The Alpha's Exiled Mate Chapter 239

Thorne’s POV

The dim light in my office did nothing to ease the growing tension between my brows as I reviewed the classified files from Silver Shackle Prison. Each page turned felt like another weight added to my shoulders, another dead end in my search for proof of what I suspected had happened to Freya during her incarceration.

I slammed the folder shut in frustration. There was nothing—no record of the "special treatments" I knew had been authorized, no documentation of the silver immersion therapy that had left those distinctive scars on Freya's skin. Such barbaric punishments were deliberately kept off the books, and the warden who had overseen Silver Shackle during Freya's time there had conveniently been reassigned shortly after her release.

The wolf inside me snarled at the deliberate obfuscation. I'd been searching for that warden's reassignment records, trying to track where he might have gone, when my instincts told me to look for connections to the Brooks family. Edward Brooks, as head of enforcement, would have had the authority to approve such measures, but proving it was another matter entirely.

Three sharp knocks interrupted my thoughts before Mark burst through the door, his usually composed face tight with urgency.

"Alpha, Delta squad leader is calling in. Freya Riley has gone missing from The Crescent Bistro."

I shot to my feet, the chair scraping loudly against the floor. "When?" The word came out as more growl than question, my wolf pushing forward at the mention of Freya's name.

"Just now, sir. It was Miles Everett's people who notified our Delta team."

Everett? The doctor's involvement only heightened my concern. If he was tracking Freya, something was seriously wrong. I quickly gathered the files, shoving them into my desk drawer and locking it with a decisive click.

"Have the car brought around. We're going to The Crescent Bistro immediately." My voice had dropped to that dangerous octave that made even senior Betas straighten their spines.

Mark nodded sharply and disappeared to fulfill my orders. I grabbed my coat, fighting to control my wolf's instinct to shift and hunt. Finding Freya required strategy, not just primal instinct—though every fiber of my being screamed to track her scent and claim what was mine.

Mine? The thought came unbidden, and I pushed it aside. Later. I would examine that feeling later.

The car had barely stopped before I was out the door, striding toward the Delta squad leader waiting for me outside The Crescent Bistro. The night air carried a mixture of scents—the restaurant's lingering food aromas, the city's perpetual exhaust, and something more troubling: fear pheromones.

"Alpha, we've searched the entire restaurant," the Delta leader reported, falling into step beside me. His posture was rigid, aware that failure wasn't an option. "Nothing inside, but—"

"Show me," I cut him off, already moving toward where he pointed—a side entrance tucked away from the main street.

The Delta leader led me to a service door. "We found Freya and Kaelin Brooks' scents here, along with a third wolf—male, unfamiliar."

I approached the door, drawing in a deep breath. The scents hit me like a physical blow—Freya's warm vanilla and wildflower essence, now tainted with fear; Kaelin's familiar perfume, but altered somehow; and yes, a male wolf I didn't recognize. My eyes flashed gold involuntarily, my claws extending slightly as I processed what I was smelling.

"This isn't right," I muttered, more to myself than to the Delta leader. "Kaelin shouldn't be with Freya."

I inhaled again, focusing on Kaelin's scent. The Moon Phase markers were pronounced—far more than usual. "Kaelin's syndrome is flaring severely. Her scent is unstable."

Turning to the Delta leader, I didn't bother hiding my displeasure. "Get all surveillance footage from this area immediately. Track their direction after leaving. This isn't a simple disappearance—they've both been taken."

The Delta leader shifted uncomfortably. "Sir, it was Miles Everett's people who alerted us to Freya's disappearance. We were positioned elsewhere when—"

"Useless!" I snarled, cutting him off. "If not for them, we'd still be in the dark! Where was your team when two women disappeared from under your watch?"

The Delta leader flinched but held his ground. "We were monitoring the north side of the district as ordered, Alpha."

I reined in my anger with effort. "Where is Everett now?"

"At Martha's villa, Alpha. She was the last person to see Freya."

Martha's villa was lit up like a beacon in the darkness of the Moon Light District. I barely waited for the car to stop before storming up the path to the front door, Mark hurrying to keep pace behind me.

I didn't bother knocking, using my override code on the security system—a privilege I maintained on all properties I owned, including this one. The door unlocked with a soft click, and I pushed it open to find three people pacing anxiously in the living room.

Martha stopped mid-stride when she saw me, her face a mixture of relief and worry. Miles Everett stood near the window, phone in hand, his usual polished appearance slightly disheveled. The third person—Emma White, Freya's friend from Stone Group—looked up with barely contained fury.

She moved toward me with surprising speed, hand raised as if to slap me. "This is all because of you!" she accused, her voice trembling with emotion.

Miles caught her arm before she could make contact. "Emma, remember who you're addressing," he warned quietly, though his own expression was hardly friendly.

"I don't care if he's the Alpha of the Grey Moon Pack," Emma retorted, tears gathering in her eyes. "Every time Freya goes missing, it's because of Kaelin, and he does nothing about it! She finally had some peace, and now—"

"That's enough," I interrupted, my voice level but carrying enough authority to silence the room. "Kaelin has also been taken."

Martha gasped. "Kaelin too? That's impossible..."

I turned to her, focusing on information rather than emotion. "Why was Freya meeting with Kaelin?"