Chapter 74
Ethan
“How is the purchase of the building going?” I ask, looking through the apartment complex property paperwork. I flip to the last page and read through the realtor’s notes.
One building
Three stories.
Thirty–five complexes.
Ten one–bedroom apartments at 950 square
feet each.
Twenty two–bedroom apartments at 1200 square feet each
One office area for the management.
Built in 2004
There is another company bidding on the building, but if we want the building, we can offer more than the other group’s final bid is on the third page,” a woman in the accounting department says. I flip to page three and scan it.
$675,000
“Alpha.” Ryan’s voice pops into my head.
“What is it?”
“I went to check on Fiona because she hasn’t been out of her room all morning and found the window open. There’s a sheet hanging from the window so that she could climb out,” he tells me and I sigh.
“I thought I told you to watch her,” I growl, annoyed that this is the third time he’s lost track of my mate. It’s unlike him. Usually, Ryan is much more dependable than this.
“I’m sorry, Alpha. She keeps slipping through my fingers. I will accept any punishment you want to give.”
I can almost see him lowering his head in submission, making me sigh again and rake a hand through my hair. No one would dare take her directly from my house, especially the Bluemoon Pack after what just happened, which leaves me with. one realization.
Fiona left of her own free will by climbing out the window.
This woman keeps running and it pulls forward the animalistic urge to chase after her which would probably only scare her more. Because in the end, that’s why she ran,
She’s scared like she was last night.
“Ethan“” Fiona’s voice pierced through the yelling around me and the pain swelling in my body.
I whipped my head up, searching the room. Then she was there, shoving her way through the Bluemoon Pack members and stumbling toward me.
Tears ran down her cheeks, spilling out of her wide, terrified eyes. Her reddened wrists were bound by a rope that dug into her skin. It had to be a trick. Fiona wasn’t really there, but the desperate cry that fell from her lips as Jameson’s lackey grabbed her and yanked her back was all too real.
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Chapter 75
I
The way the struggled against the man had my wolf pickling her Leraldet gen to her growled a Jameson, letting the
er push me through the pain. They woulda
these berardi.
glanced at 1lared at my woman again, printing my teeth the thought bee being killed by the
Over my dead body would I let them kill her.
Fury, hotter than any vulcan, boiled my blood as the antage began to crore, allowing my human side to fall into the background. It was the only way
If becoming the monster was the only way to save Fiona, dardly give in
The memory burns a hole in my chest, reminding me that I failed Fiona She ran toward me last math, wanting and needing my protection, but now, she’s running away from me
“If anyone else touches her, I’ll shred them into a million little pieces, my wolf threatens, the any in his tone like unbending steel. He was forcibly catatonic last night because of the wolfsbane, only coming back around this morning very
I’ll
Still, he isn’t back to his full strength, and neither am 1. take another two rounds of antidote, the doctor said, before the wolfbane is out of my system. Until then, there’s a chance it grow worse before it gets better.
“Just stay at the house in case she comes back,” I tell Ryan, knowing that will probably be the last thing she does. I felt the terror that wafted off her body last night. It will take much longer than a day to bring her back to me, and that’s fine. I’ll wait
“Of course
I stand and drop the papers on the table, gaining everyone’s attention
“Make the bid and process the payment with the realtor, I announce before turning and leaving I don’t give any reason or dismiss them I just head out. They can finish whatever needs to be done with the complex.
Once I make it to my car, I speed out of the parking lot and turn in the direction of Fiona’s house. If she went anywhere.it’ll be there or her friend’s house, but I have a feeling after last night, she’ll want to be at home.
“She may not want to see us,” I tell my wolf who is currently curled up in a ball in the corner of my mind. He lifts his head.
“Will she rejectus?”
“I” I pause, the thought making my chest hurt as I say my next words. “I’m not sure, but we’ll respect her wishes in whatever she chooses”
He whimpers in a very un–Alpha–like way, and I sigh. She has every right to reject us but that doesn’t mean I want her to
Finally, I pull into her driveway and breathe a bit easier when I see lights on inside. Climbing out of my car, 1 rush to the front door and knock. I wait for one, three, then five minutes before knocking again.
No answer
“Ryan said you escaped through the window. Are you okay?” I call out, knocking again but softer this time. I hope I didn’t startle her with the first knock Scaring her more is the last thing I want right now.
A soft, fruity scent seeps through the door, growing stronger with every second that passes. I breathe it in, inhaling her scent as if doing so will bring her closer to me
“She’s right there” my wolf whines, “Right on the other side of the door.”
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Chapter 74
I know. Her warm, soft presence is hard to miss. Even if we’re separated by a wall.
“I need to know you’re okay,” I tell her, feeling the déjà vu because I’d just done this, this morning. And again, she doesn’t open the door.
Reaching up, I set my hand on the door, wanting to feel her. The air between us thickens with several scents, making my wolf become alert and my heart sink.
The fresh rain scent of sadness
The bland powdery odor of uncertainty.
The sour tang of concern.
The bitter bite of fear.
The sweet yet citrusy curl of longing.
They blend together in a whirlwind of emotions that push me back a couple of steps. Each one stronger than the last and each acting as a physical blow. I can’t do anything to stop the onslaught, and I don’t want to.
I never thought I would want to scent someone’s fear or worry, but after not being able to scent her in the warehouse last night, I’ll treasure each smell.
“1. You don’t have to answer, but I’ll be here when you’re ready. I know it’s a lot to take in but I’m not going to abandon you.” I tell her calmly, hoping she can sense my sincerity. “Even if I’m not right by your side. I’ll be here. Just
I lay my hand on the door again and close my eyes. I imagine her standing on the other side of the door, clutching her shirt nervously with tears in her eyes. The mental image makes me ache.
“Just please tell me if you need me.”
When no reply comes, I turn. I make it three steps before the door creaking open pulls my attention back. The door opens just slightly, barely a crack, but I don’t move. I wait for her, silently pleading for her to push the barrier aside and come to
mic.
It’s too much to ask, though.
She doesn’t push it further open. In fact, she squeezes a long white envelope through the crack, and the moment it falls to the welcome mat with a soft thump, the door shuts. My wolf sees the writing before me and howls a brutal and broken cry.
RESIGNATION
