Chapter 31
My mother was on her way to find me, and she was aware of my exact location.
I had a strong desire to flee, but I was resisting the temptation since my survival instincts and my human mentality were at odds.
She would find it simpler to reach me if I ran, and it would also protect everyone else from harm. She must have done her homework if she knew where I was, was already aware of Vera, and knew exactly who Derrick was, because if she did, then things would only get worse.
Killing the lineage holding the current title was the only way for my mother to achieve her lifelong dream of becoming a member of the royal family.
The only royal wolf still alive was Derrick Anderson, and my mother would use me to kill him, just as she had killed his family ten years prior, if she knew he was my mate. He was going to kill me, and my partner was going to hate me from the start.
I was tempted to throw up, but the box kept drawing me in. Under the note, there was something wrapped in tissue. As I tore through the paper, the fear pressed itself into my flesh, and I shouted so loudly that nothing could escape my lips. I stumbled to the ground, buckling from the terror of what I was witnessing, my entire body trembling.
My senses were finally filled with the aroma of new blood, which made my will go into overdrive. The connective tissue and veins were still hanging off of it, and the worst part was that it was still beating—unnaturally and furiously, as if it still believed it had a purpose to fulfill. It had been pulled completely out of the body.
It was an oppressive threat, bloody and violent, acting as a kind of foreshadowing of things to come.
Vera or Derrick's heart was the one she was threatening to break, even as she was cautioning me about what she could do and advising me against making any foolish decisions? She had done this because she knew they were the only people I cared about and my only weaknesses.
Breathing hard, I gripped my phone and dialed Vera's number.
What if my mother wasn't alerting me and was simply demonstrating to me what she had already done? What if her date had been a ruse? I was unable to remain motionless while I listened to the ringing and waited for her to answer. When she did, I exhaled with relief.
Her soft voice, laced with skepticism, came through the speaker. Until she needed an escape, I had never contacted her on a date, and now I wasn't sure what to say. All that mattered to me was that she was alive and safe.
"Kylie, what is it?" She asked in a frustrated tone, obviously enjoying herself already, which I had interrupted. She knew me too well, so I tried to ignore the fear in my voice.
"I just—I just wanted to make sure you made it to your date safely; uh, text me when you get back to the flat or to his." She was silent for a little while. We'd vowed as kids to always watch out for one another because we'd known each other for too long to notice when anything wasn't right.
"Something's wrong." She made a start. "I'm coming back."
"Nah! Do not do that; I am alright. Derrick and I are going to meet anyhow; I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I suppose I'm still a little nervous about it because this is a new city." I started talking nonsensically in an attempt to make her believe me, but the panic was coming out of someone else now that I knew Vera was alright.
I had to make sure Derrick was alright. It was my responsibility to confirm that his heart was still whole. What if my mother had already killed him during the entire time I had been attempting to avoid him? After thinking about his lifeless body, I was so overcome with fear and anxiety that I hardly noticed anything Vera was attempting to say to me.
"Okay, I'll text you later." Scanning through my contacts to see what Derrick had saved his number under, I mumbled hurriedly.
Mate: He'd kept his phone number under mate.
Had I not been so terrified for his life, I would have found it amusing that he had given himself such a proprietorial name. The way he had presented himself to my contacts was not in the least conceited. He was a tyrant and an alpha male, but it didn't seem to matter to him at all that he was my partner. He took great pride in the fact that I was his, and he took pride in being mine. However, I secretly understood that his pride stemmed from his ignorance of how deeply he would later regret his decision.
With my heart in my mouth, I pressed the call button. To my surprise, the call went directly to his voicemail; he hadn't answered. Now that I was reading again, panic was taking hold of me. All I wanted was to hear his voice, just like I had heard Vera's, and to know that he was safe.
Scrambling off the floor, I looked around the store hastily, not giving my actions any consideration. I could feel my wolf gnawing at my insides, wanting my legs to move. The urge to run was pressing against me once more, but this time I wanted to run all the way to my partner rather than just flee.
Without giving the mess I had left behind any thought, I ran out of the store. My fingers struggled for too long with the keys and the lock, causing my hands to tremble and nearly erupt in exasperation.
"Luna—" I turned and slammed my back against the door as my wolf took possession of me, and my heart began to pound viciously in my chest. I felt like I was jumping out of my skin. I bared my teeth and gave a menacing roar, my claws out and my fangs pressing against my lips.
Gabriel initially appeared surprised by my response, but his warrior instincts soon picked up on the fearful defensive stance I was taking.
"You're scared." He said this before taking a tiny step away from me, his body protecting mine with far more accuracy than I could have imagined giving myself in this state, his trained senses alerted as he looked around me.
While I watched him struggle to find out what had made me this way, I made no attempt to calm myself. My wolf was ferocious; she was focused solely on him and was terrified that something would happen to her mate.
Gabriel was unable to learn about the danger or the heart hidden in the box on the table in the store behind me. I didn't know whose heart it was, and I wasn't sure if I could trust him, so he couldn't know anything. He had referred to me as his Luna, but I had no power over him until I obtained his Alpha's mark. And when it came to my protection, I certainly had no power over Derrick.
So why was he present?
His eyes widened in realization as he glanced back at me. "Derrick didn't answer my call, and I can't breathe," I admit.
It hurt to admit the mate bond in my current state, but I had to divert his attention. Gabriel was staring at me with apprehension, which was making everything worse. What if Derrick was already dead and my mother was waiting to throw me back in the cage I'd grown up in? What if he had come here to break the dreadful news to me?
"He sent me to bring you to the packhouse because there was an incident at the pack. Until he has control of the threat, he doesn't want you to be wandering in the area unattended." A beat skipped through my heart.
Derrick was fine, according to Gabriel, but there had been another incident, and I suspected it had something to do with the gift I had just been given.
I pushed myself away from the door and inched closer to him, retracting my claws.
I knew Derrick wouldn't have answered my call if something else had happened to make him too busy. Gabriel's admission had calmed the panic, but the need to see him persisted.
"What kind of threat?" I begged the warrior before me. He didn't appear to be in the best of moods either; his wolf was tense, and he gave off the impression of being enraged—angry and dejected.
"A warrior was found dead on patrol today." He paused for a brief while. "His body was dismembered and his heart gone." I stumbled as I tried to piece the puzzle together, nearly bowing in my knees as I held onto his forearm.
"You need to take me to him right now."