Chapter 31

Sebastian.

I swipe everything off my desk in frustration. How the fuck is it possible that these men continue to evade me? There's still no clue on the men that attacked Krystal, nor the serial killer that continues hunting down both werewolves and humans.

My breathing comes hard and fast. What the hell was I missing? There has to be something—something I am missing, or I wasn't doing something correctly.

I was supposed to be the Alpha of Alphas, not that I was bragging or anything. Yet these men continue being a mystery to me. They continue eluding me.

“Maybe we are looking at it from the wrong perspective?” Fang chimes in.

I reply irritatedly, “I'm pretty sure we've looked at it from all angles and perspectives.”

I collapse on my seat, running my hand through my hair. Today was the charity event. I've probably ruined my hair by continually running my hand through it, but fuck it. Who cares if my hair is perfectly styled when I have more important things to focus on?

“I'm just saying,” Fang says with a shrug—if you could even call it a shrug.

“Unless there is something we are missing, then we've exhausted all possibilities,” I repeat, sighing in defeat.

Things were just not adding up. I didn't know what to fucking do, especially with the murders. Those people died in a very fucking painful way and I can't even get justice for them, or catch the bastard doing it to thus prevent more deaths.

Every day I hope and pray that we will find a clue. Every day I am fucking disappointed when I don't. I've put everything in my life on a standstill, including my work, just so I can focus on this case. Yet I have made no progress.

Let me not even start on Krystal's case. She was attacked in my fucking compound. I promised Red when she signed the contract that she’d have my protection. Yet she and her daughter have been attacked while in my care.

Every fucking day I remember that day in the clearing. When I found Lauren crying her heart out while holding Krystal in her arms. I remember the three slashes on Krystal's back.

I remember the blood that soaked her clothes and how pale she was. It fucking gutted me when she screamed as her wounds were being cleaned. It destroys me that, just like I've disappointed the families of the murder victims by not catching the killer, I have also let Krystal down by not catching the men that attacked her.

“It's not your fault, Bash. You can't always control everything that happens,” Fang tells me, sadness seeping into his voice. He may not want to admit it, but he was feeling the same kind of failure I was.

I don't answer him. There was no need because I won't be able to get rid of the guilt—not until I catch the people responsible.

There's a knock on my office door. I compose myself and look up just as James, Monica's mate, comes in. He bows and I groan.

"How many times have I told you not to do that shit, James?” I glare at him.

He just shrugs. “You know I'll never listen.”

He and Monica have been with me long before my parents died. They were like a second set of parents to me. They were a big help when I had to take my Alpha title at just seventeen; they basically raised me.

I shake my head at him. I wasn't in any mood to argue. “What is it?"

“You'll be late for the gala. Monica informs me the Luna is ready and she’s about to come down.”

I look at my watch. We were already thirty minutes late. I didn’t care, though. The only reason I was even going was because I was the benefactor of the event. This would also be Lauren and my first official public appearance as a couple.

“Fine, let's go,” I reply, getting up from my chair.

We get to the living room just as Lauren descends the stairs.

Fuck! I said I wouldn't ever touch her, but she was making it fucking impossible to abide by the rules. "Wow... you look pretty,” I hear Jax say.

He was standing hand in hand with Krystal. Both of them looked at Lauren in awe and wonder. I had not even noticed them until I spoke.

Lauren comes down from the last step and twirls around in front of the kids.

"How do I look?” she says with a big smile.

She had a black sequin backless gown with a plunging neckline. Her hair was done in a sort of complicated updo with some loose tendrils, making her look sexy and classy at the same time. Her makeup wasn't over the top—simple in a way that drew attention to her hazel eyes.

“Like a queen,” Krystal answers.

Lauren just laughs before bypassing the kids and coming to me. She gives me a shy smile.

"You ready to go?” I ask, clearing my throat.

Fuck! This evening was going to be fucking hard. I can't wait to be done with it.

She nods her head before turning to the kids. “Okay, come give me some love before I leave.” Immediately, they scramble to her. She bends down, giving me the perfect view of her perky ass. I groan internally, suppressing whatever attraction was trying to rise up.

She hugs the kids one by one. Krystal seems used to it, but I see the emotions playing in Jax's eyes. Miranda never hugged him. So to have Lauren give him that when she didn't need to moves me in a way I don't want to acknowledge.

"We're going to be late,” I growl in irritation.

We were already late, but I just wanted her ass away from my face. She finishes hugging them and telling them goodnight, and we leave.

Since it was a gala, we would be taking the limo. We find Hunter waiting for us in a suit. I usher Lauren in and we drive off.

“Is there anything I need to do, or names of people I need to know?” she asks a few minutes into the ride.

Our section of the limo was soundproof, so Hunter couldn't hear what we were talking about. I fill her in on what's needed: my business partners, investors, and who to keep an eye on. We also get our stories straight, all the while I can't get my fucking eyes off her.

We get to our destination. Just like it's expected, there are reporters, which I fucking hate. Hunter opens the door for us and I get out first. I hold out my hand for her and help her out. The moment we do, we are surrounded by paparazzi.

I wrap my hand protectively around her waist as Hunter tries to push them away.

“Mrs. Ashford, this is your first public event with Sebastian Ashford, how does it feel?” one of them asks.

“You look stunning, Lauren, is the dress from one of your collections?”

"Are you on good terms with Darren and Miranda?”

They keep bombarding us with questions and it's fucking annoying. I feel a rumble trying to make it past my throat, but I push it down. We finally are able to get past them and get into the hall. If I had thought outside was hard, then inside was fucking worse.

"Sebastian, glad to have you here, and the fact that you've brought your beautiful wife with you," Mark says, rushing to us.

He's one of the many people who have been trying to get me to invest in their failing business. They had no potential to ever rise back up again, but they never fucking see that.

Lauren smiles at him while I just groan. The ass-kissing always gets to me. Everyone is trying to get into business with Sebastian Ashford or trying to get me to invest in their company. It fucking grates on my nerves.

He talks, but I don't even pay attention. He realizes that and switches to Lauren. Either she’s a good actress or she is genuinely interested in what he was saying, because she engages him.

“If you'll excuse us, I think my wife is parched,” I cut him off.

Without waiting for an answer, I pull Lauren away. I wanted to get this over and done with. We would stay for a little while, then make an excuse and leave.

“That was rude, Sebastian,” Lauren scolds me. I scoff.

A waiter offers us some champagne. I would have preferred something stronger to deal with the headache, but the champagne would have to do.

"And he wasn't?" I ask her. She looks confused, but I don't give her any explanation.

Fuck, I needed to leave. The feel of Lauren's curves under my palm was driving me crazy. Fang wasn't faring well either.

"Are you okay?” she asks, staring at me in question.

I groan and nod, surveying the room. I spot one of my business partners, Alpha Garret. He was around my age and he was the perfect distraction.

I lead Lauren away, avoiding anyone who wanted to speak to me. We were being given curious eyes. Women eyeing me up, while the men eye-fucked Lauren, which just pissed me the fuck off. “Sebastian,” Garret answers with a smile, clapping me on the back.

He turns to Lauren and his smile gets bigger.

“Damn, if you weren't already mated—I mean, married—to Bash, I would already have claimed you as mine,” he says, which makes Lauren laugh.

The sound goes straight to my dick. I snarl lowly. Was the bastard trying to get me to expose our secret, or what?

“No need to get all snarly at me, Bash,” he says with a smirk.

“I like you,” Lauren tells Garret with a chuckle, and I tighten my arms around her waist. “But I'm a one-man type of woman. Sebastian will forever be the only man I want and need.”

She finishes and leans into me, making Fang and me relax a little bit. I don't know how she is able to make me lose this much control.

No woman, not even Miranda, has ever made me feel this way. The need to gouge out the eyes of every fucking man in the room who so much as turns their eyes in her direction...

I was just starting to relax when Lauren stiffens beside me. I look down at her to find her hands fisted and her eyes blazing like a raging fire. I turn to look at where she was staring at, only to find her looking at Darren and Miranda, who had walked in hand-in-hand.

It pissed me off to see them here, but what got my teeth grinding, though, was the hunger and lust that was on Darren's face as he stared at Red.