Page 79 of Alphas Never Hide

“What’shappened?”Gageasked.He’dshifted into his alternate form, an imposing figure amid the rest of the pack.Hisblack wings barely fit between the dense tree trunks and his red skin looked vibrant against the yellow and orange leaves of the fall foliage.Bythe grim look on his demonic face, he already knew what had happened.

“RobbiehasRyley,”Isaid.

“Wedon’t know that.”Adriansat on his haunches. “Wefound the trackerRyleywas wearing, but it could have?—”

“Idetected both of their scents,”Igrowled. “Robbiewas here with his lackeys, and he tookRyley.”

Adrianducked his head and exposed the side of his neck to me. “I’msorry,Alpha.Iwas wrong.”

“WhereisTeague?”Iasked. “Ineed him to do whatever he did whenOgdenwas abducted.Hecould see the bond or something.”

“Teague’snot here,”Gagesaid.

“Well, get him here,”Idemanded.

“Wewill, but it’ll take him time to get back.”

“Opena damn portal and go get him.”

“Ican’t.”Gagegrimaced. “Ican only open portals to placesI’vebeen.”

“Mymate is missing.Ineed to find him.Allyou’re giving me are excuses.Ifyou won’t help, get out of my way.”

“Wewant to help,”Vansaid with a placating tone as he stepped forward.Noone stood too close to him with his flame-covered fur.Andas he moved, the few who were closest to him inched further away. “Allof us.Now, talk to me.Yousaid you picked up his scent.Doyou know what direction they went?”

Igritted my teeth.Thehellhound was trying to help,Iknew that, but all this talking was killing me.Ineeded to findRyley.Robbiehad been ready to leave me to die in that cage in his bunker, so what would he do to my mate?Didhe realize whoRyleywas to me?Wasthat why he targeted him?

Wouldit be better if he did?Hemight keepRyleyclose just to torment me.Whereasif he thoughtRyleywas some random supe, he might try to sell him.Icouldn’t letRyleydisappear just like that unicorn had.

Vanwas watching me carefully.Ididn’t know if hewas trying to decide ifIwas going to lose it, or if he was giving me the opportunity to take charge of what would happen next.Isuspected the latter.HeknewI’dneed that control right now.Ididn’t bother answering his question yet.Otherthings needed to happen first.

“Ineed all the roads blockaded,”Isaid. “Ineed all the rivers and streams monitored.Callon the residents who live closest to those routes and have them set up barriers.Everyperson trying to get through needs to be interviewed and every damn thing leaving the area needs to be searched.Idon’t care if it is a canoe or a bicycle, go through it from top to bottom.Theyhave a head start.Itisn’t much of one, but if they’ve got any brains they’ll get away from here as fast as possible.Ithink they’ll be going to their old pack lands, but we can’t count on that.”

Vannodded as he typed something into his phone.Whenhe looked up, he said, “Done.”

“ThenIwant an army of people with me.Wewill go over every molecule of dirt and leaf and stone between here andRobbie’sold pack lands.And, if we still haven’t found them by then, we’ll do the same to that damn property, too.”

“I’llorganize the search,”Vansaid. “Wecan’t charge into the woods without a plan.Wecould miss something important.”

Igrowled.Iwanted to tell him to fuck off, that we needed to leave immediately, that the longerRobbiehad my mate, the more danger he was in.Butthe damn hellhound was right.Sendingin a troop of people with no instructions could mean important information might be overlooked.Fewpack members were trained to track orhunt.Andif they stomped all over the weak scent trailRyleyandRobbiehad left behind, we’d be worse off than we currently were.

“Fine.Makesure the roads are covered with enough strength that they can stop whoever might try to get through.I’lllead the search from here with a small team.Therest can follow behind us and hunt for anything we might have missed.Weshould send another group toRobbie’sold pack lands in case you are right, and they have more tunnels out there.But, again, keep it a smaller group with trained trackers.”

“Okay, everyone,”Vansaid, “you heard your alpha.We’regoing hunting.Iwant you all to gather any supplies you might need and then get back toWinslowPark.I’llorganize the search parties and the roadblocks from there for now.We’llgo out toRobbie’spack lands and set up there once we all have everything in motion.Meetme back at the parking lot when you’re ready andI’lltell you what to do.”

Mercerstepped forward, andOakgrowled.

“Ican fly over and see ifIcan find them.”Mercer’seyes were hard, and his stance was rigid.

“No,Mercer,”Oakpleaded with his mate. “It’stoo dangerous.”

“I’vebeen waiting for this moment for twelve years.”Theraven shifter shook his head. “Ican’t sit back and do nothing.Notafter everything he did to us.”

Oakwiped his hand over his face. “Iknow, butIstill hate this.”

“Youdon’t have to do anything, big guy.”Mercersqueezed his mate’s hand. “Stayback here.HelpVanand the others.I’llbe back as soon asIcan.”

Oak’snostrils flared, and a soft growl rumbled through him. “Youaren’t going out there alone.”