Page 15 of Rejected and Pregnant by the Alpha (Forbidden Alpha Kings #52)

Julian

Staring at the door to the cell, I take a deep breath and stretch my sore muscles.

My rut has just ended, and with my mate still missing, I have to be locked away for the safety of my pack before I accidentally tear them to shreds while in my hormone-induced haze.

Fabian did his best to help track her down, but he only told me that she left the pack with no intention of coming back.

My hatred toward Hannah grew with this news because I just knew that she was the one who managed to get rid of my mate just so she could steal the luna queen position.

Two months have passed since the night my mate went missing, and when I’m not dealing with my duties as alpha king, I’m sending emails to the alphas under my command to see if they have met a she-wolf with a vanilla custard scent.

Sadly, they all replied that, other than the occasional rogue, they had not encountered a she-wolf with this specific scent.

“Julian, we have a bit of a problem,” Fabian says as he walks into my office, a folder in his hand. “Two packs are threatening to go to war over a land dispute.”

Growling with frustration, I take the folder from Fabian’s hand and flip through it, my brows furrowing in annoyance.

It seems the Silver Moon pack and the Hidden Howl pack are disputing over a strip of land that the human government put up for sale.

The Silver Moon pack rightfully bought it, but the Hidden Howl claims they have been hunting there for years.

Because of this, a war is on the brink of breaking out.

“Have both alphas scheduled for a conference call in three hours. We need to settle this before wolves lose their lives over senseless greed,” I order, throwing the file onto my desk and massaging my temple. I haven’t been feeling well all day, and I wonder if it is an aftereffect of my last rut.

“Already on it. I had a feeling you would want to nip this situation in the bud before anything could happen. I already found some land owned by our royal pack closest to Hidden Howl that they can purchase from us,” Fabian says, handing me another folder.

I grin, flipping through this new file and agreeing that this is a good solution.

Hidden Howl gets a better hunting ground, war is avoided, and the royal pack gets more money from the sale.

“We will bring this up at the meeting then,” I agree.

Looking out the window behind my desk, I watch as a few pups run past the garden, smiles on their faces.

I close my eyes and think about my mate, wondering if she is okay, if those three days we spent in my room ended with her pregnant with my pup.

Goddess, I would give anything to see my mate again, to hold her in my arms and breathe in that scent of vanilla custard.

“How is the search for her going?” I ask, my voice hoarse.

“Like I said, Julian, your mate is gone. I don’t think she is coming back,” Fabian states with a sigh. I can hear the annoyance in his voice, causing anger in me to grow. How could my mate not want to come back? We are meant to be together.

Goddess, some days I swear I feel the bond has been broken and wonder just what might have caused it.

“You said that, other than that gold digger and the wolves who found their mates in the Nightstone pack, three other wolves left the pack?” I ask, hearing Fabian sigh once again.

“I did. They went on vacation and will be back in a few weeks,” Fabian answers.

Good. When those three wolves return, I plan to greet them and find out which wolf is my mate.

Deciding I need to work to get my mind off my missing mate, I dismiss Fabian from my office.

My mate will show herself soon, and when she does, I will demand answers as to why she left me and what Hannah did to her.

Hannah. My heart skips a beat at the thought of her name, and my frown deepens.

Hannah is supposed to be the woman who ruined my life, so why do I find myself thinking about her when I am not busy?

Goddess, I even thought of her during my rut, imagining her lips surrounding my cock as I stroke it to douse the flames that licked my body.

I wanted her, wanted to be inside her, and I chalk it up to her being the one I woke up beside in bed.

With a growl of frustration, I stand from my chair and rush out of my office.

My feet carry me up the familiar steps of the royal wing and past my bedroom door.

A few moments later, I am inside the one room I haven’t entered for the last two years.

The walls are bare, with only a hint of an outline where posters and picture frames used to hang.

Hannah used to love posters of movies she saw in theaters.

Taking a deep breath, all I smell is dust and cleaning supplies.

There is no scent belonging to Hannah left.

Goddess, I can’t even remember what she smelled like.

I avoided her outside of pack duties. Now I am starting to feel like a bitter and insane man as I realize just how much she has done for me.

With a sigh, I turn and leave Hannah’s room. My parents would be disappointed in me if they knew how I treated her. They would yell at me for being a fool for chasing away a loyal wolf. Most importantly, they would yell at me for banishing her if it meant she knew where my mate was.

Maids whisper as I pass them, their words wondering why I was in that room with Hannah’s name banned from being spoken in front of me.

My frown turns into a scowl as I rush down the stairs, my anger coursing through me.

I need to find a way to calm down before the conference call with the alphas of Silver Moon and Hidden Howl.