Chapter 17

Enzo’s POV “Alpha... thank you for coming. I’ve been so frightened. I haven’t opened the shop all day because I was worried they would just return,” said the Jewelry shop owner, Eliza.

She was practically trembling when I entered the shop.

“Tell me everything that happened,” I ordered, following her toward the camera room.

“They walked in, they were wearing masks and hoods. A couple of them had guns. Said they’d shoot me if I didn’t comply. Then, they took the sapphire necklace and left.”

“Only the necklace?”

“Yes,” she answered. “It’s the most valuable item in the store.”

“Let me see the footage.”

She typed something from the keyboard attached to the monitors and soon the image of the thieves popped up on the screen. As I got a better look, I took notice of everything I could see. Their dark sweatshirts and worn-out jeans; their dark masks. The cameras are old, so the images were a bit pixelated.

They looked to be my height, if not a little shorter.

I watched as one of the guys went straight for the necklace. It was like he was on a mission to get that necklace and only that necklace.

“Do you have any idea who it could be?” Eliza asked, tears filling her eyes.

“Yes,” I answered, glancing back at her. “Street rats.”

I also knew exactly how to find them.

...

Lila’s POV Categories Search...

By the time I returned to the guest bedroom, or maybe it was my grandmother’s old bedroom, my heart was aching. I wasn’t entirely sure where it was coming from though. I could hear Val whimpering though and I knew it had to do with Enzo.

She really liked him.

“Our mate doesn’t want a mate...” she breathed. “How could that be possible?”

I wanted to console her, but I wasn’t sure what to say to make her feel any better.

“Maybe it’s for the best,” I found myself saying. “Enzo isn’t exactly the type I saw myself being with.”

“Or maybe he’s exactly the type,” Val said in return. “We could change his mind and make him see that having a mate would make him stronger!”

I didn’t deserve to have to convince someone to love me; it should be effortless. I wanted the kind of story that my father and mother had. That my uncle Blake and aunt Sophie had. That my grandparent’s had.

I wasn’t going to get that kind of story from Enzo if all he cared about was power. He might not be exactly like his father, but he was still after the same goals. He wanted power and success; I couldn’t blame him for that. It’s his ambitions and I admired that he knew what he wanted; that much was clear.

But it made me wonder how much room was there in his life to take on a romantic relationship.

That wasn’t the kind of relationship I wanted.

If he was so against mates, why hasn’t he rejected me yet?

I lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

I also didn’t want somebody who thinks that it was okay to lock me inside the packhouse whenever they want. I wasn’t the kind of girl who enjoyed staying inside for hours at a time. I was an explorer; I loved traveling, seeing new things, and going to different places.

The outside world had never scared me. I learned to defend myself for a reason.

Like right now, for example, I was staying inside this room that once belonged to my grandmother, in a pack that my grandparents and my mother once belonged to, and I haven’t even gone exploring the pack to find out more information about my family. It was my right to see where my family had come from.

I wasn’t going to get an opportunity like this often and I needed to make the most of it.

I sat up in bed, staring outside the bay window with a frown. It was the perfect view of the ocean; I’d never even seen the ocean before. Elysium was on the other side, which was facing the opposite direction of the ocean.

I went toward the bay window and pushed it open; I could already smell the salt from the water and it was the most soothing thing in the world. It reminded me of that place in my mind’s eye where I saw my wolf for the first time. I wanted to feel the sand beneath my toes and feel the cold waters.

I’m sure Enzo wouldn’t miss me if I was gone for only a little while; he probably wouldn’t even notice.

I stared over the ledge of the window; I was on the second floor. I could climb down easily if I had a good footing on the ledge.

I swung my legs over the window and grabbed the ledge that sat on the outside of the building. There were a couple more ledges going down that I could land on.

I ended up making it to the ground quickly and easily. I stared up at my opened window, satisfied that I got out undetected.

It was dark, so the shadows would surely keep me hidden.

It didn’t take long to get to the ocean; I allowed my feet to get buried in the warm and pink sand. It felt nice and unfamiliar. I took in a steady breath as the cold breeze washed through my features. The water wasn’t as cold as I expected, but it still felt nice as I buried my toes.

I smiled up at the moon, thanking the moon goddess for blessing me with this opportunity.

The closest I had ever gotten to the beach was the big pond in Higala. It was near the school, so on nice days the students would go and enjoy some beach fun.

I’m not sure how long I stayed at the beach. It almost seemed as if life was standing still. I could have been here for a couple of minutes, or I could have been here for a couple of hours. Either way, I was enjoying everything life had to offer and I wasn’t sorry about it.

But still, I couldn’t help but think about Enzo as well.

“If he doesn’t want a mate, would he soon reject us?” I found myself asking.

“He could...” Val admitted, sadness clear in her tone. “He’s an Alpha though, he would have to be the one to reject us.”

I knew that already. I wouldn’t be able to reject him. I’ve heard that being rejected was the most painful thing a wolf can experience. It’s worse than normal heartbreak; thankfully, I wasn’t marked by him, so the rejection should be a quick process.

“What do you think he’s waiting for?” I asked.

“I think maybe he doesn’t want to reject us,” Val said, hope now lingering behind her words. “Perhaps we make him curious.”

I wasn’t sure if that was enough.

If he rejected me, would I get a new mate? Or would I be doomed to spend the rest of eternity alone?

I wish I knew for sure what was going to happen.

I wanted to ask more questions, but I heard screaming coming from the direction of the town, making me sit up quickly and look wildly around. The screams pierced through the night; it was a woman and it sounded as if she was in pain.

I stood quickly to my feet when I heard her frantic words.

“Stop it! Let me go, you assholes!!”