ALPHA MARCELLUS STORM

Marcellus was sure that he was going crazy. The fact that his wolf agreed with him didn't help the matter. In fact, it just made things all that much worse.

Well, at least they were back on speaking terms, their mutual want, need and desire to finally locate their mate overpowering everything.

What are you doing?

Paperwork. What does it look like I'm doing? Marcellus replied dryly as he sank further into his chair and stared down at the large stack of papers in front of him.

It was college application time which meant that it would be a busy couple of weeks for Marcellus and Dalton as they had to work through transfers for those wolves that wished to attend a college out of state and in another pack. More than difficult, it was a tedious task and a time of year which Marcellus found himself dreading each and every time.

It looks like you're not trying to find our mate.

And what do you think all that in the morning was? Marcellus frowned back at his wolf, reminding him of the shit at the hospital that morning.

The moment Marcellus had returned back to the pack, he had hunted down both Justas and Raphael, at the pack hospital and on the training grounds respectively as they had already begun work for the day and both of them replied in the exact same way. That the only time they had left the pack yesterday had been to go to the hospital with absolutely no stops or rendezvous on the way.

As their Alpha and a wolf that prided himself on being more observant than the average wolf, Marcellus could tell that they were both speaking the truth. The fact that neither of their answers had seemed rehearsed and they had both been surprised to see him in such a frantic state, purposely seeking them out for a second time in two days, further solidified his belief that his mate had indeed been at the hospital yesterday but for some reason, was not today. That, and whatever they used to clean the place was strong, even by werewolf standards.

He knew that to everyone watching in, he looked like a crazy man but Marcellus couldn't bring himself to care.

Do you think it's possible that she was a patient at the hospital yesterday?

Maybe. Marcellus hummed and groaned quietly, flipping over a page in the document that he was currently going through. The fact that she wasn't there means that she isn't seriously ill, which is a good thing.

So, we know she's not terminally ill but we still don't know where she is. His wolf growled and dropped himself to the ground, tired of pacing back and forth.

Back to square one. Marcellus groaned again and rubbed an impatient, aggravated hand down his face, rubbing the sleep away before forcing himself to get back to work as Dalton had already signed off for the night, leaving him to get as much done as possible before continuing with it in the morning.

We could be out looking for our mate right now.

Marcellus snorted in response. We'll find her when we find her. Plus, it's night time right now and we're not going to find her in the dark.

That doesn't mean anything.

It means that there's no point rushing things. The Moon Goddess has everything planned so we're just going to have to sit back and wait to see how things play out. Even if that means that it's going to take some time.

His wolf merely hummed in response though Marcellus sincerely doubted that, that would be the last the beast would have to say on the matter as like the true Alpha that he was, he would once again run out of patience very soon.

Sometimes, it was much more draining having to deal with his wolf than singlehandedly running an entire pack. He chuckled quietly at the thought and proceeded forward with his paperwork but by the end of the hour, he leaned back in his chair and rubbed his eyes, a frustrated groan passing his lips.

By this point, his wolf was out for the night, leaving him to his own devices but right now, all Marcellus could think about was getting something to eat.

After he had returned from the hospital this morning without his mate, he had holed himself up in his office and hadn't left the room since. It helped that there was an adjoining bathroom between his bedroom and office, one which he could access without having to leave the either rooms, but unfortunately, he didn't have access to a kitchen as well.

Since it past eleven at night, most wolves were up in their rooms, though a few of the teenagers lingering about in the den downstairs.

With the ground floor nearly completely to himself, Marcellus ventured out of his office and into the kitchen where he knew one of the pack chefs had kept a plate of leftovers in the oven for him as they often did when he didn't eat join the rest of the pack at dinner.

Despite how much he had been looking forward to shovelling down whatever delicious food had been left for him and then passing out on his head, Marcellus stopped in his tracks, his heart beating slowing.

Mate? His wolf stirred awake, groggy.

Again? He questioned both himself and his wolf, stilling in his tracks as he glanced around the kitchen from the doorway even though he knew she wasn't here. Her scent was strong enough for him to smell her, but not strong enough for her to have physically been here herself. How is this possible?

Where is she?

I have no idea. He hummed quietly at the sleepy wolf as he turned around and began to backtrack his steps, following the scent as it grew stronger and tantalised him further.

Do you think we're going crazy? His wolf asked quietly, laying his head down on his paws to rest his head, staring out into the pack house through his human's eyes.

Maybe. Marcellus frowned deeply as he began up the stairs to the third floor where her scent was the strongest. We can always smell her but can't see her. That doesn't scream normal to me.

Do you think she's messing about with us?

Like hide and seek? Marcellus asked, though immediately followed up the question with a snort at the absurdity of it all. Now I definitely sound crazy.

As much as I hate to admit it, you might not be wrong.

He hummed and frowned slightly, genuinely believing himself and his wolf to have lost the plot after having been forced to live and rule the pack ten years without a mate. It appeared that these past two days, he could always smell her around the pack house but not see her anywhere. And when he had ventured out to the hospital where he believed she had been, absolutely nothing.

There were only two viable options. One, he had finally lost his mind or two, she didn't want to be found.

Both Marcellus and his wolf frowned at the thought of the latter; one of them angrier than the other at that thought.

Before he knew it, Marcellus found himself stood in front of a room where a familiar couple slept soundly inside, completely unaware that their Alpha was stood outside, silently contemplating whether he should burst inside the room now or wait until morning.

His wolf snorted at the thought and Marcellus had his answer.

Fisting his hand, he tapped his knuckles against the wooden door three times. When he heard no movement from the other side, only continuous, gentle inhale and exhale from two parties, he knew that they were both still fast asleep,

"Do you know what the fucking time is?" Justas growled loudly as he yanked back the door and screamed at the intruder that had awoken both him and his mate.

Once his eyes settled on the big, tall wolf on the other side of the door, they widened considerably and his jaw all but dropped to the ground in a complete loss for words after having just screamed at his Alpha.

Marcellus internally battled his wolf who wanted to rise to the surface and show Justas Constantine that he knew exactly what fucking time it was, even going as far as to squeeze his eyes shut as he breathed heavily, his hands fisting and unfisting as he attempted to reign both himself and his wolf in.

After a few moments of pin drop silence, Marcellus opened his eyes and stared back at both wolves who now stood in front of him, dressed in their respective pyjamas with their heads bowed in submission, afraid of angering their Alpha anymore than they had already done.

While neither him or his wolf appreciated the less than respectful greeting that he had just received, the rational part of him understood that Justas meant no harm and in his sleepy state, hadn't realised that it was him behind the door.

"Justas, Raphael, I apologise for waking you up this late but can I come in?" He forced the words out of his mouth, his wolf demanding an apology instead of giving one but Marcellus ignored him.

The sooner they moved past this, the sooner he would be able to get some answers.

"Alpha?" Raphael sounded from within the room as Justas opened the door wider and allowed him in, speechless with wide, fearful eyes after having screamed at the Alpha.

"I'm so sorry, Alpha!" The apology rolled off his tongue at rapid speed as Justas bowed his head and bared the side of his neck in submission. "I didn't mean to raise my voice at you as I didn't realise it was you behind the door. I'll accept whatever punishment you see fit."

Marcellus pursed his lips and watched them both carefully, happy with their respectful acknowledge and the sign of submission, that being enough to satisfy his wolf for now as there were more pressing matters at hand.

"There's no need for a punishment." He murmured quietly, and nodded to indicate that neither of them needed to bare their neck to him anymore.

Justas gulped and as they both looked up at him, he inched closer toward his mate, taking a subtle step in front of Raphael in a need to protect.

Marcellus respected that. He would have done the same if he and his mate were in the same situation. But alas, that wouldn't be possible until he actually discovered his mate.

"Thank you, Alpha." He murmured quietly, gratefulness shining in his eyes.

"You smell weird again." He stated simply as he continued glancing around the room, not really looking at them, almost as if suspecting for his mate to jump out from a cupboard or from under the bed.

The worst thing was that Marcellus himself knew just how crazy he both sounded and appeared.

Justas opened his mouth and then closed it again, at a momentary loss for words while Raphael just frowned in confusion from behind his mate.

"Alpha?" Raphael dared to sound in question, a wary look on his eyes, almost as if he expected the Alpha to lunge at him for merely questioning him.

With how strange he was acting; Marcellus didn't blame him for thinking that way. If he didn't have the mystery of his mate hanging over his head, he probably would have laughed at the serious, sort of constipated look on both of their faces but instead, he frowned harder and exhaled deeply.

"I went to the hospital today but couldn't sense out that scent from yesterday." Marcellus murmured quietly, purposely leaving out the part where he had been searching for his mate. "I thought perhaps the rogue had left the territory but I can smell it on you again."

Justas frowned slightly and glanced at his mate from over his shoulder, silently mind linking.

"We were at the school today?" Raphael offered, though his statement came out as more of a question, almost as if he was asking the Alpha for confirmation.

"Which school?" He asked quietly as there were two high schools which pack wolves attended, one North of the pack and the other South, both in neutral territories which included wolves from other packs as well as humans.

"South." Justas answered as he turned back to face the Alpha. "Could the rogue be a student there?"

Marcellus frowned before pursing his lips.

First our mate was at the hospital, and now she's in high school?

That means that she's either human or she's from The Red Howler pack.

It also means that she isn't older than eighteen.

Marcellus and his wolf weren't quite sure with how they felt about that but for now, they needed to focus on finding her first.

"Possibly." He hummed quietly, more so to his wolf than to the two wolves in front of him.

He wasn't making any sense and he knew that, but Marcellus needed answers and he needed them yesterday. Unfortunately for Justas and Raphael, it appeared that they were the only ones that could provide him with them.

"Should we be worried about this rogue, Alpha?"

"No."

Even more confused than he was before, Marcellus turned around without any explanation and headed out of their room.

Justas and Raphael held their breath as they watched their Alpha leave abruptly, even going as far as to scramble toward the doorframe and peer into the hallway to watch him go, wonder and confusion swirling around in their eyes, but he was already gone.

-

Please remember to like, comment, review and follow me if you haven't already! Also, support me on Patreon to get early access to this book, and all of my other books:

https://www.patreon.com/LaylaKnight

Layla Knight

07.10.2020