Drew’s POV


    It felt better than I thought it would to be back home. When my trip was extended, I had been furious, but afterwards I had decided to see it as a well-deserved, long overdue vacation. And everything had gone smoothly from then onwards. Coming home was obviously cutting all of that short, but surprisingly, I was d to be here. I only just realized how much I missed home and my family.


    The first person I wanted to see was Niki, there was a lot to brief him on. Apart from business, there was a rebellion of rogues brewing on the other side of the city. As soon as we could, we would look into it.


    “Andrew?”


    I whipped around to see Annalise grinning at me, her hands on her hips.


    “Annie?” I replied in the same tone although I knew she disliked the nickname.


    “Asshole,” She chuckled, walking closer to me. “Come here.”


    Iughed as I stayed in her embrace for a while. Annie, Niki and I had been so inseparable as kids that they nicknamed us The Three Musketeers. Our friendship had stayed strong even up to the point when Niki had taken over his duties as the Alpha of the pack. He had immediately picked me to be his Beta. He had met Elle, Annie had found her mate, and still we managed to make out time to spend with each other.


    But everything had changed when our Luna had died. It hadpletely changed Niki, which was understandable especially because of the nature of her death. For years we had all mourned. Niki had sunk into a deep state of sadness and depression and he withdrew away from the pack and his duties. When he finally recovered, he was a changed man. He wasn’t the Niki we once knew, he was brutal, ruthless, and unkind to everyone and everything. He barely spoke or smiled, and every member of the pack began to live in fear of him. Annie and I had tried our best to be close to him but he pushed us away every single time. And I didn’t know how much more we could handle.


    “At some point I started to think you’d nevere back,” She joked, regarding me suspiciously. When I didn’t respond her eyes widened. “You little piece of shit, don’t tell me you thought about it.”Original from N?velDrama.Org.


    I let out a loudugh. “Well, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy my little vacation. But I could never abandon my family.”


    “Aww,” Annie smiled, reaching up to ruffle my hair. “I taught you well.”


    I rolled my eyes, pping her hand away. “What’s been happening? What’d I miss?”


    “A. Whole. Lot.” She announced dramatically. “As soon as I’m done with work I’lle see you. Good?”


    I nodded. “I’ll just freshen up and get some rest.”


    On my way to my bedroom, I stopped to see if Niki was home. I found his bedroom empty. He was probably out for a hunt or a drive, or anything else he usually did. Deciding, I’d check up on himter, I bounced up the stairs to my room, identally bumping into someone at the top. I looked up to see Margaret who had an angry look in her face. It dissolved as soon as she saw me.


    “Andrew?! When did you get back?” She asked excitedly as she pulled me into a hug which I gratefully epted.


    “A few minutes ago,” I replied.


    “We all missed you,” She smiled.


    “Including the Alpha?”


    I meant it as a joke but I was surprised when her expression darkened. I hid my surprise, not wanting to jump into conclusion.


    “How is he?” I asked. Before she could reply, I suddenly remembered something important I hadpletely forgotten about: the prisoner, Jonas’ daughter. Of course Niki wasn’t fine. I wondered how he was taking everything. Had he killed her already? Had Jonase for her? I chided myself for forgetting about something this significant.


    “What’s going on regarding the girl from the Monhowl pack?”


    I watched Margaret sigh and then she motioned me into her room. As I took a seat, she ran me through everything that had been going on while I was away. I was beyond confused when she mentioned the doings of the prisoner. Helping Jeremy, saving Annalise’s mate and the life of the very man who had abducted her? Quiet, obedient and innocent? That sounded nothing like Barbara Verbeck. But I didn’t interrupt her. The prisoner sounded like a… good woman. How was that even possible? I began to wonder if the shock of abduction had changed her.


    My eyes widened in disbelief when Margaret mentioned that Niki had dragged her along to a dinner party to gain favor for a contract. It sounded so unreal that I almost began to enjoy the story, and I found myself beginning to feel sorry for the girl. But it still didn’t exin why Margaret was so pissed at him.


    She paused, letting out a disgusted scoff. “He raped her,” She finally said.


    I slowly stood from the bed. I wasn’t sure what I’d heard. “What?” I asked, hoping I had heard wrong.


    “Last night. He summoned me this morning to go clean her up. She was bruised and bloody and I swear to you Andrew, in all my years of living I have never seen anyone so broken.”


    I clenched my fists as my chest tightened. It was hard to believe. Niki taking advantage of a woman…


    “I am so disappointed,” Margaret continued, and I could hear the pain in her voice. “I know the Luna’s death was extremely heavy on him, but this? Brutally destroying that young, defenceless woman, even when he realized that she was a virgin? He broke her… with no mercy whatsoever.”


    Now I was even more confused. There was no way she was a virgin. Unless the rumors had all been fake. But I had personally seen the way she was with men. So what was all this now? Had they all been lies? Had I been wrong about her the whole time?


    I shuddered involuntarily as my thoughts moved back to Niki. To say I was disgusted would be ah understatement. The Niki I knew would never do something so low… so disgraceful. I didn’t even know who the hell he was anymore.


    “Who else knows?” I turned to Margaret.


    “No one else.”


    I rubbed my forehead. It’s not like it mattered either ways. Even if they knew or if they found out, there was nothing they could do about it. He was the alpha after all.


    My face heated as I stood to my feet. I needed to have a talk with him. But first, I needed to see her.