“I’m sorry.”
“Sorry?” Dad yelled. “Sorry isn’t going to bring back your sister! Sorry isn’t going to make up for the fact that you were fucking irresponsible!”
I shrunk back when he turned to face me again. If there was one thing I hated the most, it was having Dad yell at me.
“I only wanted to help,” I whispered.
“Help?” he growled as he took a step closer to me. “You help your sister by respecting her wishes, not force her to go to a party where she’d be surrounded by—” He fell silent and glared at me. “Did she tell you that she didn’t want to go with you?”
I hesitated and then gave him a nod.
“And you still fucking forced her!”
“Daddy, I—”
“You’re twenty-one, Eva. Old enough to do the responsible thing.”
Dad’s disappointment was even worse that the regret I felt at the moment. I fucked up and I knew that. The last thing I needed right now was for Dad to remind me of it.
His mouth opened to say more, but Jason entered the room. He hesitated in the doorway, eyes darting between us.
“Should I come back later?”
“No.” Dad turned towards him. “Any news?”
“Nobody on campus has seen or heard anything,” Jason muttered. “I called Alpha Grayson to ask permission to search on his land.”
“We’ve met before. I came to see him when the twins were accepted in College.”
Jason nodded. “He mentioned that. Grayson also said that he’d be here in twenty minutes.”
Letting out another low growl, Dad ran a hand through his hair and started pacing. My eyes darted to Jason who gave me a sympathetic smile before walking away.
Silence surrounded Dad and I once again. He hadn’t said much since he arrived in town with granddad Devon which was about forty-two hours ago. There was still no sign of Ariana and I knew that every passing second with her missing was lowering the chances of us finding her.
When she was kidnapped the first time, she’d only been missing for five hours but a lot of damage had been done. A shudder raced through me. I could only imagine what. . .I shook my head.
“W-what can I do to help?”
Dad threw a glare at me over his shoulder. “You’ve already done enough.”
“Daddy.”
“If something happens to your sister I’m holding you responsible.”
I flinched. He might as well have struck me because it sure fucking felt like it.
Sparing him one last glance, I walked out of the room and headed to the backyard. There was an old swing set I’d seen when I first arrived at Jason’s house. I made my way over towards it and took a seat.
I could still sense Ariana so I knew that she wasn’t dead.
I’d been numb with pain when Jason found me. Pain that had faded slowly and then disappeared. Dad had called Jason right after I’d called him. He was the only ally we had in town so it made sense why Dad called him.
Jason also knew a lot of people who would be willing to help us.
But we needed permission from Alpha Grayson first before we could step foot onto pack land.
A tear slowly rolled down my cheek and dripped onto my arm. Sniffing, I reached up to wipe the next tear before it could fall.
“How are you holding up, kiddo?”
My eyes shot up to watch as Granddad took a seat on the grass a few feet away from where I was sitting on the swing. I shrugged in answer to his question and bit my lip to stop the sob from escaping.
“Alpha Grayson’s here.”
“Did he give his permission?”
He hesitated. “I don’t know yet. There’s no reason for him to deny our request.”
“But what if he does?” I asked. “How are we going to find Ari?”
“We will find your sister, Eva.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Dad’s pissed at me.”
Granddad sighed. “Given the circumstances, I think he has the right to be.”
“What if that anger turns into h-hate?” I questioned. “What if we can’t find Ari and he—”
“Eva.” His eyes narrowed. “Eva, your father loves you very much. No matter what happens, he will never hate you.”
A sob fell from my lips before I could stop it. “I w-was only trying to help her.”
He opened his arms and without any hesitation, I dove into them. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I pressed my face to his neck as I cried.
“You can’t force these types of things onto your sister,” he muttered as he rubbed my back. “What Ariana went through isn’t something that would just go away. It takes years and years for someone to heal from that.”
“I hate seeing her like that.”
“Me too, honey.” He pressed a kiss to my hair. “The best way to help someone going through PTSD is to just be there for them whenever they need you.”
***
Alpha Grayson was at least ten years younger than Dad but he carried an air of authority around him. He seemed friendly but it was hard to tell whether he could be trusted.
What I knew for sure was that I didn’t want to make an enemy out of the man.
Icy blue eyes studied me silently as I studied him from my spot in the doorway. He wore a blue shirt that did nothing to hide the scars on the right side of his neck.
Battle scars, as Ariana would call them.
It was extremely rare for a Lycan to obtain scars because of our rapid healing ability. Only some weapons used that were made of silver, caused scars. Silver prevented us from healing which was why most Hunters had their weapons made out of it.
But the scars on Alpha Grayson’s neck didn’t look like it had been caused by Hunters. Questions hovered on the tip of my tongue but I didn’t dare voice them.
My eyes darted around the room but my father was nowhere to be seen.
“You must be Eva.”
My eyes snapped back to him. I gave him a slight nod.
“Your father stepped out to take a call.” Alpha Grayson reached up to rub a finger across his lips. “You’ve made quite a name for yourself. I had to break up a few fights between my pups because of you.”
Colour flooded my cheeks.
“Are you looking for your mate?” he asked after a slight pause.
“No,” I instantly answered.
“Then I suggest you stop making waves.” Alpha Grayson smiled at me but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Every pack has rules and in my pack, you don’t make ‘moves’ unless you’re looking for something serious.”
“I haven’t given them—”
“No?” He raised an eyebrow. “This is the only warning you’re going to get from me, Eva. Stay away from my pups. I will not tolerate anymore fighting over a bitch who’s looking for a good time.”
Fear hit me hard, making me stumble. It gradually faded which made me breathe a little easier.
Ariana wasn’t dead.
But she was still missing.
Fingers wrapped around my upper arm and steered me towards the nearest couch. I blinked up at Alpha Grayson.
“Didn’t think my friendly warning was going to make you faint.”
My lips twitched. “It wasn’t that,” I told him.
God he smelt like chocolate. Not only did he smell edible but he looked edible too.
“I’m sorry about—Eva? What happened?”
The Alpha moved away to make room for Dad who instantly crouched in front of me.
“Ariana’s fine,” I told him. “She was very scared a moment ago but her fear faded.”
“Can you reach out to her?” he asked.
My eyes darted over his face and then fluttered closed. Sometimes it felt like he loved her more than he loved me.
Pushing all the negative thoughts away, I focused on Ariana and carefully reached out to her. For a moment nothing happened. Her side of the bond was deadly silent but just as I was about to give up, she answered.
“She. . .” I frowned. “She feels safe but cautious.”
Dad moved away from me when I opened my eyes to look at him. He shook his head as he rubbed a hand down his face.
“Maybe we’re. . .” I trailed off when he glared at me.
“Jason explained things to me,” Alpha Grayson said. “I came here to offer my help. What do you need?”
Dad and Alpha started discussing strategies. I stayed silent until the conversation ended and they were both heading towards the exit. Before either of them could leave the room, I stood.
“What about Lucas,” I asked Dad.
“What about him?”
“We need to search for him too.”
“I wasn’t aware that two people were missing. A family member?” Alpha Grayson’s eyes narrowed.
“Friend,” I answered when Dad stayed silent. “He went searching for Ari when she disappeared. I can’t get hold of him.”
“Is he a local?” I nodded. “Do you know where he lives?”
“No. His name’s Lucas Watson.”