The Alpha's Bride

Chapter 959: Missing (4)

They informed James of the situation, and he said that he would join them as soon as he made arrangements there.     

'Caden?' Talia called through the mind link.     

'Talia! Where are you?'     

'I just reached the packhouse, and I'm heading to the study.' That was the last place Damon was seen.     

'I will meet you there,' Caden responded.     

Talia opened the door of the study, and her stomach sank. There were documents on the table and Damon's cell phone, but he was not in sight. Damon's scent filled the air, but she could sense that he was not there for hours.     

"You are here!" Caden said with relief in his voice.     

"Where is Damon?"     

Caden shook his head. "I tried contacting him, but I got no response. We have another problem."     

Talia's heart tightened. "We do?"     

"Cristian, Tony, and Maddox reported rogue activities along the borders."     

"All of them?" It was Keith who asked.     

Caden confirmed. "It seems to be an organized attack. So far, there have been some skirmishes along the borders. The reports are still coming."     

"What about our pack?" Talia asked.     

"We had suspicious activity but no confirmed attacks. Maya is investigating, and we raised the alert within the pack."     

Talia could feel alarm bells ringing in her head, but she couldn't make sense of them. She mind-linked Mindy and Gideon. The duo was busy with Omegas from the Red Moon pack in Darkbourne, and Talia decided to let them be there. People needed comforting, and Shaman was the man to make it happen.      

"It's the Guardians," a male voice came from the door, and they all turned to see James and Cornelia standing there.     

Caden frowned at James' words. "How do you know?"     

"Do you need to ask, considering all these simultaneous attacks?"     

"Who else came with you?" Talia asked.     

"George and Dawn went to join Maya's unit."     

"What about Owen and Zina?"      

"They are in the packhouse of the Red Moon pack with warriors," James said.     

"Will Owen and Zina be fine with the handful of warriors?" Arya asked. "Considering that we have attacks on so many fronts, wouldn't it be better to cut down our losses and tighten our ranks?"     

James disagreed. "None of the attacks is a big threat. If we leave that packhouse unguarded, other Alphas will jump on the opportunity to control it with an excuse it was not claimed."         

"Will anyone dare to come for it?" Arya asked.     

"You bet they will," James responded. "Neutrality of that packhouse was the first thing Alpha Natalia asked for after announcing she was mated to Alpha Damon. Other Alphas will go for it to challenge her authority. It will reflect negatively on her image among people, and that will plant a seed of doubt in the hearts of ignorant ones. We will kick the intruders out, but we will be missing documents and valuables, which will be another swipe at Talia's reputation."     

Arya didn't like this. Surely a smeared reputation was a bad thing, but how can it compare to people's lives? Owen, Zina, and their allies were there.     

"How do you know that those attacks are not dangerous?" Arya asked James.     

"Because they are after me," Talia responded. "All this is to cause distraction and rift between allies so they can get to me."     

"What will you do?" Caden asked.     

Talia wanted to rush to where the Guardians were, but she knew that would be foolish. "I want to talk to Cristian, Maddox, and Tony. Can you call them on a video call?"     

Caden confirmed and got his phone.     

Talia moved behind Damon's desk, and she sat on his chair. She reached for his phone to see notifications of missed calls, hers mostly.      

While holding onto the phone, Talia remembered something. "Did you find Steph?"     

Caden responded while sending a text message to three Alphas, "Steph is not in the packhouse, and she is unreachable via pack link." Caden's brows came together when he realized something. "Do you think she had something to do with this?"     

"Before going to the Midnight Guardians pack, I called Damon to let him know about it. Steph answered his phone. She said that he was not in his study, and he left his phone behind, but Damon never leaves his phone behind." Especially not when he knew they were too far away to communicate through their mind link.     

Caden had to agree with this. Damon wouldn't leave his phone unattended, and he always kept tabs on Talia.     

"I will alert our warriors to keep an eye out for Steph," Caden said stiffly, and then his eyes lost focus.     

Talia's laptop lit up as she had call requests.      

Maddox, Tony, and Cristian shared their status. They each had a few skirmishes with injured parties but no fatalities.     

Tony said he suspected one group of attackers was from the Night Sentinel pack, but they escaped, and Alpha William claimed he was being set up. Tony said that he would investigate this further.     

"Where is Damon?" Maddox asked. He assumed that Damon wanted to meet with them and organize their units.     

"He is missing," Talia said.     

Tony's eyes widened. "Missing?"     

Talia confirmed. "And he is not the only one. Yasmin and the twins are missing as well. No one saw them when or how they disappeared from the packhouse of the Midnight Guardians pack. The same is with Damon. He was last seen in the study a few hours ago. We suspect that the Guardians acted on this personally."     

"What can we do?" Cristian asked.     

"I hope you can protect your borders. I will figure out how to get Damon, Yasmin, and the kids." Talia didn't have a plan, but she knew that she was the one who needed to make it happen.     

"That's a horrible idea," Maddox said. "If Damon is there, he would give you a good scolding for thinking that way."     

Talia was confused. "What?"         

Cristian nodded in agreement with Maddox. "You are talking about Guardians. If they have their hands on Damon, you are the last person who should go there."     

James stood behind Talia so the other three Alphas could see him on their screens. "We are all assuming that Guardians are behind this, but we are not certain. And even if we know it's them, there are endless possibilities as to where they are keeping the hostages."     

"Hostages?" Cristian asked.     

"Would you be surprised to find out what's happening are distractions and baits for Guardians to get their hands on Talia?" James asked.     

"That's another reason for Talia to sit this one out," Tony said.     

"I can't sit and hope for the best while my people are fighting, and Damon, Yasmin, and the twins are missing!" Talia protested.     

"No one says you should hide," Maddox said. "But I would rather face a war than allow Tanya to put herself in danger. However, I can't expect her to stay locked up. Right now, she is with our people, guiding them to shelters and assuring them that our warriors will protect them. Your people need you, and you need to put their needs first. If anything happens to you, they will be lost, and Damon will go mad."