Chapter 31

[The Mute Alpha - Chapter 31]

***

Kian and I hid behind a thick tree, poking our heads around the side. In front of us stood a wooden cabin the size of a mini mansion. The back of the building overlooked a steep cliff, the snow-capped mountains and frozen lakes and rivers off in the distance. The scenery looked like it belonged in a National Geographic Movie. Someone could make some decent money if they did a little bit of photography here. It was absolutely breathtaking. I must say this man had a gorgeous home and  found the most perfect location for it.

The front of the structure contained a large door with a couple tall windows flanking it. A staircase with fancy railings led to the front porch.

A buff man stood at the entrance holding a rifle, leaning against the column by the railing lining the porch. He appeared to be bored as he used his nail to pick at one of his teeth. From the tree across from us, I spotted Janet lifting up her gun and pointing it at the guard. She pulled the trigger, and a dart shot out and landed on his chest. He face-planted to the ground with a small thud.

Daniel snuck around the house with his weapon prepared for any moment. He checked the perimeter for other rogues guarding from the outside. Once he made it back around, he gave us a thumbs up and slunk to the back door. Janet moved towards the front porch while Kian and I snuck to the side of the house, where there was supposed to be a side entrance.

"Before you open that door, I want to test something," Kian whispered to me as he pointed his gun towards the ground. Before I could question him, he pulled the trigger. To my surprise, nothing happened. "Figures."

He tossed the gun away from him and grabbed mine, doing the same thing.

"They're double crossing us, Autumn," he stated, sliding his bag off his shoulder. "Good thing I thought ahead and came up with my own plan."

"Huh?" my eyebrows shot up. "What made you think that?"

"I heard them on the phone with someone last night. At first I didn't think much of it, but when she mentioned the name "Keanu", I realized that was the person she conversed with on the phone," he answered as he shuffled through his bag. "I don't know how much of the information she gave us was true, but we're on our own here. Which is why I stole some of their shit"

I stood there dumbfounded as he pulled out a different gun from the bag and handed it to me. The object felt icy in my hands, but my grip tightened anyways. "It's a good thing they taught us about some of these weapons in school. You know to prepare us for situations like this. This one should be loaded, hopefully. I also grabbed some extra amo."

"Wow, I'm sure glad you're here," I grinned, giving him a quick hug. "I probably would've died already if it wasn't for you."

He chuckled at my comment. Then something crossed my mind. "How come you never told me? I could've been useful."

He shrugged. "I figured you'd probably do a bad job at hiding your suspicions. They would've caught on."

I thought for a moment. "Yeah, you're probably right."

"So they're expecting us to come in through here, so we should probably go in a different way," Kian suggested, motioning me to follow him. "I looked at the map that she had and I saw another way in."

We trekked through the snow until Kian stopped at a small window and tested to see if it was unlocked. Unfortunately, there was a padlock on it. When he went to touch it, he grunted and pulled his hand back. "It's silver."

"Of course it is," I muttered.

"Luckily I brought these," he grinned and pulled out a pair of gloves. "Apparently these assholes weren't who they said they were. These can be used to touch silver and won't affect me at all."

He grasped the lock and broke it off, pushing the window open afterwards. He stuck his head inside to check if the coast was clear. When it was, he climbed through and helped pull me in.

We were greeted by heated air and the smell of fresh pine and scented candles. The hallway was decorated by wooden walls, a long red rug, and a line of paintings. It looked like it belonged to someone who wasn't evil, but some ordinary, wealthy person.

"I wish I could mindlink Jax," I whispered. That would definitely make this whole situation a lot easier. Although, the state he's in could make it difficult to contact him. The thought of him hurting made pain swirl in my chest.

Right after I said that, I heard footsteps echo from around the corner down the hallway. Panicking, Kian and I glanced around for an escape and noticed a closet. So I opened the door and jumped inside. Kian closed the door quietly, and we held our breaths as the person walked by.

"Have you seen them yet? They were supposed to be downstairs," a male voice grumbled from outside the closet.

"No," a female responded. Janet. "Andrew was waiting over there, and he never saw them."

"You don't suppose they caught on, do you?"

"I doubt it. Andrew is a moron. He probably wasn't paying attention. We haven't done anything to give ourselves away, and those two bitches are too stupid and naive to figure us out."  I rolled my eyes. This bitch clearly didn't know who she was up against. Two werewolves deprived of their mates. One being an Alpha Female and the other is...uh Beta Male?

Their voices grew fainter as they left the hallway. I poked my head out, the nozzle of my gun sticking out as well. "Looks like they're gone," I whispered in relief.

We exited the closet and debated which way to go. We decided on the way they came from. But before we could disappear around the corner, a shout from the other side had us freeze.

"Hey!" They yelled. We turned and before I could even think, I found my finger pressing down on the trigger. A bullet flew out of the barrel and landed on the man's chest. He collapsed face-first onto the floor as his blood soaked into the already red rug.

"Wow, that was easy," I commented as I stared down at the large firearm in my small hand.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Kian muttered as we hurried around the corner. That was when we bumped into two more men.

One of them gripped my arm so tightly I winced. Before I could react, Kian pulled out his dagger and stabbed him in the stomach. As soon as he released me, I punched him in the jaw, knocking him out. We didn't have enough time to celebrate our victory, because the other guy lunged at Kian. The man landed a punch on Kian's jaw, but he acted as if it didn't affect him. Instead, he elbowed his rib cage. While the two of them fought, I held up my gun and shot it, hoping it'd hit some part of the rogue's body. Fortunately it did, and he slumped to the floor.

Kian breathed heavily as he composed himself. We poked our heads around the corner and saw a very modern, yet fancy living room with a large fireplace and a flatscreen TV mounted above it. As quietly as possible, we tiptoed by it.

"Where do you think they have Jax?" I questioned, my eyes darting around the room.

"Maybe a cellar?" he responded. We opened doors and listened for voices and sounds. Eventually we came across a large, wooden staircase leading to the second floor.  It was then that Kian and I decided to split up. He would check up there, while I looked for a basement.

"If you need help, just holler," I whispered as he climbed the stairs and disappeared.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood, because I was afraid of being caught. My grip on the weapon tightened as I continued my search.

My heart skipped a beat when I heard a voice growing louder, and I had nowhere to hide. I was out in the open. As soon as I caught sight of the person, my trembling fingers pulled the trigger two or three times. My eyes widened when I saw the blonde woman who was supposed to help us glance down at the blood coating her blouse.

"Fuck you," she choked out, blood streaming from the corners of her lips. "Fuck you and your species."

Before I could react she ran up to me and landed a blow on my cheek. I gasped and cradled my face with the palm of my hand. I glared at her, watching as her blood dripped to the floor. Deciding to take advantage of her wound, I used it as my target. She dodged my fist, but not my knee. She cried out in pain as my knee connected with her stomach.

She tumbled to the ground, and I was on top of her within seconds, pounding her with my fists.

"Where's my mate?" I growled at her, clutching the neckline of her shirt.

She coughed up blood as she smirked up at me. "Probably dead by now. Once Keanu found out that you were here, he took it upon himself to make sure he wouldn't see his precious mate again," she spat.

I was too busy trying to comprehend her words, that I didn't notice the small knife in her free hand. By the time the blade pierced my flesh, it was too late to react. A small whimper left my lips as liquid seeped out of my shoulder. I reached for the handle and pulled it, biting my lip from screaming. Then I used it to end this woman's life.

The phone in her hand fell out of her grip, and I picked it up, ending the call she was on.

"I hope you rot in hell, bitch," I muttered before walking away, clutching the wound. I needed to find Jax before I became the one dead on the luxurious carpet.

I didn't understand why it was so difficult finding a way to the basement. Maybe there wasn't one, because not all houses had them. But then where would they keep my mate?

Unless...he was already gone.

My heart broke just at the thought, and I willed myself to quit the negative thinking and just hope.

Hope that I will be able to see him again.

Just when I was about to give up, I found a door a little distance away from the living room and kitchen, a corridor I almost missed. The only decoration in this hallway was a a small window at the very end. One probably would've expected the room to be a closet. However, when my trembling hand turned the door knob, I peered inside and was met with a wooden staircase leading into darkness. A cold breeze greeted my face, and I held my breath at the odor that wafted upwards.

***

*Jax's POV*

At this point it was beyond difficult for me to stay conscious. My vision was completely blurred, the bits of light shining through the tiny window seemed like blobs. My whole body ached and stung, tired of the treacherous beatings I received from this psychotic man.

At this point, I knew that I was probably going to die. In fact, death didn't seem too bad to be honest. It was so much better than this hell. And I pretty much gave up on hope.

My mate and beta weren't coming for me. Keanu made it very clear that they were dead. He told me he sent rogues to murder them.

So was there a point in living?

Everyone I loved was dead because of me. Why couldn't my note have been more convincing? My jaw clenched as I hung my head and closed my eyes. Why couldn't Autumn have just stayed put like I requested? Why did she have to be so fucking stubborn...?

And now they died trying to save my ass.

I heard a door creak open, and I didn't bother acknowledging their presence because I assumed it was that son of a bitch again. The footsteps echoed as the person got closer, and by this point I could not even prepare myself for the worse. But then...I got a whiff of a very familiar scent.

"Jaxton?"