In Search Of Helena

Romeo woke up feeling like shit and it had nothing to do with the challenge he'd won last night.

She'd been around their territory.

And if Romeo's assumptions were right, she'd been visiting Stonehill too. The way Alpha Jeremiah spoke to her about the pack was as if she visited often enough, and she had to.

She was still his Heir.

She was still going to be the Alpha of Stonehill pack.

He let her go last night. Right after, she told him that he was the reason she'd been avoiding Blackmoon all these years.

He wanted to ask why. He needed to know why.

Once, long ago, he thought she would be his mate, his Luna. He thought he'd wake up on the Blood Moon after his eighteenth birthday and scent her, his mate.

But things turned out differently. He woke up that morning, rushing to get to her, only to find her room empty, with Rae in tears.

She'd left.

She left him and she left his sister, her best friend.

They were told that Helena was sent to boarding school for the sake of their packs. A place where she could go and train to be the best.

This confused him at the time because he'd recently been enrolled in Alpha camp, a place where all Alphas went to train.

Romeo sat up.

He had to talk to her. He needed to clear the air between them, especially with Blood Moon only a week away.

He knew they were mates, he was sure they were mates.

Romeo quickly threw on a shirt and a pair of sweats.

Normally, he'd be up much earlier than this to train, but after last night, his father told him to rest.

He had a lot to do, considering they were merging two packs now, and if Helena was his mate, it might as well be three.

Crossing the hall to her room, Romeo knocked on the door.

"Helena, are you up?" Romeo called out.

There was no answer.

He tried the door knob, but it was locked.

"Helena, please," Romeo pleaded as he banged on the door again.

'What if they aren't there?' his wolf Ryder told him. 'They trained yesterday, they might be at training again today.'

'Good idea,' Romeo told his wolf. 'But first let me check.'

Romeo pressed his ear against the door and closed his eyes.

The rooms in the pack house were soundproofed against wolf hearing. No one wanted to hear their Alpha and Luna going at it, especially not their kids.

When he heard no sound, he agreed with Ryder that they were probably at training.

He quickly made his way down, where he found Rebecca sitting by the table.

"Hey, squirt," Romeo said as he messed her hair.

"This is why I like Helena more than you," Rebecca said, sticking her tongue out.

"You and me both, kid, you and me both," Romeo chuckled before walking out of the door.

He could always count on Rebecca to brighten his day without her even trying.

On the way to the training grounds, he bumped into Neil and Kade, who seemed closer than they used to be.

It seemed that last night had made Kade stand out, and Neil paid attention.

"Hey, have you seen Helena?" Romeo asked the two men.

"Already chasing your Luna, Alpha?" Neil teased, making Kade laugh.

"Hey, don't shame the Alpha," Kade said, elbowing his new friend in the gut. "I'd look at her as if she hung the moon if she weren't taken."

"The thing is, she isn't," Neil teased.

"I liked it better when you couldn't stand each other," Romeo grumbled.

"We haven't seen her, Alpha," Kade sighed. "She wasn't at training today."

Romeo nodded, wondering where Helena could have gone.

There were so many places he was now thinking of looking.

Her favorite tree where she would rest and read, or maybe in the Pack Hospital, he remembered her spending so much time there to help.

"Alpha, a word before you go searching for Helena," Neil said as he gestured toward the side.

Romeo nodded as they walked away.

No one aside from his father and Helena knew he could now communicate directly mind to mind with their packmates.

"Kade has proven loyal and a good fighter," Neil told Romeo as soon as they were out of earshot.

"You want him to be one of my ranked wolves?" Romeo asked, surprised that Neil would recommend the man so soon.

"Gamma, if possible," Neil said with a slight grimace.

Their other friend, Erik, was lined up for the role, but if Neil felt someone else would do a better job then Romeo was willing to make changes.

"Nothing is fixed till my Rite," Romeo informed Neil. "We can make the change. I trust you with this one."

"But you need to trust him too," Neil said. "Or have you forgotten that it's a Gamma's role to first protect the Luna and second protect the pack."

"And Kade will protect her because he respects her," Romeo said with a lot more determination in his voice.

"Aren't you worried he'll make a move on her?" Neil asked with a raised eyebrow. "I've never seen you this jealous or protective of anyone or anything, not even of the pack."

"Kade respects Helena, he admires her, and that just makes me proud of her," Romeo said. "Now, if that's all, I have to go find her."

"That's it," Neil said as he let his Alpha leave.

Romeo searched the territory for Helena for hours, but he couldn't find her.

Eventually, he found his way back to the pack house, where Rebecca greeted him with a smile.

"Have you by any chance seen Helena?" Romeo asked.

"Nope," Rebecca said, smiling up at him.

"Do you know where she is?" he asked. He doubted she knew, but you never knew with Rebecca.

"She left," Rebecca said, frowning.

"What do you mean she left?!" he asked, raising his voice just a little bit.

"She left this morning, I heard Mom tell Dad," Rebecca shrugged.

"And do you know where she is?" Romeo questioned.

"I do, but if I tell you will you bring me along?" Rebecca asked as she put her foot down.

"Fine," Romeo said with a sigh as he pulled his sister along with him.