Fated To My Lycan Stepbrothers
Chapter 180

Kyle's

POV

It was clear how the night was going to be. It was heavy and cloaked me in oppressive silence. I glanced at my brother seriously, going back and forth, looking out for the three boys he had sent after Beta Brooke. There were no signs of them. I would have sent more after them, but that would only alert everyone to what we were doing.

Although anyone who walked into the alpha quarters or manor would know that something was wrong, there were an unusual number of warriors.

Scar leaned closer to Zeke, and my ears perked up to hear what they wanted to say. "Don't you think we need to involve the elders in this?"

Zeke had a disappointing look. "Wrong idea. The elders shouldn't be involved." His eyes met mine, and I nodded in encouragement. He was right. The elders would only mock him for losing his mate. If they ever found out that Renée was part of the Blood Moon Pack, we would never be forgiven, and Naya may be branded a traitor just like Mrs.

Lau. This would be a bad idea to involve them in the Alpha's personal matters.

"It's no longer personal. The blood moon is upon us. If she is who I hear she is, then they would kill her. We need all the resources we can get to replace her, don't you think?" I shot up from my seat. "Scar, involving the elders is a bit much, don't you think?" "She's here." Someone brought Lily up. She was summoned by Zeke since she was the last ti lock up and go to bed.

"Where were you tonight?"

Lilly seemed confused. "I locked up and went to bed."

Scar shook his head. "But I didn't see you."

Lily's eyes widened strangely. "What? What do you mean?"

Zeke stopped them. "That's a lot of what in a sentence.

What are you hiding?" His voice was cold and left no room for argument. It showed that he wasn't in the mood for amusement.

"The guards here claimed not to see you. You were last seen being summoned by the former Luna. Don't forget you are in the manor; the walls have ears." Scar spat angrily. I could see why he was angry. I, myself, was about to explode with the way she was acting so innocently.

I stepped forward with a large grin. I knew that in my current state, that would come off as creepy rather than friendly. "Lily, we have allowed you access to most parts of the house without restrictions. This is because you are the head housekeeper, and it's your responsibility to keep our treasures safe. Naya is a greater part of that treasure. You should have checked up on her."

Lily's mouth dropped open. "I didn't.. Her shoulders slumped. "I didn't do my rounds last night."

The hiss and sighs confirmed everyone's suspicions.

"You did not do what?" Zeke was practically blazing with anger.

"I didn't do my rounds; Luna Marley asked me to go to bed early." Our questions and harsh glares must have made her spill what she wasn't supposed to. "I swear, I didn't do anything to Luna. I slept off."

Zeke was suddenly quiet. "I see. Is there anything else?"

She shook her head.

"Are you sure?" I added.

"Nothing short of a mother-daughter bonding moment. I never expected her to be missing, I swear." Lily muttered tiredly. With the tiredness in her bones, I knew she was telling the truth.

There was nothing useful about her.

"Damn it, we are back to square one, boys. If we do not hear anything, we are going to start tomorrow evening.

Better at night because of our vision." Zeke commanded, and they all dispersed.

I wondered what my brother was thinking. Zeke was capable of doing unpredictable things. I wouldn't put it past him to lock Lily and Marley up. The first key to a successful rule: don't trust anyone. "Don't forget your stations, get some rest." He finished, turning to me.

"Brother, we have to get some rest."

glanced at the wall clock. It was 6:00 a.m. on the dot. We have been up since 9:30 p.m. We really needed to give time for our wolves to get their energy back. Sleep was essential for our wolves' metabolism. "I don't feel like sleeping." I was afraid of sleeping without Naya under our roof. Those nightmares could return.

Who was I kidding? The moment my head hit the bed to think of another strategy or perhaps follow the boys to the blood moon pack, I found myself drowsily sinking into my bed. As I drifted into sleep, visions of Naya being torn away from us haunted my dreams. It wasn't the usual nightmare; this time it came in the form of my fear.

And that fear was Naya being taken from us. Once she was taken, the gut-wrenching pain of losing her clawed at my heart. What's worse? Once I found her, the cycle would repeat itself-she would be ripped from my hands again. In the nightmare, I was powerless, unable to save her from being taken. The echoes of her cries reverberated in my ears, leaving me gasping for breath.

"Naya!" I jolted awake, drenched in a cold sweat.

It's just been six hours, and I was losing my mind. Six hours without sleep felt like forever. We were trained to withstand more, but I get why Zeke told us to get some rest. He didn't want us to look suspicious by morning. The last thing the pack needed was to hear that their Luna was missing.

If Luna was missing, then no one was safe. It would be said that the blood moon has managed to infiltrate the pack.

A loud crash from the study caught my attention. I hurried into the study room to see Zeek in even worse condition than I was. He was mumbling something about it being his fault. I sighed. No matter how Zeke may try to deny his love for Naya, it was just so glaring now. I was glad he never rejected our mate.

But goodness, the bags under his eyes were enormous.

Hasn't he slept or something?

"You don't look so good." Zeke commented, stopping midway through what he was doing. I blinked, watching him pick up the thousands of files that had fallen off his desk.

Huh? That was supposed to be my line. "You don't look so good either." I said, planting my butt on a seat.

We both didn't look good.

Zeke sat on his desk to give me an overview. His eyes reflected the same torment that plagued my dreams. We exchanged a silent, knowing glance, realizing that the nightmares were a shared affliction.

Zeke's concern resonated in his voice as he spoke, "Another one, Kyle?"

I nodded, my throat tight. "Yeah, it's like I can't escape it, Zeke. We need to replace her. I am losing my mind."

Zeke's jaw clenched, frustration etched on his face. "I know, Kyle. Every hour feels like an eternity without her, especially now that we claim her in the presence of the moon goddess. For her to bless our bond, she has made it increasingly impossible for us to be apart." I had a feeling the fact we weren't able to sleep was because she wasn't able to sleep either.

Poor Naya.

Zeke and I refused to close our eyes until morning as we both went through the reports, happy with the results of the new pack house and the rest of the buildings that needed attention. I sighed at the file that had the gyming instruments and assigned the number of names that had applied.

We filled our time with work. If we could not sleep, we would work.

And we did work.

The next morning was devoid of Naya. It was then that I realized that her energy was the one that kept the manor vibrant. Restlessness gnawed at my heart as I passed by her bedroom door. I was about to knock when a realization hit me-she wasn't here. I missed her teasing too.

"Good morning, Alpha Kyle." Some members of the staff greeted me with their heads low.

I grunted in response, not without catching their subtle glances. I knew I looked ridiculous standing in front of my mates door. I should be able to enter, right?

"The Luna might be sleeping in today. She's always been up before now, bickering with someone," the first woman whispered.

"Something isn't right. I can tell." The other woman replied, rushing down the hall.

"They are right." I heard Zeke say. He was leaning on the door. Right now, we have only each other. "The manor is dull without her. We need her, Kyle. I can't stand this emptiness." His eyes drooped more.

"We need the elders, Zeke. The warriors are moving out blindly, and we have no lead. Have you forgotten that Baron Diego uses blood rituals to hide his tracks? We need magic to replace her."

Zeke shook his head adamantly. "I have faith in the boys.

We need to wait for their signal."

I echoed his sentiment, "We can wait forever."

"One of the traits of being Alpha is patience and a straight head in the game."

"This isn't a game. This is life and death. This is our mates life at stake. We can't let her vanish like this. She's a part of us, and this emptiness is tearing us apart."

"We are doing just fine. We need to wait and probably ask Marley more questions." Zeke's eyes darkened with resolve.

"We'll replace her, Kyle. No matter what it takes."

As if on cue, Marley walked in, still in her pajamas. "Any clue?"

I sighed. "We are searching all over."

"How is your body?" Zeke asked in concern or something else.

"I'll heal most of the cuts by tomorrow evening. If I was jutted like this, how much more, Naya..." Tears slipped out of her eyes, and I wondered if they were genuine. "You never liked Naya. What changed?" I asked out of the blue, halting her act. I was just curious.

"Kyle." Zeke warned subtly.

I was surprised when Marley's eyes softened as she looked at Zeke. "I just want my daughter back. We may not be the best of friends, but she's still my daughter." Zeke took Marley's hands gently. "We'll replace her, Marley. I promise. We won't rest until she's home."

Damn, my brother was really smitten by his stepmother. I sighed. If Zeke acted like this, it meant he was aware of 3apome.

something and was trying to give her more chances to redeem herself. He was trying to connect the pieces and not lose connection with others in the process.

He was giving her the chance to consider his love for her and say the truth about how those injuries came to be.

"Marley, how did you get injured? Walk me through the process." Zeke repeated with a smirk.

"Okay." Marley frowned.

I was right.