Chapter 34

Adrian.

My nerves are going crazy as I search for where Poppy could be. I’ve been to her shop, but there is no sign of her there. The lights are out, and I didn’t see anything insinuating there has been a fight anywhere around there.

I’m heading to her house now, and I hope she’s there. I’m growing tired of this cat-and-mouse game of trying to figure out where Poppy could be.

I don’t understand, but my wolf is getting anxious about finding Poppy. Since when did he care so much for someone who isn’t our mate? All I want to do is find Poppy and make sure that she is okay, and then maybe I can go back to the pack house and still have a night of fun.

A part of me doesn’t understand why things can’t go back the way they used for me. I know it’s crucial for me to find my mate and do all the rituals to get my full powers as Alpha of my pack, but there is still a part of me that is enjoying the bachelor style of my life. I don’t know if I will be able to commit myself to just one woman after having the life of bedding a woman of my choosing for a while now.

I know other Alphas continue to have concubines on the side to fulfill their carnal needs. What if my mate isn’t okay with me sleeping with other women? On the flip side, would I be okay with her sleeping with other men?

My wolf immediately gets possessive and growls at the thought. He’s never had a care for the women I’ve bedded before in my life. He keeps waiting for our mate to come into our life, but the question is will we ever find her?

We haven’t taken the opportunity to try and find her, my wolf points out in my thoughts. I know he has a point, especially ever since we found out the witch-wolf is our mate. Lately, however, it seems like something always goes wrong with the pack, and I have to put my personal life on hold because my duties as Alpha take precedence over everything else.

When will my personal life become my first priority? In order to become the true Alpha of my pack, I have to find my mate and establish our bond before I can bond to the pack land and receive my full power as Alpha. Without it, another wolf could challenge me and risk losing everything that belongs to me. Shouldn’t it be considered as a first priority?

There’s a small part of me that feels something or, better yet, someone is trying to stop me from fulfilling my destiny.

I get to Poppy’s house and see there is no sign of her being home.

Where else can that girl be?

My eyes shift to the forest that butts up against her property. My brows furrow as I stare into the deep forest. I told her explicitly it wasn’t safe to be out in the woods at night by herself.

Why would she defy me?

I roll my eyes at my own stupid question. Of course, she would; this is Poppy we are talking about. Rules don’t apply to her.

I release a frustrating growl before I start walking into the dark backwoods. This girl better not be in some kind of trouble. She’s already in enough trouble as it is once I get my hands on her.

I close my eyes while I let my wolf come to the surface to use his senses to see if he can get a trace of where Poppy could possibly be. I can never understand why I am unable to catch her scent or feel her presence when she is close to me. Perhaps it’s because she is wolfless; I don’t know. But I’m hoping my wolf will have better luck than I do.

As we get to the center of the forest, my wolf lets out a defensive growl. I pick up the scent of wolves that do not belong to my pack.

I growl as the word “trespassers” escapes my mouth. More wolves trespassing on my territory; when will this treachery end?

A sliver of concern travels through me when a thought enters my head. What if they have Poppy in their possession?

Rage begins to flow through me as I start to run toward their growing scent, as an urge begins to rise inside me to rip their heads off for trespassing onto my land without my permission and taking something that belongs to me.

I catch up with them quickly and sense they are not happy to see me.

“What are you doing on my land?” I growl out.

The ring leader steps forward with a cocky attitude. “It’s not going to be yours for very much longer. Word is spreading that you’re a weak Alpha who can’t protect his pack.”

My eyes narrow at the arrogant man as my reflexes are quick as my hand grabs him by the throat, and my nails dig into his flesh before he’s able to let out a gasp for help. He drops to the ground as his two other friends stare down at him with a look of fear on both of their faces.

“Would either of you want to challenge me as well?”

Both of them shake their heads at me.

“We were just leaving, I swear,” one says to me as they start to back away from their dead friend.

I look around and notice that Poppy is not with them. I say, “Before you go, did you see anyone else out here while you were out here?”

The two look at one another before the first one turns back to look at me and answers, “ We ran into a young woman not too long ago with black hair and silver eyes. She left with another man with platinum blonde hair,” he confesses.

My eyes narrow as my possessiveness grows, and my chest fills with anger. “Which way did they go?”