Chapter 37: Last to know

Benjamin’s POV

I’ve spent the whole of last week scouting every piece of land from ours to River Creek. I’ve turned over every stone, smelled every leaf and studied every patch of dirt that crossed my path hoping to finally put my hands on the rogue Alpha. Yet, despite all of my best efforts, he managed to always elude capture at every turn. As the days rolled into nights and precious time slipped through my fingers, my exasperation turned into madness and madness morphed into sheer wrath. This was my third and longest expedition of this month and I was growing weary of the cat and mouse game that he had pulled me in. He seemed to always be three steps ahead of me and it became more and more difficult to track him. The closer I got to him, the further away he seemed.

Still, it was hard for me to stop chasing his ghost. It seemed like he had me trapped into his sick scheme and I feared that I was beginning to lose myself. I had promised my pack, my family and my mate protection at all costs but I never expected it to be my own sanity. All of my life, I’ve wanted to be an Alpha and be the head of my pack and now, it was time for me to pay the piper. As I came home, yet again a failure, my patience had grown thinner and my temper frighteningly shortened. A towering rage stemming from despair had taken over me and even my men began to distance themselves from me to avoid my anger. While it was true that I was frustrated with everyone around me, I never got the courage to admit out loud that the true target of my contempt was my own person.

At this point, I only had but one wish which was to seek solace and comfort in the arms of Mina. I missed everything about her. I missed our talks over dinner, her laugh and her smile. I missed her scent and the way that she always knew how to soothe my pain. She was the only one who could make me feel better and I wondered how I survived all these years without her.

We arrived back in our territory a little before noon. The sun was brightly shinning and the air was crisp. As we got closer to our homes and to our lives, the heavy pressure that weighed me down gradually lifted off of me. And at the thought of reuniting with my mate, my soul began to shed away the darkness that had attached itself to it.

I had left my car behind for Mina so I was given a ride home by Anderson and Craig. Both of them were skilled trackers and took great parts in the hunting mission.

“How long are they going to stay with us?” Anderson asked as he watched through his rearview mirror the River Creek’s truck turning in the direction of my parents’s house.

“I’m not sure. As long as needed I guess.” I replied yawning.

We hadn’t slept in days and barely ate anything in those long draining seven days. All of the men were exhausted, including myself. When we arrived at my place, all three of us headed inside. I didn’t bother calling out for Mina because I noticed that my truck was gone when we pulled in. Anderson let out a long sigh as he threw his car keys on the first table that he saw and sat down on the shoe bench next to the door.

“The files are on my desk. I’ll grab ‘em for you but honestly, contacting Crescent Moon can wait until tomorrow. Tonight, I want you both to go home, be with your mates and relax.” I said when I saw the look of death on both of them.

They glanced at eachother, surprised by my gesture. I chuckled at their suspicious faces because they were right. The main reason that I selfishly wanted them gone was so that I could be alone with Mina when she came back. I headed straight towards my office and came back to the lobby, fifteen minutes later, files in hands. I found myself looking for my men as they were no longer standing by the door. I heard muffled voices coming from my left and I followed the whispers all the way to my living room.

Anderson and Craig were indeed in there, but were not alone. Three young Omegas were standing in front of them. I recognized the young leader of this she-wolf clique as she had once been sharing my bed.

“What’s going on?” I asked the group of people standing inside the living room.

They all turned to face me but remained silent. My eyes darted towards Anderson and laid heavily on him until he cleared his throat.

“Young Karlie here says she has some news for you.” He turned his gaze to the blonde haired girl. “You may speak now.”

She walked up to me seductively biting her lower lip like she had done so many times before. I wanted to tell her to save her energy, but I had no more left in me to be petty.

“While you were gone, we spent our time training as you instructed all of us. We saw your mate spend all of her mornings with a River Creek werewolf in the old gym. Rumour has it that he was teaching her to fight but no one can confirm it because they’ve isolated themselves from everyone. They seemed to have gotten really close to each other.” She took her time delivering every single word.

She had cut me open with her words. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I refused to believe what I was hearing. I wanted to rip her apart for even suggesting that Mina could do something like that do me. She wouldn’t have. She knew that I didn’t want her to train. We agreed on that. She wouldn’t have betrayed me. Karlie’s words couldn't be true. *‘She’s only saying this because she’s jealous of Mina! Look at her! She still likes me. She’s jealous!’* I tried to convince myself but I knew better. Karlie was smart. She would’ve never risked her status as pack member. If she was caught in a lie that sullied her Luna’s reputation, she knew faced automatic banishment.

“Who is the werewolf?” I asked flatly.

“He's the Beta's brother. Travis Reese.”

My heart stopped beating and a nauseating lump formed at the base of my throat. ‘*Out of everyone that she could’ve picked, it had to be him?’* I was steaming with jealousy. While Mina keeping secrets from me already saddened me, her choosing to deliberately go against my back was more than I could take.

I collapsed on the couch and I about to throw everyone out of my house when I sensed someone demanding access to my mind.

***Ryan?*** I asked through the mind-link that he had opened up.

***Shit! I sensed that you were back. I could use some help here, Benji!*** He said into my head.

***What’s going on?*** I asked with growing concern

***Dude, it’s your mate! Roxy made me promise not to say anything but this is getting out of hand.*** He sighed in frustration.

***What’s wrong with Mina? Is she hurt?*** I shouted through the link already running out and stealing Anderson’s car keys in passing.

***No! I mean, yes! But that’s not the problem.*** He replied gravely.

***She’s hurt? What’s going on, Ryan?*** He wasn’t being honest and upfront and it pissed me off.

He sensed my agitation and finally decided to spit it out.

***Dude, Mina and Roxy both know who the rogue Alpha is. He’s Mina’s ex-boyfriend. He was horrible to her and Roxy witnessed it or something. They tried to meet with him at the North camp but they were ambushed.***

Without expecting it, a ridiculous giggle took over me as I drove to join them. Ryan became just as confused as I was.

***Benji, are you okay?***

It was the last thing that I heard from my friend before I closed off the link. I wasn’t okay. ‘*This is crazy!*’ I laughed out loud. In the span of twenty minutes, I found out that the woman I loved not only befriended one of my rivals but had intentionally kept the identity of the rogue Alpha from me.

I thought back to all of the days that I spent confiding in her. I’ve told her all about my worst and crippling fears. She knew about the pain that my parents were enduring and the pressure to help them that I placed on my shoulders. She sat there, listening to me and reassuring me, while she held secret the name of the man that caused so much grief. This went beyond a little lack of faith and directly into the realm of deception. My laughing turned into crying as I realized that I couldn’t trust my own mate. ‘*How could I have been so wrong about her? How could my wolf have been so wrong about her? Does she still love him? Why is she protecting him? Goddess, my worst enemies…*’ I came to the conclusion that I didn’t know the first thing about the woman that I had claimed as mine. The whole world seemed to know more about her than I did and it baffled me.

As soon as my truck appeared in my eye line, the tightness in my chest returned and sent me spiralling into an irrepressible fury. I swerved the car that I had been driving right in front of theirs forcing them to come to a full stop.

Within a minute, I was pulling open the backdoor of the truck and my eyes were landing on my mate.

“Get out of the car, Mina.”