Chapter 50

Lucas’s POV

“You need to calm down, Lucas,” Mason orders, holding me down. He pins my upper body against the wall, his forearm planted against the back of my neck, as Harper runs away.

“She knows something, though,” I growl through the pain spreading in my body. Watching her run made me want to chase, and now that she’s gone, my wolf is on edge and that all too familiar pain is coming back.

Mason sighs, “I know, but we can’t force her to talk. All we can do is wait until she’s ready to tell us something.”

“I don’t want to wait.”

Mason finally releases me and turns me around, “How are you going to force it out of her? Hm? Are you going to torture her until she tells you?”

“No! Of course not.”

Just the thought of hurting Harper to get information out of her makes me feel sick.

“Well, then, waiting is our only option,” he says, pushing me back to my desk when I move toward the door. “Asking her the same questions over and over won’t work, as we’ve seen, so we’ll wait.”

Another growl rolls in my chest, and Mason pauses, staring at me.

“I’ve never seen you act like this before. Are you sure you’re feeling alright?” He asks, touching my forehead. I swat his hand away and glare at my best friend.

“You heard what Harper said. I’m healthy.”

He merely hums and takes a step back, still staring. But that’s not what I focus on. A sound outside the door draws my attention, and I jump to my feet.

Is she back?

“I’ve got the roster,” Brandon says as he walks in.

My hope deflates like a balloon, and I drop back into my chair. Both of my friends stare at me like I’ve got two heads as I shove my hands through my hair for what feels like the millionth time today. Honestly, I’m surprised I even still have hair with how much I’ve pulled at it.

“Is this a bad time?” Brandon asks, his eyes bouncing between me and Mason.

“Yes,” I snap.

“Which roster?” Mason asks.

Brandon stops in front of my desk and hands each of us a stack of papers, “The list of the four scouts who will be going into the rogue king’s territory.”

“Just four?” I ask, looking down at the paper.

“I couldn’t get any more men to volunteer,” he answers. “Even with the promise of a higher ranking and better pay, these were the only volunteers.”

“Fuck. I was hoping for a group of at least six,” Mason curses.

“It’s a dangerous task,” Brandon speaks up. “Most of our warriors are thinking of their families and how the chances are high that they might not come back. It’s only natural that they’re hesitant.”

Sighing, I drop the list to my desk and scrub my hands over my face. If I could, I’d go to the rogue land, but with my wedding and Alpha duties, I can’t leave the pack. Besides, the rogues would sense my presence faster than a warrior’s presence.

“Then, this is the group we’ll send,” I state, standing. I make my way over to the window, wondering if Harper went back to the medical wing.

Over the past week and a half, I’ve seen less and less of her. Even when I went to check on her in the medical wing after she started working again, she avoided me. Each time she sees me, she turns and walks in the other direction.

When she’s not working, she’s usually with Logan, and I have no desire to watch them together. It muddles my head and ignites a burning hatred for the warrior that I have to shove deep, deep down.

Today is the first time that I’ve seen her up close and not from afar since I visited her while she was healing. And even then, she practically ignored everything I said.

“Alpha.”

Turning, I find my friends staring at me again, and I realize I zoned out. However, they’re not alone, I notice. Sierra smiles at me from beside her brother, and it’s awful, but my first thought is that I’d rather not see her right now.

“We’ll schedule a meeting with the warriors and get back with you later,” Mason says before he grabs Brandon by the arm and drags him out of my office.

The moment they’re gone, Sierra throws herself into my arms and pouts dramatically. Her hands slide up my stomach and over my chest, wrapping around my neck.

“Baby, you’ll never believe what just happened,” Sierra grumbles indignantly.

“What’s that?”

“Ugh, my stupid stepsister refuses to come to the wedding,” Sierra complains, huffing and rubbing her cheek against my chest. “I went to ask her if she’ll be coming with her mate, but she got angry at me. I was trying to be nice, but she’s just so selfish and irritating!”

My wolf growls, and I barely hold the sound back as I grind my teeth together.

“I didn’t even do anything to her,” she pouts, hugging me tighter. “And when I tried to ask her what was wrong, Harper blew me off, saying she wouldn’t be around much longer. Can you believe that? She told me she is going to leave the pack again after all you did to welcome her back.”

Harper plans on leaving?

She hadn’t said anything to me about leaving, but then again, she hasn’t said much to me lately. Even so, I didn’t think she would leave. Her mate is here and her job as a healer… She loves being a doctor. She told me so, herself.

So, why would she suddenly want to leave?

Does she despise being my doctor so much that she’s willing to leave?

“I shouldn’t be surprised, though,” Sierra says. “Harper has always been a selfish little—”

“Be quiet,” I order, pushing Sierra back and pulling her arms off my neck. She gasps and stares wide-eyed at me as I turn and leave my office. If she says another harsh thing about Harper, I don’t think I’ll be able to control myself.

As soon as my foot hits the grass, I shift and take off into the trees. I need air and space to think, and the forest provides both.

The more I hear from Sierra and the more I’m around her lately, the more I question my feelings. When I first met Sierra, our bond felt strong, but now, it’s barely there. Most of the time, I feel a dull connection to Sierra, only feeling that full, warm, and strong mate bond every now and then. It’ll flicker to life before fading into the background.

Lately, I barely feel anything.

It’s different with Harper, though. Every time I’m near her, whether we’re touching or not, I feel more alive. Something about her, whether it be her beauty, the magic she has within her, or just her kindness, draws me in.

It’s beginning to make me question, not for the first time, if marrying Sierra is a good idea.

Suddenly, pain sears across my right hind leg, sending me to the ground.