Chapter 148

Tyler POV

Wright House

Days had passed since the investigation into Patrick Flores's death had closed. The final Alpha Council conclusions stated he was killed by warrant of self-defense or defense of another; no fault was assigned to anyone.

I was both a murderer and an innocent man at once. I felt no guilt for saving my mate using any means necessary yet my father's casual pride in my actions left me with the bitter taste of shame in my mouth all the same. Why was it he could only be proud of me for the things I regretted?

Everyone had their hands full keeping Rachel occupied. Her mind moved a thousand miles per hour from one idea to another as she exhausted every lead I could dredge up regarding her mother.

Elena Campbell might be out there in the world, but finding her wasn't proving to be easy.

Jack and Bella were arguing over what to order for dinner at the moment.

They'd moved into a spare bedroom at Wright House as had Lindy who still had no more information about her own origins than when we'd first met her.

Even Magda had given up on going back to her own home, choosing instead to stay with us to care for Rachel around the clock.

Her pregnancy was progressing fast. In over a week, she'd gained almost as much again as what she'd added during the first trimester.

We had gotten the doctor to check her out. According to the high-risk obstetrician, Rachel was progressing just fine. She was gaining rapidly because she was an Alpha female and our babe would be an Alpha as well which sometimes resulted in rapid growth during pregnancy.

"We're never going to find her," Rachel cried, sobs wracking her frame as she lay over the arm of the couch.

Sitting beside her, I rubbed her back, unhappy with the way I could feel the knobs of her spine, "We'll find her. I swear. Are you sure you're eating enough? Jack and Bella are ordering. What do you want? Anything at all is fine."

Rachel seemed to only gain weight in her belly no matter what she was eating. I was grateful she had none of the sickness of her early weeks, but why was she still so slim everywhere else? Was it normal for her to only gain weight in her belly?

I couldn't bring myself to sound a fool in front of the doctor so I kept my questions to myself.

My wolf bristled in my head, [We should seek help for our mate. She needs more.]

[More what?], I asked Wynd, knowing he had no more answers than I did.

Wynd growled, close to the surface, and I pushed him down. I didn't have time to let my wolf out. I had work at Moonrise Entertainment, the search for Elena Campbell, and finding a way to take care of Rachel.

"How can you promise you'll find her? She's been missing for 20 years!" Rachel cried.

She turned on the couch to lay over my chest, crying as I curled an arm around her shoulders. I knew I would pull the trigger on Patrick Flores again a hundred times if it meant I could spare Rachel more pain; her tears tore through me faster than any bullet.

"I can swear to you I will use every resource at my disposal to find her. She's not lost. She's missing," I said.

I hoped I wasn't lying to Rachel. I meant every word I said. I just wasn't sure how far my promises could take us in the pursuit of her mother and truth.

"She's been 'missing' for decades, Tyler," Rachel sniffed, wiping her eyes with the heel of her hand, "I'm so sorry I keep crying. I can't help it. For some reason my emotions are just---everywhere!"

Magda came into the room with a tray. She plied Rachel with food and drinks all the time to try to keep her weight going in the positive direction. It was the distraction I needed to slip away from her to go outside.

Adam, my Beta, saw me leaving though I waved him back. He could stay in the house. I was going to call the Alpha Inspector to see if I could get any handle on where his investigation was going for Ethan. Surely he needed to find Elena too, right?

Calling Windsor, I snapped as he answered, "What do you know about Elena Campbell? Have you learned anything? Found anything? Where is she being held? Someone has to know something. I refuse to believe Patrick Flores kept the woman hidden all by himself for the last two decades."

Patrick Flores was a two-bit conman who had delusions of grandeur. His claim to fame had been his ability to weasel out of debt using other people's money. The Moon Goddess knew he'd spent enough of mine to bail himself out over the years.

"I know Richard Campbell knows something. I can't guarantee he knows her exact location, but I think I could guarantee it if I could get him to see me again," Windsor admitted.

I could practically see him pulling at his ridiculous hair. He sounded as frustrated as I was myself. I wondered if he was stuck at the hospital with Ethan Flores all the time now or if he had been allowed to go home.

"Why can't you just insist on an audience? He can't refuse to see you, can he? You're a representative of the Alpha Council," I pointed out.

The Alpha Council was meant to be the first and last line of defense for our kind. They were the law as far as wolves were concerned. Every wolfen House owed allegiance to them. How was Campbell getting around a request from a direct representative of the Alpha Council?

"He can state he's done nothing against our laws -which we can't prove he has- and he can request to be seen only by the Council directly since he sits on it. That means I have no access to him. No one else on the Council can get the information from him the way I can either so there you have it, Wright," Windsor explained as if he were very annoyed to have to do so.

I could tell he was, too. I almost didn't blame him, but it wasn't his mate who was going mad or his babe who was in danger every time Rachel's blood pressure went too far up or down.

"What if we get him to come to us?" I asked, thinking of Lindy, "Lindy could ask him to come get her. Or meet her. Talk to her. Something. If we used her, I think he'd come because she's his only leverage for the Alpha House at Moonglow Pack. He can't get another daughter from nowhere, can he?"

"Well, he got Lindy from nowhere," Windsor bit out, bitterness tainting his tone, "I still have no clue where that girl came from except I know she's an Alpha House descendant. How would we control the setting? Why wouldn't he just demand she come home to him?"

"She could have Adam take her. Claim she got my Beta to bring her as far as he can, but he can't get further away or he'll be in over his head with me?" I offered.

Windsor made a sound of consideration before saying, "I think I could make it work. Could you convince Lindy to say she's too afraid to meet a stranger? Anyone might hurt her? She doesn't know how to trust? Campbell would understand paranoia."

Richard Campbell would understand paranoia. He would want to try to handle things himself if possible. He'd also want to know what Lindy knew before she got home to Moonglow where others might hear secrets she'd learned while investigating Elena.

"Elena! We could have her say she learned about Elena being alive so he knows she's aware of her. Campbell would have to do damage control before he let her come back to the pack, wouldn't he? What kind of trouble would she cause if she showed up at the pack territory yelling about how her long-lost mother was alive? Their Luna was alive?" I pointed out.

I could feel myself getting excited because I knew I was onto something. The Moonglow Pack was loyal to the Campbells and Richard Estes was only a Campbell by right of marriage and blooding. He didn't carry their name from birth.

"They'd do anything to get a real Campbell back into their Alpha House," Windsor murmured.

I could tell I had him. He was going to agree.

"I'll work with Lindy. You just focus on getting a script together for her to say to push Richard Campbell into a car to come to her on his own. How's Ethan? Any change?" I asked.

Windsor sighed, "No. No change. I am not sure if he's going to wake or not and if he does? What will he be? I just don't have an answer yet but I'm sticking with him. Work on Lindy. I'll work an angle for Campbell."

"We're going to find Elena. I told Rachel we would. I swore," I said, "Don't make me a liar, Windsor."

Art Windsor chuckled warmly across the line, "I would never, Wright. I'll help you find your mother-in-law. I swear."