Alpha's Mate

Chapter 39

Jade's Pov

   We were in the SUV on the way to Roy's pack. Well, his old pack. I still couldn't believe they did that. When we were leaving the packhouse Christina was outside demanding answers as to why there was a secret urgent Alpha meeting. It was satisfying to see her face when she saw Skylar and I walk out of the room with everyone. I don't know why she can't accept the fact that I am Luna and she was never going to be with Ayden.
    "You think Ruby is going to like to play with kids her age? She might be nervous at first, but she will get used to it" Skylar kept going on about how excited she was to see her again.
   "Who is Ruby?" Caden questioned.
    "She is one of the girls that is coming back with us. She is almost ten years old." I explained.
   "Was she the one who led us to our rooms?" Lance asked and I nodded.
    "Yes, she is the youngest. She was the one who dropped the plates when Alpha Roy was talking" Skylar said.
   "It's not Alpha Anymore" I corrected and she smiled.
    "She is the one you took the blame for that night of the dinner," Ayden reminded us and I nodded slowly.
   "Remember when you scared her?" Caden asked him.
    "What did you do?" Skylar followed up.
   "We were arguing via mindlink and he growled out loud and scared her" Caden laughed and I looked at Ayden.
   "Do you have to be so angry all the time?"
    "I am not. . . anymore" He shrugged.
   "I would love to lend them some of my clothes! I have new outfits that don't fit anymore since we started gaining weight" Skylar clapped.
    "So do I, they can finally have new clothes, not old dirty rags," I said.
   "Ayden?" She questioned and he turned to look at her. "Are we going to be able to get those school lessons? Maybe the rest of the girls can join us."
    "I haven't had much time to work on it,  but now that they are here I'll put it at the top of my list. Let's make them comfortable first." He replied and she nodded.
   I caught a glimpse of the familiar old trees and I instantly recognized the place. Ayden grabbed my hand and smiled.
   "It's okay, we will pick them up and you can go. I need to stay behind with the rest of the Alphas to talk to the pack. Caden and Lance will go back with you," he said.
    "Let me stay with you. Part of my Luna duties right?" I asked and he shook his head.
   "No, this is an Alpha thing. I don't know how the people are going to react and I don't want you around them." He said and I frowned.
    He gave me a quick kiss and I laid my head on his shoulder. We passed the old raggedy buildings and I sighed. I always wished to be able to explore the town and now? I will be luna to a wonderful, much bigger pack. We pulled up to the familiar sorry excuse for a packhouse and got out of the SUV. Ayden kept his arm around my waist and held me close. Skylar walked beside me as we went towards the building.
   "Is Roy here?" I asked no one in particular.
    "He was following us. He might get here any time soon with the rest of the Alphas," Lance explained.
   "Is everything happening today?" Skylar asked and he nodded.
    "A pack with no Alpha is dangerous. They could go rogue."
   I wanted Roy to be taken away from the Alpha position, but I didn't know it would affect the whole pack.
    "Stop! I will not let you do this!" We heard someone yell from behind. Roy was getting down from another car followed by Richard and Alfred. He stormed over us and stopped right in front.
   "It's decided. You are unfit to be Alpha." Ayden growled.
    "Who are you to decide who is unfit? You have had two rampages since your parents were killed! You could've killed people!" he yelled and Ayden stepped closer to him.
   "Don't talk about my parents. You're a worthless son of a bitch!" Ayden yelled. Roy shoved him to the ground and they started fighting.
    "Ayden!" I yelled. I launched for him, but Lance pulled me back.
Caden tried to grab him and Alfred grabbed Roy. I stepped back with Skylar and they rumbled on the floor. Once they were able to separate they were both breathless and bleeding from various parts of their face.
    "Roy there is nothing you can do to change this. Like I said in the meeting, the more you argue the more it proves our point" Alpha Alex said as he walked up to us.
   "This is bullshit!" Roy huffed.
    "Alpha Ayden, go ahead and get the girls. I will gather up the pack for a meeting. I'll see you in a bit" Alpha Alex said and Ayden nodded. He walked over to me and grabbed my hand to lead us away. His cuts healed but he had blood on his face. I instantly got goosebumps when I stepped in.
    "Where are the girls?" Ayden asked monotone.
    "We can go get them," I said.
   "Fuck no, I am not going to leave you alone." He argued.
    "Well if you want to see the girls you need to clean off your face and lose the scary attitude. I don't want them to be afraid." I crossed my arms.
   "Where can I clean my face?"
    "I don't know,"
   "I remember there being a restroom near here. I don't know the exact location." Skylar commented.
    "No, we don't have time. Let's go take me to them."
    "No"
   "Jade I swear to god, I don't have time for this. I need to be there to announce it to the pack what horrible things their Alpha did." He said and I didn't budge.
   "Go then, Caden and Lance will escort us to the girls."
    "You know, we really don't have to be arguing about this," Lance commented and I glared at him.
   "I need to show these girls they are safe. I abandoned them when they needed me the most after years of taking care of them. I will not do my first duty as their Luna taking them out of the home they have known for years with another scary bloody Alpha" My voice was loud and clear.
   "Wow, you're really getting the hang of this" Lance remarked and I rolled my eyes.
    Ayden grabbed the hem of his shirt to wipe off his face. My eyes lingered on his toned stomach. I wanted to trace my fingers in every single muscle he had. I had to stay focused for now. I cleared my throat and looked away.
   "Can't concentrate?" Caden teased. I rolled my eyes and turned back to look a Ayden. Sadly he had put his shirt down but at least his face was cleaned.
   "Was that so hard?" I asked and he smiled.
    "Let's go already" He grabbed my hand and we led him to where our rooms used to be.
   These halls I had memorized. I would walk through here thinking I would never get out. I looked over at Skylar, who was looking gloomy. I let go of Ayden's hand and grabbed hers. We stood in front of our old bedroom. The door was off its hinges and you could see inside. The mattresses were ripped to shreds, our old dirty mirror was shattered all over the floor.
   "Watch your step" Ayden warned.
    "Who lives here?" Caden asked. He pinched the bridge of his nose probably trying to cover the horrific smell that is there.
   "We used to live here," Skylar said and they all turned to look at her.
    "This was your bedroom? Both of you lived here?" Lance asked and we nodded.
   "We each had a mattress. Those were our clothes." I pointed to the few dirty shirts we had there.
    "This was our sink and if we were lucky this was our shower." I pointed to the pipe that was sticking out of the wall.
   "I can't believe you girls were here for so long," Lance said and I shrugged.
    "It's rough, you get used to it" Skylar said.
   "No one should go through this," Caden commented.
    "Son of a bitch is going to pay for all of this. Don't touch anything. I will need to show the Alphas later." Ayden said and we walked out of the room.
   We went to the room next door where four of the girls used to stay. We knocked and I could hear them mumbling on the other side. I slowly opened the door and saw them huddled on the far side of the room.
    "P-Please! W-we are sorry! Don't hurt us!" One of them yelled out. It made my heart shatter. Who knows what they have done to them while we were gone.
   "Girls, it's Rose and Skylar" I said cautiously. They looked up slowly and looked at us in shock.
    "You look different." One said.
   "Yes, We have changed over the past two weeks we were gone. These gentlemen helped us and we are here to help you as well. Would you please step into the light so I can see who you are?" I said calmly. They stood up slowly and I instantly recognized their faces.
    "You're alive!" Lucy said and ran over to hug us. I felt tears build up in my eyes as their fragile bodies hugged me. They stepped back and admired everything we had.
   "Guys, This is Lucy, Olivia, Zoey, and Mia. They were the oldest after us" I introduced them and they waved.
    "Rose you look so different! Both of you do!" Lucy exclaimed and I smiled.
   "As I said, these men helped us and now we are going to help you. We are taking you out of here and back to our place." I said and they got excited.
    "Let's go get everyone else," Skylar said and we walked out of the room.
   "You don't think they want to grab any of their belongings?" Caden linked me and I looked at him.
    "Did you not see our clothes in our old room? Look at what they have on. We will get them everything they need back home" He gave me a nod and we walked to the next room. Five girls were in this room. They were scared at first but once they saw us they trusted us.
   "This is Harper, Grace, Riley, Evelyn, Elena." Skylar introduced them to the boys. We stayed together and went to the last room. This is where the youngest stayed.
    "Girls? Please don't be scared it's Rose and Skylar." I said. They ran out from where they were hiding and hugged us.
   "Rose! Where did you go! Why did you leave us we were so scared!" one of them said. I bent down to hug them as they cried on my shoulders.
    "I am so so sorry I left. I will never ever leave you again I promise. No one is ever going to hurt you." I said. I stood up and looked at the girls around us.
   "I promise that no one is ever going to hurt any of you again. Once we go home, we will make sure you have a proper room with nice clothes and enough food." I said and they nodded excitedly.
    "Jade, you said there were fifteen girls. I only see fourteen." Ayden said and I looked around. My heart dropped when I only saw fourteen scared little faces.
   "Wait, where is Ruby?" Skylar asked panicked.
    "Beta Alfred took her last night and hasn't come back" Lucy replied. My heart began to race. There was only one place he could've taken her overnight.
   "Jade. . .you don't think?" Skylar asked.
    "Let's get out of here. You take them back to the SUVs." I said and turned around.
   "Where are you going?" Ayden asked and stepped in front of me.
    "I have a missing pup. I am going to go find her" I said.
   "We will go find her." He corrected me. I pushed past him and headed to the one place I was dreading to go.