“Check footage from previous days,” he instructed.
The building staff complied, and what they uncovered was startling. The same car had entered the garage three days earlier-and never left.
Late at night, a man wearing a black hat exited the car carrying a box. He breezed past security, went upstairs, returned, and then remained in the garage.
The footage clearly showed him heading to the eighteenth floor.
When officers questioned the resident on that floor-a young woman-she gasped in recognition.
“That’s the chef who brought my late-night food!” she exclaimed.
“Do you have his number or any contact info?” an officer asked urgently.
She shook her head. “No, I don’t. My friend placed the order for me. Usually, deliveries go through the front desk, but my friend said this chef was particular about food temperature. He insisted on delivering it personally, so I let him in.”
Uneasy glances passed among everyone present. This woman had unwittingly compromised the entire building’s security.
“Your friend’s name?” the officer pressed.
“Judy Ward,” she replied.
The stunned silence that followed was almost deafening. Judy Ward-as in Shadow Pack. Celina’s sister.
The police immediately mobilized toward the Shadow Pack compound while I called Alpha Sebastian with the latest information.
“It was that car,” I said, breathless. “It’s been sitting in the garage for three days. Shadow Pack orchestrated this-Judy Ward, Celina’s sister.”
Alpha Sebastian’s voice dropped to a chilling coldness. “If it had been Blood Moon Pack, there might be hope. But Shadow Pack… this is serious.”
He continued, “Use your position as Celina’s attorney. Go public on social media now. Demand the Ward family and Celina release her. Claim we have evidence. Make it viral-let the internet rage.”
“I’m on it,” I replied without hesitation.
After hanging up, I immediately recorded a video statement, leveraging the social media influencers and PR contacts we’d recently engaged. Within minutes, the video exploded online-people had been desperate for updates on this scandal.
Alpha Sebastian saw my post and used the Silver Peak Pack’s official account to publicly condemn Shadow Pack’s actions. He threatened to sever all business ties between Silver Peak and Shadow Pack permanently if Celina was harmed.
The battle lines were drawn, and the fight to bring Celina home had only just begun.
Sebastian
Our car jerked to a sudden halt, immediately pulling my focus. The tension in the air thickened.
“Alpha Sebastian!” Lian’s voice dropped into a sharp whisper, his usual calm professionalism cracking for the very first time this evening. “Is that the vehicle ahead? Is that the one?”
I leaned closer to the tinted window, narrowing my eyes to get a better look. Just fifty feet in front of us sat a sleek black sports car, its license plate unmistakably matching the one we’d been tracking.
“Stay composed. Keep tailing them,” I ordered, deliberately keeping my tone steady and controlled. Years of experience as Alpha had taught me that panic was contagious-and in moments like this, it could ruin everything. “Don’t get too close. Maintain a safe distance.”
“Yes, Alpha Sebastian,” Lian responded, his fingers tightening on the steering wheel as he gradually picked up speed.
I quickly sent Harlow a message with our current location. She would coordinate with the police-official channels mattered when we were in human territories. Meanwhile, I dispatched Tang ahead as backup. Inside my mind, my wolf, Soren, paced restlessly, sensing the danger surrounding my mate.
[She’s ours to protect,] Soren growled fiercely. [If they’ve hurt her-]
[Focus,] I replied silently, though beneath my calm exterior, a dangerous anger was simmering.
After fifteen tense minutes of following, the black car veered into a gated residential community. Our vehicle couldn’t enter without raising suspicion.
“This is-” Lian’s eyes widened in recognition. “This is Celina’s old home!”
I stared out at the familiar wrought-iron gates, my expression hardening like stone. Alpha Xavien’s residence. The place where he and Celina had lived during their marriage.
Without hesitation, I pulled out my phone and dialed Alpha Xavien’s number. My patience had finally run dry.
–
Celina
The acrid stench of gasoline clawed at my senses, dragging me awake with a violent jolt. The sharp, foul scent burned my nostrils and churned my stomach.
It was everywhere-soaking my clothes, my hair, even my skin. Slowly, I forced my heavy eyelids open, confusion giving way to a cold, creeping horror as I took in my surroundings.
[This is our living room. Our home. Xavier’s and mine.]
Even in the dim light, I recognized the floor-to-ceiling windows, the carefully arranged furniture, the exact spot where the door stood. Four years living here had etched every detail into my memory.
Panic surged as I tried to move, only to find myself utterly restrained-duct tape binding my wrists and ankles, another strip sealing my mouth. My limbs felt like lead, unresponsive to my desperate will. Some kind of drug must be coursing through my veins. My mind was clearing, but my body remained a prison.
The sharp click of high heels on hardwood floors pulled my attention toward the doorway. A small figure approached, settling beside me on the sofa. Though her face was blurred in the shadows, I knew immediately who it was.
Cira Wynn.
I stopped struggling, straightening my back as much as the restraints allowed. If this was the end, I refused to show fear.
“I’ve been waiting three whole days to catch you,” Cira said, her voice deceptively sweet but laced with something deeply wrong. She flicked a lighter open and closed, the small flame flickering dangerously close to my gasoline-soaked clothes. “Three. Whole. Days.”
She stepped closer, and in the brief flicker of firelight, I saw her face contort into something almost monstrous.
Gone was the cheerful girl Xavien once chose over me. Standing before me now was a woman clearly unraveling at the seams.
“Scared?” she taunted, waving the flame teasingly near my face like a cruel game. “Don’t be. It’ll only hurt for a little while. Then you’ll be nothing but ashes. And Xavien-he’ll puke when he sees you like that. What a way to end, huh?”
Her laughter rang out, high-pitched and unhinged, bouncing off the walls like shards of broken glass-sharp, chaotic, and terrifying. She wasn’t just angry; she was lost to madness.
Suddenly, she yanked the tape from my mouth with a harsh rip. I gasped, pain flaring as she grabbed my jaw roughly, forcing me to meet her wild gaze.
“Let’s make a deal,” she whispered, eyes gleaming. “Bark like a dog. Beg me. Make me laugh, and maybe I’ll let you live.”
I met her stare, cold and steady, and said nothing.
Inside, my heart hammered wildly, my hands trembled, but I knew begging wouldn’t save me. She had already made up her mind-there would be no mercy.
Her expression twisted in fury. She slapped me hard across the face, the sting burning, but I remained silent.
“You won’t beg? Fine!” she shouted. “Then I’ll have someone hurt you first, tear you to pieces, and burn you alive in this house!”
She yanked my hair fiercely, pulling my head back again. Her mood shifted so abruptly it made my skin crawl.
“I’m giving you a chance!” she hissed, breath ragged. “Just bark. It won’t hurt. It’s nothing. Just do it!”
I stared into her wild, unhinged eyes and spoke clearly, my voice low but unwavering.
“Murder is a crime. If you kill me, you’ll spend the rest of your life in prison. Is that what you want?”
She froze, clearly caught off guard by my calm defiance. She had expected tears, pleading, begging. My silence enraged her further.
Slaps rained down on my face, one after another, until blood filled my mouth and my skin went numb from the pain.
“I’m going to kill you,” she hissed, her hot breath ghosting over my ear. “I’ll torture you until you wish you were dead. Yes, murder is illegal, but who can prove I did it? I’ve erased every trace. The whole world might suspect me, but without proof, what can they do?”
She straightened, her voice turning dreamy. “After this, your husband will be mine. Everything that belonged to you will belong to me. We’ll rebuild on the ashes of your tragic death. We’ll marry, have children, live happily ever after.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at her delusion. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll become a vengeful spirit haunting you?”
“If you turn into a ghost,” she snarled, “I’ll find a shaman to trap your soul. I’ll make you watch Xavien and me in bed together. I’ll force you to see me take everything that was once yours.”
“You’re so incredibly clich?,” I replied flatly.
Her response was another brutal blow to my face. When she finally stopped, breathing heavily, she stepped back.
“Celina,” she said thoughtfully. “Are you stalling for time? Hoping someone will come to your rescue?”
She laughed-a brittle, shattering sound like breaking glass. “Don’t dream. No one will save you tonight. No one even knows you’re here. By the time they find you, you’ll have killed yourself-I’ve even written your note.”
She flicked the lighter open again. “No more games. I’m sending you on your way now.”
The flickering flame reflected in her eyes as she savored the fear and desperation she assumed I wore. With a dramatic flourish, she tossed the lighter upward…
In that split second, a surge of survival instinct shattered the drug’s hold on me. I lurched forward, tumbling from the sofa to the floor.
But it wasn’t enough. The lighter was still falling, destined to ignite the gasoline-soaked carpet-and me along with it.
I closed my eyes, swallowed by despair.
I never imagined I would die because of Xavien’s betrayal. If ghosts were real, I would become one-and my first haunting would be for him.
This was all his fault.
Cira waited eagerly for the flames to engulf me.
But the expected crack of the lighter hitting the floor never came. Nor did the rush of heat from the gasoline igniting.
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