An Alpha's Duty

Chapter 24

Pulling the orange juice from the fridge Ryan felt his sore muscles tense up. He quickly poured the contents into a glass and downed it all in one gulp.

He was aching and exhausted from pushing himself so hard on patrol. All he wanted to do was crawl into bed and disappear for a few hours.

Creeping through the house as quietly as he could, he heard the unmistakable sound of movement coming from the library.

He took out his phone to check the time. Not surprised to see the screen flash up as 1:26 am. Who would still be up at this time?

The rest of the wolves from his patrol had been relieved of their duties over an hour ago. He'd only stayed so that he could check on how well the other patrols were coping. They planned to integrate the women into the patrols in a few weeks time but for the moment the men were on their own.

Thinking of the women's training saddened him. He hadn't seen either Lenah or Elaina since what happened with elder Lewis. It had only been two days but he missed his mate.

When he'd first arrived back with his mother they'd rushed straight to Elaina and Lenah's room. They knew there was something wrong with Elaina and they were eager to check on her. But when they got there they found the door locked and no response from either women when they continued to knock.

Ryan had refused to leave the door and had even slept outside in the hopes that his mate would come out but she never did.

Eventually after hours of waiting he knew he had to get back to his duties. He ordered one of his wolves to bring regular meals to the door when it became apparent that the two women would not be coming out.

The first few meals had gone untouched and Ryan's worry intensified at the thought of his mate going hungry but thankfully by the next day there were empty bowls left outside the door.

He'd found himself walking past the door every couple of hours calling out to Lenah to check she was okay but not once did he have a response. His wolf howled in despair as he tucked himself away in Ryan's mind.

His mate's continued silence was slowly destroying him. If he didn't hear from her this morning he knew he was going to have to break down the door.

As he approached the library doors, he heard the unmistakable sound of Lenah's voice. His wolf immediately perked up and Ryan found himself almost running towards the sound.

He stopped short, however, when he could finally make out what she was saying. From the sounds of things she was obviously on the phone. He knew it was wrong to eavesdrop but the sound of the male caller on the other line was driving his wolf into a frenzy.

"Look Cal she doesn't want to be moved, what exactly would you like me to do?" Ryan could hear the frustration in her voice. He could only assume she was talking about Elaina but couldn't help feeling hurt as he realised she was once again talking to her unknown man.

He hadn't had a chance to ask her who the man was and he found his heart aching at the thought that his mate would talk to this man before talking to him.

"No I'm not coming home. Things are...complicated here. I'm sorry Cal, I just can't." His heart picked up a little. Whatever the man meant to her she was clearly not leaving for him.

"I can't tell you where I am, you know that." Agony laced Lenah's words as he heard her start pacing around the room.

Ryan could hear the voice on the other end of the line growling so he knew it was another werewolf. Just what was his little mate up to?

"I'll talk to you soon, give everyone my love." His heart broke just a little as he heard Lenah hang up the phone.

She'd never spoken so freely with him but would tell this stranger that she loved him. His wolf howled in agony as he slipped silently into the room.