Chapter 40


    Alec’s P.o.v


    ‘It doesn’t matter. You won’t see her again.’


    Grace’s reptilian voice echoed throughout my head, sending waves of pain running down my chest.


    From the look on Kade’s face, he felt the same.


    Grace might’ve been cruel and slightly insane, but she wouldn’t lie. She was smart enough to tell the


    truth.


    I could see Kade’s self-control slipping, his eyes darkening murderously. Kade had always struggled


    with self-control, rarely thinking things through. I liked to believe that was why we worked together so


    well. Kade was brutal and animalistic, while I was cunning and calcted. Two sides of the same coin,


    the same person split into two.


    Before Grace could open her mouth and speak any further, a deafening crack sounded in the house.


    Grace slumped to the floor, her head bouncing against the hardwood.


    For a second, I had thought Kade k****d her. Her eyes rolled in the back of her head, her eyelids


    fluttering shut. The side of her face was red, already beginning to swell. Kade had knocked her out


    without little thought.


    Hitting women never sat right with the two of us, but this was different. Grace had hurt Aurora, had


    scared her into silence. As far as I was concerned, Grace was a traitor.


    I watched as Kade’s form shook with fury, his fists clenched into tight knots at his side. His control was


    slipping, and I knew if I didn’t intervene, he would surely k**l Grace.


    “Not yet.” I told my brother, my hand firm on his shoulder. “She still has useful information.”


    “Are you trying to save her life?” Kade snarled, his back facing me.


    I knew Kade was speaking thoughtlessly. He knew I had no qualms with k*****g Grace, but time and


    ce were crucial.


    “Grace deserves to feel everything we put her through, don’t you think brother?” I murmured, my eyes


    flickering down to Grace’s unconscious form. “She still has information about Aurora.”


    “Then what do you suggest?” Kade’s voice was a rough growl. He was slipping, but managed to hold


    on tight enough to hear my words.


    “Let’s drop her off at Jason’s. Him and Zane can leave her in the dungeons. We need to talk with


    Garrett, see if Aurora really left.” I told him, silently thanking the heavens when his form stopped


    shaking. Once Kade fully lost control, nothing would stop him. That was what made him so useful in


    battle. His rage and brutality overwhelmed him, pushing his humanity to the side in order to k**l.


    “Let’s talk to her Mom first.” Kade grunted, “If she left, she might’ve stopped there first.”


    “I’m not sure she would.” I frowned, remembering her strange aversion to her Mom and Step-dad. “But


    we can still go there first.”


    Kade grunted in approval, then turned to leave the house. I scooped Grace up like a sack of flour,


    cringing at the overwhelming scent of her perfume. I tossed Grace in the trunk, mming it shut without


    looking back.


    ‘Are you with Zane?’ I asked, forming a mind-link between the four of us.


    ‘Sure am.’ Justin called out, the sound of video games in the background. ‘Hanging out at my ce.


    You twoing over?’


    ‘We’re bringing a prisoner. We’re going to need you to put her in the dungeons until wee back.’


    Kade growled, gaining some control over his voice.


    Justin and Zane went silent for a moment, undoubtedly picking up on Kade’s anger. Justin and Zane


    were the only two who knew about Aurora. They had seen her a couple times in school, but always


    maintained a distance.


    ‘Come outside.’ I called through the mind-link, severing it once I finished.


    Justin and Zane were outside in under a minute, both their faces stern. Kade remained in the car,


    fighting with what little self-control he had left.


    I opened the trunk and watched as surprise crossed Justin and Zane’s face. It was no secret Kade and


    Grace had screwed around a lot, as Kade was never one for secrets. He had always made it


    abundantly clear that there were no strings attached, it was Grace who refused to listen.


    “Woah, what happened?” Justin gaped, his blue eyes wide with surprise.


    “She p**s Kade off or somethin’?” Zane chuckled lightly, his smile fading as he noticed the expression


    on my face.


    “This has somethin’ to do with Aurora, doesn’t it?” Justin frowned, always quick to catch on.


    “Yes.” I nodded, anger shing in my eyes as I looked down at Grace’s form. “Put her in her own cell.


    Keep her weak, but alive. I mean it, don’t let her d*e.”


    Zane visibly gulped, looking down at Grace with a mix of anger and pity. They knew we would not show


    her mercy, that Kade was slowly losing his grip. Another perk of being friends with Justin and Zane


    were their loyalty. They already held respect for Aurora, knowing she would be their future Luna.


    Kade and I headed to Aurora’s house, the one she had lived in before Garrett came along. It was hard


    to imagine anyone living here, with the cracked and withered boards, and peeling paint. The house


    looked near abandoned, yet Aurora had lived here for weeks.


    Keeping in front of Kade, I knocked on the front door. With each passing minute Kade’s patience


    waned. Stepping in front of me, he threw his fist forward. The crappy wooden door splintered and


    snapped from the hinges. Neither Kade nor I blinked as the door ttered to the floor.


    “What the f**k!” A gruff man slurred from the recliner in the living room. “Get the f**k outta my house!”


    “Kade, don’t.” I shook my head, hand tight on his trembling shoulder. I turned my attention to Aurora’s


    Step-Dad, noting the scent of stale beer and liquor thundering around the house. “Have you seen or


    heard from Aurora?”


    “Why the f**k would I hear from that b***h?” Her Step-Dad half snarled half slurred. He stood from the


    recliner and stumbled towards us.


    A defeated sigh left my lips as her step-dad edged closer to Kade. From Kade’s shaking hands, I knew


    it was no use.


    Before her step-dad could take another step, Kade had lurched forward. Her step-dad was on the floor


    in under three seconds, his thick neck under Kade’s hand. His ws were lengthening, pressing into


    the drunk man’s flesh.


    “He’s useless.” I scoffed, watching as Aurora’s step-dad’s face turned red. “Too drunk to know


    anything.”


    “Then it will not matter if he dies.” Kade snarled, his eyes locked on Aurora’s step-dad. His grip


    tightened around his neck, thick beads of blood sprouting from where Kade’s ws pressed into his


    neck.


    “I think we should let Aurora decide what to do with him.” I mused, wondering what our kind-hearted


    mate might do.


    After all but prying Kade’s hands away from the man’s neck, we left his house. Her Mom had not been


    there, presumably at work.


    We pulled into Garrett’s driveway, Kade jumped from the car before I could put it in park. My heart


    thundered in my chest, a feeling I wasn’t familiar with.


    She’s here, she hasn’t left. She’s here, she hasn’t left.


    I swore Kade’s frantic thoughts matched my own. Duty and respect had left long ago, leaving the frantic


    need to find Aurora.


    If we were to do this by the book, showing up at another Alpha’s house without notice is disrespectful,


    regardless of whose territory they are on.


    We had not called Garrett ahead of time, nor did we knock on his front door.


    A plump blonde woman came out of the kitchen, her eyes wide as she noticed Kade and I standing in


    the foyer.


    “Where is Alpha Garrett?” I asked, ignoring Kade as he strolled into the house. Kade didn’t wait for her


    answer, but headed to the stairs.


    “His office—second floor, third door on the right.” The woman stammered, clearly startled by our abrupt


    behavior.


    Kade was up the stairs before the woman uttered herst word. The door to Garrett’s office was open


    by the time I ran up the stairs and down the hall. Kade stood in the open doorway, his hands balled into


    tight fists.


    “Where is Aurora?” Kade growled lowly, still trying to keep some semnce of control over himself.


    “She’s here, clearly.” Alpha Garrett scoffed, standing to adjust the crisp suit he wore.


    “We were told otherwise.” I added in, my face hardening as I noticed the simrities between Alpha


    Garrett and his daughter. No matter how simr they looked, Aurora was nothing like Alpha Garrett.


    “And who gave you that information?” Alpha Garrett scoffed, shaking his head as though he were


    talking to two delusional children.


    The look on his face tested my own patience, anger shing through my eyes as I looked at the man.


    Kade and I had stepped up into the position of Alpha as soon as we were able. We trained and studied


    for countless years. We were not children, nor would we be treated like one.


    “Show us to her room or you can get the f**k off our territory.” Kade snapped, visibly shaking as he


    stared down Alpha Garrett.


    “If you force me to leave, I will take her with me.” Alpha Garrett’s tone was quiet, calm. I wanted to


    laugh, to chuckle right in his face. If only he knew, he had no im on Aurora, not while we were her


    mates.


    I knew what my brother was going to say before he opened his mouth. Alpha Garrett clearly had an


    inted sense of self-importance, and it was past time to knock him down a notch.


    “You will take our mate nowhere.” Kade snapped, savoring the surprised look on Alpha Garrett’s face.


    “You have no im on her, and now you never will.”


    “Mates?” Alpha Garrett scoffed; his eyes wide as he looked between the two of us. “Both of you?”


    “Both of us.” I nodded grimly, impaling him with my eyes.


    Alpha Garrett reluctantlyplied, taking us down the hall to where Aurora’s room sat. I could


    practically hear the gears turning in his head, could see him scrambling toe up with some kind of


    n. His high and mighty position was crumbling. Whatever his ns had been were clearly failing.


    “She’s right in here.” Alpha Garrett gestured to one of the many doors in the hallway. “Although, I don’t


    think she’s interested inpany.”


    “She will be once she sees us.” I snapped, eyes narrowing at Alpha Garrett.


    Kade had regained enough control to knock on Aurora’s bedroom door, but that was as far as his


    patience stretched. As ten seconds passed, Kade gripped the doorknob and shoved. With a sickening


    crack, the door swung open. Kade shot Alpha Garrett a murderous re, daring him to speak. Copyright N?v/el/Dra/ma.Org.


    I was quick to enter her bedroom, wrenching open the bathroom door to check inside. Unless she had


    taken up a liking for hide-and-seek, Aurora was nowhere in this room.


    Her bed was still messy, as though she had just slept in it hours ago. Upon looking in her closet, most


    of her clothes were gone. All that was left was an old t-shirt and a used pair of shoes.


    I gripped herforter in my hand, bringing it to my nose and inhaling deeply. If she had just left, her


    scent on theforter would still be strong. As I inhaled her scent on theforter, a gut-wrenching


    pain ran through me. Her scent was dull, nearly gone from the fibers of the nket. Wherever she was,


    she hadn’t slept in her bedst night.


    “She’s gone.” My voice was low, but came out in a snarl.


    Anger shed in my veins, but who was at fault? Heart stopping fear ran through me at the thought of


    Aurora on her own. She understood the ugliest parts of the world, but didn’t know how to defend


    herself.


    “I should have known.” Garrett sighed, gaining the full attention of Kade and I.


    “What did you do?” I spat each word as though it were a weapon able to pierce his skin.


    I could now see how Kade felt when he was losing control. My skin felt ufortable and itchy as fur


    threatened to sprout. My human teeth felt disgustingly ufortable, my canines itching to break


    through my gums. My body was like a cellphone on vibrate, shaking as I refrained from shifting.


    “I showed her the truth.” Garrett spoke inly, as if he had done nothing wrong. “She needs to know


    what she is, and what her future holds. I do not have the patience for coddling.”


    “Coddling?” Kade scoffed, but the sound was simr to a snarl.


    “You were absent from her entire life, steal her away from two people who clearly don’t want her, and


    then tell her she isn’t human? And you’re surprised she reacted this way?” Despite the anger that


    blistered through me, I wanted tough. Alpha Garrett had the nerve to look at us like we were children,


    and yet he had chased his own daughter away.


    “I did what I thought was best.” Alpha Garrett snapped, his eyes hardening as he red at my brother


    and I.


    “We’re going to find her, Garrett.” Kade sneered his name, purposefully forgetting to use his title. “And


    when we do, you’ll never see her again.”


    “She is my daughter and heir.” Alpha Garrett snapped, “I have a right to see her. She knows nothing of


    running a pack.”


    So that’s why he finally came back for Aurora. I wondered if Kade had gleaned the hidden meaning to


    his words.


    “She doesn’t need to know how to run a pack.” I lied, letting my lips turn up in a cruel sneer. “She’s our


    mate, which mean’s your pack will soon be our own.”


    Alpha Garretts face contorted in fury, and I knew I had assumed right.