Chapter 10
*Adam's POV*
Suddenly it all felt empty. I felt my stomach churn and before I could even register what had happened I felt a croak like sound claw its way up my throat. The plate in my hand dropped to the floor shattering across my feet.
"Adam!" Dad's voice was harsh at my reckless clumsiness, but Mom's hands wrapped around my arm guiding me backwards to a barstool. The new house was small and still smelled of fresh paint, but since it was only the three of us we didn't mind.
It had only been a few days into our residence and we had attempted to make it a tradition to always sit down for dinner at precisely seven. I think the routine brought mom peace and it forced her to remove herself from the dark should have been nursery. In that moment I never thought seven o'clock could be a peaceful time for me again.
"It's gone. She's gone." Dad looked hopelessly confused and a small sob came out of Mom's mouth. I wasn't sure if she had been holding it in the whole evening or if this one was new, but it made my stomach turn harder.
"When did you last hear from her?" Dinner was all but forgotten as he pushed himself away from the table. His boots crunched up the plate into further tiny pieces. Even though it felt like days since the connection was severed, in reality it had only taken him seconds to catch up.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and scrolled down to find her name. "One. Earlier today. She said there was family drama. She checked into a hotel. What's happening?"
"We need to go check on her. What hotel?"
This time I felt the warmth behind my eyes as I had to force back tears. "I don't know. I didn't ask. I thought I would be able to find her if she needed me because of the bond, but it's gone. I don't even know why she was there in the first place. She just said family drama."
His face went stern for a second. He gently placed his hands on Mom's frail shoulders and pulled her away from where I was sitting. Her shoulders shook the falling apart bun on her head and her whole body shook underneath her pale blue pajamas. Once she was far enough away he kicked the chair out from underneath me with a hard shove. The bottom bar where someone's foot would normally sit snapped in half and I barely caught myself on the kitchen counter before my head slammed against it.
"What the hell dad?"
"You just lost your mate's energy and you're sitting here moping. Get your ass up and go to her pack house and figure out what is happening."
I shook my head hard and used the counter to push myself off towards the door. I used voice command to call Noah while I slid on my tennis shoes. I would have preferred the boots that were sitting next to them, but Dad was right. I needed to stop wasting time, and a whole lot of lace tying wasn't on my agenda.
Before I had even started the car Noah was pulling open the door while trying to slide his arm through a plain black shirt. I put the truck in reverse and began to back out of the driveway before the door had finished closing.
"You know running would be faster."
I nodded but then shook my head. "We are going to her pack's compound. If we show up in wolf form we will be considered a threat and wouldn't make it even close to the surrounding fence." I tossed him my phone. "Keep dialing until something happens."
I watched as every minute of the drive he would click her name only to have the phone ring once and go straight to voicemail. After the thirty minute drive, I had the words pretty much memorized.
"Hey this is Lily. I'm not picking up the phone right now so send me a text and I'll probably respond. Leave a message if you want." Beep.
Over and over again.
"Adam...you're just going to run your battery down. We'll try again later. Let's just focus on getting some answers."
My knuckles tightened on the steering wheel. I wished I could say that I felt myself fighting to shift into my wolf form, but I couldn't have felt farther away from it. My body didn't sense danger or a need to protect her. It was like she was gone. I didn't feel a wolf. I just felt empty and scared. What if her father had done something to her rather than risk me taking over her pack? What if her brother was so fearful of us trying to over throw him that he made her disappear? What if we didn't take Henry seriously enough and he was behind this?
"What if it's our fault Noah?"
He jerked his head back and stared at me like I was stupid. "What in the world could we have done? We only knew the girl for like a week?"
"Her powers were supposed to be a secret. Nobody is supposed to know. We come into town making it obvious what she is. We could have put a target on her back."
Before Noah could answer we pulled into the driveway. Her oldest brother opened the door and her mother started to push her way towards me. Her eyes were red rimmed and her cheeks were streaked with tears. I had expected to be welcomed into the house at least. If something had happened to her she was my mate after all, but John stepped onto the doorstep and shut the door behind him. Two porch lights sat high on either side of the door frame giving us all just enough light to see.
"You're not welcome here."
"I could care less if I am welcome here. Where is she?" His eyes widened barely long enough to notice then narrowed again.
"What trick is this? We know she is with you. She made her decision and now has to live with it."
I griped the railing and pushed my mind out with everything I had in me to try and feel any energy, but I just felt nothing. "I don't know what you're talking about. She texted me she was checking into a hotel for the night then about a half hour ago my connection to her was severed. I can't feel her energy. Her phone goes straight to voicemail. And now you're standing here going on about 'she made her choice.' Why don't you get out of my way and call the real alpha down here so we can try and see if there's anything left of her to save."
John's teeth bared and Noah responded with a low growl. Before either could shift a sharp bark sounded from behind us and we watched as a tall grey wolf shifted into Lily's father. Another slightly smaller brown wolf shifted next to him. I hadn't met the man before, but he looked like an older version of Josh.
"This is my beta. His son drove her out of the compound. He will meet you at the exit to take you to where she was left. I will have a group of no more than ten men prepared to help your pack if there is no other option, but she is your pack now. I can't be certain this isn't a trap to kill me by making me break our treaty."
"This is your own daughter." My eyes shot back to John. "Your own sister. And all you can muster is you're not welcome and here's a few men if you need them? This isn't the family I walked in to yesterday. I hope if she is alive somewhere she never has to know the betrayal that happened here." With that we turned our backs to them and got back in our car. I could sense her father's eyes burning holes into my back. I didn't know who was wise in this situation and who was naïve, but I knew if John's mate or his own mate had gone missing a war would start immediately. In fact it had happened.
My tires spun in the gravel as I backed the car out too quickly. Before we could fully get out of the driveway, Lily's mother burst through the door. I watched as John stretched his arm out blocking her from chasing the truck down the driveway. Her screams of sadness made something in my chest stir.
Was it her mother's heartbreak or did I feel a faint pull?
I glanced at the dash clock. 7:48. "This was a waste of time."
Noah nodded in agreement, but at least we would have Josh to lead us to the hotel. Josh's car was pulled off on the side of the road just outside the wooden gate. As our car approached we slowed down and flashed our headlights. The little black car pulled out in front of us and began to speed down the straightaway.
We followed each turn and swerve. As we got closer to town my breathing became panicked. My heart raced faster and something was crawling around in my stomach. I didn't feel sadness. I was idiotic and resigned myself to believing that because I felt nothing she must have been gone. My body reacted like the loss of a mate. But could that be the whole purpose?
If I thought she was just gone, maybe I wouldn't look. Maybe whoever took her would just keep her energy less somewhere they could use her powers. Maybe she really is gone and I will drive myself mad searching for her.
8:12
We pulled into a Days Inn and Josh pulled straight up to the room she should have been in. The rooms were outside so anyone could knock on her door. She had probably felt safer that way. So far inside she had less access to the elements. He was already halfway up the stairs before we had even parked the car. Noah and I quickly jumped out and followed him to where he stood in an open doorway.