I had left Ember's room after thinking for several more miserable minutes. I should start investigating, searching, looking. I know that I won't forgive myself if I don't do everything in my power to help find her. My first person of interest would be Axel, considering they're best friends.
I make my way down the long hallway to his room. He lived in the first pack house as well, soon after Ember had befriended him. Remi had always lived there, but I cannot recall why. My hands form a fist as I knock lightly on his door. There is no answer, so I knock firmer. I pause, hearing nothing. I shove on the door, hand on the knob as I twist. It's locked. Frustrated, I kick the door, just has my foot is lifted and flying towards the familiar oak, it flies open and my foot meets something foreign. Uh oh.
Axel immediately crumples to the floor in the fetal position. "Oh my, holy mother of-" he cries out. I bite my lip to hide back a laugh.
"I didn't mean to do that," I say quickly, chuckle hidden in my voice. He lifts his face, forcing a glare but is overcome with intense pain.
"Just give me a minute," he squeaks out. I step over his curled up body and to his bed, where I quietly sit. Another minute passes before he lets out a wheeze as he pulls himself up. He leans against the door frame, red faced.
"Sorry about that," I apologize, rubbing the back of my neck. He pulls over his desk chair. He parks it directly in front of me before dropping himself carefully into the seat.
"What can I help you with?" and with that, he's back to the normal Axel; calm and in control. Or, that's at least what I see, but I have a feeling that's just a mask.
"Ember is missing," I start. He nods his head, aware, "and I thought I could start, um, investigating? You seemed like the first person to check with." Axel nods again, and agrees to answer my questions. "When and where was the last place you saw Ember?"
"Well," he chuckles nervously, "I was waiting for her outside the assembly hall. I had run off to our meeting spot- the old treehouse. And for a few minutes, she was following me. I guess somewhere along the way she stopped- or was stopped I guess."
"And what were you guys doing at the treehouse? Why did you have to meet there?"
"Just some friends, y'know," he is clearly nervous and isn't telling the whole truth. I narrow my eyes at him as he deflates, defeated. His eyes darken a bit. "We did something we shouldn't have."
"What?" I press. I needed to know. Before Axel can open his mouth, another figure barges into the room. My eyes snap forward at who it is. "Dad?"
"Alpha! Hi, I was just talking with Everest," he quickly stands up, tripping over his own feet. He flies, face first, into the tan-tinted carpeting. I don't hide back my chuckle as he jumps up half a second later, visibly sweating. Blood starts to pour from his nose. My dad raises an eyebrow at him as Axel stands still, blood dripping down his face.
"Your nose," my dad points out as Axel's fingers shoot up, feeling the downpour.
"Oh my goodness! I didn't even notice. Well, it was nice seeing you, Alpha," he says in a single breath as he speeds past my dad. He looks back at me with a concerned look. I shrug my shoulders.
"So, anyway, the service is today," my dad states casually. My eyes widen.
"She's not dead. We can't have a service for someone who isn't even-"
"Everest. I meant your service. Today is the day you go into the real world," my dad shakes his head at me, fingers resting on his temple. My heart rate returns to normal.
"Oh. Oh," I say. I've always dreamed of this, but can I really go right now? My parents need me. I can see the lack of sleep gathering under his eyes to form dark circles. I shake my head; I can't abandon them now. "I can't go. Not yet."
Relief floods his face, but he quickly tries to cover it up. I understand. He has enough to worry about right now anyway. "It's all up to you, bud."
"I know. I can't leave right now. I need to find her." I stand up, brushing off my shorts. But for now, I have to continue my conversation with Axel because he is acting strangely suspicious. I breeze past my dad. I should give him some time to recover first, so who should I talk to next? I suppose I can talk to Beta Brayden's daughter, Scarlett.
She was undeniably beautiful but I had never thought anymore of her. She practically throws herself at me, which I am not for. I actually very rarely sleep with girls because I want a good first impression on my mate, I don't want her to think I am some sort of player.
When I find her, she isn't in her room, thankfully, she is sitting with someone unfamiliar to me. I stop dead in my tracks the girl turns around. She has beautiful dark, chocolately eyes. I feel a zap of electricity run through me as our eyes lock. My mouth hangs open, shocked. I am, for the first time, completely and utterly speechless. She is the first to speak.
"Mate," she whispers. Her voice sounds like a piece of paradise. I can see myself, years down the line, only listening to her voice for an entire day. Scarlett clears her throat, eyebrow arched.
"I-I," I trip over my words as I struggle to introduce myself. This isn't how I expected it to go. The mystery girl lets out a small giggle. I feel my knees go weak. "I'm Everest."
"I'm Valencia," she extends her hand, a slight blush forms on her dark skin. I can barely feel myself walking forward, but somehow, I am planted in front of her, hand wrapping around her own.
"That's a beautiful name," I breathe, unintentionally. She closes her eyes, smiling.
"Thank you, I got it for my birthday," she opens them again, mischief evident in her wide eyes. I grin at her. "It means brave and strong."
"My name means a mountain," I blush at what I had just said, "you probably knew that. Sorry. I wish I was more prepared for this."
"It's okay. Did you need something?" she drops my hand, looking at me with kind eyes. I finally get a good look at her. She is wearing a baby pink sweater dress with a heart necklace overtop. Her hair is pulled back into soft pigtails, spouting from either side of her head. Her hair is dyed a deep plum color. To top it all off, she wears baby pink heart-framed glasses. My breath has officially been taken away. I direct my attention back to Scarlett. Her beauty seems immeasurable compared to my mate.
"Yes, I need to talk to Scarlett for a few minutes," her deep blue eyes fill with shock and delight.
"About?" she twirls her short, sea-green colored hair around her thin finger.
"Ember," she drops her hair and straightens up, "I'm talking to as many people as I can to find out more."
"Of course," she bobs her head, smiling. Valencia's eyes focus, shifting between us. A question rests in her eyes. I turn to her before she can ask.
"Ember is my little sister, not so little actually. She's 17, and she went missing yesterday," worry fills her eyes. She grabs both of my hands.
"We'll do everything we can to help find her," she promises. She lowers her lips to my knuckles as she presses them to her softly. Another shock zaps through me as I smile. She smiles up at me too.
Scarlett clears her throat again, clearly annoyed. We drop each other's ands again and I turn away from her. Now facing Scarlett, I motion towards the couch. "Shall we talk then?"
-_-_-_-_-
Author's Note:
Hi again y'all! I'm sorta writing in bulk so I'll have plenty of chapters saved up for the future. I hope all 3 of you that are reading are having a lovely day. I hope you all like our new characters, Scarlett and Valencia. Harper was going to be Valencia's name, but it didn't have a meaning that stuck out to me so I chose Valencia. I made them into more anime characters so here they are:
Anyway, don't forget to vote and comment!
ILYSM!!
~Galaxy Potato <<<<<333333