The Alpha's Unknown Son: A Shifter Romance

by Skylar Thomas

  I don’t know when the others joined me, but as I look to my left, I see Nikolai looking at me. He nudges my side, making me tumble over.

  A cackling sound comes from him as he smirks before taking off faster. I hurry and hop to my feet, chasing after him. We run like that for another twenty minutes before we head in.

  We stop at a tree close to the backyard but out of view. Everybody changes back besides me.

  “Okay, Will, now you need to focus on what your human form looks like. It’s just the same as you did last time, but this time, you’re changing back to your human form.”

  All of a sudden, a breeze comes over me, making me look down at my naked human body. What happened to my clothes?

  “They ripped, buddy. Put these on.”

  Jake hands me a pair of shorts and a shirt. Man, I ripped my school shirt! Ms. Reynolds is not going to be happy!

  We head back and come to a laughing Mommy and a pouting Marcus.

  “Mommy, what’s the mile high club?” I ask since I heard Marcus say it. Extreme hearing. Werewolf perk!

  Mommy and Marcus argue some more, not really telling me what it is. I tell Mommy about my run and how exciting it was. She looks proud of me, making me beam at her.

  As we enter the house, I make my way over to the couch where Nathan is playing video games. I grab a controller and put myself in the game as I make myself comfortable.

  After dying three times, I give up and see if I can catch some fireflies outside. I walk out, not telling anybody since I won’t be out long.

  I see one flying towards the woods, so I follow it. As I pick up speed, I loose track of where I am. I finally catch it, fist pumping for victory.

  “You’ve grown so much, William.”

  It’s a voice I recognize. I turn around to see the bad man who hurt Mommy. I jump back, hitting my head on a tree. I fall on the ground, a massive headache forming.

  “Well, hey. At least, I don’t have to knock you out myself,” the man says with a chuckle.

  I try to stand up but I fall everytime. I hear paw prints hit the ground, and I thank the moon goddess for someone coming to save me.

  The bad man hides behind a tree, disappearing into the shadows as Aurora appears. I try to sit up, but again I fail.

  She freezes in place as the bad man makes his appearance. I watch as he sticks something into her side, making her fall down with a whimper.

  Something in me sparks as I push to my feet, dragging myself to them.

  “Mommy?” I whisper but her head barely moves to acknowledge me.

  The man appears in front of me and grabs my face in his hands.

  “She’s a goner, Will. Relay a message to your father, will you? Tell him if he tries to take what’s mine again, I will destroy him! Starting with you!”

  He lets go of my face harshly. I try to push him away from Mommy, but his hand collides with my face.

  I fall down, blood streaming down my face. As his footsteps dissapear, more are heard coming my way.

  “Mommy!” I try to scream, but it only comes out as a whisper. Blood and tears stream down my face as I know I let my mommy down!

  “I found him!” I hear somebody say before I’m wrapped in familiar arms.

  “Bad man, Daddy, bad man,” I whisper before the pain became too much, and my eyes close by themselves.

  I’m sorry, Mommy. I couldn’t protect you!

  CHAPTER 15

  Nick

  “ROSE!” I yell as I run through the woods in human form. The whole pack has been searching for her and Will for what seem like hours.

  ‘Alpha Nick, William’s scent has been spotted near the west border.’

  ‘Thanks Jason!’ I cut off the link and head towards the west. It only takes me about two minutes to get there, but when I do, an unsatisfying scent hits my nose. It’s a mixture of William’s wolf and his blood.

  My anger boils as I search frantically for my mate and son. The pack warriors meet me, half in wolf form, the others in human.

  “I FOUND HIM!” I hear Jake yell. I look to my left to see him cradling a bloody Will.

  I run over and take him in my arms.

  “Bad man, Daddy, bad man,” he whispers as his eyes start to close.

  “William, stay with me, please.”

  I run towards the pack house. As I get closer, I can feel my feet pushing faster.

  “DOCTOR BARRY!” The doctor runs out. He takes one look at Will and immediately takes the kid in his arms. We all follow him to the infirmary.

  “Alpha, you can’t come in here!”

  I don’t have time to object because the door is slammed in my face. I rest my head on the door, letting the tears fall with no shame.

  “Nick, I’m so sorry!” I hear Marcus say.

  “It’s not your fault, Marcus. It’s nobody’s fault,” I whisper but I know everybody heard me.

  “I’m going to search for Rose. I don’t think Will’s disappearance was an accident!” I say to everyone.

  “What about Will?” My mom asks standing up to stop me.

  “Let me know when he wakes up!”

  “Son, I’m not telling you how to be a parent, but he is your son.” My dad interjects into the conversation, pulling my mom to his chest.

  “And he wouldn’t be without Rose. I need to find her, Dad. I can’t and won’t raise our son without her. Now stay here. When Will wakes up, inform me.”

  My dad is about to respond, but I stop him. “That’s an order!”

  He nods and sits back down.

  “I’m going with you,” Jake says as we walk together towards the back door.

  “Jake, no. You need to be there for Mar—”

  “Alpha, she’s my sister, and I made the same promise as you. You’re her mate, and I respect that, but I’m her brother. I’m going.”

  I nod, just wanting to get out there as fast as I can.

  As we reach the backyard, we shift. I nod towards the east for Jake as I take the west.

  ‘I want every warrior and tracker looking for your luna! If you get any kind of hint of her scent, follow it.’

  I get a series of ‘yes Alphas’ before I shut off the link.

  As I run through the woods, I try to sniff out that scent that I could never get out of my head for six years. I didn’t know I had stopped running until someone opens the mind link. My body is frozen in place.

  ‘Alpha, we found her scent where we found Alpha William. We followed it until it just completely stopped. That’s all we found, Alpha,’ A pack member says, making my heart feel like a million pounds.

  ‘Let me take over, Nick,’ Nikolai says gently.

  I let him do just that. The pain is becoming too much.

  ***

  Nikolai

  ‘Mich, I don’t care if we are out here all night. If my mate is not found, hell will rise.’

  ‘A-alpha N-Nikolai?’

  Does he seriously want to die?!

  ‘DO IT NOW!’ I scream through the mind link, my alpha voice coming through.

  ‘Yes, Alpha Nikolai!’

  I cut off the link, needing to focus on finding Rosealine. I swear if somebody laid a hand on her, they won’t have any hands to do so again.

  I search high and low for her intoxicating scent, but it’s like she disappeared off the earth.

  ‘Nick, William has woken up!’ Jake says.

  ‘Thank you, Jake. I’ll be on my way’

  I cut the link, letting him figure out that it’s not Nick.

  ‘Will you let me know how he is?’ Nick says in a barely audible whisper. The pain is evident in his voice. He took all the pain of losing our mate for the last six years, barely letting me shift. It finally caught up to him.

  ‘Of course.’

  I make it back to the pack house in less than minutes. I immediately change into my human form. It’s weird to be human since Nick rarely gives me control unless we’re in wolf form.

  I make my way to the infirmary, ignoring th
e looks I receive from the women. Maybe it’s the eyes.

  “Where is he?” I ask immediately, getting wide eyes as my response.

  “Nikolai?” My dad asks with his mouth wide.

  “Hi, father. Where is my pup?”

  “I can take you to him, Alpha Nikolai,” Doctor Barry says as he stands by the revolving door.

  I nod and follow him into the hallway.

  “He should heal in a couple days, Alpha. It was only a small concussion, no internal bleeding, but we are putting him on medication for the pain.”

  I nod and thank the doctor. Will is on the bed, watching TV.

  “Hey, William.”

  He looks at me with a sad smile.

  “Did you get her back, Daddy?”

  I shake my head and sit beside him. His shoulders start to shake as he lets out silent cries. I pull him into my lap, careful of his head bandage.

  “Pup, I promise, I will find your mom and bring her back!”

  “BUT YOU ALREADY PROMISED, DADDY! YOU SAID YOU WOULD PROTECT HER, BUT YOU DIDN’T!” His voice crack through the sobs, and he hits me on my chest.

  I hear someone enter the room, but I don‘t have to turn around to know its Noah!

  “I’m sorry, William.” I grab his hands and pin them to his sides. He yanks his arms and turns away from me.

  “I can watch him, Nikolai.”

  I nod and press a kiss to Will’s head. I exit the room and walk out of the infirmary, ignoring the sympathetic looks my family gives me.

  ‘Mark, I need you in my office right away!’ I link our best tracker.

  He replies, letting me know that he’s coming in from the fields and will meet me in my office.

  ‘I’m ready to take control, Nikolai,’ Nick says trying to push through.

  ‘You can handle it? This pack doesn’t need a bad alpha when their luna is already missing!’

  ‘I can do it Nikolai.’

  I agree and let him take control.

  ***

  Nick

  I push Nikolai to the back of mind to help me concentrate. Sitting down at my desk, I pick up the phone to make two important calls. The phone rings twice before someone picks up.

  “Hi!” A cheerful voice says through the phone.

  “Hi, Benjamin. Is your dad there?” I ask the five-year-old boy.

  “Uhhhhhh, yep, why you calling so late uncle Nick?”

  “Cause it’s an emergency, buddy. You should be in bed though, yeah?”

  I hear giggling from the other line, reminding me of Will, who currently hates me right now! I hear a bye from Benjamin and some movement on the other end.

  “Nick, it’s been a while since we talked. What can I help you with?” Alpha Miles asks, sleep clear in his voice.

  “Hey, Miles. I’m sorry to bother you, but I need your help!”

  “Nick, are you okay? You don’t sound like yourself! What can I help you with?”

  He sounds worried, so I try to push all emotion away and be the heartless alpha I was these past years.

  “Rose is missing, and I need your help to find her! You have the best trackers, and it would mean a lot if you could help.”

  “Of course, Nick! We’ll come as soon as possible!”

  I thank him, and we discuss traveling plans a little more before we say our goodbyes. I make my second call, but a knock at the door stops me.

  “Come in.”

  Mark walks in with his wife, Loren, our best trackers. I nod at them as they bow, signaling for them to sit down.

  “Have you guys found anything yet?”

  They shake their heads, their eyes cast down. I sigh and rub the bridge of my nose.

  How does she just disappear off the face of the earth?

  “Okay, well, I’m having a friend of mine send some of his trackers. They will arrive around eight a.m., and we will set out at about ten a.m. I want you to gather who you think are the best and let them know the plan.” They nod and disappear from my office.

  Now to call Zayne and Luke! The call doesn’t connect, so I leave a voicemail, telling them what happened.

  I get up, lock my office, and go back to the infirmary to check on Will. He’s sound asleep, cuddled up to Noah. I kiss both on the head and leave to go catch some sleep.

  After I shower and get dressed, it’s already about three a.m. I lay down and stare up at the white ceiling, thinking of all that happened today!

  I kidnapped Rose, Will shifted, Will disappears, then is found but with Rose goes missing!

  I know the man who wrote that letter had something to do with it! God, if I just knew who he is!

  I try my best to close my eyes, but all visions of Rose come to mind. Tonight’s going to be long!

  ***

  A loud banging wakes me up from my deep sleep. I sit up in time to see my door swing open.

  “YOU LET HER GET KIDNAPPED!” A very stressed-looking Luke yells.

  “Luke! You can’t just barge in here!” Zayne says from the doorway looking very angry as well.

  “Well, maybe if this douchbag didn’t lose my best friend then I wouldn’t have to!”

  “I didn’t lose her! She ran away and happened to get herself kidnapped while at it!” I retort, trying my best to keep my anger under control.

  “SO THIS IS HER FAULT?!”

  He tries to hit me, but thankfully, Zayne holds him back. He whispers something in his hair, calming him down.

  “Sorry, Alpha Nick, but she’s my best friend. We let you bring her back so you could protect her. We’re just worried!”

  I nod, thanking him for the apology. I tell them to meet me downstairs while I get ready.

  I grab some black basketball shorts and a plain white t-shirt, throw them on, and hurry downstairs. I stop by the infirmary to check on Will first. He’s sleeping, but Noah is awake by his side.

  “How was he last night?”

  “He’s fine, but he cried himself to sleep.”

  I nod, rubbing Will’s head.

  “Daddy?” He peeks up from his lashes.

  I smile and kiss the top of his head. “Hey baby, how are you feeling?

  He curls up to my chest, humming a response. “Are you going to find her, Daddy?”

  I nod as I nuzzle my face in his neck.

  “Please come back, Daddy, and bring Mommy with you!”

  “I will, William. Get some rest, okay? I’ll come say goodbye before we leave.”

  He nods and rolls onto his stomach. He closes his eyes and goes back to sleep.

  “Will you stay with him until he wakes up?” I ask Noah once I know Will’s asleep.

  “Of course, Nick, but you know I would rather be out there helping you find Rose!”

  “I know Noah, but I don’t want to have another accident like the last time we were attacked. Stay here and protect the pack house.” I pat his shoulder, leaving him to watch over Will.

  As soon as I get back to the house and step into the living room, everybody grows silent. Well, mostly everybody.

  “UNCLE NICK!” Benjamin screams, launching himself at me.

  “Hey Benji!” I hug him back.

  “Hey Nick!” I nod at Miles and give him a hug as well.

  “Thanks for coming so fast, Miles. It means a lot.”

  The next half hour is spent setting up different groups and individual responsibilities.

  “What about me, Uncle Nick?” Benji asks me once everybody besides my group has left.

  “I actually have a job for you, Benj. I need you to watch my son, Will. See, he got hurt. He’s at the doctor. Do you think you could entertain him while we’re gone? Keep his mind off things?”

  He nods excitedly ad he bounces in his shoes.

  “Alright, buddy. Follow me.”

  I grab his hand and lead him to the infirmary. He looks nervous as we step inside Will’s room. I chuckle aloud, waking Noah and Will.

  “Hey, bud. I want you to meet someone!”

  I bring Benjamin in front of
me, and Will’s face lightens up. The two introduce themselves, and by the time I leave, both are already too busy to say goodbye.

  “Okay Luke, Zayne, Miles, Dad, and Rich, are y’all ready?”

  They all nod, so I make my way to the backyard.

  Once we all shift, we head out. Most of the others have already searched the pack lands, so we head north to no man’s land.

  If I’m right, then this mystery man must have had help from rogues. We tracked their scents, only about a mile into no man’s land. With the help from Mile’s trackers, we can hopefully get something.

  The air gets cold as we escape our land’s borderline. There’ no pack warriors to defend us here. As we make our way through, I get a sick feeling in my stomach.

  ‘Something’s not right, Nick!’ Nikolai says, confirming my suspension.

  ‘Y’all go ahead. I’m going to stay behind, search the area a little more.’

  They all seem hesitant, but I let them know I’ll be fine.

  I scan the area again, but I don’t find anything. As I head back to the group, I hear a branch snap. I turn my head to the side, but don’t see anything.

  “I said stay away!”

  I whip my head to see a man with a gun a few feet away. I move to charge, but a pain hits my left leg. I fall to the ground.

  “God, killing you is going to be fun!” That’s all I hear before the gun connects to my head, knocking me out.

  Rule Number One: Always stick with your group.

  CHAPTER 16

  Rose

  I shift around, feeling the cold surface of the concrete ground. The restraints holding my ankles scrape against the floor, waking the guard watching me.

  “Be quiet, slut. I’m trying to sleep!” He sneers, leans back in his chair, and closes his eyes.

  I drag my feet across the ground just to annoy him. I smirk at him as he makes his way to me with a glare. His palm connects to my face, leaving a burning sting. He tries to hit me again, but the opening of the door stops him.

  “Samuel, what are you doing out of your chair?” Wyatt’s voice echoes through the cemented room.

  The man, or Samuel, stutters over his words, but nothing clear comes out.