Chapter 12

Alpha Erick’s POV:

I slam my fist through the wall. I have no idea how Kate can be so calm. She is thinking; she is rationalizing everything that has happened, and so am I. Raven was the one that came here with the news that she would be Alpha. Raven bowed down before her to serve her, and he was the one that was supposed to be following Liam when he was murdered or whatever happened to him. These damn Imperials. This is the last straw for me. I want them all gone from here. Taking my daughter is the last straw!

I look at Kate. She is backing away from me, scared or giving me space. I am not sure which one. Her eyes are wide as she watches me. She turns away from me and begins to cry out, screaming for Belle. I put my arms around her and try to comfort her. She pulls away.

"I have to think that she knew what she was doing, but she is only a child. Erick, she is not like other children. She is strong and smart. She will be okay. He will not harm her; they need her. I think she did this. I think she took him not the other way around. I have to believe that she is in control of this, not Raven," Kate says.

Kate looks at me, waiting for me to agree with her. She needs me to say that Belle is okay. She needs me to agree with her. I pull Kate close to me and brush my hand through her hair. I want to comfort her, but I am not sure if her ideas of what is going on are rational. We are talking about Belle. Belle knows things that other wolves do not know.

"You are right. Belle is different, but she is still only a child. I am calling my wolves. We have to do something fast. You check in on Meaghan. You have to tell her what happened. Be honest with her, and she deserves honesty," I say.

Kate looks toward the back room where Meaghan, Katherine, and Levi are sleeping. This is not a conversation she wants to have with anyone. Meaghan has been hurt so many times, and now here we are again, hurting her.

"Okay, I will talk to Meaghan. Maybe he said something to her that would help us know where they went. You call in your wolves. Leave the Imperials out of this. I am done with them. I do not want them involved. They have done enough damage to my family," Kate says.

I can see it in her eyes. She is done with the Imperials and every hurt they have brought into her life. She wants this to end once and for all. No more Imperials, no more realm. It all has to end. Kate has to destroy the realm so she can move on with her life.

"Kate, none of this is your fault. You know that, right?" I ask her.

She shakes her head. The tears are rolling down her face. "My child is missing. As a mother, that is my fault. I have to keep her safe. Family should be first, not pack. I have no plans to bring Liam out of that realm. I will leave him there to rot. I know what happened now, and the only thing I want is to get my child back and then get all of these Imperials as far away from me as possible. No realm, no legacy, just my family! All I need is my family," Kate says.

She walks away to speak with Meaghan. I do feel sorry for Meaghan and the news Kate is about to break to her. I hear Kate go into the bedroom door as I pick up my phone to call John.

John answers the phone. "Hello, Alpha. Is everything okay?" he says. I do not usually call him at night unless there is an emergency. His time is his time.

"No, get her fast and bring a team. Actually, bring two teams. I need one to guard the house and one for what we are about to do," I answer him. I hang up the phone quickly.

I step out of my office and walk into the kitchen. I do not hear anything coming out of Meaghan's room. No crying, no noise, no talking, something is wrong. I walk back to the back bedroom. I knock on the door. I step inside, and no one says anything. They are both silent.

Kate is standing at the door, looking toward Meaghan. Meaghan is not saying anything, and neither is Kate. The baby is asleep, and Levi is sleeping on the bed. Meaghan looks at me. Her eyes are wet from tears. She is upset, and I cannot blame her. She loves him, and he is good to her and her children. This betrayal will ruin her.

"Say none of this is true. I cannot believe Raven would hurt our children and me. I love him. It cannot be true," Meaghan finally says after staring at me for what seems like an eternity.

How I would love to tell her it is not true. "Meaghan, we only know that he left with Belle, and now they are both missing," I say.

She looks at Kate and then back to me. "He would not take her. There has to be another explanation. Are you sure he took Belle? Or were they both taken?" Meaghan asks.

Kate shakes her head. "We do not know what has happened, but we need your help," Kate says.

Meaghan sits up on the side of the bed. She is crying and trying to pull herself together. "Raven is a good man. There is no way he would hurt anyone," Meaghan says.

Kate sits down on the side of the bed with Meaghan. "I hope you are right. I do not want it to be Raven. Right now, we need to find him and Belle. Either he is in danger, or he took my child. We need to find him and fast," Kate says.

Meaghan shakes her head. She checks on both of her sleeping children and then walks out of the back bedroom. She goes into the kitchen. She is still half asleep and trying to get all of this through her mind.

"He has not said anything off lately. He has been very complimentary of Kate and how she is doing things. I just cannot believe he would take Belle," Meaghan says.

Kate reaches out and touches her shoulder. Meaghan pulls away from her. "We should not be here. We should be with our own kind," Meaghan says.

Kate steps back from Meaghan. Her expressions change suddenly. "What did you say?" Kate asks her.

"It is something he said. We should be with our own kind," Meaghan says. She looks at the floor and begins to cry harder.

John comes through the front. "I have a team ready," he says.

"You stay here with Meaghan," I say to Kate.

"I have a team ready to stay here with Alpha Kate," John says.

Kate grabs me. "Bring back our daughter," Kate says.