<h4>Chapter 444: 444-Teaming Up To Find Her</h4>


    <strong>Ian:</strong>


    She started the car. We tried to drive past a few checkpoints, but it became harder each time.


    Whenever she told them she was an alpha’s daughter, they let her pass. At certain points, though, they insisted on checking the car, and I grew impatient.


    Once we reached the open road, I noticed several cars behind us. They were police and warriors.


    They closed in on us, one driving behind us, another pulling alongside, and then one moved ahead of us. At that point, I knew we were caught.


    Our car slowed as warriors from the other vehicles began to threaten us. They were going to shoot the tires.


    The car stopped, and the back door opened. A warrior pressed a gun to my head.


    "Your father wants to see you," he told me.


    That was all he said, and I realized I had been caught.


    There were lurkers and warriors with guns pointed at me, asking me to join them.


    "Wait, I have my warriors too. Don’t you dare,"


    Vanessa tried to stop them, but I gave her a hand gesture. She had already broken the rules and tried to help me enough times. I did not want to drag her into this anymore.


    "Thank you so much," I told her.


    At least she helped me understand that the council members were involved.


    She looked sad as she watched me get out of the car and step into the vehicle the lurkers had arrived in.


    All the cars started to leave once I settled inside. Silence filled the car.


    They watched me without speaking. When the road to the academy started to appear, I scoffed and shook my head.


    I was back at the ce I had run away from.


    Once the car parked in front of the academy, I sighed and got out, fixing my ck shirt and looking around the area.


    Clementine and I had thought we would return here only to take revenge or shut it down permanently. Now I was here alone.


    I stepped into the passageway, reached the main hall, and mmed the door open as I entered.


    All the ringleaders, the crusaders, and even my father were there, his hands tied behind his back.


    "So all of you must have already heard what happened," I stated, watching the confused looks on the crusaders’ faces.


    "Ian, where were you?" Haiden called, making me turn toward him.


    "Where is Clementine?" Troy added, his voice tense.


    I turned to my father, facing him.


    "Why won’t you ask the headmaster?" I replied. "One minute she’s with the council, and the next they’re injecting her with something to sell her off to high bidders."


    Those words caused a loud gasp.


    "What the fuck is going on?" Mira screamed.


    It seemed the crusaders were still unaware, but my father’s raised hand from the podium silenced everyone.


    "I don’t know what you’re talking about. What do you mean she was with the council members?" my father asked, stepping down from the stage and walking toward me.


    "Oh,e on, as if you don’t know," I snapped. "She went to the council to expose the academy."


    I had barely finished when my father stopped in front of me and let out a rough grunt.


    "Ian, the council is in on it," he muttered, repeating what I already knew.


    But it did not seem like he knew anything about what was happening to Clementine.


    "Well, I heard they’re selling her off to someone," I said, my tone shifting as I spoke to him. A need for help rose inside me.


    Even if he asks me to go north and continue the game for entertainment, I’ll do it. If only he saves Clementine.


    "You’re such an idiot, Ian," my father grumbled. "Come with me. We are paying a visit to the council members," he insisted, turning to the ringleaders as they started to move with him.


    They stopped briefly when I noticed they were facing Oriana. Her hands were tied behind her back, her posture straight.


    "We saw the video of you abandoning one of the crusaders," one of them remarked, their attention shifting to her.


    It seemed they had already discussed it.


    "Since we already know the truth, there will be no punishmenting your way. The academy is already crumbling, but we will inform your families of your actions so that you answer them yourself," my fathermanded.


    I refused to stay, and it seemed Haiden and Troy did as well, because they started to follow him.


    "We’re not staying here. Clementine is out there, and we want her saved," Haiden dered.


    My father turned to look at me, his expression worn.


    "And you want toe too?" my father asked and I shrugged.


    "Of course I do," I replied.


    "Fine then,e with me," he said.


    Thankfully, he was not as resistant as I expected, and I wondered why.


    Once we began to move faster, Haiden and Troy caught up with me. We sat together in one SUV, my father in the front seat and the three of us in the back, with other cars following.


    "Tell us everything," Haiden insisted. There was a concerned look on his face, and I understood why.


    They were still feeling the mate bond with Clementine. They were feeling her pain too, just like I was.


    When we returned through the back door, I paused after noticing the confused looks on their faces.


    "Oh yeah, there’s another door," I uttered, pping my forehead. "That’s another story rted to Miss Rue."


    "Wait, Miss Rue?" Troy asked. I noticed my father straightening up in his seat, as if he were trying to listen to our conversation.


    "It seems Yorick was innocent too," I told them.


    But at that moment, I wanted to focus on Clementine. Miss Rue could not escape us. She would be punished, but in time. At least Yorick was not dying anytime soon.


    "Wait, where the hell is Clementine?" Haiden demanded. "What do you mean she went to the council office?" he pressed, urging me to be honest.


    I could tell the crusaders had no idea what was happening, probably because they had been in the north for the past few days.


    "So basically, Clementine found a tunnel where the whole entertainment process was held," I exined. "You remember how we used to say it felt like they were watching us? Well, it was true. They really were watching us."


    I started slowly and exined everything throughout the car ride. There were moments when my father cleared his throat, as if reminding me that he was still sitting in the front seat.


    Especially when I told them where the academy originated, I watched their faces fall. Then I exined how the council had tricked Clementine, and almost all of us, into thinking they were good people.


    "Oh no," Haiden muttered. "Maybe I should speak with my uncle. Together, more hands help," he suggested.


    Troy nodded in agreement.


    "That would be a good idea," I replied. "Troy, can you get us any help?" I asked.


    He nodded faintly.


    "I can speak with my mother," Troy answered. "She will talk to my father once they find out Clementine is my mate. My father will be eager to find her. He’s a greedy man."


    There was sadness in his voice when he finished.


    "My uncle is the same," Haiden added. "But if the news is as big as you’re saying, they might help." He stopped and smiled faintly to himself, letting out a quiet chuckle that sounded tired.


    "What is it?" I pressed.


    "I don’t think they’ll help us," Haiden replied.


    The moment he said that, my chest tightened.


    "Why?" I asked, already realizing the answer.


    "They’re the ones watching us," he continued. "Didn’t you say most of the alphas who epted other mates, and the betas who did the same, watch the entertainment? That’s probably why we were chosen. My uncle wouldn’t care. He’d enjoy watching me suffer in the north."


    He said it quietly. It was true. His uncle was not rted by blood, only his father’s friend and a royal beta.


    "Don’t worry, I’ll find her," my father finally spoke, turning his head slightly toward us, just enough to show he was listening.


    "Didn’t you realize that a little toote?" Troy remarked.


    My father kept his eyes on the road.


    Finally, we arrived at the council leader’s house. Before my father or anyone else could get out, I was already rushing from the car and heading inside.


    The one thing I had not told anyone yet was that I was married to Clementine. The scent of her blood from when I marked her was still fresh in my memory.


    The dance we shared in the north was all that ran through my mind as I rushed into the house, searching for her.


    The moment I stormed inside, pushing past the warriors who tried to tell me the leaders were busy, I felt she was not there.


    I could almost sense her presence, as if she were just within reach. Then the door opened, and as I stormed in, I stopped dead in my tracks.