Alpha's Hidden Precious Luna-Chapter 146

Kai POV

I was losing my mind.

Every second Lily was gone gnawed at my sanity like a slow, merciless poison. 24 hours turned into days – empty, quiet, suffocation. Hud – my wolf paced inside me, restless and growling, demanding I do something. But what could I do when we had no trail, no scent, no damn clue?

I hadn’t marked her either, so there was no bond to feel her.

Even now, sitting in this damn meeting, I couldn’t focus. The voices of y advisors droned on like a bee buzz. They were all talking about the welfare of the pack, patrol routes, finances, rogue sightings, a minor land dispute. None of it mattered. Not when Lily was out there – alone, scared or worse.

Liam nudged me. This should be the thousandth times.

I gave him a glare and tried to return my attention to the meeting. The finance director was talking about an investment. I tried to follow but got lost along the way.

Suddenly, the pen I was holding snapped between my fingers, black ink splattering across the contract I’d been pretending to read. The third pen today.

"Alpha Kai?" My finance director’s voice wavered, uncertain whether to continue with his report.

I looked up to find everyone at the conference table staring at me with varying degrees of concern and fear. Six days without Lily, and my control was slipping by the hour.

“Alpha,” Liam called out to me quietly.

I blinked. “What?”

“You growled,” he said in a low voice. “Hard and then the pen again.”

I looked around again. Indeed, every head was turned toward me. Half of them looked startled. The other half... nervous. I was the Alpha. I wasn’t supposed to lose control like that.

"Continue," I growled, wiping ink from my hands with a handkerchief Liam silently passed me.

The director cleared his throat. "As I was saying, the investment in the eastern territory would—"

"Why are we discussing investments when my mate is missing?" I interrupted, slamming my palm on the table hard enough to make the water glasses jump.

"Kai." Liam’s voice was quiet but firm beside me. "We agreed the pack business needs to continue."

I knew he was right. A pack this size couldn’t simply stop functioning because its Alpha was in crisis. But sitting here discussing profit margins while Lily was out there somewhere—it felt like betrayal.

"Meeting adjourned," I snapped standing abruptly. "We’ll reconvene tomorrow."

“But Alpha, we need to send areply back to....” The finance director was saying.

I turned to him with a glare. “Get out.”

No one dared object as they gathered their papers and filed out, relief evident in their hurried movements. Only Liam remained, his expression a mixture of sympathy and exasperation.

"That’s the third meeting you’ve cut short this week," he said once we were alone.

"I can’t focus on this," I admitted, pacing the length of the conference room. "Not when every minute feels like—" I broke off, unable to verbalize the hollow ache that had taken residence in my chest since Lily disappeared.

“You’ve got to rein it in, Kai,” he said quietly. “Everyone’s on edge. You can’t keep barking at people like that.”

“I don’t care,” I growled, raking my hands through my hair. “They’re wasting time talking about border fences when Lily is still missing.”

"The search parties are doing everything they can," Liam reminded me. "Our allies in neighboring packs have been alerted. The human police have her description."

"And still nothing." My voice was bitter as I stared out the window at the forest that surrounded our territory. Somewhere beyond those trees, Lily was waiting for me to find her. I could feel it in my bones.

Liam sighed, dragging a hand down his face. “We’re all worried about her. You know that. Celeste hasn’t slept properly either. We’ve got scouts out in every direction, and even the humans have checked their security footage from nearby towns.”

“And?”

“Nothing.” His voice lowered. “Still nothing.”

I clenched my jaw until I tasted blood. “She’s been gone seven days, Liam. Five. She could be anywhere. Or—”

“Don’t,” he said sharply. “Don’t finish that thought. We’ll find her.”

But the silence that followed said otherwise.

Regret washed over me in a familiar wave. If I had just gone to pick her up that day instead of asking her to meet me. If I had been more attentive, more protective. If I had shown her how much she meant to me instead of struggling with the blank spaces in my mind.

I should have gone.

Instead, I sat at that damn checkpoint for thirty minutes like an idiot before I got her message. “I’m not coming anymore. I’ve changed my mind.” 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

The words had sliced me open that day. I had thought she was running from me again, pulling away just when we were getting close.

I didn’t know she was being taken.

"I hurt her, Liam," I confessed, my voice barely audible. "Before she disappeared. I could sense her disappointment every time I couldn’t remember something important between us. I wasn’t taking good care of her."

Liam’s hand landed on my shoulder, steady and grounding. "You were doing the best you could with what you had. And Lily understood that."

Did she? I wondered. Or had my inability to remember my past driven her to take risks, to seek out Meredith without proper protection?

"I can’t just sit around waiting anymore," I decided, turning to face my beta. "Seven days of fruitless searching, of false leads and dead ends. There’s only one explanation for why we can’t find her."

Liam’s expression grew wary. "What are you thinking?"

"If our scouts can’t locate her anywhere in pack territory, if the birds haven’t spotted her, if even our human allies haven’t picked up any unusual movements," I reasoned, the pieces fitting together in my mind, "then she must be somewhere we haven’t looked. Somewhere we can’t look without permission."

Understanding dawned on Liam’s face. "Another pack’s territory."

"Not just any pack," I said, my voice hardening. "Golden Moon."

"Kai, you can’t just accuse another Alpha without proof. That would violate every treaty we’ve established."

"I’m not talking about the pack," I clarified. "I’m talking about, Lucas."

The name tasted like ash in my mouth. Lucas, the Alpha of Golden Moon Pack. Lily’s ex-boyfriend before she and I had found each other.

"You think Lucas took her?" Liam asked carefully.

"I know he did," I replied, certainty hardening in my gut. "He’s never accepted that she chose me. At every inter-pack gathering, I’ve seen the way he watches her, like she’s something that belongs to him."

Liam didn’t argue, which told me he’d noticed it too. "Even if you’re right, we can’t just march into Golden Moon territory. That would start a war."

"I’m not planning to march in with our warriors," I said, already formulating a plan. "I’m going alone. Tonight."

"Absolutely not," Liam protested immediately. "It’s too dangerous. If Lucas has taken Lily, he won’t hesitate to harm you too."

"He can try," I growled, Hud, surging close to the surface at the thought of confronting the man who had stolen my mate.

"At least let me come with you," Liam insisted. "Two of us stand a better chance than one."

I shook my head. "I need you here, protecting the pack in my absence. If something happens to me—"

"Nothing is going to happen to you," Liam interrupted fiercely.

"If something happens," I continued, "the pack will need a leader they trust. That’s you."

Liam looked like he wanted to argue further, but the resignation in his eyes told me he understood the logic of my decision. "At least take a secure phone. If you find her—or if you run into trouble—I want to know immediately."

I nodded my agreement. "I’ll leave at midnight. The night patrols along the border between our territories are lightest then."

"What exactly are you planning to do when you get there?" Liam asked.

I moved to the window again, staring out at the lengthening shadows as evening approached. "First, I’ll confirm Lily is there. I need to pick up her scent, find where he’s keeping her."

"And then?"

Hud snarled inside me at the thought of Lucas touching Lily, holding her against her will. "Then I’ll take back what’s mine."

Liam was silent for a long moment. When he spoke again, his voice was solemn. "The treaty between packs is clear. Any wolf who takes another’s mate commits an act that justifies lethal force in response."

"I know the law," I said quietly. The law that would allow me to kill Lucas without repercussions if I found Lily in his possession.

"Just make sure it’s justice you’re seeking," Liam cautioned. "Not revenge."

I turned to look at my beta, my brother in all but blood. "I want my mate back. Nothing else matters."

As Liam left to make preparations for my departure, I remained by the window, watching as the last rays of sunlight disappeared behind the mountains.