Page 42 of Lycan’s Hunt

Chapter 18

• King Soren •

“She isn’t just an Alpha’s daughter, she is Blackwood Packs heir and…I have a feeling this is more than just a pack war, Rhett was after those ports.” Damian says what I am now thinking.

“We need to find her. She not only will have every single one of my enemies after her, but I bet Rhett is after her too if he learns where she is…” I trail off as I pull the hospital’s number.

The dial tone echoes in my ear, each ring amplifying my anxiety. One ring. Two rings. Three—

“Blackwood Private Hospital, how may I help you?” A calm, professional feminine voice cuts through my spiraling thoughts.

My throat constricts as I force the words out, “This is King Soren, I’m in search of Aubrey Blackwood,” a tremor of urgency seeping into my voice, crumbling my attempts at calm. “Her father, he’s a patient there, I need to speak to him or his Luna now.”

The receptionist doesn’t answer for a second before she abruptly starts laughing like she believes I’m joking. If she were in front of me, I may have just strangled her. “Yeah right, who’s really speaking? Is this you, Jack?”

I growl. “Lady, my patience is hanging on by a damn thread, I told you who it is, it’s King Soren, Aubrey’s fiancé, now put me on with her or Alpha Jefferson’s Luna or Beta,” I tell her and I see Damian glare at me out of the corner of my eye. The receptionist sighs heavily. “Either put someone else on or answer me. So help me when I get there I will cast you out as a damn rogue!” I snarl and she pauses.

“Alpha Jefferson... he was rushed into emergency surgery not long ago,” she stutters out finally coming to her damn senses.

Cold dread slams into me. “Is he alright?” I manage to ask, my voice barely above a whisper. I glance over at Damian whose knuckles tighten on the steering wheel. I peek at the dash where the tracker is blinking but hasn’t moved. I touch the screen to see she stopped nearly thirty minutes ago and realize the tracker is delayed in some way.

“I…I don’t know,” she admits. “The Beta has been tight-lipped about it all, not letting any information slip. He was fine then something happened and the pack went into lockdown. No one has heard from the Beta or Luna, all I know is the pack is in lockdown, sir.” My mind draws a blank. Maybe he had another heart attack?

“Can you get a message to his Luna for me?”

“I’ll do my best; as I said no one is allowed on that floor. I can try to get the Gamma to give a message to our Beta,” she says.

“Yes, do that. It’s important.” I give her my number, wondering what caused the pack to go into lockdown and Alpha Jefferson to be rushed in for surgery.

“Tell her to call me. It’s urgent and it’s about her daughter.”

“Yes, My King. I’ll pass along the message straight away,” the receptionist replies, her voice a lifeline in the storm of my thoughts right now, I just hope she can get a message to her mother at least.

“Thank you.” I end the call, my fingers moving on autopilot as I stare blankly out the windshield.

For a moment, I sit frozen, the phone still clutched in my hand. The roar of the engine seems deafening in the sudden silence. Each second that passes is another moment Bree could be in danger.

The speedometer creeps higher as we race toward the hospital. Trees blur past the windows, a greenish gray smear against the dark sky. The waning moon is high and my senses are going haywire, that pit returning, becoming bottomless, there is nothing worse than not knowing.

“What did the receptionist say?” Damian finally builds up the courage to break the eerie silence enveloping us.

“Jefferson has been rushed into surgery, the pack is in lockdown, and no one knows what is going on.” My voice is vacant, detached from everything going on.

“Maybe he had another heart attack?” Damian suggests, trying to calm my rattled thoughts.

“Then why would the pack go into lockdown? Something has happened.”

We’re barely halfway to the pack when the shrill ring of my phone cuts through the silence startling me from my thoughts. For a moment I stare at the screen as it lights up, praying it’s Bree but it’s not. An unknown number flashes on the screen, and a cold dread washes over me, dousing my frustration in an instant and making me instantly alert to my surroundings..

My hand trembles as I answer the phone. “Hello?”

“Is this King Soren?” a woman’s voice asks, one so similar to Aubrey’s the resemblance is uncanny. “Hello? It’s Aubrey’s mother,” the woman’s voice grows higher in pitch and comes through, trembling and frantic. I know this conversation isn’t going to be what I want to hear. Some part of me is too scared to hear what she has to say, by her tone, I know it’s bad.

“Hello, King Soren?” she asks again. My mouth goes dry. All the anger of Bree lying and ignoring me evaporates. I keep my voice steady. “Yes, this is King Soren. What’s going on? Is Bree okay?”

Aubrey’s mother immediately breaks down into sobs.

“Where is she?” I demand, my words coming out harsher than intended. I can feel Damian’s eyes on me. “I need to know where she is. If you know you need to tell me!”