And Then The River Went Dry (Wolf Creed Pack, 1)
Chapter 9

Alpha Max was getting more concerned with the other dead bodies of half breeds and human-mated she-wolves showing up near his territory. The number of missing she-wolves also increased drastically over the past few days and everyone was on edge. Alphas were starting to replace it nearly impossible to hide it from their people and rumors were starting to circulate. The kills were getting more and more brazen and inching closer and closer to his territory. There were still no signs that anyone was near the bodies, not even the bodies smelt of anything. Considering that two of the bodies were found in the putrefaction stages of decomposition.

“Is it me or does it seem like someone has something against our pack?” Finn asked as he studied the scene of the thirteenth body found, in the space of five months.

“I was thinking the same thing,” Don replied.

“We need to figure this out now! It’s almost been six months and we have no clue or direction on this investigation. It’s like we are going in fucking circles.” Alpha Max said venting is frustration. He could not even fully enjoy the fact that his mate was coming home this afternoon or even take the time out to escort her home. He had to figure this out and fast.

“Wow. I’m sorry Alpha Max.” Peter came stumbling through the forest behind him. “I was out for a stroll in my bear form and I smelt something odd and it led me here”

“You smelt something odd? How odd! Describe what you are smelling?”

“Well, it’s not so much that I am smelling something but it’s the lack of something. It’s so odd, my nose is super sensitive but I wasn’t picking it up in my human form but in my other form, it’s there but slight.”

“I wasn’t picking that up when I was in wolf form”

“Remember my nose is more sensitive than yours.”

“Can you track it back to the source?” Alpha Max asked, finally seeing a glimmer of hope after months of nothing.

“I can try”

“Don fill him in on the situation and let everyone clear out. Peter, everything you hear and see here you tell no one, not even your mate.”

With that, Max, Don, and Finn stepped aside to show Peter the latest victim. He visually flinched as he took a sharp breath in. His eyes glazed upon the mutilation of a child. A child! He sniffed the air knowing he wouldn’t smell the scent of the perpetrators but it was instinct.

“This is why the Crystal Pool was drying.” He whispered to himself. Of course, he would notice. He was a landscaper and even though he saw to the pack house grounds, he oversaw all the Wolf Creed pack lands.

“Max my visions are coming true,” Don whispered to Max and Finn looked shocked. He always thought that Don’s weird visions of the future of the wolves were fake. They had to be. The destruction of the wolf nation could not be true. The vision he had was of the future, which meant his mate was here but where was she if that was the case? It was all too confusing for him.

“It seems that way” he replied before turning to his people. “Clear the scene people. Peter needs to work!” Everyone but Don, Finn, Max, and Peter, moved a few distances from the scene.

Miles came riding in on the crime scene with his dirt bike after leading the escort team for the Luna and his mate. He walked over to the men as Peter shifted into his animal form before he sniffed around the scene.

“What’s up?” He asked as he looked around.

“Peter might be able to track the lack of scent,” Finn replied.

“That’s good news,” Miles said.

“How did everything go?” Max asked with his hands folded across his chest as his eyes followed Peter’s every movement.

“Great. They are at the pack house now and are in the care of Lilith but you might have to make it up to your mate. She was not pleased when you weren’t there.”

“Looks like someone’s in the dog house tonight” Don teased and the fellows chuckled.

They followed in silence as Peter trailed the lack of scent straight to the main road and then lost it. Miles clenched his jaws as he thought about his mate and her being human. That the murderer would view her as a target and he couldn’t afford that.

Max arrived back at the pack house a little before midnight after investigations and a meeting that seemed like it would go on forever. When it finally concluded, they decided they needed to send someone to infiltrate the purist cult. Max volunteered someone he knew would be the best candidate for the job and who would take it willingly. Exhaustion was taking hold of him but the sight and the smell that greeted him warmed his heart. His mate. She was curled up on the couch in front of the fireplace with her laptop open. It seemed like she was waiting for him but sleep took her over. He figured she too was exhausted since he took her up and brought her to bed and she didn’t even stir. When he deposited her on the bed and was slipping away, she gripped his neck and mumbled something in her sleep about beating that big dummy alpha if he came home without even so much as a call to say he was going to be late. He laughed inwardly and kissed her forehead then unwrapped her arms. She was so adorable to him.

“I will try my best to remember that in the future my Luna.” He whispered against her neck and took a long deep breath. He headed to take a quick shower before heading to sleep.

Max got up quite early even though he went to bed late. But the lack of sleep did not prevent him from making an apology breakfast for his mate. She came walking into the kitchen, intending on making coffee to wake up her senses and mind but saw Max cooking, shirtless. He kissed her cheek, handed her some coffee, and apologies for yesterday. She smiled and told him it was okay then they proceeded to have minor chit-chat about random things they liked and disliked over raspberry pancakes, brown sugar bacon, and mint tea.

“If I keep eating like this I’ll be as big as a house” Carmeta said as she stuffed the last of the raspberry pancakes into her mouth with a moan of delight.

“I don’t mind either way. As long as you have that look of pure joy on your face each time.” Max replied as he stared at her with a goofy smile on his face.

“What kept you so long last night?”

“The usual alpha business”

“This seems more than alpha business. Is everything okay?”

“It’s nothing that I can’t handle.”

“Are you sure because I’m the luna...”

“Don’t worry about it”

Even though they had not completed the mating bond, Carmeta could still sense that something was bothering Max but he refused to even speak about it with her. She wasn’t even sure what a Luna’s job entailed. At her birth pack, the Sage Fox Pack, they had never had a luna. Chadwick was unmated and the previous alpha had a male mate who seemed to just shared the duties with the alpha.

“Okay, last night I was checking your cybersecurity system and I would love to improve on it. It’s really easy to hack into if someone was a half-decent hacker and it seemed that someone has been using it as their playing ground.”

“Okay do any changes you see fit. Is there anything extra you will need for this?”

“No, it’s fine. I brought my supercomputer with me but I would have to check your servers.”

“I’ll get Delta Finn to go with you. Carmeta you need to know that you are not a prisoner here but if you leave this pack house, you should always have an escort with you. It is for your safety.”

“No problem!” Carmeta thought nothing of his warning because this was the safest place to be. “There is something I need to tell you”

“Go ahead,” he said and took a sip of his tea.

“What do you know about the Mate Seeker’s bloodline.”

“They were powerful women that were gifted by the moon goddess with the sight to foretell the mating bonds of wolves. Some were able to bring on that gift at will but mostly it just came whenever. Why?” he looked at her with skepticism across the table.

“Well, it turns out that not all died during the Dark Era but some survived. My mother is of that bloodline.”

“That’s cool. There were rumors that some did make it and there are others out there that are actively looking for them. Your mom would have to be careful or she will be captured by those crazy bastards...wait if you’re mom is then that means you...”

“Yes.”

“Have you gotten the sight yet?”

“No, not until I have fully mated.”

“Okay, no one should know. Not even my upper ranks, okay?”

“Yes, I know. I’m not stupid. I just wanted you to know that once you mate me to me you will experience some gifts of your own.”

“Like?”

“You’ll be even more powerful than you are. You will be super-enhanced. It was a gift from the Lycan god as a way to protect the Mate Seeker.”

“Interesting.”

After their informative but short conversation about the Mate Seeker bloodline and tech talk, Max got ready for the day. He had to inform Cypher about the infiltration of the purist cult. It has always been hard to get into that cult pack before but even more so since the new alpha took over. They had to replace a way to sell Cypher as a valuable asset into that pack so they could gather information on them. And knowing Cypher he would agree to do it because he had no mate because she rejected him and broke the bond. He was heading out for the day so he kissed his mate goodbye and apologized in advance for he might be late again today. He had a lot of paperwork to get through and several meetings to attend since he had to put off a lot of them yesterday because of the new body. All he wanted was a day to spend bonding with his mate. Just hearing her talk about I.T. stuff and cyberspace had him at a loss but fascinated with her facial expressions and seductive voice. And the ripening of her scent. Yes, her scent was one of sweet pineapple and cinnamon and he was becoming more and more addicted. That was why he stole one of her panties from the drawer that had her scent still clutched to it.

This would have to do for today.