RAFF

"Sir, you asked for an update on the girl?"

    Raff looked up from the computer and stared at the young boy trembling in his office. No older than sixteen perhaps, born just a few years before he'd decreed that no more wolf pups would be born. Did he know he'd be the last of his kind? At least in this pack. Would he leave like many had, or was his father one of the ones who understood the pain of loss. The pain of watching an innocent die to give birth to a cursed creature.

    "Sir?"

    Putting pressure on the bridge of his nose, he waved the boy closer. "James, right?"

    "Y-yes sir."

    "I did ask for a report on the girl, You're the unfortunate soul who has been given the task?" He curled his lips in a soft smile, hoping to ease the young wolf's terror. He had a reputation amongst his pack for being strict, but outside of the rare times his commands were disregarded, he had a tight grasp on his temper. Most of what they saw was for show. Wolves wouldn't follow someone they thought was weaker.

    James blanched and for the first time, Raff wondered if the fear had less to do with being in his presence and more to do with the information to be delivered. She'd likely trashed her room or assaulted a guard. The short amount of time he'd spent with the black-haired hellcat convinced him she wouldn't accept his authority without pushing. Her defiance thrilled him more than it should have, thrilled his wolf with the promise of an equal.

    "Sir, she escaped."

    "What?" The word was little more than a roar as he came to his feet. Pushing past the child, he thundered down the hallway until he reached the staircase and headed towards the third floor. Most of his men preferred to live in small homes on the property, but the younger wolves and those in the guard kept rooms in the mansion. But still the numbers were not high enough to fill them all, and he'd thought putting her on the empty third floor would offer her security and keep her from escaping.

    Three men stood outside of her bedroom door, and despite their high ranking in the pack, they couldn't meet his eyes even for a moment as he pushed passed them. Lincoln, his Beta, was prowling about the chambers, his amber eyes tight with confusion.

    "Report," Raff commanded while the Beta lifted the tray off of the untouched meal in front of the fireplace. The damn girl hadn't eaten a single bite. The ridges of her spine beneath his hand filled his mind, and it was all he could to refrain from shifting and hunting her down.

    Lincoln shrugged before turning to face his Alpha and closest friend. "She's been gone hours by the scent in the room. I don't think she even lifted the tray to see what was for dinner."

    He already knew that. Her saltwater and jasmine essence was so faint, he almost wondered if she'd ever been in the room. And the other scent that clung to her, the one he couldn't name but seemed almost animal, was completely gone. But Lincoln knew his Alpha would've figured that out in the first second. "How?"

    "You'll have to ask the fellas on the second and first floor. We've already checked the hallway and the window. It wasn't tampered with, but from her smell, she didn't even check it out. She probably knew it was too far of a jump."

    "Even the second floor would be too much of a jump for a human," Raff stated, leaving the room and heading to the second floor. "Not to mention she could barely walk." Saying that made his mouth feel filthy and guilt settled on his shoulders. He hadn't meant to hurt her when he'd pulled her from the car, but it'd been too long since he'd touched a human, a woman. Restraint was not something that came easily to him.

    "Right," Lincoln continued keeping pace with him. "She didn't bother with that window either."

    "You're telling me she walked out the front door? In a house full of wolves, myself included, injured, she waltzed out the fucking front door and no one caught her."

    "Shit Raff- Alpha," Lincoln corrected as sharp eyes swung towards him, "I wasn't here last night. I got in just as the shit was hitting the fan and everyone was telling me that your woman escaped. Do you know what that did to me? Hearing you had a woman in the house?"

    They'd reached the first floor and Raff shoved Lincoln against a wall. "Don't you dare imply it was anything like that. I darted in front of her while chasing after the intruder, and she wrecked her car. I saved her from drowning in a ditch and thought the least I could was bring her back here to make sure she was okay."

    "You could've taken her to one of the empty cottages. It's spread all around the compound that the Alpha isn't following his own rules."

    "I'll address that issue when we figure out where she went."

No, Lincoln said using the Beta bond, If you go out of your way to find her, you're just going to convince everyone that she means something to you. And all your hard work to stop the mating practices will be destroyed. Is that what you want?

His second in command was right, but Raff couldn't stop the gnawing in his stomach, the worry that she was going to end up in some bigger trouble. Not that he should care, but the moment she drew her first breath, the air mingling in her lungs with his own, he'd felt protective of her. She wasn't a child so she'd clearly managed to survive for some time without him, but for some reason, it didn't matter to him. His.

What the fuck did you just say?

Raff's eyes widened as he realized he'd pushed that thought along the bond. Forget you heard that, he said, infusing the words with every ounce of power he possessed, wincing as Lincoln was forced to lower his eyes. He didn't like controlling his pack, especially his Beta, but he had no choice.

Turning away from his friend, he addressed the men who had gathered around him. "You will figure out how she managed to escape. And if you were on guard duty last night, I expect you to report to the training barracks in the next hour where you will receive six lashes for allowing her to escape. Furthermore, consider yourself demoted to grunt."

"Is that necessary s-sir?" The wolf speaking was Nichols. His standing was somewhere in the middle of the pack, but Raff could smell the strength emanating from him. He would be strong one day, but today he was not strong enough to contradict the Alpha.

His voice was so low when he spoke that even the wolves had to lean closer to hear. "It's more than necessary. What it tells me is that my men are so poorly trained they can't even stop one human girl from escaping. I certainly can't trust you with the protection of this house."

"But sir," Nichols protested.

"Enough," Raff growled, a bright glow filling his eyes as his wolf pushed to be released.

Nichols looked to the ground, but didn't stop. "But sir, what if she's more than human."