Alpha Erased (Alpha Girl 9)

All I could think was that we were losing time. Maybe we should’ve flown here. There wasn’t an airport close to the Sanctuary, but maybe if I’d helicoptered or—

No. Stupid. I just had to be patient. But there had to be something I could do. “Maybe I should up the reward.”

Michael grunted, but it almost sounded like a laugh. That particular noise from Michael meant that he had a firm opinion about the matter that he wasn’t saying.

I gave him a side-eye look.

He raised a brow as if I’d said something ludicrous. “You’ve already upped the reward to half a million. I don’t think doubling it will do anything but get more people hoping to get rich calling in with false leads.”

Maybe. Maybe not. I had the money. I was planning on starting with millions, but Special Agent Ramirez countered with ten thousand. Which wasn’t enough. It was like offering spare change for the return of my wife. She was worth so much more than that. It was almost insulting.

We agreed on one hundred thousand, but I’d upped it this morning.

Tessa’s father was doing his PR thing and getting on every talk show and speaking on the radio about Tessa. Her face was all over the news. Between her dad and the FBI and the reward, the human side was supposed to be handled.

I didn’t really think we’d find her lost among the humans. But Special Agents Ramirez and Morgan were concerned that there could be a human element to the kidnapping. They’d been busy putting down some antisupernatural threats. Nothing big yet, but they said that a bigger attack was coming. The newness and fascination with supernaturals was fading, and in its wake was fear, hatred, and distrust.

If that had to be dealt with, I’d do it later. For now, I was focusing on getting to the Sanctuary. Cosette had to know something. She was a Lunar Court princess.

I gripped the steering wheel and focused on the road ahead.

I’d find answers. I had to.

An hour later, we were sitting on Chris and Cosette’s porch. They had a small round table on it with a few chairs. They’d been waiting for us here, but Cosette didn’t know anything. Or at least she wasn’t telling us anything. Cosette and I were currently having a staring contest across the table.

Cosette leaned back in her chair. I’d call it lazily reclining, but I’d just asked her to take me to see her mother. I wasn’t sure Cosette was ever lazy.

Chris was standing just behind her with a firm grip on her shoulder. I couldn’t read anything from Cosette—I wasn’t sure that if I knew her for twenty more years I’d ever be able to get a read from her—but I could tell from the way Chris was standing that she was mad.

Michael was sitting in the chair beside me. He’d been quiet but assessing.

Axel was leaning against the porch railing. He didn’t know enough about our world yet, and by the way he kept taking short breaths then pausing that he wanted to ask questions. But he was smart enough not to ask them yet.

We’d agreed that someone from the fey had taken Tessa. We didn’t have a shred of proof except that they’d been loud about their anger toward her. They blamed her for everything that they were going through.

And the last few days, they’d been silent. We couldn’t get any of the fey to talk to us. That couldn’t be a coincidence.

“If no one will come to us to talk, then we have to go to them.” I leaned on the table. “Van hasn’t come back yet, which means we have to go to them. Take me to Court.”

“No.” Chris’s voice held more power than it ever had before.

I glanced up at him. Chris used to be pretty easygoing. I wasn’t sure he’d ever said no, and I wasn’t letting him start now. “Yes.”

“No.” He released Cosette’s shoulder to cross his arms. “You can’t go to the Lunar Court. Helen’s too powerful. She can control you. She’ll turn you into her slave. She’ll—”

The fuck she will. “If she had anything to do with Tessa—”

“You’re not listening.” He widened his stance a little—as if he thought I would attack. “You can’t go there. Helen will turn you into a slave. She—”

Like hell he was going to stop me from finding my mate. “She didn’t control you! I’m stronger—”

“I died! I fucking died to cut my lunar tie. Your tie is still there. You—”

Cosette stood. I’d never seen her looking anything less than regal—makeup, hair, clothes—but today her face was bare, her hair was in a ponytail, and she was wearing joggers and a tank top. Very not like Cosette. But when she looked at Chris, my heart ached. She looked at him like he was her whole world, and I couldn’t stop myself from being jealous.

I had that, and now it was gone.

Tessa was gone.