Chapter 51

Elliot’s POV

“You really didn’t have to come all the way here. It was just a scratch,” Shirley innocently said as she batted her lashes at me. I stifled an eye roll because she sounded frantic on the phone about getting hurt and now, she was playing it off like it was nothing. She was right though; it was nothing more than a scratch. It was obvious that the rogue didn’t want her. “Your wife must be so upset that your date night was ruined because of this.”

She pouted as she ran her hand up my arm. I sighed and took a step back, out of her reach.

“I need answers, Shirley,” I told her, keeping my voice indifferent. “How many rogues were there?”

Pack doctors had surrounded Shirley because I ordered them to keep their priorities on her injuries. Now that we had free time and she was just about to be discharged, I knew I could ask her questions.

“I think maybe 1,” she answered. “It was dark, and I couldn’t really see clearly.”

I furrowed my brows together; we were wolves which meant we had great sight in the dark. But I wasn’t going to question her because I knew everything happened quickly.

“What did he look like?” I asked, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice.

She wrapped her arms across her chest.

“I didn’t really see him good, Elliot,” she told me. “But he had a silver knife.”

“But he didn’t use it on you?”

“I don’t think so,” she murmured. “I didn’t feel the silver if he had. I think he only used his claws. It all happened so fast though so I can’t be sure.”

Tears welled up in her eyes and I stood from her bedside.

“Christ's sake, Shirley. You are an Alpha; you should be stronger than this,” I scolded, not caring if I sounded like an asshole.

“I know… I’m just upset I couldn’t be more helpful. I’m also upset ruined your evening,” she let out a sob.

I sighed, running my fingers through my hair and feeling a jab of remorse for my oldest friend.

“I’m sorry, Shirley. I know you’ve been through a lot, and I don’t mean to hound you with questions. But can you at least tell me where you were and why you were in the forest alone?”

‘I was in the northern region of the pack,” she explained. “I was there because I was on a hunt—”

“On my territory?” I snapped, feeling that surge of anger returning.

She bit her lower lip again.

“I didn’t think you would mind,” she confessed.

I opened my mouth to say something more, but then my phone rang, snapping me back to the current moment, I grabbed my phone from my back pocket and glanced at the screen.

“Erik,” I said into the phone.

“Alpha, there’s a problem,” Erik gasped, putting me on full alert.

I ordered Erik to be Silver’s personal bodyguard and driver. Whenever he called, I knew it had to do with Silver because I told him to give me frequent updates about her well-being and overall safety; I also liked knowing her whereabouts in case anything happened. But for him to call me and tell me that there was a problem, I hoped for once that it had nothing to do with Silver.

My chest constricted and I felt queasy.

“What is it?” I asked, trying to keep the urgency out of my voice.

“I was patrolling the area around the palace after I dropped the Luna off. As I walked around, I noticed there was a sign of a break-in,” he told me, much to my dismay.

My heart fell deep into my stomach, and I had to take a shaky deep breath.

“And?” I impatiently urged.

“And I went inside to find Silver and let her know that there might be a break-in, but she wasn’t there,” he told me.

“What the hell do you mean she wasn’t there?” I asked through my teeth, a surge of anger coursing through me.

“I mean, she’s gone, Alpha. I walked not the parlor and there are signs of struggle.”

“What kind of struggle?”

“The glass table was broken and there’s blood on the ground,” he told me.

I nearly dropped the phone right then and there. I met Shirley’s eyes and my chest tightened.

“Find out where she is,” I barked before I hung up the phone.

I dialed Beta Leo’s phone number and pressed the phone to my cheek.

“Is everything okay?” Shirley asked, looking worried. I didn’t bother answering her, I turned my back towards her and waited for Leo to answer.

“Alpha?” Leo asked.

“Leo, the rogues took Silver,” I said, breathlessly as I had just run a marathon. “I need you to find out where they’d take her and why.”

“I was just about to call you, Alpha. It seems there was only one rogue who attacked Shirley, the others have been waiting and hiding. We picked up their scent but it’s faint enough that tracking it is difficult.”

“Do you think the attack on Shirley was just a distraction”?” I asked.

“I was thinking the same thing,” he replied. “I’ll find out what I can and get back to you.”

I hung up without another word.

“Silver was taken?” Shirley gasped, quickly getting out of the hospital bed.

“Yes,” I said and started towards the door. “I need to find her.”

“I have a tracker's nose, I can help,” she said urgently.

I didn’t wait for her to follow; Silver needed me.

…..

Silver’s POV

The pounding in my head made it impossible to think straight. The blood that pooled from my head down my cheeks was now dried and caked onto my flesh, making me uncomfortable and itchy.

“He’s going to kill you for hurting her,” I heard a gruff voice close by saying. I felt arms wrapped around my waist and I was slung over someone’s shoulder like I was a sack of potatoes.

The scent of fresh wood and pine indicated that I was somewhere in the forest, and it felt like I was on the move. I tried to open my eyes to gather my surroundings, but everything hurt, and I feared what I might see. I figured the only thing I had left on my side was the element of surprise. If they knew I was now awake, that would be taken away from me. So, I remained limp in this rogue's arms with my eyes squeezed tight.

“He’ll have to get over it,” the rogue holding me huffed. “I didn’t know how else to get her out of that house.”

“The boss was clear when he said he wanted her unharmed,” the first rogue muttered. “I’m going to tell him I had nothing to do with this.”

“Fine,” the second rogue said through his teeth; their voices sounded as if they swallowed glass, and it gave me a shiver down my spine. “But we need to hurry and get her over the border before the Alpha comes and finds his precious little wife.”

“You don’t honestly think he gives a shirt about her, do you? She’s wolfless,” the first rogue practically laughed. “The most powerful and strongest Alpha in the world isn’t going to come for a wolfless female.”

“She’s still his wife,” the rogue holding me reminded him.

“Both of you just shut up and keep moving,” a different rogue that sounded further ahead hissed.

I wondered how many there were; so far, I counted 3, but there could be more. Someone, their boss, wanted me, and they wanted me alive. My question was why? Who was their boss and what did they want from me?

I felt sick to my stomach at the thought of it, but I had to keep my sleeping composure, so they didn’t know I was awake. His hold on me tightened to a point where it felt like I couldn’t breathe.

We continued walking for several more minutes until I heard a rustle of leaves in the distance. My entire body froze as a familiar scent invaded my nose. I might not have a wolf, but I still had some of the abilities a wolf would have such as strong senses.

I knew that scent; it was Shirley’s scent.

“What are you doing here?” One of the rogues asked as if they knew her.

“You know why I’m here,” Shirley barked at them, a growl leaving her throat.

“You told us you wouldn’t interfere,” the same rogue hissed.

A chill ran down my spine; Shirley knew the rogues were here and spoke to them? She made an agreement that she wouldn’t say anything? What the actual hell was happening?

“Yeah, well, the plan’s changed,” Shirley said, a deadly threat lacing her words.

“What the fuck does that mean?” The rogue snapped. “You said—”

“I know what I said,” she growled. ‘But I changed my mind. I think it would be better if I played the hero instead of the victim.”

“What??” The rogue holding me growled, his hold tightening even more and squeezing the life out of me.

Before any of them could say anything more, I felt the shift in the air. A loud growl came from Shirley, and I knew right away that Shirley had shifted into her wolf form. I shuddered when I heard the snapping of canines and others shifting into their wolf forms as well.

I managed to open my eyes, adjusting them to the new lighting and I saw Shirley’s auburn wolf lunging at the rogues nearby and surrounding me. There was at least half a dozen of them; way more than I originally thought.

The only rogue who hadn’t shirted was the one holding me; he was now running in a different direction. Shirley’s eyes found his and she lunged towards him. He ran faster; for a rogue in his human form, he was a fast runner.

My eyes locked onto Shirley, and I knew she could see the pleading in my eyes. She ran even faster, and a loud growl escaped her lips just as she lunged through the air and at the rogue.

Just as she reached me, another wolf, much darker with deep yellow eyes came into view and he looked furious.

Relief flooded me.

Elliott!

More wolves from his pack, I knew were Beta Leo, Gamma Luca, Gamma Erik, and other gammas ran through the forest behind Elliot, all looking furious and deadly. But I wasn’t afraid of them; I was afraid of the rogues that were taking me away.

Shirley managed to get to me first and she latched her canines onto the rogue's leg, making him howl in pain as he fell to the ground, dropping me in the process. I hit my head on a rock and my vision blurred. The gash on my head reopened and blood spilled across my cheeks as I rolled over onto my back.

I heard Shirley tearing the rogue apart while the gammas and Beta Luka ran to capture the others who were now running in different directions, fearing what the Alpha might do to them.

Elliot had shifted into his human form; he was completely naked as he knelt before me, panic in his eyes.

“Silver, stay with me,” he said, his voice pleading. “Just stay with me.”