Chapter 183

A month and a half had passed and Zelus's pack had been fully assimilated into Thresh's.

Raphael was sitting in Zelus's former study, his hands holding maps of Zelus's Pack.

He'd lost it a fair amount of times but he and his wolf were keeping each other in check, they would find her.

He could feel they were so close.

A strange but familiar trilling sound came from the door and he looked up to see Brooke's cat, Parker. He'd kept the cat alive and moved him down to Park City when he'd moved in the first week of her disappearance.

His phone binged and he looked down to see a familiar number. Unlocking his phone he read the text.

(Arizona's clear.) Thomas said.

Raphael didn't know wether to be upset that they hadn't found her yet or happy that they'd narrowed it down. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists, she wasn't dead. He knew that. He knew that she was still alive.

(Move on to Nevada, I'll be joining you shortly.) He replied and shut off his phone.

The cat climbed onto his lap and he absentmindedly petted him, "We'll find her soon." He muttered.

He crossed off Arizona from his map and rose to fly to yet another part of their new territory.

"Beta." A voice called to him as he descended the steps to his car.

"Yes, Malcolm." He said not pausing in his steps.

"Where are you headed this time?"

"Nevada." He answered.

"When will you be back?"

He gave the new head healer a hard look, "Either when I find my mate, or when I don't." His lips pressed into a thin line and he ducked into his car.

A one hour plane ride away later he stepped off on the runway and onto Las Vegas pavement, his phone pressed to his ear.

"What do you mean sketchy deals?" He asked one of his new attorneys who's job it was to read through all of Zelus's old papers.

"He had many mysterious plans in Nevada. A building project from over ninety years ago and some reservoir work, he built an energy plant but has never done anything with them."

Raph couldn't help the hope that swelled in his chest, "I'll check it out. Where is it located?"

"It's all based around Star Peak, in the northwest of the state."

"Understood." He ended the call and dialled Thomas's number.

"Yello." The Gamma answered.

Raph raised an eyebrow at the voice of word but didn't comment, "I'll be heading up north to cover some area and check some things out."

"Alright, should I send some warriors or hunters up there with you? Hey, guess what?"

"What?" He asked as he climbed back aboard his plane mind linking the two Lycans on the runway that he would be leaving.

"James just got back, and boy he does not look good."

"Hm, can't blame him." Raph said, he didn't even want to imagine what would happen if he lost Brooke forever.

"Yeah, anyway. Do you want some warriors with you up there?"

"Sure." He ended the call after receiving confirmation that Thomas would send the warriors and the plane after being checked over was sent into the air again.

He sat by the porthole, he was supposed to be reading some reports about the new Alphas in their latest claimed territory but his mind and heart were never in it.

He smiled sadly as he remembered the pictures she'd sent to him from her last plane ride. The last words she'd ever said to him.

His heart squeezed painfully as he looked at the desert below, the burning sun gave the sands no mercy as he flew over them.

Closing his eyes he slept, dreaming of his mate's soft, warm, delicate body. Her smile and laughter. Her melodious voice and the way it sounded in the morning. Her scent, the way her lips tasted.

He dreamt of his mate.

Setting down on an old runway he was met by an old pickup truck. A man in front of it, holding a sign that read: Raphael Rivers.

"You Mr. Rivers?" The man holding the sign asked, his teeth crooked and his blonde hair blowing in the desert wind.

Snapping out of his distraction of seeing the rusty truck roll forward an inch he met the man's eyes, "I am."

"Great, Mr. Harrington sent me to show you to wherever you needed to go."

Raphael nodded recognizing Thomas surname, "I need to go to Star Peak."

The man nodded, "That mountain right there." He pointed to a tall mountain on the horizon.

"Alright, could you get me as close as possible?"

"That I can do sir." The man said jutting his finger at the dusty, blue truck, "Hop in."

Raph climbed into the truck and accidentally peeled some of the paint off.

"Ah, no hard feelings." The man said.

They drove along the open expanse of grass and sand, the mountains ahead of them. His pilot had told him that they'd landed in a deserted airfield but it was the closest. Wherever it was it was in need of some trees.

The truck bumped along a makeshift road and Raph held onto the handle only to find it wasn't connected to the vehicle. Clutching to the windowless door instead, he said over the noise of the truck, "I didn't catch your name."

"Tom. Tom Geer." The man replied and Raph had a feeling that Thomas picked him out of a phone book because of his name.

"How do you know Mr. Harrington?" He asked.

"I don't. He called and paid me a fortune to drive you to your destination." Tom answered.

"I see."

They said nothing further and only watched the dusty road.

Eventually they entered some trees and Tom Geer parked the truck at the base of the mountain.

"Thanks Tom. I should be expecting some friends soon so you can head back." He said as he exited the rusting heap, grateful for his life.

"You sure? I've heard some things about this mountain." Tom replied anxiously.

"What kind of things?" Raphael asked intrigued.

"It might all be superstitious but one time a buddy of mine was camping out here and he saw a tall man walking through the woods."

Raphael straightened, the hope in his chest finally able to be real. He could breathe. He'd found her, this was it.

"Scared the hell outta him and he's never come back, but lots of people have seen stuff like that…"

"Tom." He interrupted the man, "I need you to call Mr. Harrington, tell him I found it. I'll stay here and wait for him."

"Yes, sir." He replied with a nod. Shutting the door Tom started up the truck and drove to where a phone was.

Not even waiting before the human was out of sight he shifted—Tom couldn't see him anyway—and ran into the trees up the slope of the mountain.

It was a large mountain with many possible places for the Elves to hide, but Raphael would find them, and when he did they would rue the day they stole his mate from him.

After searching a large chunk of the area he returned to where he'd started and waited to hear word from Thomas.

Looking into the distance he could see the blue truck driving in his direction.

"I finally found you love, I'm coming."