Chapter 29 The Missing Bride
Xander
Guilt eats away at me even through the next few days.
I know my reaction was undeserved but I had no choice. If I thought there was tension before between my father and I, then it doesn't compare to this time especially with his adamancy on me ending things with Vanessa.
Even if it's something that shouldn't be done, my father may use his power as the King to make me obey, and when my father's mind is made up on something, there's no stopping him. Unfortunately for him, I have his blood running through my veins and I'm not the little boy I used to be.
I let out a loud sigh, leaning my head against the head rest of my chair in my private office as I ponder over the next course of action.
There's a knock on the door and I frown, wondering who it is since I'm not expecting anyone. It can't be Vanessa or Max, they're never that courteous.
The door opens slowly when I respond, but imagine my surprise when Max pokes his head through, a cheeky grin I know too well, on his face.
"What did you do now?" I sigh with exasperation.
His lips form into a mock pout. "Hey! I'm not always in trouble."
I raise a brow at him and wait patiently.
Three.
Two.
One.
"Okay, maybe I am in a little trouble," he admits, pinching his thumb and index finger closely together. "I borrowed one of Nessa's arrows the other day and someday, somehow it...broke. and now I'm not sure how to tell her without dying in the process," he rushes out.
"Max," I grunt, pinching my closed eyelids. I swear, he's such a child most times.
"So, I was wondering if you've seen her? She's not in her room or with Patricia."
That's odd. "Have you looked around the gardens and in the kitchen," I ask.
"Yeap. She's not there, or at the training ground either. No one has seen her today...or in days..." he trails off.
Fear spikes in my veins at his response. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, very much." All traces of playfulness now vanished from his face.
Max and I exchange just one look and in the next second, we're hunching over the monitor, replaying the video set in the hallway of my wings. It shows a small figure in dark clothes, her small duffel bag is slung over her shoulder, a face cap hiding her face, but I don't miss the stature and the strands of ginger-red hair peeking from under the cap.
That was four days ago.
"Fuck," Max whispers.
And fuck indeed. This is all my fault. I clasp my head in my hands, wondering how I'm going to fix this.
Where do I even know to go looking for her? She has no place out there.
"What did you do now, Xanny?" Max sighs like I am the child, our roles reversed in just five minutes.
I grit my teeth and rise up. "It doesn't matter. We need to find her."
"No, it must matter if it's enough to make her run off," he snaps.
I grip the front of his shirt in a tight grip, dragging him closer to me. We're only an inch apart but it doesn't stop me from getting in his face. "I said to drop it, our priority right now is to find her and bring her back home safely."
Max in turn, grabs me by the shirt also and grinds out, "If anything happens to her, Xander, I'll make you regret it," his voice taking on a dangerous edge that's so rare I almost forget how lethal he can be sometimes.
Not surprisingly, I don't get jealous because I know Max doesn't like Vanessa that. They've developed a kind of bond likened to siblings and I'm glad there's always someone else who cares about her that much.
The same can't be said for my wolf though, as it growls at Max and paces slowly in my mind.
"We'll find her, Max." I let him see the sincerity in my eyes, then he relaxes and lets go of me.
"Alone too." I nod in agreement.
The first thing I do is to put a call through, but of course, it goes straight to voicemail. Nothing a little tracking can't fix.
Before I had returned her locket that day, I had installed a small tracking device, because you can never be too careful. I felt guilty about it at first, but convinced myself it was for her own protection. Now, thankfully, it's coming in handy today as we trace the little red dot on the GPS tracking system installed on my phone. It comes to a stop, blinking furiously on a spot and I zoom in.
"Fucking hell, Nessa," Max exclaims beside me.
I pick up the car keys and have Max drive us to Club Euphoria, which is just on the outskirts of town, west of our pack.
It's not about the club itself, more of it's visitors and the townspeople. It's a place that crawls with all kinds of people from the wrong side of town - something akin to a community of felonious individuals.
We park the car a few feet away from the club and on our way inside, I scan the alleyways. Plastered on each side are people smoking, sniffing what I assume to be cocaine, moans can also be heard as some people think it's a good idea to fuck there also.
Max and I march inside the club and I regret it immediately. The music is too loud, sweat-stricken bodies glide all around us. A tall blonde even tries to dance with me but I'm sure my face ends up telling him what I really want to do, and he scurries off.
Max snorts loudly behind me but I ignore him, my eyes scanning the crowd for the one person I came all the way here for.
I see her.
Her ginger-red hair sways behind her as she laughs and dances with the blond from earlier.
All I see is red as I march towards them, heart pounding like it'll rip out any minute, until I'm right behind her, the rigid contours of my body plastering against her soft ones.
"Leave," I command the man before us. He doesn't hesitate and scurries away for the second time.
Vanessa stills and tries to turn around but I keep one hand on her jaw, while the other settles on her hip.
I bend to whisper in her ear, "Firecracker, you're in big trouble."