Everything was almost perfect until Madai arrived. Bella blacked out after the covenant marauded me with shock, and she slept for almost twenty-four hours after I carried her to our small house and waited for her to wake up.
When it took longer than expected, I went to take care of some pack business before getting groceries to stock up the house. This place belonged to my parents, but it was the closest house to the pack house since I wanted Bella close to me.
With time, she would grow to accept and marry me, that was my hope. Not having wooed a she-wolf before, I decided to give it a try by cooking something for her. After talking to my chef, crepes seemed to be the easiest for me, and I was glad she loved it.
However, our sweet moment was rudely interrupted by Madai, and I was very worried because I could not reach Ivy. Worse, he mentioned that there was a problem and Zach had made an announcement. "What did he say?" I asked seriously since it concerned Ivy.
"Alpha, it's stated here that Ivy has been missing for twenty-four hours now."
"If it's been twenty-four hours, then how come she only just informed you a few hours ago about her coming? What could she be up to?" I asked Madai, but he seemed clueless.
"I honestly have no idea."
Ivy has always been my favorite, between herself and Iris, though I loved them both. It was just that Ivy and I were much closer than Iris, as the latter was more interested in how to make Zach feel better all the time from his allergies.
It doesn't mean that her death didn't ache me, but it did because she still had my DNA flowing through her veins.
"There is just one way to find out. For Zach to report that Ivy disappeared twenty-four hours ago when she tried to reach us just a few hours ago doesn't make sense to me," I said seriously. Madai agreed. "Indeed, Alpha, can you please put your differences aside and get in touch with Alpha Zach?"
The mention of his name annoyed me, but this was Ivy, and I won't let my ego put her into harm's way. However, upon seeing Bella, I noticed her fear when Zach was mentioned, so I reassured her.
"Don't worry, if I have to set aside my pride and go see him, I will, but I won't let him return here."
She visibly relaxed at my words, which brought me joy as I reached out to Zach through our mindlink. DNA kept as together, despite belonging to different tribes. 'Ivy contacted us a few hours ago, saying she's on her way here but hasn't arrived. I can't reach her, so I suggest we meet up and search for her.'
There was a heavy silence before I received a response through our mindlink. 'She didn't bother to inform me of her plans, and I've already searched for her. This is your responsibility.'
Zach and Ivy were never particularly close, but he had never shown disdain for her as far as I could remember. Perhaps he was redirecting his anger towards me to cope with his pain.
'You can hate me all you want, but she's our sister. I promise to help you search for Iris's body so we can give her a proper burial,' I conveyed through our mindlink, which instantly diffused his anger.
'I don't know where else to look, and I have no leads, but let's start another search. Just so you know, this doesn't change the fact that you betrayed me.'
The fact that we could combine resources to find our dead and living sister was enough for me, so I agreed. 'I won't wish for it.'
"Madai, organize the warriors. We leave in the next twenty minutes," I informed him. He hastened out as I stared at Bella.
"Don't come out until I return. I have to properly introduce you to the tribe before you join training and any vocation. There is enough groceries in the pantry, and if you get bored, make good use of the backyard."
She didn't look like someone who knew how to pamper herself, but I figured she needed that after all she had been through.
"Thank you, Alpha. I wish I could help, but..."
"Indeed. I might run into Zach, so it wouldn't be safe for you. However, I really hope we could find Iris's corpse. That way, we would be able to determine the real cause of her death and the reason why her corpse went missing," I patted her reassuringly on the shoulder.
Her smile was enough to bring me calmness. As I reached the center of the pack, a hundred warriors, both werewolves and she-wolves, were already waiting for me. Madai wanted to come along, but I insisted that he stay behind.
"You must take care of the pack in my absence," I told him.
My tribe was well-established and coveted, so the absence of an Alpha or Beta could invite attacks.
Madai hesitated but then suggested, "Alpha, in that case, don't we need a gamma? You always need a trusted companion by your side, apart from the warriors."
While most tribes had gammas, I had never felt the need for one. "Initiate a contest to find one," I instructed before leading the warriors away.
We transformed into our wolf forms to track her scent, but it was nowhere to be found.
If she had truly set off as she claimed to come to my tribe, her scent should have lingered in the air. There was an unsettling mystery that eluded me.
As night fell and hunger gnawed at the warriors, we couldn't return to the pack yet. Other tribes had responded to our messages, reporting no sightings of Ivy.
We foraged for wild fruits but our search was fruitless. Just as I was about to contact Zach, I received a telegram informing me that he had attacked and conquered the Nether wolf's tribe.
Bitterness consumed me as I reached out to him through our mindlink. 'I believed you were helping me search for our lost sisters, but it seems you are preoccupied with conquering other tribes.'
I briefly hoped for a caring response, but his words stung. 'Now you understand the pain of betrayal.'
Yet, a deeper pain gripped me as we concluded our search. I hurried to see Bella without entering the pack house.