The Biker Alpha Who Became My Second Chance Mate Chapter 95

Tristan's POV

There were signs of a struggle now that I was looking for them. A chair pushed back at an odd angle, a glass that had rolled under the cabinet, scratch marks on the linoleum that looked like someone had been dragged across the floor.

"No, no, no," I whispered, my mind racing through possibilities, each one worse than the last.

I picked up her phone with trembling hands, checking the call log to see if there were any clues about what had happened.

Opening it wasn't difficult, I just had to try our surnames together - Slayes. It was all our passwords.

The last call had been from Derek about an hour ago. Before that, nothing unusual.

Derek. He'd called her, and now she was gone.

But that didn't make sense. Derek was my friend, had been for years. He wouldn't hurt Athena. He cared about her too, had been helping train her, protecting her at races.

My mind flashed back to the racing center, to the way Derek had protected her when those men were threatening her. To the way he'd positioned himself protectively in front of her. To the authority in his voice when he'd warned them off.

He wouldn't hurt her because he wanted her. Or would he?

Love could make people do incredibly stupid things. I should know.

Derek Stallion.

Stallion wasn't just any werewolf name. It was royalty. Old blood, powerful bloodlines, the kind of family that had connections and influence that stretched across multiple packs and territories.

But in all the years I'd known him, he'd never used his position to oppress anyone. He didn't even act like someone who had that kind of bloodline, and he also didn't want anything to do with his pack and family. That was part of why we'd become friends in the first place.

I pulled out my own phone and called Marcus, not caring that it was late or that I'd just left him at the hospital.

"Alpha?" he answered immediately, hearing the urgency in my voice through the pack bond.

"I need you to check the last place Derek had been and send me his location immediately."

"Is everything okay? You sound..."

"Athena's missing," I cut him off. "Her apartment shows signs of a struggle, and Derek was the last person to call her."

There was a moment of silence as Marcus processed this information. "I'll have everything you need within the hour," he said grimly.

"Make it thirty minutes," I replied, then hung up and immediately dialed another number.

"Don't you sleep? I have a wife and child..." Orion's voice came through the phone, groggy but already alert. He could probably sense the panic in my voice even before I spoke.

"Orion," I said, cutting him off. "We have a problem."

"What's wrong? Where's Athena?" Of course he'd guess immediately. What other problem would make me call him in the middle of the night?

"She's been taken."

I heard him shoot out of bed immediately, the sound of sheets rustling and feet hitting the floor.

"What?"

"Honey, what's wrong?" I could hear Sarah's voice in the background, concern evident even through the phone.

"I got a call that Seraphine had tried to commit suicide, so I left. When I got back, I couldn't find Athena anywhere. Can't even smell her scent in the apartment."

"You left my sister alone?" His voice was sharp with accusation and fear.

"I'm sorry, man..."

"I trusted you to protect her. I trusted you." I could hear him moving around frantically, and I knew he was trying to get dressed while talking to me.

"You know I'd protect her with my life. I asked her to come along, but she insisted on staying back. I swear, I..."

"Fuck, man. I'm sorry." I heard him say, his voice breaking slightly. "I shouldn't have said what I said. I know you wouldn't have allowed anything to happen to her."

"But I failed. I failed again. If anything happens to her..." My voice came out broken, the weight of my worst fears crushing down on my chest.

"Listen to me, man. Listen." Orion's voice became stronger, more commanding. "It's not your fault, and nothing is going to happen to her. She's a fighter, and you know it. Just wait for me. I'll be there in the next ten minutes. Don't do anything stupid. Just wait for me. We'll figure this out together."

He said the last part with emphasis, like he wanted to make sure I understood he meant it. I nodded, then remembered he couldn't see me.

I knew he was waiting for me to respond, so I forced myself to speak. "Alright, man."

"Good. I'm on my way."

.......

Orion's POV

The moment Tristan said Athena was missing, everything else in the world stopped mattering.

I was already out of bed before he finished speaking, my hands shaking as I reached for the first clothes I could find.

I knew I shouldn't have said what I said because I know Tristan, he'd start blaming and eating himself up.

Athena isn't a child of course Tristan can't take her everywhere he goes, but it still didn't help the way I was feeling.

But this isn't a time to let our emotions cloud our judgment, we need to stay focus.

But my hands still shook on its own.

Sarah was sitting up in bed, her eyes wide with concern as she watched me frantically pull on jeans and a shirt.

"What happened?" she whispered, not wanting to wake Lily and Liam in the next room.

"Athena's been taken," I said, my voice coming out rougher than I intended.

Sarah's face went pale. "Taken? By who?"

"We don't know yet. Tristan left her alone to deal with some pack business, and when he got back, she was gone. Signs of a struggle."

I was already grabbing my keys and heading for the door, but Sarah caught my arm.

"Be careful," she said, pulling me down for a quick, desperate kiss. "Bring her home."

"I will," I promised, though my heart was hammering with fear.

I hardly ever used my motorcycle anymore, not since the kids were born and I'd become more cautious about taking unnecessary risks. But tonight was different. Tonight was an emergency.

The bike roared to life under me, and I pushed it harder than I'd pushed anything in years. The streets were empty at this hour, which was good because I wasn't paying attention to speed limits or traffic signs. All I could think about was getting to Athena's apartment and figuring out what had happened to my little sister.

The ride that usually took twenty minutes took me eight. I parked the bike outside her building, my heart pounding with a mixture of adrenaline and terror.

........

Tristan's POV

It didn't take up to ten minutes before Orion arrived. I could hear his motorcycle roaring up the street before he even parked, and I knew he must have driven like a man possessed to get here so quickly.

He entered the apartment immediately and walked straight to me, placing a firm hand on my back.

"Tell me everything I need to know," he said.

I told him how I'd gotten the call about Seraphine, how I'd asked Athena to come with me but she'd refused.

How I'd found the apartment unlocked, the signs of struggle, her broken phone on the kitchen floor.

He listened attentively, his jaw getting tighter with each detail.

When I told him about Derek's call being the last one on her phone, he asked me to call Derek immediately.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Derek's number, praying he would answer and have some explanation for what had happened.

But then I heard something that made my blood turn to ice.

Derek phone was ringing.

Orion and I looked at each other, the same terrible realization dawning on both our faces.

"Why am I hearing Derek's phone ring?" I whispered.