Safe Haven

Chapter 28

The sun had barely risen when Olive woke the next morning. She hadn't slept well, lying awake well after Benjamin had fallen asleep. She lay in bed beside him, mind churning, feeling scared and helpless and also horribly guilty. She was the one that had gotten his pack into this mess, putting them all in danger, despite his efforts to convince her otherwise.

She finally got up when faint sunlight began to show around the edge of the curtains, slipping silently from the bed and padding softly to her room to get dressed. She managed to sneak into the hallway without disturbing Benjamin and went down to the kitchen to get coffee.

Olive must be the only person awake at this hour. The entire building was silent, the dining room and the kitchen were both empty, lights off. She flipped the switches on as she walked past, bathing everything in the harsh florescent lighting. She poked around in the kitchen, finding everything she needed to start brewing coffee. Olive felt oddly proud of herself for accomplishing that much without setting fire to the kitchen. She'd really have to ask Ren about more cooking lessons. Or maybe, she could ask the ladies that seemed to always bein the kitchen at every meal. Surely someone would be able to supervise her while she cooked.

She hummed to herself quietly as she waited for the coffee to finish, setting out the serving tray that contained stacks of cups and bowls of sugar.

Olive never saw the attack coming.

One moment she was reaching for the handle of the coffee pot, the next minute she was unconscious on the floor.

Benjamin woke suddenly out of a dead sleep. He lay there for a moment, trying to figure out what was wrong, what had woken him. The bed was empty beside him, Olive must be awake already. He rolled over, glancing at the bathroom, but the door was open and the light was off. He pushed himself up onto his elbows.

"Olive?" He called out, but there was no response. Dissatisfied with the silence of the rooms, Benjamin rolled out of bed and went down the hallway, but Olive's bedroom was also empty and dark.

Muttering curses, he dressed quickly and left. He caught Olive's scent going downstairs and towards the kitchen. The lights were all on downstairs and he could smell the fresh coffee mixed with her scent, and he felt better as he entered the dining room and turned to the kitchen.

Again he was met with an empty room.

Her smell was here alright, albeit faint, but there was definitely no sign of Olive in the kitchen. He went back out, slowly, sniffing as he went. He went back out into the entryway. Her scent was here too but very faint, drifting toward the door. Heart in his throat, Benjamin went outside.

Her scent still hung in the air right outside the door but the farther he got, the fainter it became, until it disappeared completely and he was left standing along in the middle of the path with no sign of Olive. His pulse was racing and his chest was tight with worry.

He saw a warrior further down the path and whistled, catching his attention. The warrior nodded when he saw Benjamin and trotted over.

"Alpha," he greeted, "What can I do for you?"

"Have you seen my mate, Gavin? She got up before me this morning and I can't find her anywhere."

Gavin shook his head.

"No, sir, I haven't seen her since yesterday at dinner."

Benjamin nodded, dismissing Gavin. The pit of fear in his stomach was growing. Maybe Olive had gone to his office? He headed that direction, praying that he'd find her at his desk, maybe going over something in that damn book they'd gotten from Alpha Patrick.