****Payton's POV*****
I raced after Chase as he led me through the thick woods to a cabin tucked into a small opening in the trees. Patrol said they had spotted movement lately and picked up Katherine's scent nearby and they immediately informed Alpha Raider and myself. I had been so mad at Katherine for ignoring me and giving me the cold shoulder since we'd gotten to the Blue Moon territory; as her mate she belonged to me and the implications of this ran through my head constantly when I considered where she might have been taken to. She could be hurt somewhere because she insisted on saving those pack members, if she'd just let me train everyone then I would have been me the rogues had attacked and she would be safe at the pack house.
I came to a halt as the old, wooden cabin rose into my sight. I sniffed the thick air, smelling wood and wet soil before I caught Katherine's scent quickly and raced inside the damp cabin. I shifted and looked around me in search of the usual signs of rogues such as blood and chains o the walls: brown leather couch sat in the far corner of a comfortable looking room, and a large flat screen stood proudly against the opposite wall from where I stood as a wolf on my paws. The walls were a dark forest green, and the floors were a nice oak setting. Katherine's scent was a bit stronger here inside what could be assumed to be the living room. I followed Katherine's scent up a set of stairs and down a narrow hallway, and as I opened a door on the right, her smell wafted heavily into my nostrils in a large bedroom where the scent was most prominent. Inside was a large bed with silk sheets and brown, wooden posts supporting the mattress. Alpha Michael was standing on the other side of the bed, his face a mask of pale terror. I scanned the room swiftly, noticing nothing out of the ordinary; then why is Alpha Michael so shocked?
I rounded to the other side of the large bed before following Michael's gaze and staring intensely. There, laying in the floor, was a pair of broken handcuffs and a set of dirty, but most definitely, Katherine's clothes. My wolf howled angrily inside me. Why was she here, who took my mate and handcuffed her to a bed in a cabin in the middle of no where. Why would her clothes be here on the ground if they aren't covering her beautiful body? If they've touched her we will rip them to pieces.
"I swear on my life, when I find who did this, I will kill them, slowly, painfully, and watch as every ounce of life drains from their eyes as I separate their heads from their necks." Murmured Alpha Michael angrily. He punched a nearby wall, bursting a large hole into the wood and drywall.
I roll my eyes and leave the large cabin, "follow her scent. Now. Find her and bring her back." I said evenly to my patrol leader.
I will have her.
*******Michael's POV********
I searched the entire cabin for Katherine or any leads as to where she was taken. I had arrived to the dark, and damp cabin of horrors first before Alpha Thomas. Not that it was hard to out run him and his beta. He didn't seem to be all there, he seemed distant, as if Katherine didn't even matter to him. I've also heard rumors about Alpha Thomas and Katherine's relationship before they'd come to my territory. The pack could sometimes hear yelling and loud noises coming from the upper floors of the pack house that the alpha reserved for himself and his "mate." They have said that after the long nights, the next morning Katherine would walk down those stairs, wearing a scarf or a turtleneck to cover the bruises. She apparently only told her closest friends what had happened the night before, though it wasn't hard for the others to put the pieces together. The beta's mate, Emily, was the person to tell me about Alpha Thomas's abuse towards Katherine.
Emily was also the strong she-wolf who held be back from ripping Alpha Thomas's throat out after hearing of what he put my mate through.
I may have treated her badly, but why would she endure through abuse from an alpha male who wasn't even her mate, for two years? Why didn't she fight back? Maybe she did, but she knew the pack would pay the price. That seems heroic and something within me knew that my mate was definitely the self sacrificing type. It made my heart ache knowing she'd been hurting all this time because she felt she couldn't return to her family and friends. Because of me.
After searching every inch of the empty wooden cabin, I stalked outside to my patrol team and asked them to switch shifts and tell the new team to meet me here to search for Katherine.
They nodded before they all quickly shifted and sprinted off to the pack house to gather the new patrol team. As Alpha, I take my role very seriously, I don't allow my pack members to patrol for more than eight hours at a time. As I waited for the new patrol team to arrive, I pulled on my basketball shorts I had Logan grab for himself and I before we left. I looked around the thick forest around me: it was such an odd place to keep someone held captive. What was even more strange was that my men hadn't noticed it before.
The entire cabin was empty of rogues, yet there were recent signs of life and it wasn't necessarily a small group of individuals. Someone had been living there for at least a few weeks, and I could smell my mate in the upstairs bedroom and bathroom. Which also meant that they'd had Katherine held here for the entire time she'd been missing, yet they allowed her to shower and sleep in a king sized bed. Her scent wasn't alone in the bed, which had sent my wolf over the edge knowing she'd been handcuffed and forced to sleep next to another man.
This wasn't some random attack. This was planned.
I growled lowly thinking of some rouge creep taking Katherine here to this cabin, and handcuffing her to that bed in the back bedroom. What did he do to her? What if he tortured her? I didn't find any signs of torture. That doesn't mean whoever this is isn't good at covering his tracks. He better not have hurt her. As I promised Alpha Thomas in the large bedroom earlier, I will find whoever has taken my mate.
I will kill them.
****Katherine's POV*****
After recovering from the shock of discovering Linda was a gifted white wolf like me, I stood back up and hugged her tightly. It felt so amazing knowing that I wasn't alone after all.
"If you would like, we could teach you to control your powers. To use them against your enemies." John said softly as he kept a steady hand on my lower back to keep me up.
I simply nodded enthusiastically, and smiled over at him, "yes, please teach me. I have a sense of my powers, but I don't know how to control them like Linda." I said quickly.
If I can learn this, then I can defeat Sergio. I can go home. Wherever that may be. Linda smiled encouragingly, her cheeks wrinkling over the lines of age and past smiles. I stared at John motivated and patiently waited for his reply.
*******
"Well that's a better try but, try more to the left. No! That's too far left! Focus Katherine. Feel the earth in your veins." John shouted at me from my left.
I clenched my eyes closed tightly and opened them quick enough to doge another large boulder hurtling towards me. This was John's idea of teaching me to control my powers. He taught me how to pick up rocks and boulders from the soil in front of me with my mind and hold them in the air. The problem with that was that he also had Linda throw more rocks and boulders at me.
Now covered in sweat, dirt, and dust, Linda and I had been throwing and crushing boulders at each other for an hour and a half.
I sighed as John allowed us to cease the battle as we both looked exhausted. I fell to the dirt-covered ground and closed my eyes. I am normally more energetic and have amazing endurance even for a wolf, but using my powers so strongly all of a sudden really drained me. It seemed to have had similar effects to Linda as I watched her tumble to the earth as soon as I did.
John chuckled and clapped his rough, callous-covered hands together; "great job ladies. Next we will be learning water offense and defense!" He exclaimed excitedly and smiled.
Linda and I groaned protests.
The sun had begun to set behind us, slinking low below the tree line around the house.
"Don't worry ladies, water is saved for tomorrow. As of now, let's get inside and get somethin' to eat. I'm starving!" He said happily, rubbing his stomach as he stared down at Linda and I laying in the dirt still exhausted.
"Comm'on sleepy heads! Someone's gotta make me some dinner!" He chuckled.
Linda and I both throw pebbles at him and he laughed trying to doge the flying earth. We giggled and eventually I stood up, feeling every muscle contract. I helped Linda up and we limped into the cool house quietly.
After showering and changing, I laid on the big, quilted bed in my room. I sighed, closing my eyes tiredly. It had been a good day; I was learning quickly and it helped that I had sweet John and Linda helping me every step of the way. The smell of fried chicken wafted into the room and I quickly rushed to the kitchen to help Linda set the table before sitting down for dinner.
After eating a delightful meal with my new friends, I said my goodnights to the elderly couple, and headed to bed. After laying in the bed for a few sweet seconds, I fell fast asleep with dreams of the Moon Goddess haunting my night.