Chapter 23

Beau
I jump up when I hear it.
Fight for him. Never let go of your mate.
Father sent me a mind link. Something is wrong; I can feel it in my bones. I am still in the underground cave. I have been staring into space unsure of what to do. Terrified by the message, I run out and into the house in search of him. I check his room and everywhere else. He is nowhere to be found.
“Rex,” I walk into his room and he jolts up the bed. “Have you seen the Alpha?” I ask. I am getting scared because he wouldn’t send me a mind link from a distance unless it was important. He sounded like he was in pain. What if something has happened to him?
“No.”
“Shit.” I run my hands through my hair. I walk out of the house and rip my clothes off my body. I turn immediately in need of a higher sense. Once I am fully turned, I inhale trying to find his scent. I run into the woods as I catch a glimpse of him. Looking around I search desperately for him. I feel it in my bones, something has happened to him. He is hurt and alone and the last thing I told him was me deserting him.
I howl loudly letting my cries fly into the sky. I run until his scent gets closer. Smelling blood; I stop with shivers running down my fur. His blood is strong making me not want to explore this any further. I am terrified of what I am going to find. I stop in front of the entrance to the graveyard. I know he is here; his scent is too strong. Turning back to my human form, I take a deep breath. “What is going on?” I turn around and Rex is at my back. I didn’t know he even followed me.
My mind must have been too fixated on finding him.
“Father sent me a link. He sounded like he was in pain and his scent is here. There is so much blood,” I tell him because I am still so scared. I don’t want to find him anymore. I don’t want to find him in the way I think he is.
“You think someone hurt him?” Rex questions.
I shrug “What if he is dead? The blood scent is just too strong,” I sniff again and the smell is urging me to go forward.
“We should go check. He might be hurt,” Rex takes the first step and I follow him at his back scared of what we might find. I am a couple of inches behind him. My eyes are closed because I am still scared to look. My smell sense heightens. The smell is disgusting, almost like death.
“Fuck,” Rex cries and the tone of his voice has the hairs on my arms standing. The shiver in my spine is to the bone. I know it is not good. I don’t want to look. I can’t open my eyes. I feel the pain before even knowing what has happened.
“Who did this? Beau open your eyes,” Rex pleads with so much desperation etched to his voice. His voice is shaky.
“I can’t,” I manage.
He walks back to me and grabs both my hands in his “We need to get the others,” he cries still holding unto me. I shake my head because I am frozen to the ground. I don’t think I can move from this position. I know he is dead. Someone killed my father.
“Is he dead?” I ask just to be sure.
“Yes,” Rex pulls me to the exit of the graveyard “Come on, you don’t need to see this” I follow him unsure of what to do. How to react. My father is dead. I open my eyes as we reach the gated exit of the cemetery. I don’t know what compels me but I turn around and I see him. His body is a couple of feet away from his head. I stop and Rex sighs when he notices that I have seen him. “Let’s go Beau. Come on,” he tries to pull me away from the view but it is too late. This image will forever be etched to my memory.
I push his hand away from my arm and walk back to the body. His eyes are open. I can’t imagine what he must have gone through in the last minute. The pain he must have been in. Tears fall from my eyes and onto the cold ground. He died beside mother’s grave. He died alone. “Dad” I cry hoping this is just a dream. I want to wake up from this nightmare. I would take anything for this to be a dream, I’d do anything for this not to be real “Please wake up daddy,” I plead desperately.
Rex is next to me and he is crying too. I can’t focus on anything at this moment. He sent me a mind link knowing he wouldn’t be able to tell me in person. He didn’t want to die without accepting me and Lanis. I’d take him being alive over anything “Daddy,” I continue still crying. I don’t know how to feel. I am so numb right now; still in disbelief.
I hear shrieks which makes me turn; a lot of people are gathered; I didn’t even know when they came. The only person I see is Isabella. She is standing by the corner unsure of what to do. I need her warmth; she has always been the only person to be able to comfort me. I need her right now. It is almost like she reads my mind because she walks over to me and I am in her arms. We are both crying. This is affecting her as much as me. Dad was like a father to her too. “I’m so sorry baby,” she cries into my arms.
At this moment I am completely lost. I don’t know who did this and why they did this but I will find out and I will kill them.