Chapter 331
Vivian’s POV
I’d been pacing my room for hours, back and forth across the carpet until I was sure I’d worn a path into it. The clock on the wall read three in the morning, and there was still no sign of Dominic or his men.
Or Ellie, for that matter.
I stopped at the window and looked out over the grounds. Everything was dark and quiet, peaceful even, but I knew something had gone wrong. I could feel it in my bones.
When Dominic had left last night, he’d been so sure of himself. So confident that he would find Ellie and bring her back. But it had been almost twenty-four hours now, and there was no word from anyone.
Part of me hoped that meant Ellie was dead. That the rogues had killed her before Dominic could get there, and now he was dealing with the aftermath. Maybe he was finally realizing that she wasn’t worth all this trouble.
But another part of me, which I couldn’t ingore, was terrified that he’d found her, saved her, and was on his way home with her right now, ruining everything I had worked so hard to achieve.
I walked over to the vanity and sat down, staring at my reflection. My face was pale, my eyes sunken. I looked like I hadn’t slept in days. Because I hadn’t. I rubbed my eyes and reached for the glass of water sitting there.
The glass shot to the side before I could reach it, water spraying across the vanity and staining the mirror as a dark figure appeared behind me and a rough hand clamped over my mouth.
I tried to scream, but the sound was muffled by the palm pressed to my lips and nose. Another arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me backward off the chair. Before I could get my bearings, I felt something cold and sharp press against my throat.
The feeling of the knife was all too familiar after the warehouse.
“Don’t move,” a deep and familiar voice hissed in my ear.
I froze.
The hand over my mouth loosened slightly, and I gasped for air. My heart was pounding so hard I thought it might explode. I looked in the mirror and saw a single eye glowing in the darkness.
“You-” I started, but he dug the knife deeper against my throat, preventing me from speaking. I got a better look at him in the mirror. His face was streaked with blood and dirt, and his clothes were torn. He smelled like sweat and copper and wolf. He must have run here in wolf form without stopping at all, if he had managed to make it here before Dominic.
“Where is she?” he demanded.
“What?”
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“Your sister. Where the fuck is she?”
I blinked. “I-I don’t know,” I said. “She’s not here.”
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“Bullshit.” He grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the window, slamming my face against the glass and forcing me to look out over the dark grounds. “Your precious Alpha came after her. There was a fight. She escaped during the chaos. I thought she would come back here.”
“She’s not here,” I said again, my face squished against the glass. “I haven’t seen her. I thought she was with you.”
He turned me, forcing me to look at him, his one good eye blazing as the knife pointed at my face.” You’re lying. I can tell.”
“I’m not!” I held my hands up in surrender. “I swear, she’s not here. I’ve been waiting all night for Dominic to come back, but he hasn’t. I don’t know where either of them are.”
Gareth stared at me for a long moment, gauging whether I was telling the truth or not. With a snarl, he shoved me backward. My legs hit the edge of the bed and I fell onto my ass.
“This is your fault,” he said, waving the knife at me. “You promised me he wouldn’t come after her. You said he would choose you.”
“I thought he would,” I said. “I didn’t think-”
“That’s right. You didn’t. Think,” he hissed. He took a step toward me, still waving the knife, and I scrambled backward. “You fucked this up. And now my Queen is gone, my camp is destroyed, and half my men are dead or scattered.”
“I’m sorry,” I said quickly.
“Sorry doesn’t fix this.” Leaping across the bed, he grabbed me by the throat before I could scramble away and slammed me against the mattress. The knife was back at my throat as he straddled me. “I should kill you right now.”
“Wait,” I choked out. “Wait, please. I can fix this. I can help you find her.”
“How?”
My mind raced. I had to think of something. Anything.
And then it came to me.
“My mother,” I said.
Gareth’s grip loosened slightly. “What?”
“Ellie’s mother. Our mother. She lives nearby.” The words tumbled out in a rush. “Ellie would do anything for her. If you take our mother, Ellie will come for her. I know she will.”
Gareth stared at me. I could see him considering it.
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Chapter 331
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“Where is she?” he asked.
“I’ll take you there,” I said. “Right now. Just…. just don’t kill me. Please.”
He let go of my throat, and I gasped for air.
“You try anything,” he said, “and I’ll slit your throat. Understood?”
I nodded. I didn’t doubt that one bit.
He grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the window. “Let’s go.”
We climbed out onto the ledge and dropped down to the ground below. I landed hard, my ankle twisting, but I didn’t have time to feel the pain. Gareth was already dragging me across the grounds toward the edge of the property.
We moved quickly, staying in the shadows. I knew the guard postings well enough to know the blind spots. No one saw us.
My mother’s cottage was about a mile away, tucked into the woods on the edge of pack territory. It was small and quiet, with a garden out front and a little stone path leading to the door. The type of house she’d always dreamed of.
We reached the cottage just as the sky was starting to lighten. Reaching the door, I picked up the potted plant on the steps and grabbed the spare key. My hand was shaking badly, but I managed to slip the key into the lock and twist it without making too much noise.
Gareth pushed past me and stepped inside. I stood there without following.
Silence.
Then: a scream.
“Who are you?!”
I slammed my hands over my ears and shut my eyes, pressing my spine against the wall outside. Even through my palms, I could hear my mother’s shouts, a scuffle coming from within. Something slammed. I heard glass shattering.
That lasted for several long seconds that felt like an eternity before the silence came.
When Gareth emerged, he was holding my mother’s limp form in his arms. She was still in her nightgown, her hair wild, a large lump already forming at her temple where he had hit her.
I slowly lowered my hands and exhaled shakily.
Gareth looked at me for a moment before nodding once and disappearing into the forest with my mother clutched in his arms.
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