Embraced Scars

Chapter Twenty

"Annabelle." I replied, breathing deeply. He looked confused for a moment, then understanding filled his features.

"I'm sorry Alpha..." Brett muttered, looking down.

"Let's go and see if we can find those rogues." I replied, heaving myself painfully to my feet. My whole body felt like it was on fire. I leant on my desk for a second, getting my breath back then marched out the door, not looking at Cody or Brett.

Around an hour later we were stood at the dockyards, a small group of us surveying the area. The rogues had been sighted about an hour and a half ago, but we were unsure where they'd actually gone.

The pain in my chest had eased off, but the emotional pain was still there. I tried to ignore it, distracting myself with the task at hand. I scanned the docklands, dark clouds blocking out the sun and making it harder to see every detail.

"OK, Cody, Brett and I will take the left and Zak, Mitchell and Noah can take the the right." I told them. My voice was harsher than I wanted, but my whole body went cold when I looked at Noah.

The whole right side of his face was swollen with black bruises, his lip split and his eye almost shut. He was limping heavily, his knuckles scraped. I had told him not to come, since I wasn't sure I could control myself. Just looking at him refuelled my rage, making me want to rip his limbs off.

We separated, walking carefully so not to miss anything. We weaved our way in and out of the warehouses, connected by twisting paths and roads. The buildings themselves were large, gray, metal structures with huge sliding doors for lorries to load and unload. There were numbers painted on the sides, letting us know where we'd already searched.

After an hour of looking, we still hadn't seen any rogues. There were plenty of humans, but we could tell there were no wolves in the area due to their scent. Wolves smelt more earthy, whereas humans tended to smell more clean and clinical.

I felt my mind drifting back to Annabelle. I couldn't feel her mind anymore and neither could the pack. It wasn't as if she was shutting us out using a mental block, she had vanished. We couldn't feel her presence in our pack link anymore, which was causing me to worry more than I thought possible. I knew she wasn't dead, because I would feel it. Even if she was blocking me, I would feel the loss of her mind and soul instantly.

The pack had suffered too. I hadn't realised how much the pack had come to accept her until she was gone. Despite her shy nature, once she warmed up to people she would just ooze kindness. A lot of people gravitated towards her, not only because of her gentle nature but because she had a different style of leading. Being the Luna, she was my equal, although she never once acted upon her power. She was so different from me. I followed my father, who ruled by fear and respect. Not only did Annabelle show the pack a new leading style, but me too. She had taught me to be a better person in the few short weeks we'd been together, making me laugh more than I ever had.

"Hi sweetie." Annabelle cooed, leaning closer to Zak and going onto her toes to see the tiny bundle in his arms better. "God, he's so perfect."

"Isn't he just?" Ellie said, a proud smile on her face as she gazed at her son.

I grinned, watching Annabelle's face light up as Sam let out a little yawn and snuggled closer into Zak's embrace. The way she acted around the child pleased me and my wolf. It proved she was perfect Luna material. The role of the Luna was to act as the packs mother, if you will. Judging by the way she was staring at the baby, I knew she would do just fine.

I hadn't realized how much the pack needed her. How much I needed her. It was like a hole had been blown into my chest, ripping my heart and my soul out with it. I shook my head. I can't think of things like this now. We had to find the rogues before they attack.