~~

Reece

~~

Of all of us who were making the trip to the Black Canyons pack, the only one who seemed nervous was Carter.

"Is something wrong?" I asked him. I wanted to help him because he was my mate's beloved cousin so therefore my family now as well, but all I could truly think about was my Little Bunny.

"No." He said apprehensively. I noticed his eyes avoiding mine.

"Are you worried about Trinity? Or about the fight?"

"No, neither of those. I know we will find Trinity, and I will kill anyone who hurt her."

"Then what?" I was perplexed by his behavior.

"I'm just not looking forward to seeing certain people tonight." He said.

"Ahh." I understood now. "You're worried they will know you lied to them."

"Basically."

"Well, basically you did, but we can smooth things over eventually. But you can always claim to have left and settled in my pack after leaving their pack."

"True." He seemed to accept that explanation. "That might stop some people from hating me." He laughed.

"Oh, Reece." Noah called out. "I haven't had a chance to tell you. Some of the missing pack members from this morning have returned. They were out on their day off, they just took a little longer to get back."

"Which one's?" I asked him, curious.

"Kevin, Avery, Jose, and Jack."

"So, most of the missing newcomers. Did any of the others show up."

"No."

The flight only took thirty minutes to get us to a small private airstrip on the Black Canyons territory. When we deplaned, there were two cars waiting for us with a man standing outside of each car.

"Gentlemen, we're here to take you to see Alpha Bryce." The man closest to me spoke when I was within earshot. "Please, come with us." I looked at others around me and nodded to show them it was alright."

Noah and I got into one car, Wesley , Carter and the older Mr. Whitton got into the other. The driver of my car got in silently and drove us into the canyons themselves. It seems that like my pack, they had their headquarters in the national park that their territory surrounded. But where as my lands went up into the mountains, these lands started in the mountains and went down.

The road they took us down was long, narrow, and winding. If you didn't know it was there you would never see it. It would be a very difficult place to find for an outsider. I'm actually very surprised that Carter managed as well as he did. I had known he had brought back a lot of valuable information, and I had been happy and congratulated him before, but I will have to do so once again.

The Alpha House that we were taken to looked similar to mine. It was built to look castle like. The framework was similar. But the coloring was the major difference. This one was primarily black to blend in with the canyons around it. No one would notice it as much if it blends in. It was very easily camouflaged with the large black stone formations standing all around the house. There wasn't much that could be noticed. I also saw a series of caves dug into the sides of the canyons, most likely for the pack to escape in the event of an emergency.

The drivers drove the cars into a garage that was built into the canyon edge. There were two more men waiting for us when we got there. They opened the doors on our cars for us when we came to a stop.

"Gentlemen, please follow us, the Alpha is waiting for you in the lounge." It was just before eight-thirty, thankfully it wasn't too late yet. So we still had plenty of this night left to figure things out.

We followed the butler like guards into the lounge to meet the alpha named Bryce. I had never met him, or at least I didn't remember meeting him. When I entered the room behind the men I saw a man unlike what I had pictured. I knew that this alpha was in his fifties, but I had not expected him to look like this. Bryce was nearly as tall as me, perhaps maybe two inches shorter. His hair was a rich, warm shade of auburn, but that was the only warm thing about his appearance. His eyes were an icy cold crystal green. His angular face had prominent features so sharp they looked like they could cut the skin. He was tall, and lethal looking. He may have been getting up there in age but he clearly still had a lot of fight left in him.

"Oh, if it isn't the envoy for the Red Springs." Bryce said, glaring at me as I walked to him. The others waited near the wall.

"Bryce, this has been a long time coming, too long really. I should have come to see you much sooner." I said as I held my hand out to him.

"I don't need your placating words boy." He snarled at me. "Tell me what it is you think is going on here on my land." He demanded.

"I know for a fact that my mate was brought to your lands and is being tortured here. She was brought here by rogue and traitorous wolves with the aid Warlocks."

"You know this for a fact do you?" He sounded doubtful.

"Yes, I do." I told him confidently. "I've seen the house, and how close it was to the canyons. I just don't know exactly where the house is."

"Excuse me." He inquired.

"I've tracked my mate through mate bond. Through the tracking I've been given visuals of where she is and what she is going through." I explained to the powerful looking older man.

"I don't believe that is how a mate mark works." He told me dismissively.

"Have you ever had to use one?" I snapped.

"Absolutely not." He denied firmly.

"Then how can you lecture me on how it works. If I'm the only one in this room who has had to use the mate mark to track someone then how can any of you dare to tell me how it works or what it looks like when it works?"

"Heh, I guess you're right boy. Of all of us here, you're the only one who would know." He laughed half heartedly. "Fine, I'll help you find this house you're talking about. But only because if there really are trespassers on my land I intend to deal with them personally."

"That's all I ask for."

We set about discussing the house I had seen, the surrounding wooded area and small town nearby. What the likely areas could be. And who could possibly be involved. The rest of the pack would soon be on their way. They would be arriving in the morning so Bryce suggested that we should attempt to get some sleep until it was light out. We may be able to see in the dark, but that didn't mean that it wasn't easier for us to track in the daylight. We would be chartering helicopters as well as sending out search parties to search all possible areas. We would leave no stone unturned until we found the house.

We were each led to a different room in Bryce's estate. The room was shaped similar to the ones back home but they were decorated completely different. That didn't matter, as long as it had a place to sleep, that's all that mattered right now. I tossed my bag down on the table near the door and kicked off my shoes. I wouldn't need anything out of it until morning.

The bed was bigger than I needed. I only planned on being here a couple days max, but it would hold over a week's worth of clothes easy. Which was why I had chosen it, I had brought some clothes for my Little Bunny, she would need new ones when I found her, and this way she didn't have to wait.

I stripped off my shirt and jeans until I was down to my boxers, then I laid down in the bed. I hadn't gotten much rest when I had slept earlier so I was asleep almost instantly when my head hit the pillow. I vaguely registered that it was a quarter to midnight before my eyes closed.