The Great Escape Series

MILO

After I had managed to finally calm Lucas down, he insisted on going on patrol. I was sure he was not going to be able to sit around without stressing about Rafa, so I allowed him to go.

Once he left, I made my way back to the house and decided to spend some time going through the paperwork that had been piling up for the last two days.

I really hated that task because she was the one who took care of it all from the moment she’d become the luna. But since she was no longer there, I had to do it instead.

After an hour or two, the office doors flew open and a little red spitfire came barreling through them.

“Milo!” she screamed before jumping into my lap and wrapping her little, chubby arms around my neck. I grumbled a little at the contact but hugged her back.

“Hello, Elisa,” I said to the redhead who was trying to suffocate me.

For a little four-year-old, she was freakishly strong. She giggled and looked up, her big blue eyes wide and innocent.

“Hi, Milo! I missed you!” came Elisa’s response, and even though I tried not to, a little smile crept up to my lips. I liked the little bugger.

She was one of the few who still treated me like they used to and not as if I was going to murder them in their sleep if they said just one wrong thing.

Sure, she was a baby when everything had gone to hell, so she didn’t actually know me from before; it was still good, however, to not be treated like a monster.

“I missed you too, Elisa. Did you have fun on your trip?” I asked her.

Her face instantly set into a little pout. “No. I hate them. They are mean,” she whispered.

My eyebrows instantly shot toward the hairline. “You hate your aunt and uncle?”

She nodded quickly and squeezed her little hands into fists next to her body.

“Why? Did they say or do something to make you angry?”

She looked down sadly, avoiding my gaze, and nodded. “I heard them say mean things about you,” she whispered almost inaudibly, but I managed to hear.

What she said made me frown.

Her aunt had mated the beta of a rival pack a few years ago and had transferred there when they had gotten married. Elisa’s uncle and the beta, Connor, wasn’t a fan of mine by any means as there was a lot of bad blood between us.

So him talking trash about me wasn’t surprising in the least. But her aunt, Hannah, used to be one of my best friends, and to hear her do it, too, hurt me more than a little.

We had lost contact over the years since she was all the way across the country, but I still loved her like a sister. Hearing that she didn’t hold the same love for me anymore was painful, even if I would never show it.

“What did they say that made you so mad at them, little bug?” I asked even though, knowing Connor, I could already imagine the answer.

“Uncle said that you are a freak and a disgrace…”

“Disgrace?”

“Yes! That! Disgrace for our pack because you’re weak. Mom and Dad said that it was not true and that they liked you, but then, Aunt Hannah said that she agreed with her mate.

“I told her that she was stupid, and then Uncle started yelling at me for saying that. So we left their house and came back. The end.”

It took me tremendous effort to not laugh at her story. I could just imagine the little redhead arguing and trying to defend me even though she was only a little bigger than a toddler and her Uncle was a giant.

What Connor had said was exactly what I’d expected from the man since I’d heard it from him in person a number of times. The fact that Hannah agreed with him was a surprise.

She had always been on my side, especially after all had gone to hell a few years ago. But I guess after being mated to Connor, her sentiments had changed.

To say I was disappointed would be an understatement, but there was nothing to be done anymore. If she wanted to be an asshole like Connor, then that was her choice. I had stopped caring about other people’s opinions a long time ago.

***

The rest of the day flew by in a blur of paperwork and calls to other packs as I tried to find out if they had any information about Rafa.

It proved pointless in the end, like I had known it would. I was sure Rafa wouldn’t leave on his own, and I was right. He was a happy kid loved by everyone in the pack. He didn’t have a reason to run away.

It must have been the Hunters. The thought of them having the sweet kid and doing all kinds of vile things to him made my blood boil.

I hated their kind with every fiber of my being, and if I managed to get my hands on the ones that had taken Rafa, they would curse the day they were born.

My wolf was restless. I could feel him pacing at the back of my mind, as if he was waiting for something. I tried coaxing him into talking to me, but he remained unusually quiet.

I stepped into the shower in hopes of calming the growing anxiety. I hated not knowing what was going to happen next, and Igor being the way he was then just made me feel more uncomfortable and antsy.

As soon as I finished and got my pants on, I heard a cacophony of voices through the mind-link.

“Alpha! It’s Rafa! He came back!” Lucas shouted, his voice flooding with excitement.

“That is great, Lucas! Where was he? Is he okay? Injured?” I asked, quickly leaving the apartment and running down to the first floor.

“Yes, he is all right. A few bruises here and there, but he’ll live. He managed to escape the Hunters and brought back a friend. A human friend.”

The words stopped me in my tracks as I barely managed not to fall down. What the hell is happening?

“We will be there in a few seconds, Alpha,” Lucas said.

I quickened my pace, flying through the back door and into the yard.

As soon as I was out, I saw the pack at the edge of the yard, coming my way with Lucas and Rafa at the front. Relief washed over me at the sight of the boy safe in his brother’s arms and with a huge smile on his face.

Then, suddenly, the most intoxicating smell drifted to my nose, making me freeze on the spot. It was a perfect mix of vanilla and strawberries that hit me so hard. I stumbled over, almost dropping face first to the ground.

“Alpha?” I heard Lucas asking through the link, obviously worried about me.

I shook my head, trying to clear my mind as they came closer and stopped in front of me. The scent only grew stronger, and by that point, I thought I was going to die from the overload of sensations running through me.

Then I saw her, the most beautiful girl I had ever laid eyes on, peeking from behind Rafa.

“Mate!” Igor growled inside my head, and I almost fainted.