Arabella’s POV
I hurt all over from the multiple beatings I had taken. My back and my stomach were bruised and I was sure that I had cracked at least one rib. After beating me up on Anastasia’s command, they proceeded to dump me in this wooden storage unit. It was musty and smelled like mould. I could hear their conversations going on outside. I had to escape from this place.
When I had been depressed about losing my child, I thought a lot about dying. It wasn’t like I wanted to end my life. I just wanted the pain to end. But now the last thing I wanted was for my life to end.
I never understood how Luciano felt violence and death were the answers to every problem until after finding out that Emery and Anastasia had masterminded my child’s death.
I was angry. I wanted revenge with a ferocity that bothered me. But first I needed to escape. My hands were still chained in front of me. My legs were free, however. There had to be a plus side to this.
I couldn’t slam my body against the wood to check if it would give way without giving myself away. What could I do? What could I do? The answer came to me as I noticed the structure was an old one. Since it was wooden, it was bound to have rotted in some places due to moisture and all that. Using my nose, I hunted for rot in the wood.
I found quickly found a spot that was in the opposite direction of where the sounds of the voices came from. With any hope, they would not hear me over the sound of their conversation. The silver chain burned with every movement but I ignored it and held on to the board and broke it easily. I paused expecting them to come charging in.
Their conversation continued and I heaved a sigh of relief before continuing on with enlarging the hole as quietly as I could. I would escape even if it took me all night to pry these boards loose.
*******
Alpha Luciano’s POV
We took up Arabella’s scent from the patch of woods that was next to the pack house but the scent stopped at a tree where I found a branch stained with blood. I scented it. It was Arabella’s blood.
I nearly lost my mind. This all pointed towards one thing. My pack was vulnerable. Because it was either we had a mole or somebody had breached our borders but after the attack on Arabella that had resulted in the death of our child, I was more inclined to believe the former.
The moment I got Arabella back the first thing I did would be to ferret out this traitor and kill them with my own hands. But for now, I was more bothered about finding Arabella. I ignored Anastasia’s message to meet for a trade by barter. I could not trust that she would go through with her part in this. I had to secure Arabella’s life first and foremost.
The most likely place that Anastasia would take her to would be the Creole pack lands. The thing was how far had they taken her? Because the blood was still red. The abduction must have happened mere hours ago maybe anywhere from two to three hours ago. So they couldn’t have gone far. I looked at the so-called neutral location for a meeting that Anastasia had sent to me.
It was between our territories. There was no way Anastasia would pick a place very far from Arabella. She would want to leverage her life to twist my arm. But it wouldn’t be too close to the meeting area so that I wouldn’t find her on my way to the meeting.
“Cross.”
He jogged over to where I stood still holding the branch in my hands.
“Mobilize the men. We leave immediately.”
Once I got Arabella back, Anastasia’s head was mine.
*****
Arabella’s POV.
I finally made a big enough hole for myself and it hadn’t even taken all night. My hands were dirty and bloody from the scrapes that I had gotten from prying at the boards. The scrapes had healed over already so it wasn’t so bad.
I had pushed myself halfway through the hole when I heard the sound of a key going through a lock. They wanted to open the door. I had two options. Go back inside and act as though everything was normal and hope that they wouldn’t move me or I could push myself out the hole as fast and as loudly as I could and then run away for my dear life.
You can guess the one I chose naturally. I pushed myself out of that hole and ripped off a few more wooden boards while I was at it. The men opened the door immediately after I was out and they were shouting when I began to run. It would take them a few seconds max to see the hole I left behind then they would be after me.
They would catch me if I wasn’t quick. I pumped my legs, I didn’t know where I was or which direction I was going but I trusted my instincts to take me to a safe location. As long as the men weren’t in this direction then it was safe.
I hoped that I wouldn’t end up putting myself in even greater danger wherever I was running to.
I heard the howls of wolves in the air and fear gripped my heart. Were they hunting me in their wolf forms? They would get to me very quickly and I couldn’t even shift because of the silver binding me.
Run Arabella, run.
I tried but it was difficult to run as fast as I could while carrying what felt like a tonne of silver on my wrists.
Branches of trees grazed me as I ran. They tore at me and I willed myself to run even faster. I paused feeling turned around and dizzy. That was when I heard it.
The sound of branches creaking like someone was approaching. I hid behind a tree, my heart thumping loudly in my chest. I could lower my breathing but I couldn’t stop my heart from beating and when the wolf entered range, they would be able to find me exceedingly easily.
I bent slowly, soundlessly. I picked up the nearest stick I could find which was pitiably small but it would have to do.
I stood upright, the stick firmly gripped in my hand.
The figure moved, I swung, and Luciano caught my hand midway pushing me against a tree before freezing.
“Arabella?”
We paused, suspended at that moment. I looked at him with disbelief. He’d come for me.
Luciano pulled me to his chest embracing me and I was surprised to hear myself sobbing into his shirt.
‘You came.” I sniffed my words muffled by his shirt but he heard me just fine.
“How could I not?” He gripped me tightly like I was planning on disappearing. “You are banned from leaving the pack house from now on.”
I almost laughed. He sounded so serious but I could detect the hint of worry in his tone.
“Sure.”
I didn’t know how to feel. I had convinced myself that Luciano had just reverted back to his former self when he forced me to eat at the hospital but looking back at it now I realized that he’d simply been trying to keep me alive.
And now, he’d come for me going as far as endangering himself. Could there be a chance that he reciprocated my feelings? I couldn’t know for sure but it didn’t matter because whenever I needed him whether I knew it or not, he was there for me.
That was enough for me.
And everything was right in the world at that moment.
Then he pulled away from me to examine me for any injuries, he noticed my chains.
“We’ll get that off you at the pack house but we need to leave right now. Can you handle that?”
I nodded.
I had a lot to tell him about but that could come when we were in a safe location to strategize. This was Anastasia’s hideout. She knew this place better than we ever could, and attacking her here would be a big mistake. The last thing I needed was for Luciano to lose his cool and attack her.
We jogged out of the forest and into a clearing. We were halfway through when Luciano spoke.
“My men should–”
He froze.
I looked around and listened. The clicks of guns safety’s going off.
Luciano urged me back into the forest cover taking the rear, his face firm with decision. There was no way we could make it back to the treeline in time. Not with me struggling to run with the silver weighing me down and Luciano adjusting to my pace.
They began to shoot.
I turned to look at Luciano.
********
Alpha Luciano’s POV
Arabella turned to look at me, her brown eyes glistening with unshed tears.
Then she shoved me with her shoulder. Normally it wouldn’t have worked. I was heavier than her and her pushing me would have been like an ant trying to move a boulder.
But I was off-balanced running and trying to hold her up at the same time to help her get through the treeline first and Arabella had taken advantage of my lack of balance and had shoved me down with all her might and I went down.
The first round of bullets hit.
Arabella jerked as a bullet hit her. Then another and another all in rapid succession. I growled and pushed myself up catching her as she fell, both of us ending up on our knees.
Why had she done that?
A bullet grazed my shoulder but I could have cared less. “Arabella. Look at me.”
In the background, I could hear my men begin to engage Anastasia’s men. I had mind+linked them immediately after I caught up with Arabella. All she had to do was wait.
Arabella tried to speak but blood came up. She looked at me with her eyes shadowed by pain.
“You silly woman. What was that for? Are you mad?”
She felt so weak in my arms. So small and vulnerable. I felt even weaker in comparison. Nothing could happen to her.
Arabella entwined her fingers with mine. Her smile was light.
“I…” She coughed up more blood. “I love you too.”
Then she went limp in my arms. Her fingers slipped from mine.