The Arena novel Chapter 25

It takes months to tour all the packs. Word spread about my return and Koden’s death, and the rest of the packs were respectful. They may not have liked me taking my place as Alpha, but they will respect it or pay the consequences.

I’m currently pouring over the financials that the accountant just left with me. Bastian showed him out of the packhouse before coming back in. I’m sitting at my desk, my head in my hands, and I’m trying to convince myself not to pull my hair out.

I look up at Bastian as he closes the door. “Did you understand any of that?” I ask him.

“Sure. ‘Money, blah blah, finances, blah blah, company.’”

I look at him for a minute. “Yeah, that’s about all I understood, too. I don’t even understand what I’m looking at here, and I swear he was intentionally being ambiguous. I feel like I’m trying to read a foreign language.”

I stare at my financials for another minute before closing the book. “Do me a favor; find a company that can look these over and tell us if everything looks good. I don’t want him to know what we’re doing, which means, you need to do this with a human company.”

“You got it,” Bastian says.

“Is there anything else that needs my attention?” I ask. It’s been months, and I want to go check out those mountain ranges I saw when I found the spot where Tana had saved me.

“Not right now. Are you going?”

“Yeah. Can you and Galen cover things here for me?”

“Yep. Galen has been running warrior training. He’s a natural, and the pack is back to fighting strength.”

“Good. I’m headed out tomorrow. I shouldn’t be gone more than a week.”

“Okay, good luck.”

I head out first thing in the morning. It takes me over a day to get to the mountain range. When I get there, I begin a grid-like search of the mountains. When I reach the bottom of the highest peak of the mountain range, I catch her scent. It’s very faint, but it’s there. I climb up the mountain and find a plateau at the top. Here, Tana’s scent is stronger, like she was here for more than a day, but weak enough that I know it’s been a long time since she was here. I’m guessing this is where she went after she left our cave. I lay down and take in the little bit of scent that I can from my mate. The sun is setting, and I stare up at the sky, breathing in her scent.

When I finally calm down, I know I need to keep searching. But now, I know I not only need to search for Tana, but I also need to search for Ishir. If I find one, I will find the other.

I decide to sleep here for another night, taking in the remnants of my mate’s scent before heading home. In the morning, I search the surrounding area again. Tana has been moving in a certain direction. While I can’t see the next mountain range, I think it’s a good plan to continue in this direction. But for now, I have to get back to my pack.

When I arrive back at the packhouse, I immediately call for Bastian. I need to know if he found a company that he feels comfortable getting a second opinion from. But as he walks into my office, Galen follows him in.

“Alpha,” they say and incline their heads.

I stand, looking at Galen. “Did you have something to report?”

“Yes, Alpha. We’ve found Troy.”