Missing Mate (O'Neil Pack Series)

by Roxanne Witherell

  When Logan headed out to go to the resort office the others got in Chloe’s jeep and took off for the next mountain. The first stop will be a small shack they had found Makenna and Chloe in after the Alpha challenge. The moment they pulled up in front of the shack, Sebastian started growling. Alexander knew Sebastian was thinking of Makenna, bound by silver, and laying on the floor next to Chloe. Sebastian had quickly regained his composure.

  The shack looked like it was thrown together from trees cut from the very spot it was built. It was unstable to say the least. Liam went around to the back of the structure while Sebastian and Alexander went in the front. By the looks of the inside, they wouldn’t be finding anything here. There is only one room so they didn’t have far to look. The only furniture in the room is a ratty broken couch that has dried blood on it. A small table was in the corner and there was only one window letting light into the room. Sebastian glanced around once and walked out.

  “There’s nothing here.” He said when Alexander joined him outside.

  “I found two paths in the back.” Liam said coming around the corner of the structure.

  “We will come back to the paths. We are more interested in physical evidence that can tell us why they were here. There has to be a reason why they wanted our mountain.” Sebastian commented.

  Just as they were heading back to the jeep Sebastian stopped and looked back at the structure.

  “I want this shit hole torn down.” Sebastian states and turned back to the jeep.

  “Do you want it burned also?” Alexander asked.

  “No, that would draw attention. It’s not that stable so it should come down easily. Alexander, you and the boys come out here tomorrow and take care of this.” Sebastian said opening the jeep door. “Let’s go to the next location. Liam, you drive since you know where it is.”

  Alexander jumped in the back since Liam would be driving. The next location is further up the mountain. Pulling up to the front of a small cabin Alexander noticed the broken front window which Caleb had jumped through trying to save Bri. Luckily for Bri, she had been bitten and turned beforehand so she was able to shift and kill her attacker before he could kill her.

  This time Liam walked inside with them. Alexander cringed when he saw the room and imagined what Bri must have gone through. There was a broken table on the far left; dried blood covered the living room floor. A bag was lying on the floor near the table with its contents spilling out. Sebastian must have noticed it too because he went over to the bag and began looking inside it.

  Alexander headed down the hall with Liam following him. The cabin didn’t have much furniture. It looked like just the basics. They began opening drawers and looking under the mattress and bed. Alexander noticed shackles attached to the bed frame, they weren’t silver but iron. Other than that, he didn’t see anything that looked remotely interesting. A nightstand stood next to the bed, it too was empty. Alexander opened the closet door to see a small empty space not even a coat hanger was left behind. When he closed the door, and turned, his boot tip hit the side of the nightstand causing the bottom board on the side of the stand to fall off easily. Liam came around the bed to see what the noise was. Alexander dismissed it as a just a piece of crap piece of furniture. Liam, however, got down on his knees and reached his hand into the dark opening. Smiling he pulled his hand out and revealed a cell phone. Liam flipped it open but there is no chance of seeing what’s on it because the screen is broken.

  “Why would someone put a broken phone down there?” Alexander asked not expecting an answer.

  “Maybe they were hiding it?” Liam suggested.

  “From who?” Alexander wondered. “Let’s take it to Sebastian. There’s nothing else here.”

  Walking out of the bedroom they met Sebastian in the hallway when he was coming out of the bathroom.

  “I found another bottle of spray but that is all.” Sebastian said showing them the small spray bottle. “Did you find anything?”

  “Just a broken cell phone. It was hidden under the nightstand, not sure if it was left by these guys or someone else.” Liam told Sebastian handing him the cell phone.

  “There’s also iron shackles attached to the bed. Do you think they had someone else restrained here?” Alexander asked.

  “No way of knowing.” Sebastian admitted. “They may have been put there for Bri.” He flipped the phone over in his hand a couple of times. “This is probably a burner phone. Alexander, you are the best with computers and technology. I want you to try and get this phone working and see what’s on it. It may be nothing but it’s worth a shot.”

  “Will do,” Alexander replied taking the phone from Sebastian and slipping it in his pocket.

  “Come on, next stop.” Sebastian said leading the way out.

  “Do you want this one torn down too?” Liam asked as he was opening the door to the jeep.

  “No, this one stays. We can’t tear down every building that we don’t like. Besides there are records of this cabin. The shack was slapped together and not by contractors; it needs to come down.” Sebastian explained.

  “Agreed, we will get Makenna to make up a mixture to get the blood up then come out tomorrow and clean the place up. Who knows when someone will show up? We don’t need investigators out here messing around.”

  On the way to the cabin that Abby was held at, Sebastian seems to pay close attention to the roads and markers. Alexander knew he was planning on adding on to his maps. Before it’s over with, Sebastian will probably have a detailed map of all the surrounding mountains. Their resort is spread throughout one of the larger mountains that surrounded two small lakes.

  They turned down a dirt road on the left and drove about a mile before reaching a large cabin at the end. The cabin looked much better than Alexander had been expecting. All the windows had bars on them, which had Alexander wondering if they were to keep something from getting in or someone getting out. It’s possible that they had kept people here before the girls were ever on their radar.

  Liam unlocked the door with the keys he took from one of the rogues. They walked inside to look around. It wasn’t a fancy place but it was fully furnished. There are more rooms in this cabin for them to go through so they had a better chance of finding something that’s useful. They were running short on time since they needed to get back to run with the pack tonight.

  “Let’s start at the back and work our way towards the front.” Sebastian told them.

  Alexander nodded and headed down the hall. Liam took the last room, which he called out was a bedroom. Alexander opened the door next to the room Liam is in. It’s also a bedroom. Alexander didn’t want to waste time so he rushed through the room, going through the drawers. So far nothing of interest. Checking the connecting bathroom, he found a small perfume bottle. It was the same spray the rogues have been using to cover their scents. Putting the bottle in his pocket Alexander went back into the bedroom. When he lifted the edge of the mattress he heard two beeps and then the sound of a phone turning off. Instantly he dropped the mattress and went over to the nightstand. Pulling open the top drawer he saw a cell phone on top of a small notepad. Alexander tried to turn the phone on but he already knew the battery was dead. They will need to charge the phone when they get back. He put the phone in his pocket with the bottle then went to look in another room. Liam and Sebastian had come out of the rooms they were searching and were heading to the other rooms.

  “Jackpot,” Sebastian said when he opened the next door. “You two come in here.”

  Looking inside the room Sebastian had just entered, Alexander could see why he said jackpot. This is the office and from the looks of it, it was well used. A large desk sat towards the back of the room in front of barred windows. The sunlight was shining on the desk, making beams of light reflect off a metal container. Alexander went straight to the container and picked it up. It had a temperature control attached to the lid. Unlocking the top, Alexander opened the lid to see if there was anything inside. S
eeing that it was empty he put the lid back on and sat it down.

  “Wonder what they had in here?” Alexander thought out loud.

  “Whatever it is, they were shipping it out.” Liam told them. He had gone over to a group of boxes stacked in the corner. “There’s Styrofoam inserts in these boxes. Nothing written on them of course.” Liam lifted each box to make sure they were empty.

  “Yeah, they don’t make things easy.” Sebastian said.

  Sebastian continued to look through the drawers, pulling out anything that looks like it might hold any useful information. Alexander noticed a built-in bookshelf with a drawer on the bottom. Liam is busy going through the closet Alexander went to the drawer and opened it up.

  “Hey look at this!” Alexander pulled out a box. “It’s one of those oil extractors.”

  Alexander opened the box to see if it’s still in there. He was relieved to see that it is still in there. Pulling the device out, Alexander examined it. It has been used and wasn’t cleaned out afterwards. There is some residue at the bottom. It might be worth getting William to look at it. William is a good friend of Alexander’s. He is trying to figure out what the masking spray they had found is made of. The rogues had been using it to go unnoticed for who knows how long. Maybe this oil extractor is what they are using to make the stuff.

  “What were they doing?” Liam asked, looking over Alexander’s shoulder.

  “Get in touch with William, maybe he can figure out what this substance is.” Sebastian told him.

  Alexander put the device back in the box and put it to the side to take with them. Looking back in the drawer, there were gloves, vials and other miscellaneous things. Sebastian walked over to the desk and grabbed the stack of papers then headed for door.

  “Grab the extractor and let’s get out of here.” Sebastian walked out the door.

  Alexander picked up the box and followed them out. It would take them a while to get back to the resort. Tonight’s the last night of the full moon phase so the pack will be running together. The phase consists of three nights: the night before the full moon, the full moon, and the night after.

  By the time they got back to Sebastian’s cabin, the rest of the pack were already there. When Alexander opened the jeep door he could smell that someone was cooking on the grill. Liam and Alexander grabbed all the contents they had brought back with them. They were greeted by Caleb and Jayden, who were grilling on the side porch. Alexander only stopped long enough to say hey then went inside to put everything in Sebastian’s study. They probably won’t be looking at it much until tomorrow.

  “Hey man,” Logan said from the doorway of the office.

  “Hey, how did it go at the office?” Alexander asks walking out of the office and heading back to the living room where everyone was gathered.

  “Easy,” Logan said, “although there was an interesting reservation called in.”

  “Really, how’s so?”

  “This chick called in for a two bedroom.” Logan started.

  “What’s so interesting about that?”

  “Well nothing except she asked if you still work here.” Logan wagged his eyebrows.

  “Why would she ask that?” Alexander asked.

  “Hell, I don’t know! I figure she wants a hook-up. She is coming in later tonight.”

  “What’s her name?” Alexander asked curiously.

  “Jessica Sarone, do you know her?”

  Alexander shook his head. For a moment, he thought it may be Jennifer. It would have been nice to see her again. More than three years had passed since he had seen her, but he has thought about her constantly. He hasn’t been able to be with another woman since that night. Jennifer wasn’t even his type; he liked a woman with curves and she was only a buck fifteen tops. The moment he heard her voice his type went out the window. He had to have her, but she was only looking for one night. He was left wanting more.

  “You sure you don’t know her? You’re zoning out.” Logan snapped Alexander out of his daze.

  “No, I don’t know her. I was thinking of someone else.” Alexander explained.

  “You should check it out tomorrow.” Logan suggested.

  Alexander didn’t respond, he went into the living room to join the others. Makenna, Chloe, Bri, and Abby are sitting on the couch chatting and laughing. He could hear Sebastian out on the porch with the other men. Alexander and Logan stepped outside to join them.

  “You think you can get that phone working?” Caleb asks putting the lid down on the grill.

  “It’s worth a shot.” Alexander replied. “It all depends on how damaged it is. We need to find a charger for the dead one. There may be an old charger at the office that may fit it.”

  “Don’t get your hopes up.” Sebastian interrupted. “Chloe cleaned the place out a couple of weeks ago. I imagine she threw the old stuff out.”

  “I will get one while I’m in town tomorrow.” Liam offered.

  “Sounds good.” Sebastian said and turned to Caleb. “Is that food done yet?”

  “Yes sir, pulling it off now. Bri and Abby made the rest at home. It’s in the oven heating up. If one of you will let them know we are ready.” Caleb said looking at Logan since he is by the door.

  Logan in turn, just opened the door and hollered inside that it’s ready. Alexander shook his head and stepped aside so Caleb could take the tray of chicken and steaks in. Bri and Abby were taking things out of the oven when everyone gathered inside. Makenna and Chloe helped fix plates then everyone went to the large table to eat together. No one rushed through the meal, everyone ate and talked. Abby did most of the talking about how awesome it was to shift. Last night had been her first time shifting.

  After dinner was over with and everyone that wanted coffee had a cup, it is time for a run. Everyone went outside except for Abby and Bri. They shifted inside so no one would see them naked. Once the pack was together all in wolf form, they went for a run. Maybe while they were running tonight Alexander will run by and check on their new guest.

  Chapter 3

  Jessica

  It was a long drive for Jessica. She had to make five pit stops for the twins and dinner. It’s already 11:30 at night and they still had fifty miles to go. So much for getting there by midnight.

  “Mommy, my tummy hurts.” Madison complained.

  “Are you going to be sick?” Jessica asked as she started to slow down so she could pull over.

  Madison nodded and covered her mouth with her hand. She was holding her other hand over her stomach. Jessica pulled to the side of the interstate with her hazard lights on. At least she came prepared for this. She grabbed the makeshift trash can and gave it to Madison, along with some stomach medicine.

  “It won’t be much longer baby.” Jessica told Madison.

  Getting back on the road, Jessica hopes there won’t be any more issues. Michael started giggling.

  “Michael it’s not nice to laugh at your sister.” Jessica told him.

  “I’m not!” Michael whined.

  “Mommy Michael’s doing it.” Madison complained.

  “Okay you two, try and take a nap or something.” Jessica suggested.

  “Can’t,” Michael said crossing his arms and pouting.

  Jessica rolled her eyes, leave it to Michael to be difficult. He has always been stubborn. He will probably stay up just because she suggested he take a nap. Suddenly Michael screamed out. The sound scared the hell out of her and she ended up swerving on the interstate. She turned just in time to hear popping noises and witness Michael’s transformation into a wolf pup. It happened very quickly. His clothes now a shredded mess on the back seat.

  “Man, shit!” Jessica couldn’t believe this is happening right now. She’s driving down the interstate. How is she supposed to handle a wolf while driving?

  “Bad word,” Madison reminds her.

  “Yes, I said a bad word. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay.” Madison said sweetly.

  Madison didn�
�t seem to be rattled by her brother shifting right beside her. It’s almost as if she was waiting for it. Every time Jessica glanced back at the kids, Madison was looking at Michael. At least it had her attention on something else other than being sick. Michael had managed to wiggle the rest of the way out of the car seat straps, what was left of them. Once he was out of the car seat he began jumping around the seat and the floor boards.

  “Michael, you need to settle down. Sit back in your seat.” Jessica warned him. “Ugh, this can’t be happening right now.”

  Michael didn’t settle down until they got to the curves of the mountain roads. After a few of the sharper turns, he laid down on the floor board and started to whine.

  “Well, next time you’ll settle down when I tell you to.” Jessica didn’t know why she was still talking to him while he is in wolf form. She isn’t even sure he could understand her, but she felt like he could.

  It took longer than she expected to get to the resort office. She had to drive slower with all the turns. It’s dark and the deer seem to be everywhere and they don’t seem to care that a car is coming straight for them. By the time she stopped in front of the resort office, both Madison and Michael were asleep. Jessica got out and quietly shut the door. The young man she had talked to said he would leave a key and a map in a fake rock by the steps. After checking three rocks she finally found the right one. Getting back in the car she turned on the overhead light so she could see what cabin she needed to go to. From the look of the map they will be in cabin three. It was the furthest from the lake that sat between the mountains. At least she won’t have to worry about the twins running and falling into the water.

  It took a little over ten minutes to drive around the lake and find the right road to turn down. The cabin sat at the end of a short drive. It isn’t as big as the last one she stayed in but it is big enough for them.