Twisting Her Fate
Chapter 57

In the morning, there is a knock on the door. Leilani straightens up her clothes and answers it, not paying attention to the scent at all, just assuming it is the delivery man. Her eyes widen in surprise as she looks at the man standing in front of her. "Alpha Baxter, I wasn't expecting you" Leilani quickly steps forward, shutting the door behind her, giving Baxter no chance to see the contents of the room. Baxter only had a chance to see a small amount, but he definitely can not act like they are not trying. Baxter was conflicted about coming and he doesn't want to add pressure, but his wife is not going well. She is losing weight rapidly and the amount that she eats is so minimal that he is afraid that it cannot even sustain her life. His son is so sullen with his lack of results that he seems to have lost all his confidence.

"Can I ask how you are going?"

Leilani appreciates the fact that Baxter looks hesitant in saying the words. He's not like the other pushy ones that want instant results. She can tell it is a struggle for him to be here and he was probably up all night debating whether to come or not. Of course, Leilani isn't about to let him in the room and show him what they have, no matter how much he pleads. There is no way that he is getting access to the information they have.

"Let's go talk somewhere else"

Leilani is in very basic clothing that looks really like pyjamas, but with her looks she can pull off anything. She even walks down barefoot.

They enter the hotel restaurant which is serving breakfast and sit down. The two draw a few eyes, but it is nothing too uncommon. The girl is beautiful and the man looks rich.

No one takes the situation as it actually is, but Leilani doesn't care she is long passed caring about gossip, other peoples opinions don't matter to her at all. Leilani orders a coffee and Baxter orders the same, staring at Leilani the whole time.

"I don't want to put pressure on you, but have you found anything at all?"

Baxter is scared to hear the next words because it could either make or break him. No one else has come up with a single thing in the group are coming in at quite a late stage which makes the task all that more difficult.

"Alpha, we have found something. We have found a lead, but I don't want to tell you too much about it at this early stage. I hope you'll understand"

Tears roll down the middle-aged man's cheeks. It can be seen that he was a handsome man back in his day. He was probably even a lot more handsome only a month ago. But the stress of the investigation, the heartache of missing his daughter, the worrying about his wife and the concern about his son is all adding to age him incredibly rapidly. It is all taking a dreadful toll on the man.

"No, you don't have to tell me anything. Just the fact that you have found something, even if it doesn't lead somewhere, at least, can give me a little bit of hope for now. I know you are doing your best and I won't pressure you at all. I just want to thank you for doing what you're doing"

Leilani reaches across the table and holds the old man's hand in a comforting manner, patting the top of his hand. Trying to console him, but there is nothing she can really do. His heartbroken expression almost leads her to say more, but the information she has is not positive news, so she doesn't want to make him more upset until they know what is going on.

In the hotel lobby, Connor glances sideways into the restaurant and sees this scene. He nods to Terrance to continue up to the room, to Levi.

Connor stands at the window frowning heavily as he watches. He purses his lips and walks forward with deliberate steps, standing before the table in front of the two holding hands, his large figure casting a shadow over the table.

Lani is the first one to look up, her eyes widening in surprise as she looks at Connor. She gives Baxter 's hand one more squeeze before she lets his hand go standing in front of Connor. Baxter looks up in surprise. "Connor, what are you doing here?"

Leilani looks between the two in shock. It is not uncommon that they know each other after all the packs aren't too far apart, but Baxter is addressing Connor so casually, there is usually the alpha title used, rarely a first name unless they are really close. "How do you two know each other?"

Connor ignores Leilani's question but placing a hand on her shoulder gently and looking straight at the man in front of him who has tear streaks on his face. Connor has never seen Baxter as anything less than a strong man, even at his own sisters funeral he shed a few tears but was busy comforting everyone else. But now Baxter looks broken.

"Uncle Baxter, what's going on?"

Leilani is shocked beyond words, her mouth slightly open as she looks at Connor.

"Alpha Baxter is your uncle?"

"Hmm, he was my mum's brother"

Connor pulls Leilani into his arms once more, placing a kiss on his forehead before directing his attention back to Baxter.

"What is going on?"

"It is Rosalie. She is missing"

"Why is this the first I've heard of it?"

Rosalie is his cousin and while they don't have heaps of contact anymore, she is still family.

"I didn't want to worry you about it"

Connor sighs, rubbing his temples tightly. His uncle has treated him like fragile property. Baxter still sometimes acts like Connor is the fourteen-year-old boy that just lost his parents. Forgetting that he is now a twenty-four-year-old man who is the alpha of his own pack, a pack that is going from strength to strength.

Connor looks at Leilani.

"Is that why you're here?"

Leilani just nods, she hasn't told him anything about the case, but she had no idea that they were looking for his cousin. Connor sighs. He and Terrence came to visit for just a quick time and he was going to drop past and visit his uncle's pack while they were in the area. He didn't even think twice about Leilani's location. Not daring to think that it had anything to do with his uncle's pack, not knowing at all about his cousin being missing.

Baxter looks between his fully grown nephew and the beautiful girl in his arms with a shocked expression.

"Are you two mates?"

Connor shakes his head.

"Not exactly"

Baxter doesn't push any further. He can understand why Connor would want to pursue someone like Leilani. It's not like she is not worth it. It is just a bit surprising as he has no idea where Connor would have come across Leilani. But if his nephew can lock down that relationship, then there is nothing that he would protest against.

Baxter excuses himself and Connor promises to visit after he is finished.

Leilani turns to Connor.

"What are you doing here?"

It is not that she is not happy to see him, actually he is a welcome sight. A relief for her tired mind and that bit of comfort she needs after seeing the strong alpha crying. It is not a sight that she enjoys seeing. "I was the driver to bring Terrence to Levi, but mostly I just missed you"

Leilani embraces the handsome man burying her face in his strong chest and breathing in his amazing scent. Connor buries his face deeply in her hair, her whole body relaxes against him, using him as a support.

He just holds her tight, ignoring the looks from around them. Connor has never cared what anyone thinks and he isn't about to start now.

Leilani pulls Connor to the elevator and they go up together. She opens the door to the room, covering Connor's eyes in the process as she leads him in.

When the brothers look at her questioningly, she nods her head toward Connor.

"Connor here is Rosalie's cousin"

"Ohh"

No one needs anymore information than that, it is not that they don't trust Connor, it is just that they don't want to worry someone who is way too close to the case. Leilani drags Connor to the bedroom. Leilani pushes Connor to sit on the bed and then straddles his lap so that she can look straight into his eyes.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Anything at all"

"Would you just hold me for a while?"

Connor hooks her chin with his fingers and places a soft kiss on the tip of her nose, she looks so tired. From what he knows, the squad does not work on missing person cases, so the pressure they must be under must be immense. He knows they all take their jobs very seriously and have probably not been eating or sleeping very well.

"Baby, there is nothing in this world that would give me more pleasure"

Connor lays on the bed, pulling Leilani into his arms, cocooning her against his body as he rests his cheek on the top of her head. The fact that their paths intersect so much blows his mind. What are the chances that her first job since he met her again is looking for his missing cousin?

Leilani feels the familiar warmth from the comfort that is so individual to Connor, her whole body relaxes and it takes only moments for her to fall into a deep sleep. Connor smiles as he brushes the stray hair from his sleeping angel's face. "All these factors baby, all these intersections, there is no way that you are not meant for me."