Chapter 43

UNKNOWN

I came to an abrupt stop and turned around to face her.

“Wh…”

Before she could utter another word, my hands wrapped around her neck, and I lifted her off the ground.

She started struggling in my arms while her nails clawed my hand, but I didn’t let go.

“Mate or not, if you question my decisions one more time, I’ll just kill you and make it look like an accident,” I warned her in a low tone.

Her face was already starting to turn blue.

“Do you understand?” I asked her, and she nodded her head. Only then did I drop her.

She fell to the floor and gasped for breath.

“I…I’m sorry,” she mumbled, but I ignored her and started walking ahead.

A couple of minutes later, I felt her presence next to me again. We walked in silence for about an hour after the incident.

The sun started to slowly set on the horizon while the forest was gradually losing its light.

“Are we near?” she asked me, but I didn’t answer.

I looked around and finally saw fire in the distance.

“I think so,” I said and moved in the direction of the fire. The closer we got, I realized how huge the bonfire was and admired all the tents around it. Rogues moved in and out of the camp while wolves stood guard along the border. As we got closer to the center, I noticed more and more of them stopping what they were doing to stare at us.

The air grew heavy with tension. The wolves looked ready to fight, and silence settled over the camp like a warning.

When we reached the bonfire, I came to a halt and glanced around, feeling suddenly lost in the weight of their stares.

“Excuse me.” I turned around to see a tall man standing there. He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of shorts while his body was on full display.

His skin was adorned with scars, both new and old, while his face had a tough look.

“I’m here to meet Luca,” I told him.

“Wait here,” the man said and walked away. He walked into one of the tents while we stayed near the bonfire.

“Come inside,” the man called to us as he walked out of the tent.

I nodded my head and started walking toward the tent with my wife beside me.

I walked inside the tent and spotted Luca with a woman sitting on his lap. “Please have a seat.” Luca gestured to the two chairs that were opposite his desk, so we made our way there.

“I believe you know why I’m here,” I told him, and he smiled.

The woman on his lap got up and stood beside him now.

“You know that was a stupid move to hand over the money,” she asserted, and I narrowed my eyes at her.

“I’m a man of my word. You do know that your stupid rogue has made our work difficult.”

“I didn’t know he wouldn’t be able to accomplish the task,” I retorted, and the woman rolled her eyes at me.

“Whatever, now why did you come here?” Luca asked me.

“I want Eleanor dead just like you do.” I went straight to the point. Both Luca and his mate looked shocked.

“Interesting. Why?” Luca asked me.

“I’ll tell you when the time is right,” I answered, and even though they looked a little hesitant, Luca nodded his head.

“Very well, we only want to kill Eleanor to exact our revenge on Xavier. Would you like to kill her after we kidnap her, or shall I finish the job?” Luca asked me.

I was about to answer when I got a mind-link from my wife.

“~Just a suggestion. Maybe we should just let him finish the job.~”

“~No, I want to see her dead this time. I’m not taking any second chances at this,~” I replied before I turned to face Luca again.

“You kidnap her and inform me. I would like to see the life drain out of her eyes,” I said, and Luca nodded his head.

“Okay, I will inform you once we get her,” he said, and we soon got up from our places.

I quickly fetched out a bag of diamonds from my pocket and handed it over to Luca.

“You can use this to buy more weapons if you need,” I told him, and he smirked. He opened the bag, took out a diamond, and examined it.

“Well, thank you. This will be very useful,” he said. “How are you two planning to travel?”

“We came by foot, so we will walk back to our car.”

“I’m going back to my pack as well. I will give you a lift,” Luca said, and I nodded my head.

“I’ll see you later, baby,” Luca told the woman and placed a kiss on her lips.

“Let’s go,” he said and walked out of the tent with us following behind. We walked toward the border, where a Range Rover was parked, and quickly got in.

ELEANOR

I finally woke up from my restless sleep and looked out through the window to see that it was morning. I was tossing and turning all night until Marquez got back and told us the girls were safely rescued and brought back to the pack. They were being treated at the hospital.

I looked to my right to see that Xavier was fast asleep. I moved closer to him and placed a kiss on his lips before I made my way to the bathroom.

After a shower, I put on a black skirt and a purple blouse and walked out of the bathroom to see that Xavier had woken up while I was getting ready.

He made me promise to stop worrying about the girls, but I knew they just went through hell, so it was hard not to worry.

“You’re leaving so soon again,” Xavier whined while still lying down on the bed.

I smiled as I quickly put in my earrings and turned around to face him.

His shirtless upper body was on full display now, and it made me aroused.

He was trying his best to lift my mood, and I think it worked.

“Take the day off with me?” he asked.

“I can’t. I have to prep Ivan’s wedding.”

“You’ve never worked this hard to put together an event for the pack before.”

“I know, but I owe it to Ivan after I basically accused him of being a traitor. Plus, Becca’s been through a lot, and I want it to be special,” I told him as I walked closer to the bed and kissed him.

“I’ll meet you later.”

“But…” His sentence was interrupted by the doorbell.

“It might be Mrs. Costa. Let me go and see,” I said.

I figured it was Xavier’s mother because she was also informed about the situation last night, so we agreed that we would go and visit the girls in the morning.

I walked downstairs and opened the front door. The moment my eyes landed on who was standing there, I froze, caught off guard by the shock of it.