Shenaya’ POV
I blinked myself awake slowly, realizing I was lying on the soft surface of Zoey’s small bed. It was early morning, and even the curtains did not let much sunlight in the room. So, as soon as I managed to open my eyes and look around, memories of the horrifying events of last night came flooding in like a tsunami. Aiden said Zoey stood above me with a knife in her hands, her cleaver face looking like a different person than she isn’t. Picturing it alone gave me goosebumps. Instantly, I sat up, looking around frantically.
Zoey wasn’t beside me.
I looked in the direction of Leo’s bed across the room. It was Empty as well.
Where were they?
My heart was beating hard against my chest. Darker thoughts began to run through my head, and questions came to life: Did Skylar get to them while I was asleep? Could I be too tired to notice her slipping into the room?
I slid off the bed, and the touch of the bare floor sent shivers through my feet. I needed to find them now. Something unusual happened just as I was about to push the door open. An emotion that wasn’t mine hit the pit of my stomach, a familiar one, but I can’t say: anxiety, stress running down my spinal cord, constricting my lungs.
This isn’t my feeling. Then it hit me: Aiden.
That is what I got from the mate bond: a raw experience of his feelings. There was trouble, and he was tense-not apprehensive. Where the hell is Aiden?
My blood started to boil. I stepped out of the room angrily and without a robe on. The pack’s giant mansion was still tranquil, but the atmosphere was oppressive. Each footfall sounded as I ran toward Ethan’s suite through the corridors.
When I arrived, Isla, Ethan’s mate, stood just by the door, still dressed in her nightgown. Her hair was unkempt, in what you could call waking up-from-bed hair.
“Where are my pups?” I snapped. This time, there was panic in my voice. I could not hide it, but I could not stop it either.
Isla blinked at me, confused. “I… I don’t know,” she stammered. “I just woke up myself.”
I cursed under my breath. Isla wasn’t helping. Where the hell was Ethan?
“Where’s Ethan?” I demanded.
Her eyes widened slightly. “Earlier this morning, he left in a hurry. He didn’t say where he was going.”
Something was constricting in my stomach, tying itself into a knot. Something wasn’t right. Just as I turned to leave Isla, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, expecting that it was Aiden, but the number was unknown to me.
I paused for a second or two before talking into the phone. “This is Emily Roux Moreau?”
A cold and familiar voice answered.
“You’re lucky, Shenaya. You are Lucky. Aiden came in time before you could meet your end. Which will be done to you by your daughter-or should I say my daughter? But now, I have her. I have my Zoey… and your son, Leo.
My blood froze. It was Skylar.
“What do you mean, “your daughter?” I asked to be sure I had heard her well.
“Oh, you didn’t know? Zoey is my daughter.” What???
My whole blood boiled over as the reality of what she said set in me. Zoey?
“Oh, you bitch” I screeched into the phone. “If you hurt them, I swear I will…”
“I’m not interested in harming them… yet, ” she said, laughing. But that depends on you. We need to talk.”
I clenched my teeth, preventing myself from shouting.
“Talk? You want to talk after you’ve stolen my pups?”
However, you’ll meet me if you ever want to see them again. Alone.
“You cannot take my pups like this, Skylar!” I screamed over the phone, clutching my phone to my ears tightly.
“Oh, but I can. And I will. If you don’t follow my instructions, you will never get to meet them again.” Every word she said was like a venom; knowing Skylar, she meant every word coming from her mouth.
She was enjoying this. The control, the way she dominates me.
“Where?” I dared to ask, making my voice quivering with anger.
“Soon, I will send you the location,” said she. “And remember, Shenaya-alone. This one is to know, not even Aiden.”
I was about to say something, but the call was disconnected. I stood there, frozen momentarily, trying to register everything she said in my head.
Zoey. Leo.
Looking back, I can’t explain what I wanted, but I wanted to scream out loud and throw something, but I knew none of that would solve the problem. I needed a plan. But first, I had to do what she said. I had to go alone. In no way was I going to endanger my pups.
I put the phone back into my pocket and walked towards the garage. The house was as cold as a freezer, and there was this constant silence as if the thing watching me was just around the corner. Several thoughts ran through my head, but I lacked ideas for a backup plan. I just wanted to get there and get my babies.
When I reached the garage, I stopped as the light turned red. Aiden. I could feel Aiden’s feelings through the mate bond. He was nervous and anxious. He seemed very much off somehow, but I could not tell what was wrong with him.
I tried to reach Aiden through the mind link, but his mind was closed, so I couldn’t. I also tried Ethan, and his mind was closed.
Where could they be? I wasn’t mad anymore, but rather, I was worried.
I shook my head. No, I couldn’t think of them for now. I had to focus. My main goal and focus is to get my kids from Skylar as soon as possible; the rest is secondary for now.
Some minutes later, the notification tone of my phone rang again. It was a text from Skylar. She sent me a location to be in the woods, quite deep into pack territory, isolating the area, and anywhere much farther would not be patrolling.
When I got into the car and held the steering wheel in both palms of my hands, my knuckles were visibly white.
I applied only a slight pressure to the accelerator as I maneuvered through the roads that were even more twisted and amidst even thicker foliage. Trees established themselves more and more, and the path’s turns got increasingly jagged. I felt my heart racing; I could hear it beating.
I didn’t know what to expect. Skylar wasn’t stupid. She knew how to interact, control, and dominate. She was always one step ahead, but this time, she had gone further.
When I reached the edge of the woods, I exited my car and breathed in the cold, fresh air. It kicked up my spirits. I exhaled sharply and looked around the place. It was just trees that surrounded me.
For a second, I wondered if this was all some sort of trap. Perhaps she’ll not come. But then, I heard someone walking my way from the other end of the aisle.
Skylar emerged from the darkness with her dark hair fully down her back, her dilated eyes filled with an ill humor. Behind her, I saw Zoey and Leo-tied hand and foot-sitting on the floor. My stomach dropped, but I had to reassure myself quickly.
“Shenaya,” she said with some cheerfulness as though the rest of her did not want to follow suit.
I clenched my fists, every muscle in my body screaming to run to my kids, to tear them apart, but I stayed still.
“Let them go,” I demanded.
Skylar laughed. “Always so direct. Oh, I’m sure you know that’s not going to happen.”
“What do you want?” I growled.
“I want what I want, shenaya. Power, Control. I want my pup back, and lastly, I want Aiden; after all, he is my mate.”
“You are sick in the head if you expect Aiden to choose you.” I narrowed my eyes.
“You are right about that, but I don’t need him to choose me. All I require from you is that you get out of his life.” She shrugged.
“Using my kids to get to me? You’re pathetic.” I spat.
Her smile faltered for a moment, but then she stepped closer. “Call it what you want. But this is how it ends, Shenaya. I’ve been patient long enough.”
“You won’t win, Skylar.” I took a step forward, my voice low but steady.
“Oh, I already have,” she whispered, her eyes gleaming with malice.
In a flash, I lunged toward her, but before I could reach her, the world around me seemed to shift, the air thickening with dark energy. An invisible but palpable barrier stood between me and the pups.
Skylar laughed, her voice echoing through the trees. “Good luck, Shenaya. You’ll need it.” And with that, she vanished into thin air, leaving me staring at the spot where she’d stood, my children just beyond my reach.
My chest heaved with rage and frustration, but I wouldn’t give up. Not now. Not ever.