Marie's POV
It was finally Angel's eighteenth birthday, and even though we weren't her parents, Nick and I still thought of her as our own. We were so proud of her and knew William and Vanessa would be too. Nick had left early for work; he was supposed to be gone all day but was coming home at lunchtime. After stopping by the pack house to introduce myself to Alpha Jake, I headed to the community centre to decorate. A few of the she-wolves that ran the centre were there to help. Having given out my orders, I went into town to pick up the cake. I tried calling Angel to wish her a happy birthday but had no answer, so I tried mind-linking her instead. This time a wall hit me. Knowing her, she was still asleep; this girl would sleep the day away, given half the chance.
By lunchtime, the hall was finished. We only needed to wait for the DJ to arrive and set up. Everything was perfect. A balloon arch shaped the stage in different shades of pink and lilac; these had always been her favourite colours. The cake was set up on its table and was made to stand out like a centrepiece. The windows were draped in white voiles with the twinkling effect of stars beneath them.
The hall looked like a winter wonderland, Angel's favourite time of year. Nick had turned up shortly after lunchtime and was convinced that I had gone over the top. This guy knew nothing; a she-wolf's eighteenth birthday was big and deserved to be celebrated correctly.
After not getting through to Angel, I called Jake and asked if he had seen or heard from her. He hadn't, so I became worried.
"Marie, she's most likely gone shopping for a new dress; you heard her the other day. She said she didn't have one that gave the right look of something like that... women." he chuckled the last word while rolling his eyes.
"I just wished she would answer her goddamn phone so we knew she was ok."
"Hey, if I remember rightly, you and Vanessa used to disappear all the time; your mum tried to get hold of you constantly; she even scowled at me for not telling her where you had gone."
"Yeh, I guess your right... I love you." I said, hugging him tight.
"I love you too."
Unknown POV
I arrived too late; I had overheard a couple of wolves discussing the plan to take Angel while she was sleeping and knew I needed to intervene. As I got there, she was gone; I followed the tracks from their cottage to a dusty old back lane. However, I lost them there. By the looks of it, they had loaded her into a big vehicle, most likely a van. I knew I needed to make the phone call but didn't know how to tell him I had failed.
I decided to go to Alpha Jake first and get his help; at the end of the day, she was his mate, and he deserved the chance to save her from this fate. As I arrived at the pack house, I was cuffed and taken straight to the alpha's office.
"Who are you, and why are you here?"
"My name is Carl, and I'm here because of your mate."
"What business could you possibly have with Angel?" he growled, his eyes pitch black.
"I was hired by someone who cared deeply for her safety and ordered me to keep an eye on her. Last night I overheard a couple of wolves talking about how they planned to take her, to take her alpha power in a way that she shouldn't have to suffer."
"What alpha power, and where are these wolves now?" Alpha Jake asked, growing impatient, his anger making the hairs on my neck stand up.
"Alpha, do you not know who your mate truly is? She is the lost Princess of the Royal Pack, and she is in the utmost danger." The look on his face turned to confusion until realisation sunk in.
"Fuck I knew her name sounded familiar. Now I know why she wouldn't tell me her full name. Tell me who hired you." He roared, shaking the entire office.
"That I'm afraid I cannot do. I have been sworn to secrecy by a blood oath to protect their identity."
"Ok, tell me what you know. If she is the Princess of the Royal Pack, then it has to be the old beta that has her, yes?"
"Correct, alpha Jake, but I don't know where they have taken her. He isn't stupid, so he won't have taken her to the kingdom. The alpha transfer ceremony must take place under a full moon, which, unfortunately, is tonight, as I'm sure you are aware. They most likely have a corrupt elder willing to do the ceremony, meeting them at a different location."
"How does this ceremony work? I know it's a simple blood magic transfer with alpha men by cutting the palms of the hands, but I don't know how it works when a woman is an alpha."
"I'm afraid you're not going to like my answer."
"JUST TELL ME!" he roared.
"For Angel to take the royal alpha power, she must be crowned. Though in order to be crowned, she must be marked by a mate. And you know as well as I that you can only mark a she-wolf while completing the mating process."
"NO!" he shouted while chucking the table at the wall.
Alpha Jake's eyes turned pitch black with rage; his mate had been taken and would be forced to mate with another male unless we could find her in time. Wolves were possessive creatures, but as an Alpha, their possessiveness was almost triple that of the average wolf.
"We need to find her and NOW!" he roared in his alpha tone. I could only hope we found her before it was too late. Otherwise, we would all suffer the wrath of my employer.