Arabella’s POV
When I woke up, I was chained up with silver and gagged.
I was also on the forest floor but it wasn’t the same forest that I had lost consciousness in.
That Emery had knocked me out. That bitch!
How dare she? What exactly was her plan? She couldn’t hurt me, Luciano would have her hide. Not because he cared about me but because in his twisted mind, I was just a property which he owned, meaning only he could decide on my life and death.
Or could he be in on this?
“I’ll give her to you as long as you promise me that you will kill her and Luciano will never find out that I had anything to do with this.”
That was Emery’s voice. Who was she giving me to? I tried not to make too much noise so that they wouldn’t notice that I had woken up already. I twisted my neck and head slightly. I could see Emery talking to a cloaked person some yards away, her voice low and conspiratorial.
The voice that replied was low, sweet with a tang of sarcasm.
“Do you think I answer to a lowly mistress such as yourself? My men are all over this place. I will do with her as I please and as a reward for your useful information so far about the baby and giving her to me, I will let you keep your life.”
Anastasia. That was Anastasia Creole’s voice. My hands went clammy with fear. Emery was handing me over to that psycho? She would kill me. Then I processed what I had just heard. Emery had given her the information about my baby.
But when she’d come to save me, she acted as though she was unaware of it.
That’s the thing, I didn’t save you.
I recalled her words before she knocked me out. The dots connected and I could finally understand what had happened. I fought the urge to strangle Emery as tears filled my eyes. Emery had somehow discovered my pregnancy.
She must have been frustrated because, after all her years of trying, I got pregnant so easily. She decided to recruit help to get rid of me because I had guards and Anastasia, who hated my guts, must have been more than ecstatic to deliver.
They had killed Margaret. I recalled the water Emery had given me with a clear head. Of course. The fall because of my assailant might not have been enough to cause a miscarriage but the water. Something must have been in the water that hastened the process.
I cried. And I had foolishly told Luciano that Emery was innocent and now she was going to give me to Anastasia because I had been stupid enough to let Luciano set her free.
If only I hadn’t drunk the water, maybe my child wouldn’t have died. Maybe I would still have… no, I refused to think about it. It wasn’t my fault. I had to accept that.
There was no way I could have known about it. No way I could have suspected that Emery killing my attacker had been a confidence game to get me to relax and think she was by my side.
Rage filled me up from the inside energizing me. I would survive this. I would survive by any means possible and then I would kill both of them. They would be unable to escape my wrath.
“Oh look who is awake.” Anastasia sang, her voice sounding thoroughly amused, she must have noticed the change in my breathing pattern. Emery was startled. She did not expect me to come around so soon and see her face to identify her in case things didn’t go in her favour.
She looked at me, a myriad of emotions in her eyes then she turned away from me and walked away from me quickly.
Anastasia laughed. “Scurry away like the rat you are, little mistress. I have more interesting conversations to be had.”
She began to walk towards me, three men appearing seemingly from nowhere to accompany her. She reached in front of me and crouched. I could see her face more clearly and gasped at the sight of the scar that ran diagonally across the left side of her face marred her face permanently.
Anastasia touched my cheek. “Soft and unmarked. You must feel like you are so smart. You unearthed my life history but still didn’t learn anything about what I do to people who fuck with me. You didn’t just fuck with me though. You stole my intended, you humiliated me in front of his pack, you made Luciano have the guts to order me to be whipped and then you went ahead to get pregnant for him? You went a step further by killing my cousin as well ”
She laughed again.
“Do you know how many plans you have wrecked? Do you know how long those plans had been in the works that you scrambled up in mere hours? My people are dying because of you. It could have been a bloodless takeover and a quick entry into the ranks of the Espositos. Luciano has watered the streets of Italy with the blood of my people. Innocent people who have nothing to do with the business have been killed and it is all your fault, Arabella.”
What had she expected really? That she would go against Luciano and he would just chill and let her do it? How was her stupidity my fault?
“But I will fix everything. I will ransome you to Luciano. He will give me money, remove the restrictions on us on the drug market and once he pays up and fulfills my demands, I will kill you. For Alec. And for Luciano, I will plan an ambush for him at the pickup location and he will die ambushed like his parents. It’s quite poetic, right? I know, I try my best. And then the Espositos will be moved by my ferocity and they will take me in. I will become untouchable.”
It was official. She had lost her marbles. There were so many holes in her plan that I couldn’t even focus on the fact that her end game was to end my life. Firstly, Luciano would never do anything to save me. He wouldn’t give her a penny much less lift drug restrictions for me. Especially not after we lost our baby.
He was too busy coddling and comforting himself with his Emery. He would probably tell her to mail him my head or something so he could show my dad that I was dead.
She noticed I wanted to speak and indulged me by removing the gag. I sucked in the crisp air.
“Has anyone told you how stupid you are? Your plan is never going to work.”
Anastasia’s mocking smile disappeared. “I’d forgotten how annoying you can be. When I said that I would keep you alive until he delivers, I never said in what state.” She nodded towards two of her men.
“Beat her up then bring her to the holding location.” Anastasia turned away and the two men advanced on me. If they beat me up then I would be too weak to run away. When would I learn how to shut up?
Oh fuck.
******
Alpha Luciano’s POV
I was in the office when my phone beeped. Frowning because I wasn’t expecting any updates from Mikah or any of my people, I opened the message. It was from Anastasia and it was a picture of Arabella chained up and gagged.
I stood up suddenly. I was out of the office in seconds. Her room in the harem was empty. The suite was empty. My bedroom was also empty. The picture was real.
I shook with anger and no small amount of fear. Anastasia hated Arabella. She would kill her. Of that, I had no delusions. I needed to find her. I hoped I wouldn’t be too late.
Please, Arabella, stay alive for me.