#8 The Archer and her Wolf

Xaiver

“Where is she!” I hollered, flipping over my desk and kicking it across the room in a fit of rage. The desk splintered and shattered as it hit the wall.

“We’re looking, Alpha Xaiver. We’re using every available resource to find her. She’s simply vanished. He had a witch.” The Archer’s Base leader, Effie, was trying to reassure me. She spoke so calmly that it was frustrating.

“Hang the witch. Don’t the Archer’s have witches of their own?” I shouted.

“Yes, and we’re using all of them to try and locate her.” Effie replied simply.

“Just leave. Leave until you have something useful to tell me.” I snarled.

“Better go.” Frankie sighed, escorting the woman out.

“You should be kinder to her, you know, she could probably murder you with a toothpick and a banana.” Lion said.

He had bags under his eyes and his face was pale. Proof that he’s gotten just about as much sleep as me over these past three weeks.

“You’ll get no complaints from me.” I grumbled. Lion shot me a look of concern,

“She’s alive, Xaiver.”

“Yes, wishing that she wasn’t.” I collapsed in the desk chair that was now missing a desk.

“What exactly happened the last time she was with him?” Lion asked hesitantly.

“Unmentionable things, Lion, unmentionable things.” I mumbled, dropping my head into my hands.

Frankie and Lion hadn’t left my side since we received word that Thea was missing. Yasmine, Shay, and Nanny Ellen were the constant companions of the children. I couldn’t bring myself to see them, to explain to Nat and Logan where Thea had gone. I saw them before bed and that was it. Otherwise, I spent every second trying to hunt down my mate.

“That’s it! I’m tired of sitting here doing nothing.” I said, slamming my hand into the wall and storming across the office.

“What are we going to do, then?” Lion and Frankie asked, following after me quickly. I was nearly running now.

“I’m going to the place she was last seen, where her squad went after the rogues.” I said,

“But, the Archers already checked there. They found nothing.” Frankie argued.

“I don’t care. She’s my mate, I’ll be able to sense things they can’t.”

“We should take some trackers with us.” Lion added.

“Do whatever you want. I’m going now.” I stripped out of my clothes and shifted into Cain.

“Oh, he means right now.” Lion grumbled, “You better go with him. I’ll bring the back up.” He said to Frankie who shifted and joined me as I ran.

River and Cain raced for the northern border of the USA and Canada, their feet pounding wet grass until it turned to snow. An entire day of running was what it took to arrive at the cave where Thea was last seen. Cain threw his head back and howled when we approached. Her scent was all around us, as strong as the day we first met her. I shifted and so did River.

“She’s here. She has to be here or very near. I can smell her like she’s right beside me.” I said, frantically searching the area.

“He had a witch with him. Maybe she sealed off the cave, hidden them somehow.” Frankie suggested, “We should wait for backup. Get Green Mountain to send help, as well.”

“I’m not waiting. I’ve done enough waiting. If I had come out here in the first place instead of listening to those damn Archers I would have sensed her sooner.”

I was pissed and Cain was pissed. Barking about how I should have listened to him from the beginning,

“I’m going into the cave.” I declared.

“Naked?” Frankie stated and I stumbled to a stop, looking down at my dangling bits.

“If I have to.”

“Let’s not.” Lion was suddenly in the clearing with a dozen or so men, both from our pack and Green Mountain. He tossed me a set of clothes which I quickly pulled on.

“To Hell with the Archers. We can do this on our own.” I snarled stubbornly, daring anyone to argue with me.

I stepped into the mouth of the cave and felt something like static electricity rattle up and down my body, making the hairs on the back of my arm stand taunt. Otherwise, the cave was completely empty. It wasn’t that large of a cave, I could see the end of it from the opening.

“I don’t get it. I can smell her, I can sense her. She’s here.” I said, mostly to myself, irritated at being so close yet so far from my mate.

“Xaiver!” I froze. It was her voice, it was Thea’s voice.

“Did you hear that?” I asked, looking at Lion and Frankie. Their eyes were so huge that they must’ve heard her, too.

“Xaiver!” Thea’s voice was even louder this time.

I started frantically running in circles through the cave.

“Thea! I can’t see you! I can’t see you!” I was yelling, crying out for my mate. I ran my hands along every inch of the cave, trying to find some sort of secret lever.

“That’s because you’re not looking at me.” She said,

“I can’t see you!” I yelled out again.

“Xaiver, I’m behind you. You’re not even looking.” Her voice sounded closer and more irritated this time.

“I am looking!” I was pushing against the back of the cave.

“Xaiver.” It sounded like she was right behind me this time. I spun around and was slapped across the face, “Can you see me now?” She yelled.

“Thea?” She was actually there, standing right in front of me.

She was dirty, from head to toe she was covered in dirt. Her hair was greasy and falling out of a ratty braid. Her clothes, her Archer uniform, were torn and bloody. She had dried blood on her body, face, and hands. Her left eye was black and blue, her lip busted.

“What were you looking for, a secret door?” She asked sarcastically with her hands on her hips looking pointedly at the cave wall.

“There was a witch. The Archers said a witch was hiding you.” I was staring at her, open mouthed.

“Yes, she was. Up until this morning, when I killed her.” Thea replied. She looked around and noticed Lion and Frankie.

“You two alright? You all look terrible.” She said, and this seemed to unlock the Beta and Gamma.

Frankie and Lion came running up to her, tackling her in a group hug, while I still stood, frozen, in the middle of the cave.

“You were gone for so long, Thea.” Frankie said in anguish.

“I know I was.” Thea sighed.

I stumbled forward and grabbed her arm, pulling her from their arms and into mine. I folded her against my chest, tucking her under my chin. I ran my hands up and down her back.

“You’re here. You’re safe.” I buried my face in her hair.

“I’m okay, Xaiver. I’m sorry that I scared you.”

I pulled back and cupped her face, careful to avoid her scratches and bruises,

“I’m sorry that I didn’t come for you sooner.”

“I was unconscious for most of it. For three weeks. I only just woke up today.” She said, trying to fake a smile.

“That must be why I had the sudden urge to come here and look for you myself. Up until now, I was leaving it to the Archers. Cain must’ve sensed you were conscious.” I said, talking mostly to myself. Thea was just looking at me with a dull expression.

“Must be.” She mumbled.

“Thea,” I whispered, rubbing my thumb over her cheek, “Where is he?”

“He’s dead. For real this time.” Her face hardened and she stepped out of my grip.

I followed her outside of the cave and around the side. There was a big, overgrown field, with grasses as tall as a person. Thea must’ve been hidden by the weeds when we first arrived. Some of the grass was already flattened, creating a path for me to follow. Along it were two bodies, that of a woman and a man. The witch and the rogue Alpha, Berlin, I assumed.

“What happened?” I asked in shock, turning around to see Thea was still standing at the edge of the grassy field.

Her face was blank and hard, like it had been when we first met. I jogged out of the field to stand in front of her, carefully settling my hands on her arm.

“What happened?” I asked, more gently this time.