Hunter’s POV
I watched as my father’s eyes widened. He was staring at Anna with his mouth hanging open.
The tension in the room was palpable. It could have been cut with a knife.
“My father?” my dad spoke after a few moments of complete silence.
Anna nodded slowly.
My dad gulped and took a deep breath. My mom took his hand in hers.
“You think that my father is their leader?” my dad asked, his voice quiet and raspy. “You think that he took Sophia?”
My heart clenched when he mentioned her name. Holden whined and his pain washed over me.
I was scared to look at Sophia’s family. I could feel the anger radiating off them.
“I can’t be sure,” Anna said. “But the witch that I talked to said that their leader was an older werewolf who was exiled from his pack. Your father came to mind.”
I saw fucking red. If he took her, I would find him and I would rip his head off.
“He has a motive,” Anna added. “You exiled him. Emma and Logan motivated you to do so. He has a motive for revenge against both families. Sophia is perfect for that.”
The room was silent again. The tension in the air was growing.
“You are saying that Nathan’s father took my little girl?” Alpha Logan mumbled after a while.
His voice was quiet and raspy. I could hear the pain and desperation in his voice. I looked at him and my stomach twisted. He didn’t even look angry. He looked broken. I couldn’t even imagine what he was going through. I didn’t have kids yet, but just thinking about someone hurting or taking my child away had me ready to wreak havoc on the world.
“I can’t be sure, Logan,” Anna sighed. “I had that thought when my friend mentioned an older werewolf who was exiled from his pack. It could be someone else, but Nathan’s father came to mind. As I said, he has a motive.”
Anna was right. He did have a motive and he decided to use my Angel to get his revenge.
I had to hold back a growl.
“Have you heard from your father after you exiled him?” Luna Emma asked, making my dad look at her.
He shook his head and took a deep breath.
“No,” my dad mumbled. “I don’t know what happened to him after I exiled him. He could be dead for all I know.”
“He obviously isn’t,” Alex said, growling quietly.
His voice was cold and raspy. It made me shiver and it made Holden tense up. I could feel the power radiating off Alex.
“As I said, it doesn’t have to be him,” Anna said. “It could be…”
“Oh, of course it’s him!” Alex interrupted Anna.
He stood up and started pacing around. He ran his fingers through his hair and pulled on it.
“Who else could it be?!” Alex exclaimed as he looked up at us. “That sick fucker has a motive. He wanted to hurt both of our families and he chose her to do it!”
Alex was right. It had to be my grandfather.
As I closed my eyes and bent my head, I could feel the weight of my sadness weighing upon my chest. My heart felt as though it had been shattered into a million tiny pieces, and it was only Sophia who had the power to put it back together again. Her touch and her scent were the cure for even the deepest wounds in my heart and soul.
At that moment, I longed for her more than ever before. I could picture her standing before me, her gentle eyes filled with warmth and understanding. And I knew that if I could just feel her touch, just breathe in her scent, then everything would be okay again. She was the only one who could make me feel whole again, and without her, I was lost.
So I imagined her beside me. I imagined her hands on my cheeks, her lips pressed softly against mine. And at that moment, even though she was not physically there, I felt her presence all around me.
“We need to find him,” Beta Andrew’s angry voice broke the image I created.
I opened my eyes and looked at him. He looked like he was about to shift.
“Where do we even look?” my mom mumbled quietly.
“I can put out the word that Nathan is looking for his father,” Alpha Logan said. “If the fucker really did this for revenge, he will want to talk to Nathan.”
“I am surprised that he didn’t contact us already,” my mom said. “What is he waiting for?”
That was an excellent question. What the fuck did my grandfather want and why didn’t he ask for it already? I would give him everything to get Sophia back. There was nothing I wouldn’t do or give to have her in my arms again.
“I don’t think he is waiting for anything,” Anna mumbled. “I think he is using her for something.”
I looked at her and furrowed my eyebrows.
“Using her for what?” Alex asked angrily.
Luna Emma gasped, making us all look at her. She was staring at Anna with a terrified look on her face.
“Mom?” Alex asked worriedly.
“He is trying to use her darkness,” Luna Emma mumbled, making my heart stop beating.
She was right. My grandfather wanted Sophia’s magic.
“He can’t do that!” Alex shouted. “She can’t use her darkness! It will kill her!”
My heart went from still to racing in a second.
Luna Emma sobbed and buried her face into Logan’s chest. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. He looked terrified.
“He probably doesn’t know that Sophia doesn’t know how to use it,” Anna mumbled.
“We need to work fast,” I said as I stood up, making everyone look at me. “We need to get her out of there as soon as possible.”
I turned to look at Anna.
“Can you tell that witch friend of yours to get the word out that my dad is looking for the fucker?” I asked her.
She nodded. “I will do that immediately.”
“Great,” I said and looked at my dad. “We have to do the same. We have to inform our allies.”
My dad nodded and stood up. He pulled the phone out of his pocket. I looked at Alpha Logan, but he was already talking to someone.
“We need to start searching the area,” Alex said as he walked to the window. “We can’t just wait for him to come to us.”
“I agree,” I said, making him look at me. “You and I should form a team of our best men and go look for her.”
Alex tightened his jaw and nodded.
“Let’s go,” Mason said as he walked toward the door. “We are wasting time standing here.”
Alex and I followed him out of the room.
We were going to find her. We had to find her. The thought of not finding her was unbearable. It was a matter of life or death, and failure was not an option. I was determined to leave no stone unturned and to follow every lead until we found her.
