The Possessive Alpha
Chapter 92

DAMON POV

The sunlight peaking its way over the horizon does nothing to help the relentless pounding in my skull. My eyelids flutter open, my mind groggy and like it’s been beaten by a baseball bat repeatedly. What the hell happened?

‘Slade?’ I ask for him but get nothing in return. It’s like he disappeared without a trace. Shifting around on my back, my eyes blink furiously as I try to catch my bearing and figure out where the hell I am. Closing my eyes, I inhale a large gulp of air, letting the fresh oxygen rejuvenate my b***d and give me the strength to get through this moment without my usual tricks to aid me.

As my lungs exhale, I open my eyes to find the world slowly coming into focus. With it, the memories of last night, tumbling in slowly like a Nineties computer using dial-up, has my b***d pressure rising as the panic sets in. Fear like I have never known before turns every cell in my body to ice.

My limbs feel like they have been sitting on pins and needles for hours on end while being weighed down with rocks; grunting in frustration, I finally pick my head up long enough to look around frantically for the mass of red hair I have become accustomed to having around me every day.

“ELLE!” I scream as loud as my lungs will let me, shaking the trees around me, pushing through the crack in my voice or how dry my mouth is. Barely crawling forward, I keep looking around, praying that my eyes were playing tricks on me in this delusional state. “ELLE!” I stream again, using the last of my energy before collapsing, my arms and legs giving out under the weight.

A branch snapping on the right side of my head grabs my attention as two figures run through the tree line on high alert. As they come closer, I hear one of them curse, “s**t, Alpha,” as they run to my side. One kneels beside me to check out my injuries, while the other remains alert and scopes the scene for anyone else or other clues.

Clutching the man’s shirt, I drag him closer to my face, so I can try to make out who it is through the blurred vision, a clear face coming through. “Trent, where is Elle?” I demand to know; glancing behind him, I can sense his energy tensing as he turns back to look at me with an apologetic look.

“I am sorry, Alpha,” Trent says cautiously, his words guarded like he is trying to choose them carefully, “but the Luna is not here.”

That’s the last thing my brain registers as the entire world starts fading into the background, like I am falling off a cliff into a ravine and trying my hardest to hold onto anything that keeps my mind placed in reality. Despite my efforts to stay in the present so I can help with the search for my Luna, the edges of my vision start darkening as I hear Trent’s voice calling out to someone in the distance, but I can’t make out the words as I slowly slip away.

****************************

There is nothing, my mind wrapped in a black abyss when suddenly everything comes back like a one-punch knockout. Forcing me up like a dead man come to life, my eyes barely adjusting under the hospital’s fluorescent lights with the beeping of IV machines in the background. Two figures stir beside me as I rip the needles from my arms, trying my hardest to make the room stop spinning as I try to stand on my feet.

“f**k man,” Matt grumbles, “that was some exorcist s**t the way you popped up like that.” He stands to come to help me as Andrew is still trying to gather his senses.

“Where’s Elle?” I ask, the panic already settling that I have lost her, and I still can’t connect with Slade. “WHERE THE f**k IS SHE MATT?” I scream, my patience already gone, as nurses rush in to turn off the machines, acting as crazy as I am. Once quiet again, they are back out the door with their heads bowed, terrified they might end up on the receiving end of my wrath.

DAMON POV

The sunlight peaking its way over the horizon does nothing to help the relentless pounding in my skull. My eyelids flutter open, my mind groggy and like it’s been beaten by a baseball bat repeatedly. What the hell happened?

“Alpha,” Andrew says, his voice calm, but I refuse to look, knowing what he will say in a calm, overconfident voice, and that’s not what I need right now. With all my attention on Matt alone, I nod, giving him the signal to continue, barely holding myself up.

“We searched every inch of the packhouse, and territory, Alpha,” Matt responds, shoving his hands in his pockets as his head droops in shame. There was no sign of Elle anywhere, like she had vanished into thin air. Her scent wasn’t even present in the field; it’s like you went out there all alone.”

“That’s not possible,” I argue, flashes of the night before flashing through my mind as my feet push through their heaviness in search of the exit, determined to look for myself. Stumbling towards the door, I barely catch myself on the end of the bed before Matt wraps an arm around me, helping me to the door.

Seeing our large frames in the doorway, a nurse comes forward about to protest, but one look from Matt and I, with Andrew close on our heels, has her spinning around and going in the opposite direction. Faltering once again, has Andrew moving around to my other side, supporting me with his shoulder.

“Thanks,” I mutter, throwing him an apologetic look; being Andrew, he says nothing nodding in silent understanding. As we make our way into the lobby, I look around for Theo and Charity expecting to find them here, slightly disappointed when they aren’t.

“Where are Charity and Theo?” I ask, not missing the way they cringe at the question, telling me there is more that they haven’t said.

“They’re gone,” Andrew answers, his voice tight with a type of anger we rarely see. I have been his friend for years and have only seen it a handful of times.

“What do you mean they are gone?” I demand, my eyes flicking between both men growing impatient with their need to tell me information in drips and drabs like they’re leaky faucets. “I swear to the f*****g Goddess, someone in this pack better tell me what the hell is going on! NOW!”

“After Trent found you in the field, we had warriors go to their homes to notify them of Elle’s disappearance only to find they were gone too,” Matt confirms, sharper than steel, as his eyes stare into the distance.

“When was the last time either of them was seen?” I ask as we are near the front doors to the packed clinic. Once they slide open, the cleansing scent of rain invades my nostrils while I hear the splatter of raindrops hitting the ground. f**k, there is no way I’ll be able to pick up Elle’s scent in this.

“The fireworks at your birthday ball,” Andrew picks up the conversation from Matt, “…five days ago.”

“FIVE DAYS?” I spin, the boom of my voice startling the guests in the lobby as they try not to look at me, obviously feeling the fury coming from my body.

“You were drugged,” Matt says, “with enough wolfsbane and silver, you would be dead if you weren’t an Alpha. The fact you’re standing right now is a miracle. Has Slade woken up yet?” He asks with his eyes flicking to Andrew, a look of fear passing over his features.

“Alpha Damon,” comes the gentle voice of Dr. Danes from behind as she tries to find the words to keep me calm and from continued stress, “you really should be resting right now. Your body needs time to work through the wolfsbane in your system.”

“I don’t need more sleep,” I snarl, turning my attention to the good-meaning doctor, “I need to find Elle! She is in danger, don’t you people get it?”

“Alpha,” she says calmly, stepping towards me, reaching her hand out tentatively, but before her hands can make contact, I jerk away, a growl rumbling through my chest. Stepping back with hands raised, Dr. Danes continues with her explanations.

“I understand your frustration with the missing Luna,” she says, a sadness in her voice like she is already dead or completely lost to us, “but you will be no help to her in this condition. We promise the pack will do everything possible to find Luna Elle until you are healthy enough to take over the task yourself. You can only do that if you can stand on your own two feet.”

“Fine. How long will it take?” I ask through gritted teeth accepting her logic begrudgingly as a smile spreads over her face, signaling to the nurse who has been watching the entire interaction from the sidelines. Within seconds I am being pushed into a wheelchair and wheeled back to the room.

“I would guess another two or three hours of cycling your b***d through the dialysis machine will be enough to get the last of the poison out of your system,” she says as she resets the system and the nurse reattaches the leads into my arms. “Your wolf, Slade, should return shortly. We will be back soon to check on you.” She says with a final nod of respect before following the nurse out the door.

Once the door has been shut behind them, I return my attention to Andrew and Matt, “Tell me everything. Leave nothing out.”

“After you were found, warriors were dispersed throughout the pack, looking for Elle, Theo, and Charity. None of them were found, and like Elle, they just disappeared.” Matt explains.

“Do you think they were kidnapped too?” I ask, looking between my friends, who seem to think they were taken along with Elle.

“It’s possible,” Andrew says, “none of their stuff is missing, and the last either of them were seen was at the ball where lots of outside Alphas attended. Elle was not the only one to have the attention of the others in the room.”

“Charity,” we say in unison. Not only did she go from a warrior rank to that of a Gamma, but she is the first to survive a forced shift in decades. “Having the two of them together would strengthen any pack immeasurably.”

I nod in agreement as I ponder over what they have said, “where are my parents?” I ask, surprised they haven’t been by yet. I am sure the doctor informed them I had already woken up, so it’s strange that they haven’t rushed through those doors.

“In your father’s office,” Andrew sighs, looking at Matt, an unspoken question passing between them before he continues, “they have barely left since the news of Elle broke. They have been by to see you in the mornings and evenings, but other than that, they have been locked away with our parents for hours a day.”

“Yeah,” Matt agrees, “and they have been acting sketchy,” he comments.

“They have been acting that way a lot lately,” I remind him as I take a sip of water from the bottle left by the nurse.

“Nah, man,” Matt shakes his head, “they are acting sketchier than usual, and now our parents are acting the same way.”

“Yeah, it’s a problem,” Andrew mutters, “when we leave here, your parents are the first people you should talk to.”

“Don’t worry; they’re my first stop,” I say as I lean my head back into the pillow, praying to the Goddess these toxins get out of my body sooner rather than later.