Chapter 21
Storm
Several days had passed since Amara and I sealed the deal. She was officially my true mate and luna, and so far she was catching on pretty quick. Hunter and Wyatt had been helping with her training, and Dakota had been teaching her things she should know about our pack. Though things between us were blissful, everything else was a complete nightmare. We had been seeking answers regarding the attacks we had been getting almost too frequently after Amara turned, and none of the other packs had any idea either. They’ve had several attacks at the same time as ours, but not as violent or as seemingly orchestrated as ours. So that led me to believe that we were the target and not any other pack. If anything, theirs were probably coincidences.
I slammed my fist on the table out of frustration and anger. Three cubs were severely injured because two rogues managed to sneak in undetected early this morning, and if it wasn’t for Wyatt, who just so happened to be passing by, those young ones could have died.
“I’ve been thinking, what if they aren’t coming from outside our borders? What if they’re already inside?” Hunter asked.
I looked at him thoughtfully because his idea, as always, was valid.
“If that’s the case, shouldn’t we at least be able to capture their scent?” Dakota asked, making her point valid as well.
Wyatt scratched his chin, trying to gauge every possibility. And by the looks of it, he was probably trying to think outside the box now.
“Unless they have learned to mask their scent while they’re in their human form,” he answered.
“What? Is that even possible? Rogues aren’t built that way; they are most often accidentally turned and unclaimed. They have limited abilities compared to those who are part of a pack. Also, only alphas have that kind of ability,” Dakota countered.
What Dakota stated was true. As far as I knew, only alphas, such as myself, could mask their scent both when they were in human and wolf forms, so there was no way they could learn that anywhere.
“I’m out of ideas and answers; that’s the truth.” I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose.
“But I feel like Hunter could be right. We’re not sure how it’s possible, but we need to cover every angle,” I continued, and the three of them nodded in agreement.
“For now, all we can do is observe and double our patrol efforts. I’ll do some more tracking later. Let everyone know if you find anything suspicious,” I said before heading out to pick Amara up.
She and Dakota moved out of their dorm room two days after we became official mates, which made me really happy. It took a lot of convincing, though, but after much deliberation and several conditions, she finally agreed. However, she had one condition she was adamant about, which was to continue studying. I knew that was not up for discussion, so I allowed her to go back to school on the condition that she wasn’t allowed to walk or go anywhere without a pack member with her. It was not that I thought she was too fragile and defenseless on her own, but with the rogues we’re encountering, it would be too dangerous for her to be left alone.
There was also this nagging feeling at the back of my head that she could be the main target, though it seemed farfetched because there was no other reason but the idea that they wanted to get to me. I kept replaying the time when we were attacked at the lake, and it seemed to me that they were trying to distract me so I couldn’t get to her. If they wanted to kill her, the rogue that bit her could’ve easily done so, but it deliberately let her go after the bite pierced through her skin. I was almost certain that they wanted her to turn, but for what?
I parked right outside Amara’s building. She wouldn’t be out for another ten minutes, so I decided to close my eyes while I waited. I’ve been getting less sleep since the attacks began and much more since she moved in. It was becoming our ritual to either end the night or start the day with sex, and I was not in any way, shape, or form complaining about it. In fact, sex with her was always the best part of the day. My eyes flew open when I caught her scent. She had just gone out of the building, but she wasn’t alone, and the person who was with her was not a member of my pack. She was talking to a tall, well-built guy with blond hair. He wasn’t doing anything in particular except to occasionally smile and look at Amara as she talked, but I couldn’t help but feel suspicious of him, so I stepped out of my car and leaned by the passenger door, obviously making my presence known.
Once Amara saw me, a huge grin appeared on her face, and I couldn’t help but grin back at her. I watched as she cheerfully said something to the guy she had come out with before walking towards me.
“Why hello there! I couldn’t help but notice you all the way across the street, so I was wondering if you’d like to go out with me sometime,” She teased before standing on her toes to peck me on the lips.
“Oh, wow! A kiss before I even say yes to a date?” I teased back, wrapping an arm around her waist to deepen the kiss.
“Why not?” She laughed.
“Why not, indeed? Anyway, are you ready to go?” I asked, tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear.
“Yup! I’ve been ready since I got here this morning,” She answered, laughing before walking around to the passenger’s side.
“By the way, who’s the guy you were talking to?” I asked as I pulled out of the parking space.
“Oh, that’s my classmate, Eric. We were assigned as partners for our next project,” she answered.
My brows shot up at the news because it meant that they’d be spending a lot of time together, and that somehow annoyed me. It wasn’t jealousy that I was feeling, but something else I couldn’t explain or shake off.
Partners, huh?” I asked.
“Yeah, which is cool. I mean, none of us can handle the next assignment individually. Not even Piccaso or Michael Angelo can, I think,” she playfully stated, making me laugh even though I was a bit worried about her partner.
There was something I was “vibing” about that guy that was agitating the wolf in me. And if that was what I was sensing, then chances were that he was not someone who could be trusted. I had never been paranoid about anything, but I needed to make sure that this guy was safe for Amara to be around. I’ve never met or seen him, which I found weird because I knew everyone by name and face who came and went inside my walls. This was my pack’s territory, so it was a must for us to keep an eye on everyone. The fact that he was a student and none of my pack members ever mentioned that he existed was enough reason for me to try to check his background, not because I wanted to be a dick or be too possessive, but because I just needed to do this for everyone’s safety.