Chapter 233

Ethan POV

“I hope you’re having better luck with the Northern Alphas than we’re having with the rogues,” Zack, one of the men I sent into No Man’s Land says, though mind link. He sounds annoyed with his tight, angry voice.

“We’re still considered outsiders, so they’re hesitant to even come around us,” Ranger, another guard I sent into the rogue’s territory, adds.

I sent four total guards, who split into two teams. Zack and Ranger are partners who usually work together, so they were an obvious choice. I didn’t need some newbies screwing up the mission.

“Alpha, we’ve been looking into whether or not they have a leader, and there’s not much to go on,” Ricky, one of the other guards comments. It would be easier to have them here in front of me, but I didn’t want to pull them out of No Man’s Land.

Them going back and forth would be more suspicious than them being newcomers in the first place.

“Have any of the rogues gathered suspiciously?” I ask, letting my head fall back on my office chair as I take a deep breath. Almost three weeks, and we have nothing. “Are there any signs they’ve been active as more than just rogues?”

“No, Alpha,” Jace, Ricky’s partner, answers. “Most of them just lay around or hunt. It’s pretty much a group of bums.

“There are a few who leave, but usually when they come back, they’re carrying a hunted animal or even items from the city,” Ranger adds.

If these rogues aren’t the ones attacking people, is there another group? I hadn’t thought of it before because it’s even strange that rogues gather at all. Sometimes lawless packs form, but it’s been years since one of those popped up.

Now, there seems to be a possibility of one.

“Have any of these rogues been approached by another to join a pack?”

“Do you think someone is forming a Lawless Pack?” Ranger asks, sounding surprised and disgusted.

Lawless packs are dangerous because normal packs have to be sanctioned by the King, and they have to follow the law. Rogue packs do not bother with legitimacy or laws.

“Not that we’ve seen,” Zack says, then adds, “We haven’t scented any Pack Lycans either.”

Which raises the chances of another rogue group being the ones attacking.

I want to curse. If there’s another group of rogues, somewhere that isn’t No Man’s Land, we have no way of finding them until they show themselves. Rogues, when kicked out of their pack- or if they voluntarily leave- they either go to No Man’s Land or to the East to blend with humans.

It’s troubling that they’ve found somewhere else to meet.

It makes me want to send out groups of men to search every inch of No Man’s Land. If they’re still out there, Fiona is in trouble. I can’t keep her locked up at home or ask her to stay hidden. That wouldn’t be fair for her, especially since she’s already bolstered her guards and is being extra cautious.

Also, the wedding is coming up. I don’t want any of these troubles to ruin our big day. Then we have the babies to think about too. I won’t let this problem drag out long enough for Fiona or the babies to be hurt.

“It seems like something is happening,” Ranger suddenly says, catching my attention. “Several of the more aggressive rogues are gone.”

“What makes you think there’s a problem?”

“Just a feeling. They usually don’t leave at the same time,” he answers.

“Over here too,” Ricky says. “There are three wolves we’ve been watching because of their suspicious activity, and they’ve disappeared too.”

“Go look for them. They could be meeting with whoever is sending the rogues after my mate,” I order, and they all send answers of agreement before going quiet.

Not only do I have to worry about the rogues, but the Alphas in the North have been oddly quiet suddenly. They have all agreed to gather for the meeting, and there’s only been one instance of trouble reported by the scouts, which was smoothed out with the help of Alpha Mandra.

It seems like everything is too quiet.

“Alpha, there have been rogues spotted near the Southern borders,” Ryan mind links.

“Send a group of guards. I’m on my way.”

Racing outside, I shift and charge toward the southern border. There’s not too much to the south of us, but I won’t let the rogues hurt the few smaller packs that are down there. I also make sure to send Laxus a message about what’s happening, and surprisingly, Fiona picks up on the tension, telling me they’re going to head home.

It makes me feel a bit better that they’re both on alert. It doesn’t matter that the south border is far away from the Kingdom Center where they’re shopping.

Then as I grow closer to the border, a flash of fear screams down mine and Fiona’s bond, before there’s nothing.

“Fiona?!” I skid to a halt, panting as I wait for her response. Again, there’s silence and I try to contact Laxus, then Nova, then each of the guards I know is with Fiona.

No response.

A painful buzz fills the pack bond, swirling into my own mind and creating a dizzy feeling when I try to link with them.

Without hesitation, I turn and run back the way I came. I push myself to my limit, needing to cross miles of land as quickly as possible to get to my mate.

“There’s danger,” Zev says, feeling uneasy as we bolt through the trees. I jump a creek and land on the other side, going right and toward the Kingdom Center.

“I know.”

It doesn’t matter. I must get to Fiona. I have to protect her.

I don’t know what’s going on, but the feeling that it’s too late settles like a rock in my gut. As I get to the streets of the Kingdom Center, I pick up on Fiona’s scent, following it to a large crowd.

“Get another healer!”

“Someone check that guard!”

“Get back!”

People shout and push to see what happened, and I shift back to my human form, pushing through the crowd. They move aside when they notice me, but my eyes are on the scene in front of me.

The guards and Gammas that were with Fiona are laying all over the ground, emergency healers and Kingdom guards pouring into the area. Not only that, but there are civilians also gathered in worry and fear.

The scent of blood and fear is thick in the air, nearly choking me.

More demands are shouted, but I can’t focus because I don’t see her. Fiona is nowhere in sight.

“Alpha King Ethan!”

The female voice behind me makes me turn to find Sophie leaning over Laxus, her hands pressing to a bleeding wound in his back and tears streaming down her face. The other girls are huddled, groggy and pale, with emergency personnel helping them.

“What happened?”

“W-We were lea-ving the shop, and everyone j-just started falling out,” Sophie sobs. I look at my friend and a wave of nausea hits me. He’s bleeding so much.

“N-Nova pulled us to safety but she got shot with something. Th-then Laxus was p-protecting Fiona and he-he… a gunshot…” Another sob, and she falls apart.

“Move aside,” an emergency healer demands. I move Sophie and let the other woman take over, hoping she can heal Laxus.

“Sophie, where’s Fiona?” I grab her by the shoulders and force her to focus on me. “Where is my mate?”

“Th-they took her!”

“They? Who is ‘they’?”

She shakes her head, letting me know she doesn’t know who took Fiona. Anger, worry, and fear fill me, and I try to force it down.

“Alpha, the rogues on the border,” Ryan breaks through the silence in the pack link, “I think they were a distraction.”

I roar, letting out all my anger and worry, as I realize they were a distraction to get me away from Fiona.