Chapter 22
Alpha
Somethingwaswrong.
Alpha stood on his deck, looking down at the view, something hollow in his chest. He’d just returned from his run with the dogs, and he couldn’t place his finger on what was off, but something was.
He didn’t know if it was the fact that Dante had called him two days ago with the news that he had heard an update from his undercover guy, Vin. Or whether it was the fact that one of his feelers about the missing girls had also come back with some information about the three untraced girls, and they needed to meet to give him the info. Or the fact that the murders in the city had suddenly stopped in the last few weeks, and Alpha knew in his gut it was the calm before the storm.
Maybe it was none of those things. Maybe it was just the fact that his house, for the first time since he’d lived in it, felt empty.
Everything felt empty. And quiet. Too quiet. There was no sound of laughter, no feminine banter, no pop music on loudspeakers that he didn't enjoy one bit. Just him and his solitude, just like he'd wanted before. He didn't want it now.
She’s just gone to her sister,he told himself. He knew they were close and she missed her sibling. It wasn’t a big deal.
But something inside him disagreed. It knew he’d fucked up. It knew this was big. It reminded him of the way she’d withdrawn into herself after he'd stepped back, and god, he felt like the biggest bastard on the planet. Maybe, he was. She’d avoided looking at him in the locker room, and she never did that. She stared at him constantly, always finding new reasons to check him out, and he loved that. He loved the way her eyes appreciated his damaged form, openly and honestly. He loved how she lit up when he looked at her. He loved how her eyes followed him around even when she thought he wasn't aware of them.
And he’d missed it. For the entire time he’d been away, he’d missed her.
‘You forgot me.’
She’d meant something when she’d said that. He didn’t know what, but it kept bugging him. It had been clear from the beginning that she’d known things about him, that she’d been hiding something. And suddenly he wondered if it had something to do with a part of his life he couldn't recall. He needed to talk to her.
“Ah, I hope Zee is finally sleeping upstairs,” Leah commented as she brought him his coffee.
Alpha took it, frowning. “Thank you. What do you mean?”
“She was sleeping on the couch when you were gone.” Leah shook her head. “I think being around the dogs made her feel better. Being all alone in the house must have been scary for a city girl like her.”
Fuck, he was such a dick. He'd not even spared a thought to how she'd be in his absence. Whenever he left the city, he spent the night at her parent's house, only coming back when he returned. How had he not thought about that?
Bear whined from his corner on the deck, his soulful eyes sad. He'd gotten attached to her the most, and he'd been sulking without her. Even Bandit had been going to her room, probably to get her scent and steal another item of clothing. Baron didn't give a shit.
He gave the dogs a pat with one hand, sipping the coffee and looking out at the view.
He’d make it up to her when she came back.
It’d be fine.
***
It wasn’t fine.
His wife had disappeared.
For three days, he waited for her to come home. She didn’t. Her room, her things, the places he’d fucked her, her yellow bra that Bandit had become obsessed with, all mocked him. He gave her some space, knowing he’d done something to mess up.
On day four, he called her.
She never picked up.
Something tight lodged in his gut.
He drove by her work, and they told him she’d taken the entire week off. He even stooped to asking Victor to reach out about his jacket, which he hated that she had, and Victor’s message went unread.
And now, for the first time, he was worried that it was something else. Had it been the fact that she’d seen him, truly seen him in his monstrous form, slicing a man’s neck and covering her in blood like a primitive beast that had spooked her? Had she realized that she didn’t want a part of him and his world anymore? Or had it been something else?
‘You forgot me.’