Chapter 68 Lawrence vs. Leia

(Lawrence POV)

For a second there, I thought I was having a heart attack. I felt a vice like grip around my heart, like someone was trying to tear my heart out from my chest. I struggled to breathe as I felt the sudden pain grip my chest and radiate throughout my body. Luckily it only lasted for a few moments.

Lucian and Diane helped me to a chair and gave me some water. I told them I was fine and they shouldn't worry, I was strong as any wolf, yet Lucian called my doctor who was a couple of blocks away having dinner with his family. He said he'd be here shortly to see if I need to be admitted to the hospital.

I can't die just yet. I have so many things that need to be taken care of. Sadly, my empire is crumbling. After the years I've put in trying to build it, new technology and the digital era have taken a huge chunk of my revenue and an old dog like me slowly learning new tricks can't seem to move as fast as the trends these youngsters go through. Known social media brands are so hard to compete with, piracy is worse than ever and everything seems to move so fast that people no longer want to stay at home and watch television for fear of missing out.

Then of course there's all that blood money I had to pay the drug syndicate and all the other people I had to silence. I needed investors and the Sarmiento family of Columbia was known to be one of the richest in their country. Alberto was part of that family, however little did I know that their money primarily came from the drug trade. Lucian said he met him at a party and this Alberto character boasted he was willing to invest hundreds of millions of dollars maybe a billion dollars in the media and entertainment industry. After hearing this information, I told Lucian to set up a meeting with Alberto Sarmiento and without doing a background check, I had signed a contract with Sarmiento. I just really wanted to get his billion dollars.  Stupid me. All that money he invested I had to give back to his drug family with interest. I should have just killed them, but I didn't want the High Elder and the Council of Elders to find out. The drug syndicate are like roaches, you take the head off, the body still keeps moving. Eventually, I knew the wolves would find out and the Hemming name would be a disgrace.

I ran my hands through my hair in quiet frustration. The problems my children have given me. My eldest, Luciana has made it clear since the beginning that she doesn't want any part of the company. She is content being Alpha of Midnight Moon, riding on her horse rounding up cattle in Montana. My second, Lucian, who has shown interest in the company without having the business acumen to lead, still parties even if his mate is heavy with their pup. This is the problem with arranged matings, money and an heir is always the bottomline. Unfortunately, I needed the Ulrich name and the money that came along with it and I'm happy Lucian went along with the mating even if he couldn't stand Amanda's accent. Lance, my younger son, is god knows where backpacking his way around the world without a care in the world. He preferred staying away from the family after what I did to his favorite sibling, Leia, who was my youngest and my biggest disappointment. I had sentenced her to death for all the shame she put me through. If she had just mated with Alexander Ulrich as planned, then maybe I wouldn't have the problems I have today.

Now I have to funnel the money donated to our foundation to keep the company afloat. So far, Hope has pledged $100M while some others, following the generosity of Stella Foundation, have pledged to contribute as well. It may not be much, but it will surely help. I have already sold off our magazine, book and newspaper companies, some of our assets, properties here in the city as well as properties in the Carribean and France. It is still not enough and my idiot son, Lucian, had to go and buy a yacht so his friends wouldn't think he was poor. One more thing like that and I'm going to sentence him to death just like his sister.

I saw Amelie, smiling happily with her arms linked with Hope, appear behind the stage and I couldn't help but feel envious of Alexander. Hope was worth ten times him and even if he decides to stop working, Hope's trust fund was enough for them to live happily in luxury until it was time for the Moon Goddess to take them and their future children. I should have just been satisfied with my money, but I wanted power too. I was hoping after I made a name for myself, I would be elected into the Council of Elders and maybe, just maybe, eventually become High Elder. I heard a cough and the people who were around me parted to give way to the High Elder.

"Lawrence, unfortunately, I have to leave early. Tomorrow is the mating ceremony of Amelie and Alarick and I need to foresee the necessary preparations. Stella Foundation will send you all the documents you need to sign for the transfer of the money to your foundation. I will also give an additional amount from my own company." The High Elder gave me a pat on my shoulder. "I do hope you are fine. I heard a doctor will be here shortly," he said.

"It's nothing, really. I just think it was a little heartburn." I waved off my health issues.

"You must be under a lot of stress. Take it easy." He gave me a telling look and turned around toward the direction of Hope's table to say his good-byes.

Hope! Why didn't I think of this before?! I have heard The Rogue Lord has put a bounty on her pretty head. I glanced at her chatting casually with the High Elder and smirked at her naiveté. She's more human than wolf. It'll be easy to gain her trust.

All I have to do is get her alone and all my financial problems will be solved. Here's to Hope!

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(Leia POV)

The daughter of Adella sent me to the place I always went to when I wanted to see her. She was a model when I met her and as much as I tried to stop whatever feelings I had for her, I couldn't. In my eyes, she was the one person who I could be myself without any pretenses.

I was becoming weak, too weak to do anything, I couldn't even disguise myself anymore. After being tossed by the small twister the daughter of Adella conjured that night of the opening of the festival, I went straight to the Great Shadow of Ula hoping he would fix my hand and all the other injuries I had sustained. He casted a spell in some weird tongue and told me in time I will become stronger. I have waited for almost two weeks and nothing has happened to my hand. I could hardly move it and the pain was so intense I would down the elixir of painkilling herbs like it was water ever so often to find some sort of relief. Maybe the daughter of Adella was right...The Great Shadow was already in the process of taking my essence. I had the ability of dark magic and it would make the Great Shadow stronger if he took mine.

There was a young woman with the daughter of Adella who I did not recognize. She was a young Priestess who recognized who I was. I do not recall ever hearing of her or seeing her. There were so many secrets in the wolf world. My informant from the Clan of Elders has not been forthright in his information. If The Rogue Lord gets wind of this, he will not be very happy.

Maria was right to leave. She said she had a promise to keep when she left me to serve The Rogue Lord. I was just so happy to be given the status of Dark Witch and to have an army of my own, I didn't think. Now I am dying and my only hope is a priestess named Hope.

My father, if the daughter of Adella spoke the truth, deserved all his problems. It would have been much easier to just eradicate the drug syndicate, but he chose money. I, his youngest daughter, was sentenced to death by him of all people for protecting this human I cared so much about.

I saw her walking to her apartment. She was wearing gym clothes. After I had killed the drug lord, she was able to get a break and sign a contract for a popular lingerie line. Keeping thin and fit was a clause in her contract which meant she had to spend countless hours at the gym. I whispered her name in the wind and she heard it, turning around to look for the source. I kept hidden even if I yearned for her. She couldn't see me like this.

"Anyone out there? Leia? Is that you?" She called out into the shadows of the night, hoping to get an answer.

"No, darling. But I can be Leia or anyone you want to be." A man came out of the shadows with a menacing smile on his ugly face. He was wearing gym attire as well. He probably followed her when she left the gym to walk home.

I noticed her frantically look for her keys so she could open her door. "Stay away. I have pepper spray plus I already called the police."

"With what phone? This phone?" He showed her her phone in his hand. "You should be more careful of the stuff you leave lying around at the gym."

"Are you here to return my phone?" She asked, rummaging through her bag for her keys. Finally, I heard the unmistakable sound of keys jiggling  in her hand. She then attempted to unlock the door so she could quickly walk in, but he rushed towards her.

"Oh no you don't, you snob." He grabbed her hand but she sprayed something in his eyes. He screamed, taking a step back away from her while rubbing his eyes. In a state of panic, she accidentally dropped her keys and bent to pick them up, luckily finding the key to open her door. She placed the key into the keyhole, but the man had already recovered from the pepper spray. "You bitch!" He slapped her on the face and because of the force of his slap, her head hit her front door. She slid to the ground, unconscious. I decided to use the opportunity of her unconscious state to come out from my hiding place.

"Look at the big man preying on unconscious women," I hissed at him. He turned around thinking I was behind him. He looked up, surprised to find me floating in the air.

"Who are you? What are you? Stay away or I'll kill your friend." He pulled out a knife from his pocket and directed the knife towards her.

I laughed at his empty threat. I directed all the power I had left in me to my good hand and I lifted him up and tossed him to a piece of steel sticking out from a building being built nearby. He spat out blood and looked down at himself, panic in his eyes  find a rod of steel sticking out from him.

"Awww. One bad man less in world," I said, laughing maniacally. I was so engrossed with watching the man take his last dying breath that I did not notice she had woken up.

"Leia, is that you? What has happened to you?" She asked me, her eyes wide with shock seeing what I have turned into. I was about to answer, but I felt so weak. I had used all the energy I could muster to throw that man into the steel rod. I collapsed on the ground realizing that this was it. I was about to die.

"Leia, what's happening?" She put my head on her lap. "Is there anything I can do?" Tears were falling from her face and I felt a tear fall on my cheek.

"I love you," I whispered to her. I felt my heart slow down. My vision started to blur. This was how I wanted to die, in her arms.

I just laid there, looking up into the night sky, waiting for death to take me.

There is no hope.