King Bailey POV
The night started off tense, but to my great surprise, most of the Alphas and Lunas willingly accepted Riley, even agreeing with her stance on Sirens and the proposal that they were to no longer be hunted. There were very few that offered any resistance or showed any anger at my choice of a mate and those that did, were quick to disperse or excuse themselves. They were no great loss. As I held my mate in my arms, swaying to the music and watching other couples do the same, some even those who had found their mate tonight at the ball, I could see her smile lighting up her face, even as her gaze continually seemed to shoot around the room.
"Penny for your thoughts?" I teased her and she blinked, bringing her attention back to me.
"Sorry, what?" she mumbled.
I reached over and tugged a loose tendril of hair "you seem to be getting distracted" I chuckled as she raised apologetic eyes at me "is it because I'm such a poor dancer?" I joked.
"Of course not" she denied with a giggle, as I held onto her tightly, breathing in that sweet aromatic scent of hers, enjoying the feel of her flesh beneath my hands, her lithe figure moving to the beat of the music, her belly barely swollen with child "I guess I'm just trying to make sure that our guests are having fun" she admitted sheepishly.
I grinned "Sweetheart, everybody is fine. Hell, even your brother is chatting up some of the unmated females" I growled, spotting Damien out of the corner of my eye as she quickly looked and then giggled "and everybody seems to be having fun."
Damien was in so much trouble when I got hold of him. He was supposed to be keeping an eye out for Alpha Jaxon and keeping a close eye on Riley, even if she was currently by my side at the moment, not chatting up women. I glared at him but he didn't pay me any particular attention. If Riley wasn't here....the man would have been dead meat by now. As it was I was debating whether to throw something at his head, in order to get his attention. Riley giggled, as though reading my mind and put a hand on my arm.
"He's just having fun," she said loyally.
"He's meant to be helping guard" I grumbled as she continued to smile at me "not having fun. I hope one of those women is a maneater" I added with a smirk "It would serve him right."
She giggled again. I spotted Callum and Cody out of the corner of my eye, waving towards me. Damn. I looked down at Riley regretfully but she had also spotted them and was already beginning to step back from me. My Lycan gave a low groan of disappointment as we broke contact with her.
"Duty calls," Riley said with a sigh.
"Why don't you come with me?" I proposed beginning to turn.
"Actually, I'm beginning to feel a bit nausea," she told me as I looked her over, taking note of how pale her face was and how ashen she looked "I'm going to go to the bathroom and then sit down at a table" she proposed as I nodded at her, concerned.
"Get a guard to go with you" I instructed, and she sighed.
"I'm going to the bathroom" she began and then saw my face.
"Fine, I'll grab a female," she said irritably.
I grinned and then turned, heading out of the marquee and joining Callum and Cody who looked anxious.
"What is it?" my voice was low, my eyes scanning the area for anybody lurking too close, the sounds of the ball still heard from the marquee close by.
Callum cleared his throat "Although Alpha Jaxon has not been spotted, we have every reason to believe that he might be here somewhere" he said.
I frowned. "Why? You said it yourself, Riley rejected the man. Surely if he has some sense of pride, he won't come after her, seeing as she's mates with the Lycan King. Didn't you say he had a mate back at the pack? A chosen one?" I added "Honestly, I can't see this man going to such extremes. Not unless he's become unhinged and if that was the case, then he wouldn't be hiding in the shadows" I said thoughtfully.
"You don't know Jaxon like we do. He's obsessed with Riley" Cody interjected as I turned to stare at him "And he's clever. I think" he paused "I think he might have been the one to take the sirens who are missing."
"What? Why?" I asked bewildered "What purpose could they possibly...." I trailed off.
"Well, like you said, taking over other packs. Jaxon wants to be the strongest. He always has" Callum murmured "The sirens would allow him to overtake packs with ease. But there's something else that's only just occurred to us" he added as I frowned, trying to think everything over "What if he wanted to use the sirens for something else? As a means to get to Riley?" he added.
"You think he would be that desperate?" I asked in disbelief "She dissolved the mate bond between them" I added disgustedly.
The boys shot each other a glance "Actually she didn't" Cody ventured to say as I snarled at him "he never accepted her rejection, not once."
Silence. I rubbed my chin. "But there's no sign of Jaxon in the marquee, he would have been spotted."
"He's not going to be stupid enough to place himself where he can be seen," Callum said wisely "and there's neutral territory not far from here, isn't there?"
My eyes shot to them "Even if there was, how on earth would he be able to get Riley to come to him?" I pointed out smugly "She's hardly going to just walk on out there."
"What if she thought it was someone she knows?" Callum pressed "or she got a message threatening Tiana?" he asked.
"She would do anything to save Tiana," I said "but Damien is keeping an eye on her. She's not going to be able to slip out past him."
"Bailey" came a shout and I looked over my shoulder, to see a frazzled Damien bolting over to me "Riley is missing. I tried to mind-link her and couldn't. You wouldn't answer mine either" he shouted frantically.
I had put up a block while speaking to Callum and Cody. I turned on Damien "What do you mean she's missing" I yelled "She was going to the bathroom with a guard and then going to sit at a table" I grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air "Tell the truth, were you distracted by those women?"
I was breathing heavily.
Damien clawed at my hands "No" he gasped "She never came back with the guard" he grunted.
I dropped him and ran. I moved past confused looks, past the marquee, to the girl's bathroom, and without warning, burst through the doors. Blood. I smelled blood. The guard that Riley had brought with her was on the ground bleeding and unconscious. There was no sign of Riley. Callum and Cody were right behind me.
"Head for the neutral territory" I shouted and they took off, shifting and running while I turned to Damien.
"Join Patrol and start searching the grounds" I snarled.
I closed my eyes and mind-linked Thomas.
Riley's missing. Her guard is bleeding and unconscious. Callum and Cody are heading to neutral territory. Damien is searching with the patrol.
I'm on my way. Go. I'll take care of the guard and then join you. If she's gone to neutral territory, she might already be...Thomas's voice was instantly back in my mind.
Gone. I know. I told her not to risk herself damnit. I told her to let us handle this.
Riley's all that matters right now. Forget about your anger, put it all aside, and go searching for your mate Thomas shouted.
I ran, shifting into my lycan form and taking off at breakneck speed. I raised my nose in the air and sniffed for her scent. It was faint, but there. I followed, my Lycan growling in fury. If she was hurt, or worse, I didn't know what my Lycan was capable of doing. As Callum and Cody had predicted her scent led towards neutral territory. I growled, running, my paws thudding heavily along the ground. What had she been thinking? What had possessed her to make such a drastic risk? I reached the territory and halted, finding Callum and Cody's wolves in a small clearing, sniffing but the scent was lost. I shifted, looking closely, and slammed my hand into the ground, hard. Tire tracks. The son of a bitch had put her in a car. Even if I followed her scent, it would be lost in no time. I saw something out of the corner of my eye and passed, kneeling down and picking up a small pink hair clip. It wasn't Rileys. I recognized it instantly and my stomach dropped. While we had all been at the ball, Tiana had been here, against her will. It was the one thing that would have lured my mate to leave without a word. She would have done anything to save that little girl. My face contorted into an expression of rage as I flung back my head and let out a bloodcurdling howl.