I stared at my father and Gia in shock, my eyes wide and doe like.
"What do you mean he's missing?" I asked, shaking my head.
"He wasn't in his bed this morning," replied my Dad, rubbing his hands down his face in angst as he huffed, his face masked with concern.
"He never leaves without letting someone know," I muttered, averting my gaze, swallowing harshly.
"We've looked all over the grounds, and we can't find him," said Gia, folding her arms across her chest, chewing at her bottom lip.
"He couldn't have gone far. Does Alpha Paul know he's missing?"
My father shook his head. "No, we were waiting until we had heard from you, just in case you knew where he was."
"I'm sorry, I should have answered my phone," I mumbled, running my hands through my dark hair.
"It's fine, you're here now, but we need to go and let Alpha Paul know," comforted Gia, following my Dad out of the door.
I followed them across the grounds towards Alpha Paul's office, racking my brain for answers as to why Jared had left. I was trying to tell myself that there was a reasonable explanation, but I couldn't help but think of the worst, and I was scared that he was lost and hurt.
Jared hadn't been himself lately, and I knew he was struggling with the fact that he had to watch the fighters live out his dream role, knowing that it was something he would never be able to do.
I was worried he had left because I had pushed him into training with Dylan, and secretly it was all just too much for him, despite the excitement he portrayed.
I was trying to give Jared as much as I could, and all I wanted was for him to be happy, but I knew I couldn't take the pain away fully.
I noticed the pained look on his face when he would watch other people shift and run around happily, pretending to be happy when really he felt low and alone.
Leaving the pack to go and become Luna made me worried for Jared, because I knew he would feel even lonelier not having me around. I was confident Gia would look after him, but I couldn't help but panic at the thought of Jared feeling so vulnerable.
Gia grabbed my hand, squeezing it tightly as we rounded the corner, making our way to Alpha Paul's office door quickly. My Dad knocked eagerly, shifting his weight from foot to foot as he chewed on his bottom lip, clearly overwhelmed with worry.
Alpha Paul opened the door, raising his eyebrows as he took in our worried faces, confusion masking his old face. "Can I help?"
"Yes, I need to report my son as missing," stated my Dad, his voice slightly wavering.
Alpha Paul's eyes widened, shock overcoming his face before he composed himself, nodding. "Right, when was the last time you saw him?"
"Last night before bed."
Paul furrowed his brows, shaking his head as he nodded slowly. "I'm afraid there's nothing I can do at this time. He's only classed as missing until twenty four hours have passed. He may have just gone on a run."
"Alpha Paul, we are talking about my son Jared Mason who uses a wheelchair. We've asked around, and nobody has said they've seen him," replied my Dad, his voice stern.
"Ah, yes, I know Jared. Well, if he is still missing after this evening, we can organise a search party of volunteers," said Alpha Paul, attempting to shut the door, but stopping once he saw my furious face.
"Volunteers? Why don't we use the fighters, they're trained in this?" I asked, anger bubbling up inside of me.
"Oh, no, the fighters are training with Alpha Dylan, as you know," said Alpha Paul, shaking his head. "They don't have time to be searching for wolves who have gone walkabout."
"Are you kidding?" scoffed Gia, rolling her eyes and gritting her teeth, clearly unimpressed.
"Watch your tone with me young lady," warned Paul, shooting Gia a quick glare, causing her to drop her gaze, mumbling a quiet apology.
"Alpha, couldn't the fighters skip a training session, I mean, this is my son we are talking about?" pleaded my father, his sorrowful tone causing my heart to twang.
Alpha Paul chuckled, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. "My fighters are what keep this pack safe, so to answer your question, no, they cannot skip a training session!"
"I don't see why-"
"If Jared Mason is still missing after a twenty four hour period since his last sighting, then a search party can be organised. Until then, nothing can be done. Do I make myself clear?" growled Alpha Paul, interrupting me, causing me to clench my fists by my side, the urge to scream at him becoming almost unbearable.
"Yes Alpha," replied my father, dropping his head as he sighed, shaking his head.
"I'm going to let Dylan know," I said through gritted teeth, leading my Dad away from Alpha Paul's office, wrapping my arm around his shoulder.
"Is that a good idea?" asked my father, raising his eyebrows at me.
I nodded, causing Gia to wrap her arm around my Dad's other shoulder, forcing a sad smile.
"We'll find him Mr Mason."
"Gia, please, call me Patrick," replied my father, causing Gia to force a smile, turning to me.
"Let me know what Dylan says," she called as I started to slowly jog away, nodding to her before making my way down the hill towards Dylan's small log cabin.
I gazed up at the gloomy sky as I ran, not liking how dark it was getting so quickly, pushing myself to run faster, almost slipping over on the glassy wet mud beneath me.
I had grown up respecting Alpha Paul, and I had always thought he was a pretty decent leader, but lately, his true colours had been put on show. He was selfish and unmannered, and he appeared to put himself before his pack.
I understood his want for the fighters to be well trained and for his pack to be safe, but missing one training session surely wouldn't cause much disruption, especially since a lot of their skills would be put to the test during a real life search.
I shook my head to myself as I approached the cabin, clambering down the hill as safely as I could. Pounding on the door, emotion overcame me as a very worried looking Dylan appeared, looking me up and down, his brows furrowed.
"Jared's missing," I cried, attempting to hold back the tears that were forcing their way out, rolling down my pale cheeks.
Dylan grabbed my hand gently, quickly walking me towards his couch, sitting me down. He kneeled down in front of me, looking up at me through thick eyelashes, his mouth set in a firm line.
"When was the last time he was seen?" asked Dylan, his tone completely serious.
"My Dad said he saw him last night before bed," I replied, wiping at my face, attempting to slow my breathing down.
"Okay, and where have you looked?"
"My Dad and Gia said they've looked everywhere on the grounds, but he rarely leaves the house Dylan, and if he does, he always lets someone know where he's going."
Dylan nodded, hopping to his feet, pacing around the room. "So, this isn't like him at all?"
I shook my head, taking a big breath and leaning back into the couch, flopping my head back.
"Is Paul aware?" asked Dylan, hovering in the doorway between his living room and the bedroom, his arms braced against the door frame, causing his biceps to flex, gaining my attention immediately.
"Yeah, he said he won't do anything because it hasn't been over twenty four hours yet, and if he's still missing by then, he will get volunteers to form a search party."
Dylan cocked his head, the cogs seeming to turn in his mind as he gazed at the ground. "Why doesn't he get the fighters to go out and search? Surely this is what they are for?"
I rolled my eyes, nodding in agreement, chewing at my fingernails anxiously. "That's what my father said, but Alpha Paul really wasn't having any of it."
"Right, well I'll cancel the training session tonight, and we will go out and look for Jared," said Dylan, grabbing his coat from the couch arm, and pulling it on.
"I don't think Alpha Paul will let you."
Dylan rolled his eyes, making his way over to me and cupping my face. "I can reschedule it. This is too important."
"Do you think it's because of me? Because I pushed him to train when he wasn't ready?" I asked, my voice slightly shaking.
Dylan scrunched up his nose, shaking his head. "No, it's not your fault Clara. We will find him."
I leaned forward, locking lips with my mate, enjoying the feeling of his comfort, allowing it to calm my wolf and I. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him closer to me, before quickly pulling away, forcing myself to stop.
"We need to find Jared," I spoke, causing Dylan to nod at me, grabbing my hand and leading me towards the door, but before we stepped out into the night, my phone buzzed. I pulled it out of my pocket, quickly answering it, hoping it was Gia letting me know that Jared had been found.
"Gia, what's up?" I said eagerly, hoping for some good news.
"Hey, your Dad has gone home to wait for Jared there in case he shows up, he said it's getting dark and there's a storm brewing, he doesn't want us searching out in the woods when it's not safe, so I'm at home now."
"Wait, what? We're leaving Jared out there in the cold?" I spluttered, shaking my head, gripping my phone even harder.
"We've looked everywhere we could think of Clara, and we can't think of anywhere else he'd be. Your Dad said it was best to wait to see if he comes home tonight, and if he doesn't, then we can search for him in the morning'" said Gia, guilt lacing her voice.
"Is this because of what Alpha Paul said?" I growled, causing my mate to raise his eyebrows at me.
I heard Gia sigh, and I knew she was torn on what to say. "Your Dad doesn't want anyone to get in trouble with Alpha Paul, or hurt out there in the woods. We need to think about this reasonably, Jared may have just gone out into town for a bit."
"Dylan said he's going to help us look for him."
"He shouldn't cancel the training session Clara, Alpha Paul won't allow it," warned Gia, panic lacing her voice.
"Well, what do you expect me to do Gia? If my brother is out there, I need to find him! I know he hasn't been missing long, but it just really doesn't seem like him to leave without telling anybody. I'm just worried!" I said loudly, anger lacing my tone.
"I know, I'm sorry," mumbled my best friend, sighing. "Let's at least wait a few hours, and then, if Jared's still not here, I'll come with you and Dylan to search. It's getting dark, so Jared might be heading home now if he's out."
I sighed, closing my eyes and swallowing harshly. "Okay, I'll call you later."
I knew I needed to think about the situation logically, but my brain couldn't help but make up crazy and unrealistic scenarios in my head.
However, Gia had planted some hope in my mind, and I knew that there was a chance that Jared had just finally decided he wanted some independence.
I set my phone down on the table in front of me, rubbing my hands down my face. "My Dad wants to wait to see if Jared comes back tonight."
"Is he sure?" asked my mate, raising his eyebrows.
I nodded, settling down on the couch again, kicking off my shoes. "Gia said if he isn't back in a few hours, then she will help me look for him."
"Okay, why don't you stay here whilst I'm training the fighters, and then if Jared still isn't here by the time I'm finished, we can all go out and look for him?" suggested my mate, settling down on the couch next to me, pulling off his coat.
"Thank you," I replied, smiling slightly, snuggling up to Dylan's shoulder, wrapping my arm over his chest.
"Clara, can Jared...shift?" asked Dylan, seeming uncomfortable as he asked, causing me to chuckle slightly.
"You can ask questions about him Dylan. It's not rude," I said, causing him to nod. "And yes, technically he can shift, but he still can't use his legs in wolf form, so there isn't much point in doing it."
"His wolf must be going crazy, being cooped up like that all the time."
"Yeah, sometimes he sleeps in wolf form to try and help, but he suffers with pretty bad irritability because of it," I replied, sighing.
"When we first met, you said that he had the accident shortly after your mother left?"
I nodded, swallowing, heartache overwhelming me at the mention of my mother. "Yeah, sometimes I wonder if she even knows that Jared had the accident. My father tried calling her and trying to find her after it happened, because he needed help, but she had changed her number and had left town."
"I'm sorry that you had to go through that, it's not right that she left," comforted my mate, caressing my cheek with the pad of his thumb.
"I don't blame her for choosing her mate over my Dad, but she didn't have to leave her own children. I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive her for it. I guess it was stupid of them to have children together when they both knew that their mates were out there somewhere. Technically, I shouldn't even be alive."
Dylan scowled at me, a small growl echoing in his chest. "Don't say that, a lot of people never even meet their mates, so how were your parents supposed to know? You're here for a reason, Clara."
I cleared my throat, sighing deeply as I lay my head on Dylan's chest, the sound of his steady heartbeat soothing me.
"What was your Mother's name?"
"Marie, why? Don't go trying to find her, Dylan," I warned, sitting up and raising my eyebrows.
Dylan widened his eyes, holding his palms up defensively. "No, don't worry, I won't."
I nodding, relief surging throughout my veins. "I wouldn't even know what to say to her. I mean, I'll always love her because she's my mother, but a part of me kind of hates her. She chose her mate over us, and I've never understood why she couldn't have both."
"Did you meet her mate?"
"No, I don't know who he is," I replied, chewing on my lip. "I just hope he's treating her right."
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I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please vote and comment if you liked it, as it really helps me out!
I was going to update yesterday, but it was my birthday, so I hope you didn't mind waiting!
How are you finding the story so far? Who's your favourite character?
Where do you think Jared is?
What do you think of Alpha Paul?
Lots of love xxx