Reagan

She left. She f*****g left me all by herself. I know she's safe. I can feel it, so she wasn't kidnaped or anything as such. She had run out on me of her own free will. I have my men searching the whole packs in California for her and have even set up a reward for anyone who finds her. But unluckily for me, there are over five hundred packs in this country, so it's hard getting to every single one of them so soon. I hate how slow those bastards that are meant to serve me are. Even the ones ordered to spy on her had let her slip past their eyes like f*****g incapable pricks. Right now, though, they're still nursing the injuries I gave every single one of them.

It's been three whole f*****g days since I last heard or saw Ellie. On the first day, my beast kept howling in pain and anger, promising to torture her when we found her. My mind had conjured various ways of punishment that would surely please me. Images of her tied up and begging as I have my way with her and mark her were the only things that kept me sane.

I interrogated her parents, but they were as clueless as me. I knew they weren't lying as I saw the visible worry in their eyes when I mentioned their daughter was missing. Then I interrogated werewolves in her dormitory, which all led to another dead end. I found out even her roommate was missing, meaning they had planned this together. This was why I didn't want her to go out. There were a lot of things that could influence her to leave me. Just look at what has happened now, a little time with her roommate, and she suddenly vanishes into thin air.

On the second day of her hunt, I was beginning to slowly slip into a state of depression as all my men that went to search for her all gave me negative feedbacks. I had questioned even that bitch that had confronted her, Stank, or was it Tracy? I'm not really sure what her name was right now. She had gotten to her knees and begged for her life when I threatened to end her miserable excuse of a life if she didn't tell me where my mate was. Unfortunately, even she was clueless, and so was her prick of a mate.

That Alpha brat had smirked in satisfaction when he heard my mate had left me. He was looking smug at my misery, and I wanted to end him right then. But Adrian had dragged my back, pleading with me not to do anything stupid. I could have overpowered my bodyguard easily, but I didn't have the time to waste as my mate was still nowhere to be found.

Now, I'm just desperate to see her again. I forgot about all the punishment I was going to bestow on her and promised myself I would take good care of her and make her happy always. I would do anything she wants me to and even roll over on my back if she wants me to just so she would never leave me again. My beast was clawing at my chest to let him out, so he can search for her himself since I wasn't doing a good job of it. But I know if I release him in this state, he would only spread mayhem and claw through any obstacle keeping me from her.

I feel so weak and suffocated without her. My beast kept growling in my head, and keeping him locked in was becoming harder. My room felt so empty without her, and her delicious scent was slowly fading away.

I am gripping the chair's armrest that I sit in with so much force, it begins to break under my grip, and Lexi waltz in just then, causing me to growl ferociously at her.

"Woah, calm down. It's just me." She raises her hand in mock surrender, but I still snarl at her. My beast blames her also as one of those that lets Ellie escape my clutches. If only she had followed her around at school, then she would still be here.

"Okay, you obviously hate my guts. But to be fair, I couldn't babysit your mate all day. We have different classes." She states defensively, but my eyes are still narrowed at her. Why was she even here?

She sighs before going to sit on my bed as my penetrating gaze follows her every move. "I have a way of finding her quickly." She announces, and my ears perk up then in interest.

"Obviously, you can't track her using her wolf because your beast hasn't marked her yet. So that's out of the question. But what if we've been looking at this all wrong. Before Ellie can go anywhere, she has to know someone that she would obviously crash with. And it would be in an isolated pack too, because that would make it harder to track her." She made sense. All this time, I've told my trackers to focus mainly in the cities since that's the only place she could be accepted. She can't just waltz into one of those isolated packs in villages or deep in the woods. They were pretty territorial.

My mate was a smart girl, I could tell. So she would have come up with a fool proof plan that would make me search for days or weeks even before finally finding her. She knows I'll eventually get her, but she also knows how to prolong that time from coming.

"Danny and I did some research, and we found out that after her former mate rejected her, she went to her aunt's pack located in a deep forest in Oakland. Red Moon Pack. It's isolated and cut out from the world. No one can easily find it unless you've been there before." I stand up then, my beast already squirming to be let out in the excitement of finally finding his mate.

Well, we haven't found her yet, but we're on a strong lead.

"It's a five-hour drive, but one hour if we use the jet." I don't even let her finish when I start to dial Adrian. He picks on the first ring like the good guard dog he is.

"Boss?"

"Prepare the jet. We're going to Oakland." I order briefly before cutting the call.

"Tell Daniel to get dressed." I turn to Lexi, whose eyes are already lighting up in excitement. "We leave in five minutes."

True to Lexi's words, the flight there was an hour and a few minutes. Luckily, Adrian was trained to know everything about the werewolf world, so he knew where the Red Moon pack was located. A Sedan was already prepared for us when we landed, and Adrian took the driver's side.

I was rigid in my seat at the back with Lexi while Daniel took the passenger's side. My dangerous aura filled the car, showcasing how frustrated I was. My only wish was that this wasn't another dead end.

I turn to Lexi, my beast coming out through my eyes to stare at her menacingly, "You better hope for your sake we find her this time. Or else, I will break both your arms and legs. " I threaten, and I see her visibly gulp in fear. I love my cousin, I really do. But my beast is on edge, and right now, he doesn't recognize anyone else.

True to what she had said, Red Moon Pack is isolated in the deep thick forest of Oakland. We drove for miles without a single sign of life and everywhere dead silent. I don't understand the desire of these werewolves to remain isolated in the woods when there's a big world out there to explore. They were denying themselves opportunities to develop and grow with other packs by making allies.

Dark clouds were beginning to gather in the sky, and I knew then it was about to pour. I kept fidgeting in my seat as the drive continued. The desire to finally see my mate was strong, and I could envision her beautiful face right now. Those captivating blue eyes that are filled with so much innocence, full long brown hair that cascades down her back like a waterfall before stopping right above her heart-shaped ass, and plumps red lips, that when pulled into a smile, brightens the whole room. I couldn't wait.

Soon, Adrian pulls out of the highway into a dirt road and keeps on driving for some minutes. My nose begins to pick up the scent of werewolves, and I knew we were close to the border. Some growls and snarls are heard from behind the forest, but they soon die down. Probably because they picked up our scents to be Lycans. We aren't interrupted as we drive further past the border, and soon, we arrive at our destination.

A group of werewolves is already lined up in front of the packhouse, waiting for us. Their patrol warriors in the forest must have alerted them of our presence, so they're here to properly welcome us. They're probably surprised and confused as to what Lycans were doing here. They would be even more astounded if they found out my real rank.

A young werewolf stands in front, and I can smell he's the Alpha. We all glide out of the car with arrogance, taking our time even though what I want to do is torture every single one of them till they tell me where my mate was. I stride over to the lined-up werewolves with my eyes fixed on the Alpha at front. A low rumble of thunder sounds from above as the wind blows by us, carrying with them the dry leaves on the floor. It was getting darker out here, and the temperature was beginning to drop.

"Welcome to Red Moon..."

"Where is she?" I cut off the Alpha from his welcoming speech, and he's left tongue-tied at my hostile tone. He blinks at me in shock as I stride closer to him until we were almost chest to chest. He gulps in fear but quickly composes himself not to embarrass himself in front of his subjects.

"I'm sorry, we don't understand..." He begins to say only for a snarl to be heard that emitted from me. He cringes back in fright as my eyes glow my beast's color, and my jaw clenches. They dare act like they don't know who I'm talking about? I'm sure Ellie, along with every single one of them, had planned this all together. They were all in cahoots with her.

Another werewolf who was buffer takes a step forward when he sees me about to pounce on his Alpha. He has on a white tank top, and all the tattoos on his arm are visible. He's the only one brave enough to step forward while the others cower in fear. Even the Alpha mutt has his neck bared open for me in submission.

"Please, just tell us who you're looking for, and we'll bring them out." The buff werewolf says, his eyes briefly meeting mine before he looks away. Smart guy. He knows not to cross a Lycan and wants to negotiate.

"We're looking for a girl named Ellie Archer." Daniel steps out from behind me while taking off his sunglasses. I don't even know why he still had that damn thing on when the sun disappeared long ago behind the clouds. The buff werewolf perks up at my mate's name, and my sharp eyes snap to him.?He knows something.

"Please understand she's my cousin's mate." Daniel gestures to me as he comes to stand beside me before dipping both his hands into his pants pocket. I could see some she-wolves behind discreetly eyeing him with interest. Daniel had the boyish charms that could swoon any girl he wants. And I got some of the looks too, unlike my older brother, who could scare anybody off with just one look. But right now, I'm beyond pissed, so any werewolf who dares stare at me must be stupid.

"If you in any way try to separate them, you should be ready to face?dire consequences," Daniel adds, stressing the last words to make his point clear.

"That's not possible." The buff guy suddenly mutters, but we all hear. In a second, I'm holding him by the collar of his shirt as I glare down at him. He might be muscular than me, but I still got the height.

"What do you know?" I growl out the words in a voice that's not mine. My beast was about to break out, and it's getting harder to stop him.

The buff guy had a frightened look on for a fleeting second before composing himself.

"Her mate came here a few moments ago and asked for her, and I led her to him."

I growl out loud, a deep roar, my chest heaving as I pant heavily. The idea that someone else claims to be Ellie's mate was so infuriating. My whole body is shaking in anger, and even the buff werewolf was shaking in fear underneath me.

"Where are they?!" I snarl out the question, and with a shaky hand, he points towards the forest behind me.

I do not spare another second before bolting towards the woods. My senses are heightened, and I'm running at the speed of lightning. I dodge by trees as both my feet pound against the earth beneath me.

I finally get a whiff of Ellie's scent and follow it immediately. My canines are out, and hairs were growing out on my face and arms at a fast rate. My beast was about to break out, and when I heard Ellie's scream, it only made it worse.

My heart burns in my chest, and my blood boils in anger. Something was very wrong with my mate. I push myself forward until I get to a clearing where I see her pinned to a tree with a familiar figure hovering over her. Her lips are bloody, and she looks dazed as if she'd been hit pretty hard. But what got my beast free from its cage was the sharp canines already piercing through her neck. And I see red.