Chapter 124 - Unreject Me

Pete’s pov

I followed them for quite some time, the same question still lingering in my mind. Why was he in his human form while his mate ran in the forest? William took pride in his Alpha wolf. I remembered him being proud of the things they accomplished together. His wolf was a keen hunter and an excellent fighter. There were times he beat my wolf in races and hunts. Sparring against William was a challenge, and because of his agility, Jace hesitated to fight against him. Although I stopped liking him for a long time, I would never deny how talented and strong he was, and that was one reason I delayed confronting them.

I studied their movements from a distance. Their scents faintly reached my nostrils, but it was pretty ambiguous. Hence I assumed that even if my scent reached them, they wouldn’t be able to tell the difference. I didn’t want to alert them, so despite the desire to see them closer, I kept the distance. When they stopped by a waterfall, I sneaked behind a thick bush, hoping to get a closer view. William climbed off her back, and she morphed back to her human form. My heart picked up pace. She was so beautiful. It was such a pity that it was going to be wasted.

She reached out for something, but he just smirked at her.

“I like it better when you’re like that.”

I rolled my eyes.

She snickered and gave him a playful shove. “Will, come on. Give me the shirt. I don’t want someone to see me like this.”

“Well, is someone close by? Can you smell any scents? I think we are alone... as always.”

She creased a forehead as she looked my way. My heart skipped a beat as I dove under the bush. I really hoped that she didn’t notice me.

“I don’t know. I think someone is close by, or some wolves passed this area recently. There is a strange scent in the air.”

“Oh, really? Okay. Maybe someone wanted to appreciate the nature in this part of the woods. This waterfall makes this place so much more beautiful, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, maybe,” she said. “

“I hope this part of the forest remains like this forever.”

William’s remark was of least importance to me. That conversation seemed so strange to me. As wolves, we all had the ability to detect scents in the air, and William’s wolf was an extra ordinary one. My frown deepened. Then, why was she telling him about the scent? Wasn’t he able to detect the scents in the air?

I didn’t move as I took my time to connect the dots and process everything I just heard. He didn’t shift to his wolf, and he couldn’t detect the scents. Perhaps something happened to his wolf.

My eyes widened as a smirk curled on my lips. Did the rascal go dormant? Hilarious!

I rejoiced in silence. Their lives weren’t as perfect as I thought they were.

“The water looks so good. Do you want to go for a swim?” he asked.

“No. I would rather sit here. I don’t want to wet my hair today,” she said.

I peeked through the leaves of the bush when I heard a splash. Dessed in a baggy t-shirt that reached her thighs while William splashed in the water, Helena sat on a large rock. I tilted my head, admiring Helena’s ethereal beauty. I recalled how her smooth skin, her soft lips, and her alluring scent used to intoxicate me. Although she refused to sleep with me before our marriage, I was her first kiss. I dreamt of a beautiful life with her until things stopped going my way.

My lips pursed in a grim line. I was burning with the desire to feel the softness of her skin once again, but I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get that except by force.

The memories of the day I met with Fin flooded back to me. I specifically instructed him to make sure that their pup didn’t survive, and he delivered. I had heard that Fin’s attack was vicious enough to take her to the brink of death. I later found out that they intended to annihilate the entire pack, but William succeeded in regaining control. Helena suffered a lot that time, and yet she was sitting there as though she hadn’t gone through such a horrible ordeal. I understood it was years ago, but a human would have been left with ugly scars all over the body. Helena, however, was only left with an inability to conceive. My lips twitched. At least she couldn’t produce an heir for my ex-friend.

I glanced at him. He had swum far enough. Although he was close enough to see and hear everything, he wouldn’t be able to swim back to the shore in time if I were to take his mate by surprise, especially if his wolf was dormant. I morphed back to my human form and cautiously moved closer to her. I knew that she would be able to hear and smell me once I got close enough, and perhaps she would recognise my scent. Would she remember my scent? I wondered as I got closer and closer. Her expression suddenly changed. Her behaviour told me she was aware of my presence. That was my signal.

I dashed towards her just as she turned around. Fear reflected in her widened eyes as her mouth opened to scream. She barely had time to react. With my blow to her face, her scream was cut short.

“Hey! Leave her alone!”

I ignored William’s screams and elbowed her nose, and when she fell to the ground, I slammed my fists on the back of her neck. I knew she was bleeding from her nose and perhaps lost a tooth or two, but that didn’t stop me from beating her until she lost consciousness. I glanced at William, who was now desperately swimming to the shore. He looked so pathetic. I scoffed at him. Apparently, he didn’t have his wolf with him. If he did, he wouldn’t have been so slow. Regardless of my desire to mock him, I didn’t waste time. William, even in his human form, was a remarkable combatant. I swung her limp body over my shoulder and gave him the finger before running off into the depths of the woods.

He couldn't chase after me because he was basically a human, and he couldn't mind link anyone to ask for assistance as long as his wolf was latent. I wanted to laugh. Every second of my retaliation was worth the wait.

Kaya’s pov

My gaze met with Theo’s. “Pete isn’t back? He is usually back by now,” I said.

“I didn’t think it was something to be concerned about. He can have breakfast whenever he returns,” Theo uttered. “But now that we know Helena and William are also missing, that doesn’t sound good.”

An unease invaded my chest. I cast an uninterested glance at the delicacies the chef had prepared for breakfast. The news had caused me to lose my appetite.

“I think we should look for them. I don’t have a good feeling about this,” I said, walking towards the exit. I wanted to check on my babies and appoint the omegas to take care of them before I left the pack house looking for them.

Setting up omegas to look after my pups and join the search didn't take long. Since it touched some very special people in my life, I wanted to look for them. Theo, as usual, was not content to wait while I led the group of fighters into the forest. Penny and Ezekiel were to remain behind, but Drake and Liana declared they would join the search. If Pete went back to the pack home, Ezekiel and Penny were to let us know. A small part of me wished he would come home soon and that Helena and William would also return home without us having to worry about them. I sensed, though, that was not going to occur.

My heart pounded in my chest as we rushed into the woods. Some of the warriors morphed into their wolves, but Theo and I stayed in our human forms. Using our enhanced senses, we navigated through the woods. His scent faintly lingered on the tree trunks he probably brushed against during his morning run. After some time, I realised that the trail of scent was leading us towards the pack house William and Helena stayed in.

As we got closer and closer, the palpitations of my heart increased. My anxiety skyrocketed. Was he spying on them?

I started to wish that I kept a closer eye on his during the runs, but it was a little too late for that. He seemed to have moved around the pack house, but he was smart enough to stay a good distance away from the soldiers guarding the premises. When I noticed paw prints on the dirt, my heart dropped. I really wished that I was wrong. The prints could belong to any wolf since it was a wolf’s territory, but my conscience kept telling me that those prints belonged to him. After all, his scent was all over the place. Though faint, it was surely his scent.

“I think he was here,” Theo mumbled as he stared at a bush.

I stepped forward to see what he was staring at. The dirt under the bush was disturbed, as though someone had been there not too long ago. With my heart thudding in my chest, I went to sniff its leaves. If he had been there, he would have left his scent on the bush. My lips pursed. He was there. He really was stalking them. But for how long? He had been in the pack for just three days.

A warrior approached us in his human form. “Alpha, the guards said that Alpha William and his mate went on their run as usual. They didn’t notice anything strange.”

I saw Drake walking up to us with a frown creased on his face.

“I have tried mind linking Luna Helena. It isn’t working. She never blocks us, and they wouldn’t go too far away from the pack house. I am getting concerned about them,” he said.

I gritted my teeth. I wish we hadn’t loosened up around Pete, but William and Helena were confident that he wouldn’t hurt them. They didn’t want me to stress about it, especially after the security of the pack house was tightened. They didn’t want to run into him and have him in their place of residence. Nonetheless, they were certain that he was pretty harmless even after I told them about what he did to his human wife.

“Pete. He must have done something. His scent is all over the place,” I said, glancing at Theo. “Did they mind link you about Pete? Is he back?”

He shook his head, and my eyes strayed to the trail the wolves frequently took. I found myself hoping that another runner would come across them and accompany them back to the pack house. Pete was not someone to trust. Before he did anything, we really ought to have asked him to leave. Though I couldn't imagine what he would do to them, he wouldn't be up to anything good if he followed them around.

“Theo, we must find them,” I said.