“Howard-” Draven started.
“NOW!” Howard shouted, pressing the gun against my temple.
Draven complied.
The head of security didn’t even question the order, simply agreeing to give everyone time off. My heart sank. This couldn’t be happening.
“Good! Now call your pilot. Tell him to prepare your private jet. Say you’re leaving the country with your family and will give details at the airport. Everything ready in two hours.”
The pilot sounded confused when Draven called, questioning him about the flight plan. Draven snapped that they’d probably go to Europe and to just do as ordered.
“Perfect!” Howard mocked. “Now, you’ll transfer two billion dollars to accounts I’ll provide.”
“That’s too much money to transfer in two hours,” Draven objected.
“Want to protect your family? Start transferring. For each extra hour, I’ll kill one of your children. You have five, so seven hours should be plenty of time to end up childless!” Howard threatened, his eyes wild.
“My laptop’s in the office,” Draven said through gritted teeth.
With my hands and feet tied, blood pooled beneath both legs, the silver burning through my veins. Rory whimpered, too weak to help me heal.
I watched helplessly as Howard forced Draven toward the office, the man I loved looking back at me with agony in his eyes.
“You know,” Howard mused as they walked away, “I should have been the one to take over Storm Valley Pack. I could have had it all-the pack, the company, your mother. Vivian should have been mine. But she chose your father instead.”
Draven’s voice, filled with cold fury, “And she made the right choice, you twisted son of a bitch.”
As their voices faded down the hallway, a terrifying thought crept into my mind.
What if Howard had no intention of letting any of us live? With all this hatred burning inside him, Howard would surely kill Draven once he got what he wanted.
Caroline’s POV
No. I couldn’t let Howard kill Draven. I had to be strong for my children and my mate. The silver bullets burning through my legs and stomach made every movement excruciating, but I refused to give up.
“Rory, do you have any strength left?” I asked my wolf through our weakened connection.
“Barely,” Rory replied weakly, her voice faint. “But enough to try. We can’t let him hurt our mate.”
I closed my eyes and focused on partially shifting just my hands. My fingernails elongated into claws, and I bit down hard on my lower lip to keep from crying out as the silver coursed through my system,resisting the transformation.
With my heightened hearing, I could still hear Howard forcing Draven toward his office.
Working quickly, I began sawing through the ropes binding my wrists.
Every movement sent waves of agony through my bullet wounds, but I channeled all my fear and love into determination.
“Hold on, Draven,” I thought desperately. “Just hold on.”
When the ropes finally snapped, I immediately reached for my leg wound. The silver bullet had to come out or I’d never heal properly.
Taking a deep breath, I plunged my fingers into the wound and nearly passed out from the pain.
“Don’t scream,” Rory urged. “Howard will hear you.”
I knew it. I clenched my jaw, sensing the bullets embedded deep in my flesh.
Blood poured between my fingers as I dug deeper, probing for the bullet.
When I finally felt the hard metal, I gripped it and pulled. The bullet came out with a sickening squelch, and I had to stuff my fist in my mouth to muffle my cry of pain.
I repeated the process with my other leg and then my stomach, each extraction leaving me gasping silently, tears streaming down my face. But with each bullet removed, I could feel Rory growing marginally stronger.
“Mabel,” I mind-linked to her where she sat tied up nearby. “I’m going to get you free.”
I dragged myself across the floor toward her, my movements clumsy but determined. After I loosened her restraints, she looked at me with shock and fear written all over her face.
“There’s a gun in my bedroom nightstand,” I mind-linked to her. “Top drawer. Can you get it without being seen?”
She nodded quickly and slipped away, moving silently up the stairs.
Just then, I sensed another presence and tensed, ready to defend myself.
The pack house security head, Mathias, entered the living room cautiously.
I received his mind-link and immediately connected.
“Luna Caroline, don’t make a sound.”
I stared at him in shock.
“Draven ordered everyone to leave. Why are you still here?” I replied, confused and hopeful.
“Alpha Draven alerted me the moment he saw Howard hurt you,” Mathias explained, his expression grim. “I must apologize, Luna Caroline. It was my failure that allowed him access to the house.”
“I don’t know how he got in, but we’ll solve this. Please, get out of the pack house quietly, without making any sound, and look after the children. My men will protect you. The investigators from the Alpha Council are on their way.”
“I won’t leave when Draven’s life is hanging by a thread. Howard is going to kill him.” I was desperate.
“I promise you, Luna Caroline, he won’t. But please, I need you all to stay safe. I won’t fail again.” Mathias helped me stand up.
“I am the Luna, and you must listen to me. I’m telling you I won’t leave without Draven.”
Mathias bowed his head in respect. “I’m sorry, Luna Caroline. I understand.”
The nanny Howard had held at gunpoint spoke up in barely a whisper, “Luna Caroline, it was my fault. Howard injected me with something that made my wolf sleep, then put a gun to my head in my car. I’m so sorry.”
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