Chapter 5 – The Babysitter
MIKE
8 DAYS AFTER THE DISAPPEARANCE OF KELLEN
A failure, that’s what I was. I had failed my king, my best friend, Lamia, and most of all, our kingdom.
I was meant to be the Royal Beta. Once sworn in, I would become the second most powerful wolf in our kingdom. How was I supposed to be powerful and take charge when I couldn’t even keep our king safe?
I had let my guard down. I had let our king disappear.
It had now been just over a week since Kellen had gone missing. Poof! Vanished into thin air! Mathias had sent Tobias to help me look for him that first day and we came up empty-handed. The next day, I had trackers across the continent scouring the kingdoms for him.
Tobias had sent a mass email out to all the clan alphas in their kingdom asking them to search for the missing Wolf King. I had also called Tawny and told her what had happened, although Lamia had beaten me to it, and they already had what little warriors they could spare looking for him in their kingdom.
When I first called my father, I thought for sure he and Uncle Marcus would scold me. At the very least, hold some kind of disappointment in me, however, that wasn’t the case. They were more concerned about how he could have gone missing, and how there was no trace of him.
The truth was, we were all on edge, getting the same vibes as when Lamia disappeared. It took us weeks, almost months, when we finally got that break and found a lead as to where Lamia was. By the time we found her, the damage had already been done, and I feared the same for Kellen.
“Hey want to hit the bar with me?” Tobias asked as he stepped out of the bathroom dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a royal blue button-up shirt, his curly brown hair still damp from his shower.
I just shook my head ‘no’.
“Come on dude, loosen up, we have been searching for a week straight. Something will turn up.” He said as he crossed the hotel room we had been sharing for the past week.
I turned to him, agitated, and the snap in my voice was obvious. “And would you be able to go out and party if it was Mathias that was missing? If it was your best friend that… just upped and disappeared, without a trace?” I cocked an eyebrow at him. My wolf was on the surface as he, too, was feeling defeated and miserable.
“Mike, man, we are doing everything we can. We will find him.” His voice wasn’t harsh, but he was holding back. I could tell he didn’t like my tone when I spoke to him.
“Just fuck off and go get high, find some female to fuck.” I again snapped at him and turned my back, then carried on reviewing the map I had sitting in front of me at the small table.
I was marking off where we had looked for Kellen and plotting several radiuses around where he went missing. I heard the hotel door open and then slam shut. I slouched over and put my head in my hands, glaring at the map.
“Where the fuck are you, Kellen, where did you go?” I said to nobody as I still studied the map and growled at my frustration.
My phone dinged and I picked it up to see a message from Hunji. ‘Your block is up. I will be there by morning.’
Great! Just fucking great! Now Lamia has sent me a babysitter.
I rubbed my tired eyes for the millionth time. The threat of tears was there, but I would not cry. The welling of my eyes was not from sadness, but rather frustration. Once Hunji got here, I was planning on heading east, towards the coast to widen the search.
I didn’t hate that Hunji was coming, he was a skilled tracker and I knew he could only help my search. I did resent the fact he would be here though, it just meant I wasn’t trusted. It made me feel like Lamia had no confidence in me, that I wasn’t a good enough beta to find our king.
Well, why would they think any differently? After all, I was the one who lost him. I just couldn’t wrap my head around how he could have disappeared. If he was taken, how could he even let them? I mean come on, it's not like he was some weak omega or human, we are talking about the King of fucking Wolves! He’s the most lethal wolf in all the New Moon Kingdom, for goddess's sake.
If he was snatched…
I shook my head at the thought; I just couldn’t see how that was possible. How could he have gone to the bathroom and then vanished? He didn’t leave through the front door, I would have seen him when I was waiting in the car, so it was obvious he had to have gone out the back.
The lack of cameras in the diner we had eaten at pissed me off beyond belief. If their cameras had been operational, we would have been able to track him easily or at least know exactly what happened.
I didn’t bother replying to Hunji, instead, I lifted my block and my head was almost immediately filled with Lamia’s angelic voice.
Hey, how are you holding up? Did Hunji get a hold of you? Her non-condescending voice was music to my ears, all I detected was love, compassion, and a boatload of worry in her tone.
Yah, said he should be here by morning I heard the weariness in my own voice as I linked her back.
Good, I am on my way to the Kodiak Kingdom. Finn woke up. She paused and I waited. Mike, I sent Hunji because I can’t be there, there is no way Mathias is going to let me go search with you.
Why wouldn’t he let you come here? I asked out of true curiosity. I knew she was pregnant, but that shouldn’t slow her down. I would never think something like that would slow her down or get in the way of her and Kellen.
Because… Because I’m carrying triplets, I’m lucky he let me fly to his kingdom. The doctor wanted me on bed rest.
Holy shit, triplets! I chuckled through the mind-link, it was the first time I had found anything to make me smile in the last week. Wow! I’m gonna be an uncle to three. The Moon Goddess really made it up to you. It was a light-hearted joke, but as soon as I said it I wondered if I had said the wrong thing, thinking of how she had lost her first pup.
She must have felt my worry because she chuckled back at me. *Yeah either that or it’s a punishment. *
Her tone turned serious with her next words. I will keep you posted on what Finn says, and just let me know if you find anything… And Mike? You will find him, I know you will. I love you.
I love you too. And I hope so. She cut the link after that and I closed my eyes, leaning back in the rickety chair I sat in, pinching my nose between my thumb and forefinger.
The door to the hotel room opened suddenly and I jumped, looking to see Tobias enter. I hadn’t been expecting him until way later.
“Back early, aren’t you?” I questioned.
“Yeah. I sat there, had a drink, met a female… but it wasn’t the same. I kept thinking about what if it was Mat or Xander? I’m sorry Mike. It’s just we have been at this for days now and I don’t see a break, my beast was getting strung up. I thought a little relief might help, but he wasn’t interested.” He sighed and sat on his bed next to mine.
“Hunji will be here in the morning,” I told him and watched his face fall. Did he not like Hunji?
“Yeah, that’s good. Try and get some sleep, ya?” He said while stripping off his clothes, then climbed under his covers.
I turned the light off and sat on my bed, still fully clothed. I hadn’t slept in eight days; I doubted it would claim me tonight. I wanted to run but both Duke and I didn’t have it in us to even bother to shift. A pang of heavy guilt was weighing on us, making our guts churn with the thought of: what if we don’t find him? What if we don’t get him back?
Somehow, I managed to sleep. I hadn’t even realized that I drifted off until I was awoken by the loud banging on the other side of our hotel door.
“Tell him to fuck off,” Tobias grumbled from the bed beside me. I gave him a quick glance as I hopped up from my still sitting position to open the door for a very annoying Hunji.
I knew it was him just as Tobias did, his scent had hit me as soon as I opened my eyes.
“Coffee,” Hunji said, and thrusted a drink holder into my hand. “And you need a shower, you smell like a rogue.” He peered at me, scrunching his nose in disgust.
“Well, good morning to you too, sunshine.” Tobias yawned and stretched his limbs out, waking up. He stood from the bed naked as the day he was born.
“Go put some clothes on Tobias, no want's that little thing waving in their face.” Hunji deadpanned, indicating that Tobias’ dick was less than average.
“Excuse me! There is nothing small about my manhood, I’ll have you know!” Tobias feigned hurt but grabbed his dick in his hand and started flopping it side to side. “See, nice and big and not even at full attention.” He smirked.
“For fuck's sake man, put it away,” I grumbled, trying to find the humor in the banter but failing miserably. I could already tell that the three of us traveling together could go one of two ways between Hunji and Tobias.
Either they kill each other, my money was on Hunji, or they become the best of friends.
I went to take a shower as Hunji suggested and when I walked out freshly washed and in clean clothes, Tobias and Hunji were standing over the small table in our room studying the map I had been going over for the past week.
I walked up behind them and pointed to the red circles I had made on the map. “Here, here, and here are where we have searched. These lines here indicate where trackers and warriors have been sent out to search for him or any clues.”
“Mike,” Hunji said with a somber tone, “don’t let regret and the feeling of defeat determine your path.” He placed his hand on my shoulder, lightly squeezing it while turning to face me, those emotionless dark eyes peering right into my soul. “You will find yourself wanting and lacking. Look forward, young wolf. Hope is a path that leads us to clarity.”
I should be used to Hunji’s cryptic phrases of inspiration by now. He was right, I knew he was right. Duke, my wolf, hummed in agreement with Hunji’s words of wisdom. I also knew he could feel my emotions rolling off of me, which was why he tried to offer me words of comfort.
“This is where he disappeared from. These are the areas we have checked, and also any operational business cameras.” I carried on after clearing my throat and swallowing down my emotions. “We came up empty-handed. I wanted to move eastwards, towards the coast. My wolf seems to think we should head that way too.”
I had been grasping at straws this whole time, but my gut was pushing me this way. Every time I cast my eyes across the map, my eyes found their way to the same place. The Cheregwen Pack. A pack located on the coast with a shipping and receiving port. It was actually a place I had visited before with Kellen, the Alpha of that pack ran an export business that the Royal family owned.
“Trust your wolf. His instincts will give you your gut feelings, so if you both feel drawn to a place, we should go. Chances are there’s something there. Let’s get a move on.” Hunji stood up, looking between Tobias and me.
“I’m going to?” Tobias looked at us in surprise.
“Yes, you are under your king's orders to assist us, are you not?” Hunji scowled at him.
“Well, yah but…”
“Tobias, if you don’t want to go, then don’t.” I was irritable at his attitude and clenched my fists tightly, trying not to let my wolf come to the surface as the irritation turned to a slowly simmering anger.
“It’s not that, Mike, I just didn’t think you guys wanted my help or wanted me there. I mean, you wolves are pretty tight-knit, ya know?” Tobias palmed the back of his neck sheepishly, obviously embarrassed by his confession.
I dropped my shoulders, my fists unclenched and became loose, and my features softened. I had automatically assumed he wanted nothing to do with the Wolf Kingdom or finding Kellen. I didn’t even cross my mind that maybe he felt unwanted or would feel left out.
Now that I knew he wanted to be a part of this and wasn’t just here because of King, I felt even more of an ass for being so angry at him.
“Yeah, we want you with us dude,” I told him, clapping his shoulders for reassurance. I had no idea he had felt this insecure.
Tobias was a handful, but he was smart and if we got into a fight, his brute strength would come in handy. Plus, his tracking skills were almost on par with Hunji’s.
All three of us held a second-in-command position. There was no reason we couldn’t find something to trace Kellen if we combined our strengths and skills.
“Then I suggest we get a move on.” Hunji declared, rising from the chair again. “We will take my car, my bag’s already in there, get your shit together and let’s go.”
With that, we shoved our shit into our bags, piled into the car, and headed east, coastal bound. I was feeling a little more relaxed and instead of feeling like I was being babysat, I was grateful that Lamia had sent Hunji and I was hopeful that the three of us could figure out what happened to Kellen.