There she was, tears in her eyes just as before. This time, I got a little farther along before I lost my cool— not much, though. The next words out of her mouth after the “I hate you” was “Leave now”.
The next three months, I got little to no sleep. I had to force myself to take mini naps throughout the day while I searched for her somehow. There was no way to know who she was because my dreams still hadn’t progressed. My breaking point was coming soon— six months wasn’t going to work for me. I would be lucky if I made it another day.
I had to meet with Hunter and his new Beta, Erik Smith and act as their backup. Someone who’d been involved in trying to kill off the Grey family had been spotted. I offered to be of any help I could be. It was fucked up that I had accidentally fallen asleep before I was to meet them. My assistant knocked on my door before coming in to get some documents, thinking I was somewhere else. When she saw me out cold on my couch in my office, she tapped on my shoulder. “Sir, you need to wake up. You have an appointment.”
“Oh, shit,” I shouted and jumped up, grabbing my suit jacket off my chair as I went out the door.
By the time I got there, they were both on edge and I was too exhausted for this. It didn’t take long before the girl caved and confessed to just thinking she was making a prank call to Erik, who happened to be the Wolfe Creek sheriff. Hunter knew that she was not only a pawn, but also a potential target, so she was taken back to her parents’ place where she would be under intense supervision and protection.
Needing to keep busy so I didn’t pass out, I accepted Hunter’s offer to go to his house and have dinner. It was a life-changing decision.
“I feel out of place,” I said. It was very uncomfortable to watch these lovers look at each other with longing while I was standing there like a fifth wheel.
“You’ll find her soon,” Hunter’s wife Cat said, patting my arm with a look of pure sincerity. I liked her. She was special and already made a big impact in their pack.
“I know where you’re coming from,” Hunter reassured me.
“Hell, we all do. I fell in love with Chloe, and I thought we weren’t mates. I felt pain every day,” Erik admitted. I didn’t know that, but shit, he suffered longer than Hunter did. I hoped it didn’t take that long or I’d be dead.
“Erik, that’s why you wanted to quit, isn’t it?” Hunter asked.
“Yeah, it was.” Hunter patted Erik’s shoulder as Erik carried Chloe to the door.
The moment they stepped out of the room, I turned toward the television. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. There she was on the screen in a towel as a man looks at her through the mirror. Hell no. “Who the fuck is she?”
Cat said, “I don’t know her name.” Then she shouted out for Chloe to come back. “Chloe, get your ass back here.”
I was growling and howling. I couldn’t breathe. She was an actress and half-naked on Hunter’s huge screen for anyone to see.
“What’s going on?” Chloe said.
“Chloe, what’s her name?” Catherine asked.
“Oh, that’s Evelyn Denney. She’s a new actress.”
“She’s mine. How do I find her?” My eyes were wide and glowing. The Alpha wolf inside was demanding to be let out. I saw the scared look between the two women, and what happened next damn near ripped out my heart. Cat tried to pause the movie but it froze too late and her breasts were plastered all over the big-ass TV.
I knew I was going to lose it. Erik and Hunter looked worried that I was going to flip out. Erik was holding onto his wife like I’d hurt her for some reason. I was pissed, jealous, and hurt, but I wasn’t a danger to any of them. My wolf was starting to break through my skin, and I could feel my hairs coming out. I rushed to the TV and ripped it off the damn wall, smashing it to the ground. Hunter came to me, Alpha to Alpha, and tried to calm me down.
Hitting up IMDB, Chloe searched her name. There wasn’t much info on her because she was pretty new to the scene, but it gave us her hometown—Redwood City, California.
“Hunter, I’m sorry about the TV. I’ll get you a new one soon, or bill me because I don’t know how long it’s going to take me to find her.” I was still shaking, but I’d get some answers soon.
“I understand—just glad it was only the TV,” Hunter said with a chuckle.
I turned to him and asked for a huge favor. “I’m really sorry, but I need you to do me a solid while I’m down there.”
“Anything.”
“Look in on my uncle in Redding.” I was worried after what happened to him a few months back. He’d been shot in the head and damn near didn’t survive. My uncle was like a father to me and the incident really shook me up.