Page 23 of Chained By the Alpha (Claimed Duet #1)

· Zayn ·

After Cleo leaves, I head home to the pack house where my brother, Vance, who’s also my Beta, is waiting. I groan, I was on such a high after seeing my little mate, not so much now seeing his concerned face.

Toeing my shoes off, I kick them beside the door and wander into the living room where he is sitting on the leather armchair by the window. “Spying on me now?” I ask, knowing he just witnessed everything outside with me and Cleo.

“Not spying, I’ve come to speak to you about Deacon.” I raise an eyebrow at his words.

“What about him?” I ask, falling onto the sofa. Vance scratches his chin nervously before leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.

“His body?” Vance questions.

“In the freezer in the basement,” I answer with a shrug, Vance nods slowly and sits back.

“What is it?” I ask, cocking a brow as I lean back in my seat.

“Nothing major, just thought you should know.” He sighs heavily like the weight of the world rests on his shoulders. “Alpha Grayson put out an alert this morning when he didn’t show up for patrol duty. He knows Deacon is missing, and he felt the pack link sever.”

“Well, that’s to be expected,” I state.

“You sure he didn’t mindlink anyone?” Vance questions.

“Positive, he was too intoxicated. And every time he tried, I handled it. I’m not stupid Vance. He isn’t the first wolf I’ve killed,” I remind him.

“What about his car?”

“Burnt out; I had Harry pick it up earlier and crush it. They won’t find it.” I nod with confidence.

“So nothing to worry about then?” It’s obvious he’s still concerned.

“Video footage I took care of last night, bouncers won’t speak, you know that. Apparently the kid was pretty reliable, he never misses patrol. His Alpha was quite concerned about him; he’s worried he’s dead or was forced to be a rogue for some reason.”

Vance gets to his feet and heads toward the door, only to stop at the threshold.

“What do you reckon he was taking the photos for?”

“Nothing good, what I want to know is why he would send them to her stepsister?”

Vance seems to think for a second. “She’s Alpha Samuel’s daughter, right?” I nod. “Yeah, why’s that?”

“Alpha Samuel won’t hand the pack to her because that means Linda has access to it. Makes me wonder if she is trying to get Cleo removed as the next Alpha, and what better way to do it than embarrass her father and hurt her reputation.”

“I figured the same thing, but how would she explain handing those photos over to her stepfather?”

“I don’t think they’re for Cleo’s father.

Perhaps Alpha Dane? Joseph had a meeting with Alpha Dane earlier; they were spotted at the public library.

Alpha Dane won’t accept her if she isn’t a virgin, you know how religious his pack is.

” I press my lips in a line. The bastard was serious about marrying her off.

“I’ll handle it, somehow.” I shake my head, annoyed at just the thought of her marrying anyone else.

“Are you gonna tell her?” Vance asks, and I sigh.

“No. I don’t want to put her at risk while she doesn’t have her wolf, she’ll have every Alpha after her trying to use her against me,” I remind him. I wish this wasn’t the case, but right now it’s the only choice we have.

“Yeah, Dad made sure to make a lot of enemies the last few years.”I nod sadly. The weight of the past, heavy on my shoulders.

“I’ll figure it out, Boyd won’t be getting his hands on her. I will kill him and declare war before I allow him to marry my mate,” I growl in annoyance.

“Well, I’m off to check border patrols. I will organize some men on her borders and tell them to keep their distance and to remain on neutral territory.

” I nod, waving him off while I ponder what to do about the marriage alliance Alpha Joseph has planned for his daughter.

There is no way I will allow her to marry anyone else.

I must have dozed off at some point because I wake to my notification ringtone blaring. It takes me a few seconds to come to my senses and shut it off, only to see I have a message from Cleo.

“Is she okay?” Zarek, my wolf asks, stirring awake at the thought of her. He presses beneath my skin, and I open the message.

Cleo: Deacon is missing. Can you check the club’s footage from last night? Maybe it can help us find out where he went.

Ugh, I groan, sick of hearing about the weasel though I quickly reply if it means seeing her again. I may just watch her boundaries myself if it means being close to her all the time. I quickly type my response and hit send.

Me: Deacon is missing? I saw him last night before I left. He was dancing with Lydia. I can meet you at the club later, and we can go over the footage together.

Cleo replies almost instantly, agreeing to meet me at my club at 7 PM. Smiling to myself, I check the time, I still have hours and decide to go shower, check on work and follow up on emails while I wait.

Heading upstairs to my room, I grab some clothes, my wolf pressing excitedly beneath my skin, urging me faster, and I roll my eyes.

“Your eagerness will scare her off, Zarek,” I warn him, but he ignores me. Hopping in the shower, I have just started washing myself when I hear my phone again.

I step out of the shower, drying off and then reaching for my phone to see another message from Cleo.

Cleo: How about now? I’m headed to your club.

My brows furrow in confusion wondering what happened. I need to sort a few things out first.

Me: What happened? We agreed on 7 PM. I have to stop by and check if my brother has sorted your borders out before heading into the city.

I send back only for her reply to come back almost instantly.

Cleo: That’s fine, I will wait for you there. See you at 7.

I stare at the screen in confusion.

“Something happened,” Zarek chimes in, and I nod in agreement. Maybe her father found out about where she was last night. The thought has me wondering if she is okay.

Me: I’ll get there as soon as possible. Meet me at the bar.

Cleo sends me back a thumbs-up. I don’t like the idea of her being at the club by herself. I’ll message the staff to keep an eye on her. We have a function there tonight for one of the packs.

Drying myself quickly, I get dressed, then mindlink Vance. “ Did you sort out Cleo’s borders? I was going to stop by before heading into the city, but something must have happened. Cleo is heading there now,” I tell him.

“ Almost. I am struggling with numbers; most are running rampant with the other packs. I’m moving numbers around.

I will have to man the doors at the club tonight for the Claymore pack event.

I need to send Michael in, most are refusing since Joseph isn’t in agreement.

Michael agreed to go,” Vance tells me, and I nod along before Zarek speaks up.

“Claymore, that’s Alpha Dane’s pack, right?” Zarek asks, cutting through the mindlink. I nod to him before recognition hits me.

“ Fuck, I gotta go. That means Boyd will be at the club,” I tell Vance before cutting the mindlink. I snatch my phone and try calling Cleo to tell her to meet somewhere else or to come here. I get no answer. With a growl, I snatch my keys up and jog downstairs.

Zarek presses beneath my skin, urging me faster.

“He better not think about touching our mate,” Zarek grumbles at me as I jam the keys in the ignition.

I tear out of the pack territory and onto the highway heading toward the city only to come to a screeching stop when I see cars lined up and smoke ahead.

“Fuck!” I peer out the window and realize it’s a car accident.

I reach for my phone to see I have no reception here. Great, just fucking great.