Missing the Alpha

by Mia Rose

  “I have to go now,” he whispered. Lindsey nodded, but she struggled to get control over her crying.

  Declan pulled back and turned away from her to go back into the room to gather his belongings. He packed everything away and grabbed his keys, and then he walked back into the kitchen where Lindsey was sitting at the table, staring at her hands.

  “Hey, Lindsey.” She looked up, but said nothing. “You are a wonderful person,” Declan said. “You have such an amazing heart, and I don’t wanna let anyone try to change that about you, okay?” She nodded, smiling to herself. “I’ll miss you and thanks again, for everything.”

  Lindsey stood up from her chair and walked over to Declan. She placed her hands on either side of his face and kissed him gently. Declan gave her a small nod before pulling away, and then he made his way to the front door. As he walked to his car, he looked back at the house one more time, and he wondered what might’ve happened had he never found Lindsey.

  He climbed into his car and stuck his key into the ignition, and the engine roared to life. Declan pulled out of the driveway, and when he glanced in the rearview mirror, he saw Lindsey standing in the driveway, waving goodbye as he made his way further down the road. Declan looked forward and pressed down on the gas pedal, willing it to carry him all the way to Miami —and to his cure.

  As his car climbed onto the highway heading south, Declan turned up the radio and rolled down the windows, welcoming the wind. He tried to think of what he might say to the woman who held the key to his fate in her hands, but no words came to mind. He could only hope that once he came face to face with her, he’d know exactly what to say. He also had to hope that he wasn’t too late.

  Noelle sat across from Lucas with her broken leg propped up on another chair. The dinner he’d prepared smelled amazing, and Noelle’s stomach was doing flips inside of her. She looked at the plate in front of her and didn’t know where to start. Lucas was holding his fork and knife in his own hands, but he was waiting for her to dig in before he would touch anything.

  Noelle picked up her fork and cut a small piece of a tomato and put it into her mouth. As she chewed it slowly, her mouth sparked with the flavor, and she felt as though she’d never eaten before in her life. She cut off another piece and began eating it, and finally, Lucas joined her.

  They ate quietly for the first few minutes before Noelle spoke. “So, why do you live in the middle of the woods?” After she asked, she realized that she probably could’ve done a much better job leading up to the question, but after living five months with no one but herself to talk to, she was a little bit out of practice.

  “I just needed to disconnect from the world,” Lucas answered without looking up at her.

  “Why?” Noelle pressed. This time, he did look up, and from the look on his face, Noelle could tell that she was treading on a sensitive subject. “I guess after having been out here for five long months, I don’t really understand the appeal.”

  “Living out there for five months and fighting for your life every day is very different from living like this,” Lucas said simply.

  “True, but how can you even have electricity and stuff out here? I mean, you have to pay for that, somehow.”

  “I do work,” Lucas said. He was smiling, so Noelle figured that this conversation would be okay to pursue.

  “You do? From all the way out here? What do you do?”

  “I work as an internet security professional. I help to develop firewalls and different security measures for people to protect their websites and information from being hacked.”

  “Wow,” Noelle said as she took a bite of the steak. She chewed it carefully and then swallowed. “That sounds really interesting. How did you get into that?”

  “I’ve been working in information technology for a long time,” Lucas explained. “Once I moved out here, I decided something more remote and exclusive would fit me better.”

  “You must’ve made some decent money to be able to build a house like this!” Noelle cringed once again, at her lack of social decorum.

  “I did alright,” Lucas said, laughing lightly.

  “So, why move out here? If you were successful at what you were doing, why make the change?”

  “Sometimes things happen to you in your life that you really don’t have any control over. You have to learn to move forward and make the best out of those situations.” Lucas stared out of the window as he spoke, and Noelle could tell that something had happened to him. As much as she wanted to find out what it was, she didn’t want to push him too far. At least not yet.

  “Yeah, I get that,” she said, now nodding.

  “And you?” Lucas asked. “How did you end up out here for five months, all by yourself?”

  “It’s a long story,” Noelle said with a sigh.

  “Well, Noelle, lucky for us, we have nothing but time out here.”

  Noelle looked at him carefully and watched him as he studied her face. She could tell him the truth and see how he responded —if he freaked out, she could chalk it up to delirium from living in the woods. But what if he didn’t freak out? Noelle couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but there was something inside of her which led her to believe that the story wouldn’t be shocking to him.

  “Alright,” she said slowly. “But I have to warn you, this isn’t exactly a story for the average man.” Lucas nodded but said nothing in return. Noelle exhaled and placed her fork down on her nearly-empty plate. She leaned back in her chair and started by saying, “There is such a thing as werewolves.”

  She studied his face to watch for a reaction, but he didn’t give one. He kept his face utterly expressionless, even as he asked, “How do you know that?”

  “Because,” Noelle said, “I used to hunt them. I even used to love one.”

  She continued on, by explaining her background as a hunter and how she met Declan. She went on to tell him about how their relationship had led to so many tragedies. She then went on to explain how she met Edmund, and how he tied into the original hunter family. Lucas said nothing the entire time she was speaking. He didn’t even move when she told him that she’d been a hybrid, and that Edmund had turned her back into a human and left her out in the middle of the woods. And just to be killed because she believed that wolves shouldn’t be killed or forced to restore their humanity.

  Lucas pressed his lips together tightly once Noelle had stopped speaking. She was nervous that she’d gone too far and that he’d think she was a psycho staying at his house, but he didn’t say anything.

  Noelle shrugged and said, “You asked!” She was trying to play it cool, and to see if it might elicit any kind of reaction from him.

  Lucas stood up from the table and walked to the other side and reached out for Noelle’s hand. She stared at his open hand apprehensively.

  “What?” she asked, still not taking his hand.

  “I wanna show you something,” Lucas said evenly.

  Noelle took his hand and struggled to her feet. He scooped her up into his arms and carried her out of the house and to his truck. He placed her gently on the bed of the truck and then got into the driver’s side and started the engine.

  “Where are we going?” Noelle asked nervously. Half of her thought that he was taking her back to where he’d found her.

  Lucas didn’t answer, he just continued driving. Noelle was becoming more and more afraid as the minutes ticked by, until finally, the truck slowed down and then stopped altogether.

  Lucas emerged from the driver’s seat and walked over to where Noelle sat in the bed of the truck.

  “You see this?” he asked her. Noelle followed his pointed finger, but she couldn’t make out anything special in the trees. She shook her head slightly and looked over at Lucas who was staring intently in that direction. “This is where it happened,” he said.

  “Where what happened?” Noelle asked.

  Lucas looked at her and took a few steps back. Then, right before her eyes, his skin started to rip
ple and tear apart. From beneath, a stone-gray coat appeared, and two, bright yellow eyes stared at her. Noelle couldn’t believe her eyes —the man who’d saved her was a wolf after all. She then realized that he was the one who had stood beneath her when she was in the tree. She started shaking because she wasn’t sure what his intentions were at this point.

  Lucas looked at her carefully and then transformed back into his human form. “I found you in the woods two days ago, Noelle. I was tracking you because I wasn’t sure who you were, or where you were going. Then, when you fell from the tree, well, I had no choice. I had to help you.”

  “Were you there, too?” Noelle asked; the image of the wolves surrounding her now creeping back into her head. “Were you there with the other wolves?”

  “No,” Lucas said as he shook his head. “From the night I was turned, I never found my way into a pack. I spent some time navigating through the woods until I found the place where I built my house. I emptied my savings account and built my dream home right here, away from everyone else. In total isolation. I let everyone, and everything go; and I started a new life for myself here. Do you understand now, Noelle? Do you see why I’m here?”

  Noelle nodded her head slowly as Lucas made his way back toward the truck. He climbed back into the cab and drove back in the direction of the house. Noelle’s head was spinning —why did it seem that everywhere she went, she always wound up finding a wolf?

  Once they arrived back at the house, Lucas lifted her from the bed of the truck and carried her back inside. He walked her straight to the room where she had been sleeping and laid her plainly on the bed.

  When Noelle looked at him, he said, “I figured that you might want to be alone right now.”

  She smiled at him gratefully. It was a strange sensation having been alone for five months and wanting nothing but company —and then finding someone else and craving to be alone. Noelle laid back on the bed and considered Lucas’ secret that was now revealed. So, he was a wolf, but what did that mean to her? Did it really change anything for her anymore? After all, he’d been the one who’d found her and rescued her. He (apparently) didn’t have any intentions of harming her in any way.

  Noelle closed her eyes and massaged her temples rhythmically. She thought back to the afternoon that she and Declan had spent by the waterfall, having a picnic together. At that moment, life seemed so pure and simple. She felt happy, and he was happy too —they were both free of worry, even for just a moment. But that wasn’t her life.

  Now she was stranded in the middle of the woods with a wolf who she didn’t know, and she’d have to try to make the best of it because, given her broken leg, she wasn’t going anywhere else, not anytime soon at least. Maybe Lucas enjoyed the company as well, and after living by himself for so many years.

  Noelle closed her eyes and struggled to shut off all of her thoughts. For the first time since she woke up, she recalled her dream and remembered the panic coursing through her —the only thing she couldn’t determine was whether she was panicking because Edmund was pulling her down, or because Declan was walking away from her. She wondered about him now.

  “Declan nodded and looked at her; a realization dawning on both of them —he’d be leaving.”

  Chapter 6

  The Witch Hunt

  “It was a curious thing feeling so close to nature, as though you could reach out and touch it, only to find that you were still enclosed.”

  Declan pushed his foot on the pedal urging his car to move forward faster, but the other drivers seemed determined to slow him down. He was feeling antsy, and he continuously shifted in his seat trying to find a more-comfortable position. Glancing down at his phone, he noticed with disappointment that no new notifications were waiting for him. It seemed like no one wanted to hear from him. He sighed and smacked his palm against the steering wheel a few times, muttering under his breath.

  Looking at the clock on the dashboard, he realized he’d been driving for a little under three hours. Just one more to go until he reached his goal, and then from that point, it’d all be a guessing game because he still didn’t know the woman’s name or which room she was staying in at the hospital. He veered his car over to the farthest left lane on the highway and pressed down on the gas. Within seconds of him jolting forward, he saw familiar lights flashing in his rearview mirror. He glanced sideways at the mirror and saw a police car driving right behind him, the lights indicating that he should pull over.

  Declan slid his car safely into the emergency lane of the highway and started shuffling through his bag for his ID. There was a light tap on the window, and he turned to find a female officer standing next to his car, her hands placed firmly on her hips as she waited for him to roll down the window.

  “Good afternoon, Officer,” Declan said quietly.

  Her expression was blank, and she stood staring at the car for a few seconds before responding to Declan. “Do you know why I pulled you over?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Declan admitted. “I was speeding.”

  “So then, you were aware that you were breaking the law.” Declan nodded but said nothing else as he tried to figure out how he might be able to turn this situation around in his favor. “License and registration, please.” The woman held out her hand and wagged her fingers toward Declan impatiently as he shuffled around in the glove compartment, now searching for his vehicle’s registration.

  He handed her the document with a sad smile and the woman studied his face for a moment before asking. She asked, “Why were you speeding?”

  Declan looked down at his hands which were gripped tightly around the steering wheel, and he consciously relaxed his grip, allowing the blood back into his knuckles.

  “I just found out my grandmother’s very ill,” he said, trying desperately not to give away his lie. “She’s at the hospital in Miami, and I was in a rush to get to her. I’m sorry. I promise I won’t speed again.”

  The woman raised her eyebrows at Declan and quickly handed him the documents. “Why didn’t you just say so?” She smiled kindly, giving out the first indication that she was actually human. “Come on. I’ll escort you there.”

  Declan observed her as she climbed back into her vehicle and turned on the lights and sirens. Cars immediately began moving out of the way for her, and she pulled out in front of him. Smiling to himself, he slid the car into drive and followed after the officer as she led him back out, and onto the highway.

  From that moment on, the trip seemed to go by in a blur of stationary cars and ignored traffic lights. What should’ve taken over two hours, took a little over forty-five minutes. It occurred to Declan that the officer who escorted him must be way out of her district, but he wasn’t going to bring that up at all. She pulled into the parking lot of the hospital with Declan right behind her. He swung his car into the valet lane and climbed out of the car, grateful to be able to stretch his legs. The officer parked and stepped out of her vehicle as well.

  “I can’t thank you enough,” Declan said, a small grin pulling at his lips.

  The officer nodded her head and reached out her hand toward Declan. He took it, and they shook, all business-like, and with no suggestive lingering. He watched as she got back into her vehicle and pulled back out onto the road. He felt stunned, but even more than that, he was becoming more and more amazed by the generosity he’d seen from ordinary people over the past week. Had he spent so long living in his own world with constant obstacles that he’d become blind to the goodness out there?

  Declan shook the thought from his head and turned toward the valet who was waiting by his stand, watching Declan expectantly. He grabbed his backpack from his car and walked toward the building, handing the valet his keys. The young man nodded his head seriously before walking over to the driver’s side of his car. Declan watched him as he drove the car off slowly and toward the parking area.

  He turned to the doors; which slid open slowly as if daring him to enter at his own risk. He inhaled a deep breath
and stepped inside, and immediately, the frigid air in the hospital sparked his attention. He looked around the lobby and watched the people bustling around. A young nurse pushing an older man in his wheelchair, nodding as he constantly grumbled under his breath. Declan’s eyes drifted over to a petite woman sitting with a small child in her lap as he bounced up and down on her knee —but Declan could tell from her expression that her legs were moving out of anxiety, and not from entertainment. A few doctors were milling about, and Declan’s eyes landed on one who was studying her clipboard, more than carefully.

  He pulled out his phone and dialed Maria’s number. It rang a few times before she answered. “Hello?” she said, sounding annoyed that she’d been interrupted.

  “Maria, it’s me. I’m at the hospital.”

  “Already?” she asked in astonishment. “Well, I haven’t been able to find anything out yet, Declan. No one’s answering. Give me some more time.”

  “Call me when you have something,” he murmured under his breath, all while looking away from the young couple that was eyeing him curiously.

  Declan started walking down the hall, and with every step he took, he felt as if someone was going to jump out at him and demand to know what he was doing there. He couldn’t shake the weird feeling.

  He climbed into the elevator, and at the last moment, he saw the young doctor look up from her clipboard and yell out, “Hold the elevator!”

  Declan stood there, unable to move, and watched as the doors slid shut right before her eyes. He closed his eyes and exhaled shakily —he’d wanted to reach for the button, but the fear of being found out prevented him from doing anything at all.

  The elevator crept to the second floor and Declan slowly got out. He scanned the hallways carefully, and didn’t see anybody there except a nurse sitting at her station. He walked calmly by her and even smiled as he passed, and she flashed him a bright smile in return. He hadn’t the slightest inclination as to how he’d be able to find this woman. Should he walk in every room a lady was present, and ask if she’d seen a witch? Surely that’d land him in the psych ward, and rather quickly too.