Page 31 of Alphas Never Hide (Willow Lake Supernaturals #5)

Chapter Thirty-One

HAYDEN

Van and Gage were the first to arrive and hundreds more supes came on their heels. They crowded together between the trees. Most of the shifters had taken their animal forms. They stared at me, pacing back and forth along the border of the town, waiting for me to command them.

“ What’s happened?” Gage asked. He’d shifted into his alternate form, an imposing figure amid the rest of the pack. His black wings barely fit between the dense tree trunks and his red skin looked vibrant against the yellow and orange leaves of the fall foliage. By the grim look on his demonic face, he already knew what had happened.

“ Robbie has Ryley ,” I said.

“ We don’t know that.” Adrian sat on his haunches. “ We found the tracker Ryley was wearing, but it could have?—”

“ I detected both of their scents,” I growled. “ Robbie was here with his lackeys, and he took Ryley . ”

Adrian ducked his head and exposed the side of his neck to me. “ I’m sorry, Alpha . I was wrong.”

“ Where is Teague ?” I asked. “ I need him to do whatever he did when Ogden was abducted. He could see the bond or something.”

“ Teague’s not here,” Gage said.

“ Well , get him here,” I demanded.

“ We will, but it’ll take him time to get back.”

“ Open a damn portal and go get him.”

“ I can’t.” Gage grimaced. “ I can only open portals to places I’ve been.”

“ My mate is missing. I need to find him. All you’re giving me are excuses. If you won’t help, get out of my way.”

“ We want to help,” Van said with a placating tone as he stepped forward. No one stood too close to him with his flame-covered fur. And as he moved, the few who were closest to him inched further away. “ All of us. Now , talk to me. You said you picked up his scent. Do you know what direction they went?”

I gritted my teeth. The hellhound was trying to help, I knew that, but all this talking was killing me. I needed to find Ryley . Robbie had been ready to leave me to die in that cage in his bunker, so what would he do to my mate? Did he realize who Ryley was to me? Was that why he targeted him?

Would it be better if he did? He might keep Ryley close just to torment me. Whereas if he thought Ryley was some random supe, he might try to sell him. I couldn’t let Ryley disappear just like that unicorn had.

Van was watching me carefully. I didn’t know if he was trying to decide if I was going to lose it, or if he was giving me the opportunity to take charge of what would happen next. I suspected the latter. He knew I’d need that control right now. I didn’t bother answering his question yet. Other things needed to happen first.

“ I need all the roads blockaded,” I said. “ I need all the rivers and streams monitored. Call on the residents who live closest to those routes and have them set up barriers. Every person trying to get through needs to be interviewed and every damn thing leaving the area needs to be searched. I don’t care if it is a canoe or a bicycle, go through it from top to bottom. They have a head start. It isn’t much of one, but if they’ve got any brains they’ll get away from here as fast as possible. I think they’ll be going to their old pack lands, but we can’t count on that.”

Van nodded as he typed something into his phone. When he looked up, he said, “ Done .”

“ Then I want an army of people with me. We will go over every molecule of dirt and leaf and stone between here and Robbie’s old pack lands. And , if we still haven’t found them by then, we’ll do the same to that damn property, too.”

“ I’ll organize the search,” Van said. “ We can’t charge into the woods without a plan. We could miss something important.”

I growled. I wanted to tell him to fuck off, that we needed to leave immediately, that the longer Robbie had my mate, the more danger he was in. But the damn hellhound was right. Sending in a troop of people with no instructions could mean important information might be overlooked. Few pack members were trained to track or hunt. And if they stomped all over the weak scent trail Ryley and Robbie had left behind, we’d be worse off than we currently were.

“ Fine . Make sure the roads are covered with enough strength that they can stop whoever might try to get through. I’ll lead the search from here with a small team. The rest can follow behind us and hunt for anything we might have missed. We should send another group to Robbie’s old pack lands in case you are right, and they have more tunnels out there. But , again, keep it a smaller group with trained trackers.”

“ Okay , everyone,” Van said, “you heard your alpha. We’re going hunting. I want you all to gather any supplies you might need and then get back to Winslow Park . I’ll organize the search parties and the roadblocks from there for now. We’ll go out to Robbie’s pack lands and set up there once we all have everything in motion. Meet me back at the parking lot when you’re ready and I’ll tell you what to do.”

Mercer stepped forward, and Oak growled.

“ I can fly over and see if I can find them.” Mercer’s eyes were hard, and his stance was rigid.

“ No , Mercer ,” Oak pleaded with his mate. “ It’s too dangerous.”

“ I’ve been waiting for this moment for twelve years.” The raven shifter shook his head. “ I can’t sit back and do nothing. Not after everything he did to us.”

Oak wiped his hand over his face. “ I know, but I still hate this.”

“ You don’t have to do anything, big guy.” Mercer squeezed his mate’s hand. “ Stay back here. Help Van and the others. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Oak’s nostrils flared, and a soft growl rumbled through him. “ You aren’t going out there alone.”

“ I won’t be alone. I’ll be with them,” Mercer said as he waved toward us.

Oak’s face contorted in a pained look. “ Then I’ll go with them too.”

Van lifted his eyebrow. “ That works for you, Alpha ?”

Oak was an enormous wolf and an excellent fighter, but he hated conflict almost as much as his mate hated beige. Oak’s cheeks reddened as I looked at him.

“ You sure about this?” I asked the large wolf shifter. “ Because Mercer is right. Van will need help. We also need people to stay in town and make sure Robbie’s people don’t infiltrate Willow Lake while we are out there looking for him.”

“ I’m sure,” Oak said, lifting his chin.

“ If you are sure,” I said, “you can both come. Thank you.”

Mercer jumped into his mate’s arms. They shared an intense, open-mouthed kiss. When they pulled apart, he said, “ This has been a long time coming. We’re going to help finish it today.”

Oak nodded. Then Mercer shifted into his raven form and took flight. The big wolf shifter looked like he wanted to grab him out of the air and haul him back to their apartment above their downtown shop. Instead , he let his shift flow over him. He was easily the largest wolf in the pack, and even though he didn’t want to be here, I was still happy to have him at my side. He was loyal in all the best ways. He pawed at the ground, eager to follow his mate.

When most of the pack scurried off to follow Van’s orders, I returned to the spot where I’d found Ryley and Robbie’s scents. I inhaled deeply. They weren’t alone.

“ I’ll track the scent as far as I can,” I said. I looked at Oak , Adrian , Van , and Dillon . “ Can any of you smell them too?”

They shook their heads. Damn it.

“ Do what you can, Alpha ,” Gage said. “ Concentrate on that. Oak , Dillon , and I will watch your back. Adrian and Van will send some people behind us. They might catch something we miss.”

I almost argued that all the hellhounds and wolves stay with me, but I couldn’t do that. It’d leave the other groups without the strength they’d need if they met up with Robbie . Hellhounds were notoriously vicious and deadly fighters. They were traditionally the enforcers of the supernatural world. Still , as most of the pack left us in the woods to carry out my instructions, I couldn’t help but feel that something wasn’t quite right.

Maybe nothing would ever feel right until I had my mate in my arms again.

“ Anything else, Alpha ,” Van asked.

Yeah . I wanted to tell him to quit calling me Alpha . We used to argue about that a lot, but this time it wasn’t because I didn’t believe I was anyone’s alpha. This time, I needed my friends with me. I didn’t want to be the leader. Leaders were supposed to know the answers to shit, and I didn’t know anything at all. This was just like when my parents died. I could only hope that I wouldn’t mess everything up again. None of us would survive that a second time.

“ If anyone finds Robbie , tell them to delay him, then come and get me. We don’t want anyone else getting hurt.”

Van’s fiery eyes stared at me. “ Every single person in this pack would face off against Robbie again and again for you, for Ryley , and for anyone else. It is what packs do.”

My chest tightened at his words. “ Just come and get me.”

“ Yes , Alpha .” Van dipped his head in acknowledgement. He turned to go, but before he left, he glanced back at me. “ We’ll find them, Hayden . We’ll find Ryley and we’ll stop Robbie .”

I said nothing, not because I didn’t want to, but because a big lump of emotion had lodged itself in my throat. It was all I could do not to choke on it. If I let all that out now, I’d never be able to do what needed to be done next. I pushed the emotions down until I felt like I could breathe again.

“ Let’s go.”