just knew it.

I found it curious that I could feel her pain even though her mark had been torn out. I'd assumed we would go back to being no different from strangers but I could say that I now felt her emotions even stronger than I did before.

I had retreated to the bunker. It was the only place I would be able to get any peace and quiet and try to figure this thing out. I was just starting to become engrossed in my thinking when my phone started ringing.

I frowned, I had blocked my mind from mindlinks for a reason. I looked at the screen and saw that it was my mother. I rolled my eyes and declined the call.

I had no intention whatsoever of attending that wedding. If she liked Selene that much, she could go marry her, but I wasn't going to be co opted into any such arrangement. Surely she knew that by now.

The phone rang again but I left it and it rang through, then started to ring again. So I clicked on the receive button, getting tired of the disturbance.

"What?" I snapped into the phone.

"Alexander," She started and I sensed instantly that she was furious, "Look, you have to get to the house right away."

I hesitated, but something in her tone told me that this was urgent so I abandoned the place and headed to the house.

I found the group in the living room; Selene, her parents, and mine.

The tension in the room could be sliced through with a blunt knife.

I took a seat next to my mother, after nodding my head in acknowledgement of Selene's parents. Even though they were much older than me, I was still higher than them in rank. The nod was merely good manners.

"Alexander," my mother began, "To say that you have grossly disappointed us these past few days, would be an understatement."

In spite of the anger that she so effortlessly concealed, she looked quite stunning in a peach lace midi dress.

I stared studiously, at the high polish of my leather shoes, crossed at the ankle.

"We have gone to such great lengths to ensure that you and your fiancée are afforded a befitting...."

Selene's father's loud voice cut right in, "You will not embarrass our daughter any further. We certainly took it for granted that you would understand the merits of such a strategic union."

I shot him a sharp glance, the man was a clown and he certainly wasn't getting any better with age.

"The wedding is OFF" He added, getting onto his feet and helping his wife up. I looked at them dressed to the nines and felt pity. How could people be so delusional?

"The wedding never existed sir. If all of you had merely listened when I said no at the very beginning, it wouldn't have come to this, would it?" I smirked, "Besides, you left your...property."

I indicated Selene, who was looking at me, her eyes still puffy and red, her mouth round with shock.

"I wouldn't want any more visits to my bedroom," I got up, "Now, if you would excuse me, I have a mate to find."

Someone stumbled into me as I left the house, "Alpha Alex!"

I stared at the girl in front of me and vaguely recognised her, "Are you okay?"

"Anaya. I've been trying to find you. You're quite difficult to find, do you know that? I came the other day and you were out and-"

I cut her off, "What do you know about Anaya?"

"Oh right! I saw her the day she disappeared. She was taking a walk. She said she was going to stroll to the borders. She looked pale, but she said she was doing well, had this pretty pretty flower in her hair and..."

Her voice became a distant hum as I tuned her out.

Shit I needed to find Kyan and Tim.