Web Novel
Healing His Broken Luna.... Chapter 101
###Chapter 14 - Found
Lukas POV
I sat in the helicopter feeling numb as I watched Sapphire Moon grow smaller and smaller the further away we flew. Angelo had accompanied the helicopter to come get me. I was able to fill him in on everything that had happened while we flew back to Manhattan.
"The auction is tomorrow. Will they have a preview tonight?" Angelo asked me.
"How the hell would I know? Call our contacts and see what we can find out. Someone named Saul might be delivering her. I want the location. If anyone is going to buy her, it's going to be me." I said.
"We could just bust in there and break up the whole thing." He suggested.
"Shifter's council could deal with it. It's not my problem and it would likely cause a shifter war we're not ready to take on."
"So now that you've found your mate, does this mean we'll be taking over a pack or two?" Angelo asked me.
He was ready to settle down somewhere and maybe select a chosen mate. He had found his mate when he was eighteen and she was killed a year later in a terrible car crash. My uncle Kosta had taken him under his wing and helped Angelo pull through. He focused all of his grief into training and was one of the best fighters to come out of Olympus Blood Moon. We're the same age. Angelo was not only my second but was also like a brother to me.
"I don't even know what I'm going to do with her when I find her. She's like a scared little mouse." I told him.
"We're going to take care of our mate." Luke snapped at me.
The city came into view and our helicopter landed on the helipad at LaRue Enterprises. I asked Angelo to call for a car, I needed to take care of business at one of our hotels in Manhattan. Angelo headed to an office to start making calls and getting information about the shifters underground auction. I took the car twenty blocks down fifth avenue into midtown and the driver dropped me and my luggage off.
The Manhattan Grand Hotel was right by the south end of Central Park. I walked into the lobby and was immediately greeted by the hotel manager, Mr. Stanley.
"Ahh Alpha, we were not expecting you so soon." He bowed his head. Mr. Stanley was a lone wolf living in Manhattan and worked for LaRue Enterprises managing this hotel. My phone rang and it was Angelo.
"Yeah." I answered.
"I can't find anything, but I'm still working on it. These things don't stay in one place very long." He said.
"The auction isn't until tomorrow. Keeping working on it."
"Do we have anything going on tonight?" He asked me.
"Yeah, let's see if we can find Vincent in Little Italy. He might have information for us."
"Couldn't you just call him?" He asked.
"That old fool won't be able to resist my Alpha in person."
"Okay, but you do know it's September and the feast of San Gennaro is going on in Little Italy for eleven days."
"Perfect. That means we shouldn't have a problem finding him. I'll see you at seven." I said and disconnected.
A faint scent of sweet pea flowers floated through the air and I felt Luke get tense. I turned around and scanned the lobby looking for her. I must be losing it, it's not like she's just going to magically appear standing in the lobby of this five star hotel. My eyes found a smiling Mr. Stanley as he made his way to me.
"Your suite is ready. Please do not hesitate to let me know if you need anything during your stay Alpha." He handed me my key and I went to the elevator.
It was seven, Angelo and I stepped out of the car near Mulberry Street. I told the driver to return and that we would take a cab back when we were ready to return. The air was thick with the scent of humans, garlic and food.
"Now that smells delicious!" Angelo sniffed the air. "All this garlic should keep the leeches away, right?"
"You serious? That's a myth." I told him.
We walked through the crowded streets of Little Italy. Vincent was an old wolf who owned two restaurants in this area, but the buildings belonged to LaRue Enterprises. He was more of a lazy house cat than a wolf. He was also mated to a witch and between the two of them, they seemed to know everything going on in the city.
"Alpha, to what do I owe the pleasure?" I heard the fat wolf ask.
"Vincent, I'm looking to find an underground shifters auction that's supposed to take place tomorrow." I said.
"Are you looking to purchase a slave or pet?" He asked as if it was a completely normal thing. He was such a slimy old bastard, but he certainly had his uses.
"It depends on what they have to offer."
"I see. Well, it's not my cup of tea, but you should try looking at the east end of 145th Street, after sunset of course to accommodate the blood suckers. You should be able to scent the shifters in the area." He said.
"Thanks." I said and he bowed to me.
"I hope you find what you're looking for."
The next night, we made our way into east Harlem. The strong scent of shifters and leeches made it easy to find. We were greeted at the front door by two wolfs and a leech who directed us down a flight of stairs. We walked around to the preview area and I looked over all fifteen humans and omegas. She wasn't here. A growl rippled through my chest.
"She's not here." I told Angelo through the mind link.
"Should we ask about Saul?" He linked back.
"Yes. But let's be quick. I don't want to be here when the shifters council shows up to break it up." I told him. I had tipped off the shifter's council about the event and location.
"Excuse me, where can I find Saul?" I asked the wolf standing by the door who seemed to have a hard time looking me in the eyes. I had let my Alpha aura fill the air and the wolf couldn't resist, it can easily be overwhelming if you're not used to it.
"He's dead. Let his catch get away and stab him in the eye. The boss wasn't happy with him." He reluctantly told me even though he knew that divulging information like that could cost him his life. Angelo and I flagged a cab and headed back to the city.
"That wolf nearly shit himself." Angelo laughed.
"Theodorus males have often been called beasts."
"Do you think she attacked the poacher?" Angelo asked me. I sure hoped she did and was able to get away.
"I don't know but finding her in this city is going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack." I told him.
"Okay, so where would you go if you were new and had nothing?"
"Where would a scared little mouse hide?" I asked out loud as we prepared to scour the city looking for her.
It's been two months. Two fucking months and we've looked at every soup kitchen, homeless hang outs, shelters, parks, alleys, and subways. We've turned up empty handed and I'm starting to think that she may have left Manhattan for another borough. I've walked through every neighborhood trying to scent her. Angelo has checked all the hospitals, mental health facilities, morgues and train stations. Nothing. She's turned into a ghost.
"Maybe she found a job, or someone took her in? You know Luna Park at Coney Island tends to hire mostly young wolves since it's owned by wolves." Angelo suggested as we poured over maps of areas we've searched and ate out of takeout cartons.
"That's it! We should check businesses that are owned by wolves. A lone wolf might be more sympathetic and take her in."
"But you said her scent was faint, the others wouldn't be able to pick it up. She'd pass for a human to them." Angelo said.
"She would but she's still a wolf and would be able to scent other wolves. Maybe she found someone to help her." I told him, though I wasn't convinced she would. She was a broken little thing. The only thing I was sure of, was that she wasn't dead. I would have felt it.
"Yeah, and if she was smart, she'd stay the hell away from wolves after getting abused by them for so long." He told me.
My phone rang and I looked to see it was my mother again. I didn't answer.
"You know she's going to call me if you don't answer. She's worried about you. Just tell her the truth, we could use the help." Angelo said.
"I don't have time for this right now. She thinks I'm working on an important project for Uncle Ranger. I just need to focus; I need to find her. You don't understand how weak she is, she won't survive out there on her own. And Luke is nagging me night after night for his mate."
"Okay, I'll start looking into any business owned by wolves. Maybe the big parade will draw her out this week too." He suggested.
"Her and everyone else. This city is too damn big. I'm going to go for a run at the park. I keep having that same dream with her and horses." I told Angelo.
"Check the horse drawn carriages at Central Park again." He called out as I closed the door behind me.
Running helps take the edge off but these days I only have enough time to take Luke on short runs once a week to shift and stretch out his legs. I run alongside of the line of horse drawn carriages and the horses seem to get anxious as I pass by. They could sense my strong wolf.
I was running along when I heard the laughter coming from the ice skating rink. I walked over to the side of the rink and remembered when I was little my family had vacationed here in New York during the humans Christmas Holiday. We had come skating at this same rink when I was a pup. My parents have such a strong and passionate love, I remember them skating on this same rink kissing like that couple out there right now. I remember wishing for a mate when I was a young pup and praying to the Moon Goddess for the same strong love.
Luke let out a yip and pulled me from my thoughts. I looked around and my eyes landed on a small figure at the other side of the rink. I could feel Luke getting anxious, but I wasn't sure if it was really her. This female had long flowy hair with loose curls in it, she was also well dressed and was a little fuller than I remember Syble. There were too many humans on the rink, and I was too far to pick up a scent.
I decided to run a half circle around and try to get a better look at her. I watched as she walked with her back to me. She had a paper bag in her hand, and I could see the writing on it, it said, "Hell's Glam Salon." I was hoping a breeze would carry her scent to me.
She stopped next to a horse drawn carriage and reached out to touch the horse. She was fond of horses. Luke let out a howl in my head, he was certain it was her. She continued walking and I watched her hair bounce when the breeze picked up. Sweat Pea Flowers! It smelled euphoric. A growl ripped through me.
I came around the side of her and called her name out. She turned around to face me and our eyes locked. It was her! I finally found her. I wasn't sure how I would feel when I did, but in this moment, I felt relief just seeing her. She was alive, she looked healthy, beautiful and scared.
I could feel her overwhelming emotions trapped inside her little body. Luke was pushing me to touch her, he wanted to connect with her wolf.
"You've been hard to track down little mouse." She still looked at me with those frightened little eyes.
"Mate is panicking, calm her." Luke told me.
I stepped closer and reached my hand to her cheek. That's when I felt it, the tingling waves shooting through me. Tingles only a true mate can make you feel. Her beautiful hazel eyes were filled with tears. Luke was howling with joy and I could hardly hear my own thoughts.
Her energy surged and raw emotion burst through us both. The wind was blowing hard and the leaves encircled us, it was almost like we were trapped inside of a funnel of fallen leaves. The energy around us felt different but I couldn't really put my finger on it, I could only focus on her. I inhaled deeply, her scent was so much stronger now, it was the best thing I've ever smelled. Even better than my grandma Lucy's cooking.
I sensed her wolf and her eyes shifted; they became liquid silver orbs. I've seen eyes darken or in the case of rogues turn red when a wolf is on the surface but never turn pure silver. She opened her mouth and a scream tore out of her before her little body went limp.
I moved to catch her and lifted her up. The humans were staring, and a woman came over and picked up the bag Syble was holding.
"Is she okay?" The woman asked and handed me the bag.
"She is now, Thank you." I told her and she continued walking.
I sat for a moment on the bench, just holding her to me. I looked down at her beautiful little face as her head laid on my chest. She had a sweet innocence about her. I brought my head down to the top of her head and inhaled her scent. Anyone walking by would have just assumed we were exhibiting a public display of affection by cuddling. But the truth was, I was stunned. I couldn't believe I had found her.
"Let's go, mate needs to lay down and rest properly." Luke told me and he was right.
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