The Guardian Wolf And Her Alpha Mate
The Blessed Ones – A Blessing Or A Curse? Chapter 11

Jax POV:

Driving up to the front of the church, our attention is immediately drawn to Mila's BMW that has been parked under the oak tree near the front. "Mila's car...shit!" Axton exclaims before flinging the door open and jumping out before Nova stops our vehicle. Copying him, I leap after him and by the time he reaches Mila's car I'm close enough behind to catch the door as he pulls it open with force. Inhaling deeply, I catch the lingering scent of Bruno along with my sister's familiar scent. "Bruno was here, I can smell him" I snarl to Axton as my face contorts in fury.

"Jax search the other side" Alex orders me as he holds his phone up to his ear when he reaches us, "Nova have a look round the car park please" he adds on before stalking away to use his phone. Running to the other side, I slide into the passenger seat while Axton rifles though the drivers side. "nothing here of note" he tells me in frustration as he then moves round to look in the boot.

Seeing the glove box, I immediately open it and my eyes fall on two phones along with some paper, all tucked under the drivers log book. Picking them up, I swiftly rise from the car seat and hold one out the Axton over the roof, "is this yours?" I check knowing the others to be my sisters.

"That's mine" he confirms as he reaches to take it from my hand. "She wanted us to be able to find her didnt she" he states as he opens the phone up for us to see it logged in to the camera of his pack still. "Did she know it could be traced?" I ask him.

"Yes, we spoke about how clever Axel is and I mentioned hers being done so I would stay sane, kind of as a joke but also serious. She laughed me off and said something about not wanting her brothers to know where she was all the time, then I told her Luca and I both had it on ours and she said she would think about it" he explains.

"Look through them" I tell him quietly as I also hand him Milas phone. Seeing movement out the corner of my eye, I look up to see Alex and Nova in quiet conversation as they both continue searching the rest of the car park. Looking back down, I shuffle through the papers in my hand. The first is the copy of the invoice used by Mila to leave the territory.

"That gate guard is going to be spoken to" I snarl angrily when I note the date of the invoice was more than two weeks prior.

"The guard wont have doubted your sister" Axton says absentmindedly as he scrolls through his phone.

"He still should have done his job properly" I quickly retort as I move to the next piece of paper.

"I'm not sticking up for him, he let my f*****g mate go" Axton is fast to snap back as he puts his phone in his back pocket. "Nothing on mine" he tells me before opening Mila's. As I look at the last two pieces of paper which are folded over, I notice one is addressed to Axton and the other to myself.

"Mila wot have gone withut a plan" I hear Zeus pipe up from wheres he's been watching intently in my mind. "Our sister is clever and she knows Bruno better than any of us, she wont have gone in there not thinking of something I'm sure." "I hope youre right" I mutter to him. My thoughts are soon interrupted by Axton's angry outburst.

"f*****g BRUNO' Axton yells as he slams his fist down on the car roof. "When i get my hands on that fucker, he's going to regret everything he's done today and in the past" he snarls as his body begins to shake with Rex's need to shift. "Show me" I say to him calmly, aware that my simmering rage will do no good in this situation. Holding my hand out for the phone that he is still grasping tightly in his hand, I walk round to his side.

"The top messages" he spits out as he slams the phone onto my palm. Opening it up, I look through the short conversation with the unknown number. As I read the messages I can't stop the growls escaping me as my anger grows once more. "Jax? Love, are you ok?" I hear Novas soft, concerned voice ask me as she nears.

"She made a deal with him" I say through gritted teeth, "her for the pack.."

"f**k, I thought as much" Alex swears grimly.

"She gave herself up Alex" I snap, angered by his lack of frustration.

"Unfortunately, it's what many Lunas would do" he says quietly. "Especially new ones...she will have felt a duty to protect them, whether she has had her ceremony or been marked, she is the destined mate of the Alpha of the White Mountain Pack, as a result she wants to protect them. I was hoping my assumptions would be wrong, but I knew it was unlikely."

"Well you werent wrong" I snap at him.

"Jax.." Nova warns me. "Reel it in, you have a right to be angry, but not with Alex."

Snarling, I spin on my heels and look up only to be met with Axtons furious gaze, "hes got MY mate, YOUR sister!? We have to find them, and quickly!"

"What do the notes say?" Alex asks, directing our anger elsewhere. When I look back at Axton, I see him now tracing where Mila wrote his name with sadness filling his features.

With a grunt, I hold the note open and read it out aloud.

"Jax. I know you'll be angry with my decision, hurt that I defied your orders and upset that I have most likely put myself at risk once more. But I want to assure you that, whatever happens, I wont be blind any more. My eyes have been open to who Bruno truly is for a while now, and I wont have the matebond there to sway my emotions any longer. I am an Alphas daughter and I will behave as such. I had to do this to protect those that are innocent, what is one persons suffering to save that of many..? I love and appreciate everything you have done for me, and I'm sorry I'm putting you through this once again. But I need you to be the brilliant Alpha I know you to be, be there for my mate and for Ma and everyone else I could possibly name. Be safe, be strong and most importantly... Always remember that life moves on, when times get tough....look up to the stars. Love, Mila xx"

"That sounds like a goodbye" Nova whispers as her eyes fill with tears. Moving closer to me, she wraps her arms around my waist as i stay quiet and focus on keepin Zeus at bay by holding on to Nova tightly and breathing in his scent.

"And yours Axton?" Alex asks, his voice gentle as our attention turns to Milas mate. Taking a shakey breath he looks at me before reading it.

"She's really gone?" he asks brokenly as I nod slowly in response. With that his eyes drop, his hope dimishing as he pinches the bridge of his nose and takes a moment to control himself.

"Axton..?" Alex prompts quietly. Clearing his throat, he looks at the note and begins reading.

"Ax..my mate..I wish I'd gotten to spend more time with you and our pack, but the small amount of time we have had together has meant so much to me. It brought me hope, it reminded me that love can exist for me and that I am deserving of it, just as you are deserving of it. This was my decision, as the Luna of the White Mountain Pack, I did what I had to do to ensure the innocent in this would be safe. I'm sorry that my past has caught up with us, that's it's stopped us before we can properly begin our journey together, but I hope one day we can both be free of it. Until then, just know you will be in my thoughts and dreams each day and night. Chin up, kick some ass and do me proud. I'm looking forward to the day I can say this in person, I love you, Mila xx" "Damn" Axton sobs before crouching down with his head in his hands as his body shakes with silent cries.

Feeling Nova hesitate to let go of me, I gently remove her hands from my waist and nudge her towards Axton. "Go, he needs someone who knows him better right now" I link her while nodding firmly towards Axton. Rushing to his side, she wraps an arm round his shoulders and speaks to him quietly.

"Was there anything in those notes that would help us?" Alex asks us as we both turn away to give Axton some privacy. "When times get tough..look up to the stars? What did she mean by that?"

"I used to take her star gazing when she was a kid, it was a distraction from the pressure my dad put me under and it made her relax when she had to put up with petty girls in our pack" I explain with a sigh. "It's our thing" I shrug.

"Do you think she will contact us if she could?" He asks me.

"Definitely" I answer immediately. "This isn't ideal..at all. But I don't doubt Mila for a second, until we find her, she will hold her own."

"No doubt about that" Alex mutters. "The matebond is what weakened her before, she's right with that. This time she won't have rose tinted glasses on."

"There was nothing here" he tells me after a few moments of quiet thinking. "No clues, the scents that were left were all altered so I can only distinguish Bruno's and Milas. He wasn't hiding which just shows he doesn't care that we know he took her, he knows we will be after him now. We need to discuss with Elder Martin as soon as we are back, what we should do moving forward."

"Do you know what he wanted Mila for?" I ask him.

Sensing Axton stand behind me, we turn to look at him as he grinds his teeth together. Lifting his eyes to meet ours he growls, "to get to me."