Chapter 103

***Alpha Ethan*** 

“Auntie Vi? What happened?” I hear Az say as I enter the packhouse carrying my sister in my arms. “Where’s my mom?” 
“Don’t worry, Az, I’m fine,” Vi says weakly.
“You don’t look well. You smell funny,” he points out, probably referring to the smell of witchcraft still in her blood while I sit my sister down on the couch.
“Everyone’s on full alert, Alpha Ethan,” Josh tells me, entering the living room with my dad by his side.
Stepping closer to Vi, Dad reaches out and holds her hand. “How are you feeling, sweetheart?”
“Lily—”
“Lily’s with your mom,” he interrupts her. “I already mindlinked her so she wouldn’t bring your daughter here right now.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Vi says, leaning her head on his shoulder.
“Where’s my mom?” Az worriedly repeats, looking up at me.
Even before I got to the pack, I started mindlinking Josh to get all my contacts and pack members who were in Summerville to hunt down Alicent’s ex-husband. I warned my dad and mom about Vi and asked them to stay with Lily and Az.
‘Don’t snap. He noticed something was wrong, son. I think it was because of our auras. They changed after you mindlinked us,’ Dad mindlinks me as I glare at him angrily.
“Az, there was an accident with Vi and your mom,” I start saying.
“Where’s my mom?” he asks, with tears welling up in his eyes. “I want to see my mom!”
I crouch down to his height. “Your mom was kidnapped, Az.” It physically hurts my body and soul to say it out loud. I can’t believe she was taken from me right under my nose. I will myself to keep calm for the sake of the child. “But I’m going to get her back.”
With wide eyes, he shakes his head. “No. No!” Tears start to fall from his green eyes, so similar to my Little Dove’s. “What are you going to do?” he asks.
“I’ll destroy whoever touched her,” I catch myself saying without a second thought.
Yet, Az nods. “I’ll go with you!”
It’s not the right moment, but I can’t help feeling a surge of pride, wanting to smile at him. “No, Az. You’re not going. You’re going to stay here safe and sound so I can bring her back without worrying about you, okay?” I reassure him, holding his shoulder. “I need you to stay here for me. When you least expect it, she’ll be back.”
Beside us, my father talks to Vi while Josh leaves the living room, probably to catch up on what’s happening in Summerville. Then, Az asks, looking at my feet, “You’re going to kill *him*, aren’t you?”
Fuck.
Fuck.
Fuck.
His strong aura vibrates with sadness. It tears through me like broken glass. 
“I can smell my father on Aunt Vi!” His chin trembles. “Don’t lie to me!” 
I press my lips together, clenching my jaw. How am I supposed to tell him that I’m going to kill his fucking father?
“Yes, Az. I was going to do it before, anyway. What he had done to your mother... When I find him now, he won’t get away with any of it.”
“I don’t care what happens to him! I hate him! You need to go! You need to go! He’s going to kill her.” Az’s voice carries tears and hits me like a punch to the chest. 
“I won’t let him kill your mother, you hear me?” I slightly squeeze his shoulders. “Look, kid... Az... son. I promise you I’m going to bring your mother back! Got it?”
I catch the reflection of tears in his eyes as he nods before he shoots up and barrels straight into me. Knocked stupid for a moment, I hold my arms out, not sure what to do with them, too surprised for a moment. It takes a good few seconds before my head prods me to wrap my arms around the boy, and when I do, something strange stirs inside of me. Kind of warm and fuzzy. Pleasantly aggravating. 
I have always wanted to have kids, but I have never dared to dream so big. Even more so a child like Az. But now, I look at him, and I can only see him in exactly that way. 
As my own son. 
I don’t give a shit if I’m not his biological father. I will be his father until the end of my days in this life.  
Our start was messy, but the more time I spent with the little boy, the more attached I became. I can’t imagine my life without him now. And I’ve got to admit, something about earning the kid’s trust after everything feels pretty good. 
Az tightens his little arms around me even more. “I don’t want my mom to die, *Pops*,” he whispers, crying out.
The room falls silent, conversations cutting off mid-sentence when they hear him call me pops. Or maybe it’s just me who stops breathing and freezes, the word hitting me hard. The word wraps around my heart like a warm, fragile thread. I have to fight back the tears that threaten to spill after hearing him say that. I want to hold on to this moment forever.
I pat the kid’s back, taking in his small arms that cling tight around my neck. 
Az. 
My son. 
Son. 
“Everything is going to be okay. I’ll bring her back. I won’t let anything or anyone hurt you or your mom, I promise.”
And just like that, the promise I make to the boy becomes a living, breathing thing that pounds inside my chest.
*I will give you anything you want,* I pray in my head to the Moon Goddess for the first time since I was a boy and got my wolf. *Please, protect my Little Dove, and help me find her, Goddess Selena.* 
Just then, as if the Goddess had just heard me, Josh mindlinks me, ‘Rick just spotted the motherfucker. He’s tailing her ex-husband in a car.’

🐺 🐺 🐺

“I already told you, I’m sorry! I’ll tell you where she is! You don’t have to hurt me!”  
Pathetic. 
I laugh, the sound cold and cruel, echoing off the soundproof concrete walls of the room in my basement under my nightclub. This fucker was so easy to break that it wasn’t even that satisfying.
I grip the small knife tighter, the blade gleaming under the light. Then I slam it into his forearm, the blade sinking in until it hits the wood of the chair beneath the armrest. The act is more for pain than to keep him in place since ropes bind his wrists and ankles. He lets out raw and desperate screams, his body jerking against the ropes. They creak, straining, but Josh had tied him too well. There’s no escaping this. No mercy here.  
I found this small knife in his pocket, and the smell of it made me even more possessed with rage. 
It’s hers. 
Her scent still lingers on the handle, faint but unmistakable, and the thought of his filthy hands on something that belongs to her makes my blood boil even more.  
‘Let me kill him!’ Kral growls in my mind. ‘Now!’
My jaw hurts from how much I clench to hold Kral inside me.
Blood trickles down his arm, winding its way around him before dripping to the floor, staining the epoxy flooring beneath us.  
I lean in, my face close enough for him to see the fury in my eyes. “Where is she?” My voice is low and steady. Deadly.  
Logan’s panting, eyes wide with terror as he tries to catch his breath. But he takes too long, and I’m fucking done waiting. 
My fist connects with his face. 
I control my strength so as not to break his neck with a single blow. He’s human, and I don’t want him dead. Not yet. Not until he’s outlived his usefulness.  
Logan’s head snaps to the side, blood spraying from his mouth and splattering against the wall. He chokes, spitting out a tooth along with crimson saliva.  
“She’s... she’s at the old building,” he gasps, voice trembling. “One of the basement apartments... The neighborhood where we used to live...” His eyes are glazed with pain, but there’s something else there. Rage. Fear. Good. He should be afraid.  
My fingers tighten around the knife’s handle, still lodged in his forearm. “Who are the rogues who helped you take her?” My voice is a growl, the rage barely contained.  
Logan flinches, eyes darting away before he stammers, “I... I don’t know all their names or who they are... Chelsea found them for me. She said they work for my boss on another branch. Please, that’s all I know!”  
I twist the knife, slow and deliberate, watching as his body convulses in agony, a strangled cry ripping from his throat. “That’s a good start,” I murmur, my lips curving into a cold smile. “But you better remember every detail, or this will get a lot worse.”  
I yank the knife free, blood spraying across my hand and my shirt, dark crimson blooming on the fabric. I don’t bother wiping it off.  
After all, this room was made for this. And I’m just getting started. “Why did you kidnap her?”
He groans. “Because my soulmate told me to.” He lifts his bloody head to look up at me. “She was probably jealous because Alicent and I were once married—”
*PUNCH*.
My fist connects with his face once more.
“Don’t you fucking dare say her name!”
He cries pathetically, head lolling to the side.
“Why would Chelsea want to kidnap her?”
“What?”
“You said your soulmate was jealous of Alicent!” I say, confused and impatient. 
“No, that bitch isn’t my soulmate. She just helped me kidnap Ali, I mean, my ex-wife. Chelsea only helped me because she thought that after I was turned into a Werewolf, she would be turned too since my soulmate promised me that she would claim me and turn me, if I did everything she asked.” 
“Why would she want to kidnap Alicent? Who is she?” I hold myself back from hitting him so he can keep talking, but holy fuck, it’s hard. 
“She didn’t want me to kidnap my ex-wife. My soulmate ordered me to *kill* her. I told you, she was probably jealous of her. But I decided to kidnap Ali, I-I mean, my ex-wife instead.” 
It’s impossible to control my hand. I punch him again. “You fucker, you know about Werewolves. Who’s your fucking fated mate?” 
“I don’t know her name, I swear! She said she would only claim me if I did everything she ordered first. She said she would make my dream come true and turn me into a werewolf so we can be happy and strong together.” His small grin is cruel as he goes on, “That’s why I promised Chelsea the same thing, that she would be turned too, but in the end, I killed that bitch because she doesn’t deserve a damn thing.” Looking up at me, I unfortunately see the truth in his fucking eyes. “I don’t know where my soulmate lives or her name, I swear! The only thing I know is that she’s powerful, and she’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
Fuck. Me. I didn’t expect that.
I should have killed Logan a long time ago. If I had, my Little Dove wouldn’t have gone through any of this.
This motherfucker is so slimy and evil. I can’t believe he cheated on Alicent and killed Chelsea after he deceived her. Whoever his fated mate is, his fucking other half, for sure, is definitely someone just as rotten inside as him.
‘Ask this asshole about the package,’ Kral tells me. ‘The one he sent our little mate to get for him.’
Fuck, I’d already forgotten about that.
“Why did you ask Alicent to get that package for you in the old building you used to live in?” I ask, my knuckles itching to break his nose again.
Logan’s eyes widen, his jaw snapping shut. He says nothing.
My patience snaps first. I plunge the knife into his other forearm. He pathetically screams in pain.
“Start talking. Now.”
“I... I didn’t know you were an Alpha back then! I swear!” Logan says between deep breaths, sweat pouring down his face.
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“I’d just found out humans could be turned into Werewolves. I was trying to work for a Werewolf who could turn me,” he says, voice shaking. “I got a task... and... I was really pissed at Ali—” He stops, fear flickering in his eyes as he thinks carefully before mentioning her name. *Well, he learns quickly*. What a shame. “—My ex-wife at the time. I thought she was dirtying herself with you. You were always around her... so I set a trap. I wanted to teach her a lesson, make her see I was the one for her. I didn’t know you were a Werewolf then. It was the perfect setup.”
I narrow my eyes at him, watching him squirm. “Go. On.”
“To get my current job, I had to do some dirty tasks for my boss. He told me to pick up a package from a dangerous person, but I already knew the guy. I knew he was a murderer by trade. I figured you’d be with her, and the guy would kill you because she hadn’t gone alone. I wanted to teach her a lesson. But you didn’t show. She went alone... but she wasn’t exactly alone. She was with a white wolf. I knew that that wolf was a monster and not a real wolf as soon as I saw him later with her. The guy, instead of at least scaring the shit out of her, he got scared of the white wolf and ran away, abandoning the package inside the trunk for her to pick up.” 
“That white wolf was Azrael. You put her and him in danger, you sick you son of a bitch!” 
Logan’s eyes widen in disbelief, his mouth hanging open. “Azrael was that Werewolf? My son?” 
I twist the knife in his forearm. “Don’t you dare say Azrael’s name either! He’s *My* son now!” 
His face twists with anger as he sneers, “That selfish little monster! Instead of turning me too, he kept all that power to himself.” I don’t correct him that not just anyone can turn a human into a Werewolf, I just don’t care what he believes, he’ll be dead soon anyway. He continues but seems to be talking more to himself than to me, sounding bitter and unhinged, “Figures. Just my luck. So they were right about what they were going to do...” 
I barely resist the urge to break his jaw. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I owed a good money to a loan shark. Since my ex-wife didn’t give me the money to pay him, he said he would retaliate, not against me, but where it would hurt the most, my family. Jokes on him because I had just gotten divorced. He said he’d make my son suffer. Said he’d make sure he was never the same again... I didn’t know he meant turning Az into a Werewolf! When did that happen—” The answer to his own interrupted question flashes in his eyes seconds later before he continues. “Fucking kid! It happened that day he ran away from my house, didn’t it?”
The room spins. My head pounds with anger, disgust, disbelief. I can’t believe what I’m hearing. My eyes stay locked on him, burning with hatred, as I try to process every word of his confession.
“Let me get this straight,” I growl as I yank the knife out, blood spurting as Logan screams. “Was it *your* fault that Azrael got turned?”