NALEDI’S POV
“I accept your rejection.” As soon as the words went out my mouth, a searing pain tore through my neck, moving down to my heart and exploding all over my body.
A guttural growl of pain left my lips and in that moment, everything went red. My wolf came forward, and my entire body felt like they were being ripped in half.
“Seize her!” I heard the faraway voice of Matteo, and a shot was fired in my neck to hinder my transformation.
I saw my wolf, curled up in my mind and whimpering as her other half was taken away from her. I didn’t think the pain would be this searing, and in that moment, I wished things had gone differently.
I wished it didn’t have to be like this. I wished I could have prevented myself from such pain, I and my wolf. A cuff was suddenly placed on my wrist, the iron bodice cold against my hot skin.
Suddenly I felt a strong power restrict my wolf, locking all my supernatural abilities in an unseen vault. Far from my reach and use. “Take her away! Do not underestimate her, ensure you have her out of this territory by midnight.”
Matteo must be the happiest man alive with his orders flying here and there. I was dragged out of the compound, still hurt and full of pain. I painstakingly raised my head, hoping to catch a glimpse of Caellum who was nowhere to be found.
Soon enough, I was out of the gate and shoved into a car by buff men who clearly weren’t my biggest fans. Before I could make sense of my surroundings, a cloth was placed over my face while I fought against going to sleep.
All to no avail.
The last thing I thought before I zoomed into outer darkness was if this was my last moment. If I was destined to die after being rejected by my mate. That thought was shattered immediately the car came to a screeching halt and curses spilt out of the mouths of my Jailors.
“Get the girl!” I heard a heavily accented Japanese voice say before I went to sleep.
******
“Yes sir. The lady is on her way with me.” A brief silence, “The extract went beautifully and at midnight we will be in Moscow.”
My eyes flung open and I met the smiling gaze of Nicolai, standing by the corner with a phone on his ear.
“Of course. The men were sent to the Cosa Nostra. If my predictions are right, there should be an ongoing war right now.”
Another brief silence. “I’ll call as soon as we land.”
Nicolai dropped the call and gauged me with a smile. “Hello, gorgeous.”
I tried to get up, but I couldn’t. I was so weak.
“Oh don’t stress it. The drugs they used were a tad bit too much for your system.” His nose flared in anger. “Any little more and you’ll be dead. Matteo was this close to losing everything dear to him.”
My brows twitched, “Matteo?”
“Oh, you don’t know?” A small chuckle. “Who do you think organised this whole thing?”
“What are you talking about?”
Nicolai sat on a chair close to me, a little whoosh sound entered my ears and I found out we were on a fucking plane. Where the hell was I headed to?
“I have been working with Matteo long before I worked with you, love.” He said and I felt my heart fall into the pits of my stomach. “Who do you think gave me the idea of reaching out to you?”
I couldn’t believe it. “Why the hell would he do that? He is the fucking beta.”
“You.” Nicolai said that made every sense in the world. “You see, I haven’t thanked you for making my job so easy with the Cosa Nostra. I’d been planning to infiltrate them for so long without success, and the moment you showed up, everything started looking up.”
I looked as confused as I felt.
“You still don’t get it, do you?” Nicolai got up from his bed, headed to a fridge by the corner and brought a bottle of water. I didn’t know how thirsty I had been until I was given a glass to drink. “The first time I met Matteo was two months ago. When he was sent out of the pack to his death because you kissed him.”
My eyes widened. No…
“I met him alone in my territory at the time. Caellum sent him as a rat to investigate the Japanese in Moscow. His Alpha intended to kill him, and that was because some girl went on a rampage to piss off big bad Caellum who decided to punish his beta instead of his mate.”
“I saved his life in exchange for a partnership. He was to give me all the information on Caellum’s mate. You can imagine how easy that was for him.” He poured me another cup of water and forced me to drink it with his eyes.
“After I got my tip on you, I watched out for an opportunity of course, at first, the plan was to kill you, send Caellum off the bridge by your death and take over the Cosa Nostra, but then you refused to complete the bond.”
“I had to come up with another idea, and that day with Luka, I couldn’t believe my eyes when you walked in as Amara Cordel.” He shrugged, “More digging exposed that not only were you Caellum’s mate but you were Attai.”
I shrunk at his exposure of me, and suddenly my hands began to shake.
“The famous assassin of the Yakuza Mafia pack. Don Yakuza little spitfire who ran away after nearly killing her benefactor.” His eyes turned sordid. “There was a bounty on your head, scratch that, there is a bounty on your head, and I’m just here to collect.”
I shook my head no, he can’t take me back to them. They’d finish the work of killing me. If Don Yakuza found me, I’d be dead. There was no stopping it. I tried to get up but my darned body just wouldn’t cooperate.
“I already warned you love. Don’t try to move until the shit is out of your system.” His face straightened when I stiffened on the bed, stopping every movement.
“If you want money, I can give you money. I have a lot stashed away. Just please, don’t give me away to them.”
He smiled, “Too late for that now, Naledi. With what we have done to Caellum Morello, I think we should face a different demon. Besides, I don’t think they want you dead, they love you way too much to kill you after going through hell for them.”
His words rang in my heart. “What did you do to Caellum?”