Feel the heat….
I stepped forward, towering over him. “You thought you could hide in the shadows, Fabian, but your time is up. We’ve heard everything.”
His face paled, and he stammered, “I-I can explain! It wasn’t my idea-Veronica pushed me into this! I was just trying to survive!”
“You’ll have plenty of time to explain,” I said coldly. “Take him away.”
Fabian’s eyes darted to the exit, but before he could make any sudden moves, our men swiftly blocked the way. He was trapped. The fear in his eyes deepened as he realized there was no escape.
Simon crossed his arms. “Let’s make this simple. You come quietly without receiving any beatings, or we drag you out of here with no less than 20 slaps already landed on you.”
Fabian hesitated for a moment, but when he saw that resistance was futile, he slumped in defeat. “Fine,” he muttered. “I’ll go.”
As we escorted him out of the building, Simon leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Now that we have him, it’s only a matter of time before Veronica falls too.”
I nodded in agreement. “Yes, and when she does, we’ll finally put an end to this conspiracy.”
With Fabian securely in our custody, we headed back to the mansion, where the final piece of this dangerous game would soon fall into place. There was no doubt in my mind: the truth was within our grasp, and the reckoning for those who had dared to betray us was imminent.
Soon, Veronica’s world would crumble, and justice would be served.
By the time we returned home, the house was unusually noisy. A couple of the maids were moving about, and from the looks of things, they were all looking for something.
“What is going on here?” Simon asked loudly, with a tone that immediately stopped all movement in the room. The room was awkwardly silent, and it felt as if everyone was trying to avoid answering the question.
“Are you all deaf now? I believe I asked a question that demands a definite answer,” he went on, and a smirk subconsciously appeared on my face. Not too long afterward, one of the maids finally gathered up the courage to answer us, but she was interrupted by Ashley, who ran into the room.
“Simon, Lucas, I have been looking everywhere in the house, but the boys are nowhere to be found,” she said all at once, her breathing hitched as she stuttered on a few words. The moment her words sank in, it felt as if my heart skipped a beat. The first person that came to mind was no one else but Veronica. To make matters worse, she had even spoken about getting the kids kidnapped just a while ago with Fabian, who was now in our custody. Could she have gone through with it? And that quickly?
“Hold on, just calm down, Ashley. You say the boys went missing-how long have you noticed this?” I asked calmly, trying to help stabilize her since she was slowly starting to lose it.
“I… I realized this almost an hour ago. We have been looking for them all over the place, but they are nowhere to be found,” she said, still stuttering.
“Alright then, just relax, okay? We’ll find them any moment now. Don’t worry,” I said, though I wasn’t sure if I believed it myself. I was about to call for my beta, Damien, when I heard the sound of muffled giggles.
“Does anyone else hear that?” I asked, but everyone in the room shook their heads. I looked over at Simon to see if he had heard it, and after a while, he confirmed it.
“Exactly! These boys are definitely in this house. Let’s go,” he said, and we both started walking down the hallway, with Ashley following right behind us. We kept following the sound of our mischievous boys laughing and talking to each other. As soon as we finally arrived at their hiding spot, Simon and I turned to face each other, trying to decide what to do to expose our little troublemakers.
“You both have just five seconds to come out before I spank the heck out of you,” Ashley yelled from behind, taking both Simon and me by surprise. We stepped aside to let her do her thing, as the mom she is.
“One,” she started, but she didn’t have to count any further before the boys finally came out of their hiding spot.
“I see, so you both seriously think it’s funny to play such an expensive prank on everybody, right?” Ashley questioned angrily, and the boys immediately shook their heads in response. She grabbed both their ears, and they soon started whimpering from the pain of the pinch she was slowly inflicting on them.
They both cried out to Simon and me for help, but we chose to let Ashley handle it for a while so they would actually learn a lesson about their bad behavior. After a while, we both finally pleaded on their behalf, and Ashley reluctantly agreed.
“Fine, I won’t punish them anymore, but you two better tell your sons never to play such crazy pranks on me again because I would definitely punish them way more than this,” she said, and I smirked at her response. She turned to the boys before continuing.
“If you little troublemakers think your dads will always be around to save you, then you’re highly mistaken, okay?” The boys nodded immediately, and Ashley started walking away to her room.
“Thank you, dads,” the boys chorused before running along to catch up with Ashley.
“These kids will be the end of me,” Simon began, letting out a curt chuckle as we walked along the hallway. “And to think I had actually started considering the fact that Veronica might have had something to do with their disappearance.”
“Can you imagine? I actually felt the same way. It’s crazy,” I responded, and we proceeded into his study, which happened to be the closest room from where we were. As soon as I got in, he shut the door, and I relaxed on the couch while he settled into one of the visitor’s seats, turning it to face me.
“So, after so much trouble, we’ve finally got Fabian in our custody.”
“I know, right? Out of everyone else Veronica was involved with, he seems to be the only one she intentionally protected. Something must have happened between them that we don’t know about, something deeper.”
“Exactly! But what matters most is making sure these perpetrators are taken down before they reach our kids.”
“Yes! So now we just need to intensify the heat on Veronica. It’s only a matter of time before she breaks.”
“Yup! We’ve got this,” Simon said, and we crowned it with a hearty handshake. Although we could just apprehend Veronica and punish her for her evil deeds, what fun would that be? We planned on making her last days in this mansion the absolute worst of her life, and we would certainly enjoy doing so.
When evening came, the cool breeze was blowing, making the atmosphere chill and cozying everyone up. I left my room for a walk to enjoy the night air in the garden. As I walked out, the domestic workers around me greeted me as I passed, and I responded to as many as I could before reaching the garden.
As soon as I got there, my wolf instantly picked up that sweet scent again, and I knew she was there. I made sure to be as quiet as possible while searching for where Ashley was. When I finally found her, I quietly sneaked up on her. The closer I got, the stronger her sweet scent became. I honestly couldn’t tell if it was just me, but something about her scent resonated deeply with me.
“Lucas, what do you think you’re doing?” she said just as I was about to spook her.
“What the… how did you know it was me?” I asked. She turned to face me with a smile and rolled her eyes teasingly.
“I can hear your thoughts. You seem to forget that I can now mind-link and listen to both you and Simon,” she responded. But at that point, I wasn’t really listening to her anymore.
She snapped her fingers in front of my face to bring me back, and though it worked, it was only for a short while. Her sweet scent, now stronger, clouded my senses. Looking at her, standing there with her nightdress softly blown by the wind, I couldn’t get my mind to work.
“Lucas!” she yelled, pulling me out of my trance. Without thinking, I moved closer and firmly held her waist. She had a funny look on her face-she clearly wasn’t expecting this sudden act from me.
“Lucas, I…” I silenced her with a kiss, and she blushed.
“Hmm, I can’t get enough of your scent,” I moaned, burying my face in her neck. At first, she didn’t respond, but when I felt her hands softly rubbing my back, I knew I had completely lost control.
Her hands traveled from my back to my neck, and when I stood upright, the feel of her straddling me sent a jolt through me. I grabbed her, lifted her up, and she straddled me.
“I love you, Ashley,” my wolf mumbled, and she smiled warmly, as if she had been waiting for those words for a long time.
“I love you so much, Lucas,” she responded, and leaned in. Her touch ignited me. I teased her neck, and she reciprocated by wrapping her hands around my neck. The more I teased her, the more she melted into my arms.
“Are you sure about this?” I asked. Despite my desire, I wasn’t willing to rush her into anything she wasn’t comfortable with. However, what I wasn’t going to do was force her into something she wasn’t ready for. The last time had been under very different circumstances, and I needed to be certain this time.
She looked up at me, her eyes gleaming with sincerity, and hushed me once again. “Lucas, I’m sure. I’m 200% sure.”
The conviction in her voice made my wolf stir even more. “Hmm, I like the sound of that,” I whispered, leaning in to kiss her again, but this time with more urgency, more passion. She wrapped her arms tighter around my neck, and I could feel her heartbeat sync with mine as our breaths became heavier.
The cool night breeze ruffled her hair as I held her close, my mind completely absorbed by her warmth and the intoxicating scent that enveloped me. The garden, once quiet and still, now seemed alive with the intensity of the moment between us.
As I laid her down on the soft grass, I couldn’t help but think how much this woman meant to me-how long I had waited to share this moment with her, not just physically, but emotionally. The connection between us felt like more than just desire-it was as if our souls had found the peace they had always sought in each other.
“I love you, Ashley,” I murmured again, my voice barely audible against her skin. And for the first time in what felt like forever, I felt whole.
—
The night passed, and we remained wrapped in each other’s warmth under the stars until the early hours of the morning. When the dawn finally broke, casting soft, golden light across the garden, we lay there in silence, the weight of the world momentarily forgotten.
After a while, Ashley stirred in my arms, blinking as the sunlight filtered through the leaves above us. “We should probably head inside before someone comes looking for us,” she whispered, a hint of laughter in her voice.
I smiled, kissing her forehead. “Let them find us,” I teased, but I knew she was right. As much as I wanted to stay in this moment and bask in it, reality was waiting for us-along with the responsibilities and dangers that had not vanished overnight.