Alpha Nicholas While Robbie's Link could have come at a better time, I'm not angry at him. Now, if he had interrupted my chance at round two just to inform me of something completely useless then I would personally kick his ass but this... what he needs right now, it won't get pushed aside. No chance. I close the link and instantly see my mate's face covered in concern. "You look worried. Is everything ok?" She asks as she turns around so she's now facing me. I shake my head as I try to figure out what to tell her but then I remember that she is going to my Luna and an Alpha never has any secrets from his Luna unless it's a surprise for her so why start now? I've asked her to give us a chance and despite how much of a dickhead I have been to her in the past she still agreed so the least I can do is treat her with the respect that she deserves. "You don't have to tell me anything, I understand if you can't." Her words are honest and her instant support and understanding make me feel proud. I'm one lucky bastard with her at my side. "I want to tell you but I do need you to keep it to yourself, at least for now." "Of course." She nods. I take her hand and lead her into the bedroom. As much as I want round two with her it has to wait. Clearly, she already knows this as she heads straight for the closest and begins putting on some comfy nightwear while I dress in joggers, a tee and some sneakers. "Robbie... fuck, Robbie met his mate today." If the situation wasn't so fucked up I'd laugh at the look on her face right now. "He did? Wait... he met her today... Oh god, she was in the tunnel wasn't she?" The horror and sadness on her face made my heart ache. She is too good for this world. "She was, but that's all I know right now. He wasn't ready to talk earlier but I'm guessing he is now. One thing I do know is that his mate is either one of the pregnant women or..." "Or one of the underage girls... oh goddess!" She gasps as the harsh reality sets in. "I don't even know what to say." I step in and hold her close. There's not much to say, not yet anyway. I'm sorry, darling but I need to go and see him." "Of course." She nods. "Would you like some company while I'm gone?" She shakes her head as we walk out of the closet and towards the sitting area. "No, I'll be fine. I'm going to read and work things out in my head." I nod as she takes a seat and I give her a quick kiss before heading for the door. I look over my shoulder at her one last time before I leave our floor and then run for the training grounds both dreading and needing to know what Robbie has to say. The moon goddess must have a brilliant sense of humour with everything she keeps throwing at us regarding our mates, and while I can appreciate a good joke as much as the next person, I wouldn't mind having a break now.... not that I see that happening any time soon. In less than ten minutes I arrive at the Warrior grounds but there's no sight of Robbie nor can I smell his scent. Where the hell is he? "Robbie!" I call out but it remains quiet. "Robbie!" again nothing. We use two areas for training, an outdoor section and an indoor section. He's not out here so I head for the indoor section. Inside the building, we have several rooms including the two largest rooms that are the ones that we mainly use. One is used for warrior training, practising moves, self-defence, and fighting and the other is an indoor gym. Most of the other rooms are storage and I also have an office over here while Robbie has his own office here too as he's in charge of anything that needs ordering for this place. I search the two main rooms but still had no luck. I've tried both calling him and mind-linking him several times but he's not responding to any of them and I'm starting to get worried. I check all the storage rooms around me but he's not in any of those either. The entire place is in complete darkness but thanks to werewolf sight I can see everything that's in front of me. Unfortunately, that doesn't include Robbie. Wait…his office, he's probably in there. Why didn't I think of that? I quickly move down the corridor and head for his office praying that he's in there because otherwise I'm at a fucking loss and as much as I don't want to involve my brothers in this, I will if that's what it takes to find him. I swing open his office door with more force than I mean to and my eyes instantly land on him and it guts me. He's sat on the floor tucked away in the corner, legs bent head hanging down with what appears to be a very large very half-empty bottle of whisky in his hand. Now, I know it takes a lot for a Werewolf to get drunk but Robbie isn't a drinker on his best days. I've never seen him drunk hell, I've never seen him have more than three drinks and yet here he is, and while I don't know how much he's drunk, I know it's enough to dull his senses as he hasn't given any indication that he's aware of my presence which could mean one of two things. One, he is too drunk to notice I'm here or two he is doing one hell of a good job at pretending not to notice me, and neither of those sit well with me. "Robbie." somehow I manage to keep my voice low and quiet not to chance startling him but inside I'm feeling pissed off for so many reasons. The possibility that he's putting himself in danger right now by being too drunk to hear or sense anyone approaching him is one of them. Don't get me wrong my pack lands are very well protected.We consistently have more than enough warriors on guard 24 hours a day and while I know that they are all more than capable of fighting and protecting everyone here, attacks happen so no matter how many warriors are protecting us we always need to be aware of our surroundings and expect the unexpected or at least have someone watching our back when we cant. Maybe that's why he linked me? Maybe he knows he can't look after himself right now and has me here to do it for him rather than talk like I thought we would. "Robbie, are you ok, brother?" he slowly lifts his head and the hurt in his red-rimmed eyes insanely burns into mine. Fuck! He lets out a small laugh before shaking his head as he lifts the bottle to his mouth and takes a drop, winching as the whiskey burns its way down his throat. "No, I'm not." "I can see," I say as I make my way over to him and park my ass next to him on the floor of his office. He takes another sip from the bottle before closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the wall. "How much of that bottle have you drank?" "Broke the seal on it." Loving fuck! I guess I have my answer about how aware of his surroundings he is. I have so many things I want to say to him right now including a lecture from not only his Alpha but his big brother too but I don't instead I push it all aside. "So what's going on?" the next few minutes are met with silence and as much, as I want to push him to talk it is pointless plus I don't want to risk him not opening up to me ever because I put pressure on him in the first place. "I've found her... I've f...f...found my mate." his words are slow and slurred but still I understand them. "I know. Are you ready to talk yet? He shakes his head. " I can't believe this is happening. Why? Why now? Why me? Why her?" "I wish I had the answers for you, brother. I really do but I don't." He doesn't say a word instead choosing to take another long drink of whiskey. I hope he enjoys it because it's his last one. The moment he lowers the bottle I swiftly take it away from him before he even has a chance of reacting. "Nicky, give it back." there's no heat to his words only defeat and that's the main reason I'm stopping him from drinking. He's an adult and can do what he pleases but it doesn't mean I won't step in if I think it's needed and right now it is. "That won't help you, brother trust me. I've tried to cover situations with a bottle of whiskey a few times and I quickly learned that it didn't change a dam thing. If anything I just got to deal with a hangover on top of everything else." "Ah, fuck!" he grunts as my words hit him. "Yeah, you're going to suffer in the morning." he snorts as he lets out the smallest laugh before his reality sets back in and he groans covering his eyes with his hands."It's going to be ok, Robbie. We're going to figure this out." While I may not know all the details yet, what I do know is I'll get him through it, we all will. "What group was she in?" he stares at me as I ask him and I swear I see even more despair appear in his eyes and I'm pretty sure I already know what his answer is going to be.