Alexander’s POV
“What are they doing?” I asked, peering through the binoculars at an open clearing at the base of the mountain where a few rogue wolves were building a massive bonfire and erecting something like a stage. The camps were left empty when the captured pack members were all brought down to this one isolated spot tucked away among the mountains.
“That looks like my sister,” Luke remarked, pointing to a doorway where the wolves were forced into. He jumped to his feet, and I grabbed hold of his arm, shaking my head.
“But!” With a growl, he wrenched his arm from my grasp.
“Not yet,” I linked him and gestured to him to get down. “We need to lie low and gather information before we attack.”
With a sigh, Luke grabbed the binoculars from me and looked through them.
Although I had never been here before or even heard of this place, the way the buildings were built gave the impression that they belonged to a fallen wolf pack.
My eyes shifted to the massive structure that was only a few yards away from the clearing. Surrounded by smaller buildings, the five-story structure appeared to be an old pack house of some kind.
Abruptly, I wondered if Emily was kept hostage inside.
My gaze shifted to Jax, who was positioned a few feet away from me. His anxious gaze was fixed down the mountain, looking for someone or something in the distance. That is what he has been doing since the moment we arrived.
Was there a chance that Jax knew where Emily was kept?
“He might surprise you again,” Ghost yapped, listening in on my thoughts.
Ghost had been watching silently, and he trusted Jax for some reason.
I, on the other hand, was wary and suspicious of Jax. He brought us here without even second-guessing the route or doubting his way here. He had to have been here before.
It was obvious that I was surprised, and his behavior was raising doubts in my mind.
Jax, though, did not seem to give a damn about my suspicions or how I responded to him. He answered my questions without hesitation when I asked him something, while Luke sought any trace of dishonesty from him.
Yet, Luke did not find anything suspicious so far, but he did warn me of the fact that Jax was seeking revenge.
“How do you know about this place?” I asked.
“They held me captive down there,” he answered without looking at me and gesturing to the pack house.
His response sounded a little strange.
When did they bring Jax here?
Did it happen recently?
My mind shifted to the traffic report I got from an old friend. It stated that Jax was discovered in a car at the base of a cliff, miles away from this place. I had hoped the report would point me in the right direction and provide me with some indication as to Emily’s location and who was involved. However, as was expected, the report contained no information other than failed brakes on a slick road. Jax was alone in the car when the accident occurred, and there were no indications of any other person present.
However, Mila insisted that she had personally packed Emily’s bag and given it to Jax; they were headed to Tango Hearts to tail Angelica. She vowed with all her might that she was certain the two had left the pack together.
What has been bothering me is whether Emily and Jax truly left the pack together, or if Emily could have been taken earlier.
And if she did leave with Jax, why was he released?
Did he bring Emily here and then lose control of the car on his way out?
However, why would Jax bring her here in the first place?
According to his records, he had no direct connection to the White Moon Pack until recently, and his father was the first to support our efforts to free the pack members who had been abducted.
Is it possible that Jax was involved in Xavier’s plan and was now trying to trick us?
To be sure, I had deliberately excluded Mila and Jax from any of our plans. Eventually, if she and Jax were involved in Xavier’s plans, it would come to light.
“Maybe something else happened,” Ghost said, pacing my mind. “Perhaps someone staged the accident.”
Though it seemed unlikely, that theory could potentially explain how Jax became aware of this place.
“That could be,” I replied. “But why do you think they tried to make it look like an accident?”
“To hide the evidence,” Ghost said. “Perhaps Jax attempted to protect Emily. It is possible they were unaware he was accompanying her.”
“And they needed to complicate things.” I completed Ghost’s thoughts.
That might explain the fractured ribs on Jax’s side and even his memory loss. It seemed to be inflicted apart from the car accident.
“Find out if you can connect with Willow,” I ordered.
If we were close enough, Ghost would be able to establish a connection.
Ghost nodded, and without another word, he immediately sprinted toward the shadows of my mind.
“I am not sure what they are doing,” Luke said, handing back the binoculars. “However, it appears that they have some sort of ceremony scheduled.”
“But it is not a full moon,” I countered. “Or any special occurrence.”
“They are getting ready,” Jax abruptly said, just loudly enough for me to hear.
As my eyes shifted to him, I noticed that he was still staring down below.
Who or what was he looking for? Not knowing was kind of frustrating.
“For what are they preparing?” I snapped.
With a look of involuntary fury and revolution in his eyes, Jax turned to face me.
“Her death,” he stated gravely. “They have succeeded in-”
Goddess, please tell me this is not what I thought it was!
Before Jax could complete his thoughts, a single electric current shot through my body, leaving me in excruciating pain. I could feel my legs buckle under my weight, my head spinning, and the blood draining from my face. The sound of a woman’s scream resounded in my ears as I fell helplessly to the ground.
Just in time, strong arms caught hold of me and hauled me upright.
“F*ck!” Beta John’s voice chimed from my left side. “What happened?”
“Son, are you okay?” From my right came the voice of my father.
“They managed to breach the protection barrier,” I whispered, my heart exploding into a million tiny pieces as I considered the torment Emily had to go through for them to be able to destroy the barrier.
My poor mate!
“What protection boundary?” Shaken, my father inquired. He had never seen me this way.
“Alpha Alexander has been protecting his mate all these years,” Jax explained. “However, they have managed to remove the barrier now.”
How is that known to him?
I was startled by a whimpering fit of hysteria, clearing the gray questions from my mind, and turned to look over my shoulder for the sound.
My mother tried consoling Sarah, holding her in her arms.
“Tell me,” she cried. “Tell me it’s not true. Tell me that she is still-”
“She is not.” I forced the words out of my weary lips. “Well, not just yet. She is hanging on. She is still fighting.”
If Emily had died, I would have felt it.
My attention was drawn to Ghost who was suddenly howling inside my mind.
“We must move right away!” He bellowed. “We are out of time!”
****