The Alpha's Mutt
Gone

Farris awoke with a start, his body slick from the cold sweat that had broken out across his skin. He had never felt more anxious in his life. Something was terribly wrong; he could feel it deep within his soul. Out of instinct, he began checking himself over, looking for a wound that he, logically, knew was not there. He felt incomplete, there was a gaping hole somewhere inside of himself, but he could not pinpoint the cause.

He got up and placed a shaking hand on the glass that sat on his bedside table. He took several deep breaths before taking a large swig of the cooling substance. He was grateful as it calmed the burning in his throat, but it did nothing to ease the ache in his chest.

“Deene, are you awake? Deene!” He began mindlinking his Beta, immediately.

If there was something wrong, perhaps he was already alerted to the situation.

“Yes, Farris. What’s going on?” Deene responded after a few moments.

“Is everything alright within the pack?” Farris questioned.

“As far as I know, yes. Why?”

“I woke up with a strange sensation. I am certain that something is wrong.”

“All good here, Alpha. Though, I will begin checking around to be certain.” Deene assured.

“Thank you.”

Farris ran his hand, roughly, through his hair. He pushed himself out of bed and began to throw on the first clothes he could replace; a pair of jeans and black t-shirt. He rushed out into the hall and began sniffing at the air. Searching for a scent that did not belong. He walked through the house, sorting through the different aromas, and tuning in for any noise that was out of place.

As he wandered, he did not replace anything that did not belong. But he did become acutely aware of a scent that was not present. His nerves took over as adrenaline coursed through his veins. Why would she not be in the pack house? Where would she have gone?

He ran straight to the room that he had assigned to her. He prayed to the Moon Goddess that he was wrong. She could not have left just as he had decided to give them a chance. She had to be there. Otherwise, there was some sick, cosmic, joke being played here.

Farris pushed open the door to her bedroom and sighed in relief. She was still there. Mystique lay in her bed, peacefully, asleep. He did not want to disturb her, but he had been so worried about her safety in those past moments, he just needed to be close to her. He needed to see her beautiful face, if only just for a moment.

He entered the room and, instantly, his nose picked up a strange aroma mixing with that of Mystique’s. He knew the scent from somewhere but could not immediately place it. He walked closer to the bed and noted that Mystique’s scent was growing fainter as this other aroma grew stronger. He approached the bed, mere inches away. She turned on her side to face him. He gasped in shock and horror.

“Sauda?!”

“Hello, Alpha, come to your senses?” She purred, staring up at him through her long eyelashes.

“What are you doing in here, Sauda? This room was meant for Mystique.” He growled, stepping away from her.

“Mystique…” She spat the name as if it were venom on her lips. “Is not here any longer. So, I thought that there was no reason that the room should go to waste.”

The news hit Farris like a punch to the face. He could hardly believe what he was hearing. Why would Mystique be gone? Where would she go?

“What do mean that Mystique is gone?” Farris growled, growing frustrated.

“She came to me and told me that she was going to leave. I figured that you knew.” Sauda shrugged. “She said that it was never going to work between the two of you. She would never be good enough. So, she packed her things and took off.”

“I cannot believe that she would just leave like that. Was she going back to her cabin?” Farris asked, not certain why he was seeking answers from Sauda.

Could she even be trusted in this matter?

“No. She said that she was leaving the pack for good. She said she did not want to be here anymore.”

“What?!” Farris panicked.

Had she really done it? Had Mystique left the pack altogether? How would he ever replace her again? He would never get to tell her that he had chosen her. That he made the decision to try and make it work. That he was going to attempt to let go of his bias and figure things out. The Moon Goddess did not make mistakes, so their mating could not be one. He would never get to tell her how sorry that he was for all those years of mistreatment.

“Come to bed, Alpha…” Sauda cooed, interrupting his thoughts. “I will make you forget all about that mutt.” She patted the open space on the mattress next to her, attempting to beckon him towards her.

The thought sickened Farris to his very core. He had already accepted that he wanted to be with Mystique and no other she-wolf would do. His heart was breaking, and the only cure would be Mystique. He simply shook his head at Sauda’s invitation before turning to walk out of the room. Nothing was making sense to him. His head swam with a million thoughts and questions.

All of these years, Mystique had the opportunity to leave but she had never taken it before. Now, suddenly, she up and leaves in the middle of the night. Something about this did not sit right with him. She did not bother to reject him or await his decision on accepting her. She just took off without a word to anyone but Sauda.

Sauda…that was another piece of the puzzle that did not quite fit. How was it that she was the only one the Mystique chose to confide in before leaving the pack? Mystique and Sauda had never gotten along. Sauda had been very vocal about her dislike of Mystique even before it was discovered that she was Farris’s mate. He was also aware that Mystique did not care for Sauda much either, whether she would ever say that to him or not.

None of this added up. He needed time to think. So he went into his office, accepting that sleep had already eluded him. He sat down at his large desk and ran his hands over the smooth wood as he contemplated his options. With very little to go on, he took out a notebook and opened it to a fresh page. He began to jot down the information that he currently had. He needed to keep track of what he knew and what he did not. The little bit of information he had was the only hope that he had to cling to.

One thing that he was completely certain of was that he did not trust Sauda’s version of things. He needed more information on Mystique, and he knew that there was only one place that he could get it. He resolved himself to the fact that there was only one wolf that could help him to sort any of this out. He needed to speak with the only friend that Mystique had. She would know whether or not any of this was in-character for her.

He knew that it was still very early in the morning, and it was likely that she was sound asleep, but he could not wait. He needed to figure this out as quickly as possible, there was no time to waste. Not that he thought that Alessa would mind. He was certain that she would be just as concerned with Mystique’s sudden departure as he was.

“Alessa.”

“Yes, Alpha…” She responded the sleep evident in her voice even through the mindlink.

“I must speak with you immediately. Please come to my office as quickly as you can.”

“Yes, Alpha. Is everything alright?”

“No.”

With that, he cut the link. He knew that it was not very kind of him to leave her hanging like that, however, he needed her to understand the severity of the situation. The faster that they could get to work on this mystery, the sooner he could determine what he should do from here. If Mystique truly wanted to leave him, of her own free will, then he would need to get over that heartbreak and try to replace a way to move on. However, if there was something, or more specifically, someone, else involved in her sudden departure, then that was a different matter entirely.

“Alpha?”

A knock on his office door followed by the sound of Alessa’s voice could be heard carrying through the closed doorway.

“Come in, please.”

The door swung open revealing, both, Alessa and his Beta, her mate, Deene. They came inside the room and closed the door behind them.

“What is going on? Why did you call me here like this?” Alessa questioned.

“Has Mystique ever talked about leaving the pack?” He asked without really answering her question.

Alessa thought about this before committing to her answer. She was not sure if her answer could get Mystique into some kind of trouble.

“On occasion.” She finally spoke up, hesitantly. “But only when things were really bad, you know, with the bullying and everything. She felt lonely and did occasionally wonder if things would be better somewhere else. But she would NEVER actually go through with it, especially, not now.” Alessa assured.

“Are you certain of this?” He pressed.

“Yes. Why? What is going on? Where is Mysti?”

Farris closed his eyes and took in a long, deep breath before releasing it, slowly. He opened his eyes and looked at the best friend of his mate. A mate that he may never see again.

“She’s gone.”