Saving Tragedy Chapter 103

**Ashton's POV**

Jacob had escaped... 

The sharp chill of the evening air bit at my skin as I paced back and forth outside, the tension in my shoulders building with every second. 

"What are you going to do?! You'll have to head back home!" I snap, my tone coming out harsher due to stress, as I turn to look at Sawyer. 

My mind was a storm, trying to piece together the impossible. Jacob's escape from our maximum - security cells didn't just defy logic — it spat it right in my fucking face! 

"I know, I'll leave here in the next hour... when news hits my pack, the majority of them will be worried sick!" Sawyer breathes heavily, dragging his right hand down his face as he begins to pace the grass. 

"The majority of them?" I test his words, earning a deep sigh. 

"You never know, maybe some of them secretly want their original Alpha back? You already know that I had a small group of them leave the pack shortly after I took over... maybe there's more who prefer Jacob." He shrugs, his tone measured as his brows pull together in a furrow. 

"Don't second guess yourself Sawyer! You're the best thing to have ever happened to his damn pack!" I sneer at the thought of any of them being dumb enough to welcome Jacob back in to their lives. 

I knew that around six months after Sawyer began changing Jacob's pack to make it better, a small group of under twenty or so, announced that they would be leaving to find a 'new' pack. 

I told Sawyer not to worry about it at the time, since they would be exiling themselves to become rogues, but maybe now, it was actually becoming important... 

Did they join a new pack? If so, which one?! 

"Did you ever get any word of where that group went? Could they have something to do with this?" I suggest, my brain racing to sift through all of the endless possibilities. 

Another shrug from Sawyer, followed by a loud groan of frustration was all that left him... he knew just as much as I did. 

This was his first time facing a major threat as a stand-alone Alpha, but I knew he was strong enough for it, he just needs to believe in himself! 

In that moment, more of my guards rushed their way out on to my back lawn in their return, making their way towards us at record pace. 

"Did you check the whole facility?! Have any other members of that damn cult managed to escape from my grounds?!" I demand to hear an update, before their feet can even fully come to a halt... 

We had a number of Seraphina and Tarrick's members still locked up here - the ones who weren't killed on site that day for attempting to fight us back! 

"Everyone else is accounted for Alpha, it seems to be only Jacob that is on the run!" One of them steps up and states quickly, in fear of talking too slow that I'll lose my patience. 

At least we aren't looking for an entire cult of sadistic child torturers I suppose... right now, it was only a hunt for one detrimental man and his pet snake! 

My tone was razor-sharp as I turned to find Caleb amongst the group. "Where the hell is that camera footage that I asked for?!" 

"We're pulling it now, Alpha, it should be getting transferred across to your system any second now!" Caleb said, his voice tight with unease. "It's taking them a moment to access everything. The system was seeming... tampered with... but the team think that they can reverse it."

I froze mid-step, my head snapping toward him. "Tampered with? What the fuck do you mean?!"

Caleb flinched under the weight of my glare. "Yes, sir. It looks like someone manually interfered with the security camera's, but we have our best guy on it and he said that whoever done it, isn't a professional when it comes to tech - to put it straight, they done a pretty crap job so It should be recoverable!"

I growled low in my throat, the sound reverberating through in to the tense open air. "Whoever did this will regret it. Mark my words." I mutter in distaste. 

Whoever did this... why wouldn't they free the other cult members too if they had the chance? Maybe in fear of having more numbers to try and sneak out of the pack? Maybe they offered nothing, because each of them was nothing... 

Turning away from Caleb, I scanned the yard where more teams were assembling - responding to the pack alert I had sent out via our mind-link. 

"I want every available tracker out until we can catch a scent. Now! He couldn't have gotten far. Comb the entire territory and beyond. Search every road, every trail, every abandoned cabin — leave no stone unturned!" I demand, as they all shift and begin to put my words to action. 

I didn't waste another second. My mind was already racing ahead of me. 

If Jacob had help — and there was no doubt that he did — it meant we were dealing with a betrayal of someone in the pack... 

Someone within my very own walls had sided with a monster. 

I clenched my fists, the thought nearly consuming me with rage. "Alpha," Wade called as he approached me next. "They said the footage will be delivered to your office within the next few minutes - it's processing on their end."

"Good. I'll deal with it there." I nod stiffly at the message, my body trembling from the thought of who would be revealed to me as the rat... 

I instantly strode back toward the house, leaving Sawyer and Hunt behind, my steps heavy with purpose. 

The door creaked open as I entered, the muffled sounds of laughter reaching my ears coming from the living room. 

For a brief moment, it caught me off guard. Tommy's carefree giggle accompanied with his best friends laugh.

It was the kids damn birthday.

Had this been planned? Knowing that I would have been preoccupied on this exact date? The perfect chance for them to get out of my land undetected?! 

The weight of the day hit me hard. Tommy didn't deserve this. None of them did.

I shook the thought away as I made my way toward my office, pausing only when I noticed Rose sitting on the couch with Lydia and Millie as I passed the room. 

She looked up as I stopped in the doorway, her eyes red-rimmed but determined. I motioned for her to follow me silently. 

She hesitated, casting a glance toward Tommy, who was still engrossed in whatever he was doing with Zander. Then, she stood and walked quietly toward me, closing the door softly behind her as we stepped into the hall for privacy. 

"Ashton?" Her voice wavered the second that we were alone, and I could see the strain in her expression.

I reached for her hand, squeezing it briefly before letting go. "Tommy's calmed down?"

"For now," she said, her voice tight. "But he knows that something's wrong. He keeps asking why you're upset and why you're not playing with him. It's his birthday, Ashton, and—"

"Rose," I interrupted, keeping my tone firm but low. "I know. Believe me, I know."

Her lip trembled, and I could see the cracks forming in her resolve. "I feel awful and I'm struggling to hold myself together. He knows we're hiding something. I tried to distract him, but—"

"I'll make it up to him," I said, cutting her off again. My words were firm, leaving no room for doubt. "When this is over, I'll make sure Tommy gets the time he deserves. But right now, I need you to fight to keep it together."

Rose blinked, her tears barely held in check. "Ashton, I'm really trying, but—"

"No buts," I said, my voice softening, though it didn't lose its edge. "This is what we do, Rose. We hold the line. For Tommy. For the pack. For everyone who depends on us. I will fix this, but I need you to stay strong for me. Do you hear me?"

She nodded slowly, though her shoulders sagged with the weight of it all. "I just... I hate that he has to go through this on his birthday."

"I do too," I admitted, my voice quieter now. "But right now, I can't think about anything else except making sure that maniac doesn't get a chance to hurt anyone ever again."

Rose took a deep breath, visibly forcing herself to pull it together. "Okay," she whispered. "Okay, I'll keep it together."

"Good," I said, nodding. "I love you." I breathe, as her eyes flicker up to mine in sadness. 

"I love you too..." 

I pressed a kiss to her forehead before stepping back. "Now, go back to Tommy. Make him feel safe. That's your job right now."

She nodded again, turning to head back toward the living room without another word. 

I watched her go, my chest tight with a mix of guilt and determination.

There was no room for failure here. I would find Jacob. I would find whoever had betrayed us. And I would put an end to all of this - the way I should have the first time around! 

I turned and continued off down the hall, heading straight for my office. There were calls to be made and plans to set in motion. 

The war might have ended years ago, but tonight, it felt like it was starting all over again... if one prisoner had done the unimaginable by escaping, then that left room for others to follow suit next! 

There was evident gaps in my security here, and I would have to make sure that each and every united Alpha across the country was on top of this threat! 

All except for one Alpha that is… 

The one pack that to this day, we still didn’t associate with... 

A pack who my own army had left in tatters years ago… 

A pack that had done the right thing by going under the radar with the few loyal members they had left… with only whispers being heard about them trying to regroup and rebuild - nothing posing as a major threat to anyone as of yet… 

But in that moment, it finally hit me. 

“FUCK!” 

We need to ensure that Jacob doesn't make it to the Moon Lust Pack before it is too late! 

I fear now, that they could use Jacob as leverage to get the one person back from me who I wasn’t willing to ever give up… 

Derrick Colt.