Chapter 20
CASPIAN.
“I’m here for Andrea. I want her back in my territory once she turns eighteen. Or, if you’d rather send her away now, I’ll be glad to take her with me today.”
Riley talked as if he was asking for a toy to be returned to his playhouse. And it irritated the shit out of me.
I chuckled as I leaned my ass on my desk, crossing my arms against my torso. “What made you think I would allow her to leave this place? This is her pack. She stays here.”
“I guess she didn’t tell you yet.” He crossed his arms across his chest as he stood in the middle of my office. Arrogant fucker!
“Tell me what?” My brows furrowed as my eyes scrutinized him.
Was he going to point out that he was Andrea’s boyfriend and that he would claim her once she turned eighteen?
Well, fuck him! I won’t give her up easily.
“Andrea is betrothed to me. And I want to have a Luna ceremony for her once she turns eighteen.”
“So what if she was betrothed to you? I’m sure she can change her mind anytime she wants, because the last time I checked,
she didn’t want to leave this place and go with you.”
I was lying. Andrea told me last night that she has Riley. It only meant she wanted to be with him, but I would never give him the pleasure of knowing that.
“Andrea is betrothed to me through a blood pact. Something you can’t do anything about.” He smirked after he said those words, and then the realization hit me.
A low growl escaped my throat as my breath hitched. “I don’t believe you.”
No. He was lying: The fucker was lying.
“Ask Andrea. She’s aware of the blood pact between our fathers.”
“Between your fathers?” I scoffed while my eyes started to dilate into black while the fucker was just smirking in front of me. “Andrea gets to decide who she wants to end up with. Not you! Or your fathers! Do you fucking hear me?”
“I hear you loud and clear, Caspian. But regardless of what your thoughts are, it won’t matter. A blood pact is a blood pact. Or you can go to the council and explain your side if you want to stop me from taking her once she turns eighteen.”
“Fuck you! I want to see the contract!”
“No.”
“Fuck, yes! I want to see the contract, or you won’t be seeing her for the rest of your fucking life!” My wolf was asking to be let out and I was fucking tempted to let Zion out.
“No! You have nothing to do with this blood pact!”
“I’m her fucking guardian! Unless you’re hiding something, show me the damn contract!”
“Whether you see it or not, nothing will change. Andrea is mine.” His voice was full of confidence, and I was slowly losing control.
“Yours? It wasn’t your name she was moaning…” And I think I hit it big this time.
The next thing I knew, Alpha Riley was lunging at me as I dodged his attack and moved my body to the other side.
His body slammed into my oakwood table. It didn’t take long for him to pick himself up before he lunged at me again, but this time I was ready to attack back. I leaped into the air and coiled my arms around his, pulling his body to the side of the room straight into the big window.
Our bodies smashed against the window as we fell to the ground outside, not minding the debris of glass all around us a s we continued to attack each other.
“Keep your fucking hands off her!” He was growling and I could feel the anger rising from his aura, but it was nothing compared to the hatred surging from my body.
I wanted Andrea, but never in my life would I push myself into her if she didn’t feel anything for me.
She needed to choose who she wanted to end up with. And I would never give Riley the privilege of taking that away from her.
I wiped the blood off the side of my mouth before smirking at him, trying to mask my real emotion. There was no way I would let him have the last laugh. “I think you better tell Andrea that…”
And he was flying directly at me again.
I didn’t know how we ended up at the front of the packhouse o r who was giving the most punches. My body was fighting with Riley, but my mind was with Andrea.
Everything was making sense now. Her fear, her desire, and the way she talked about Riley as if he didn’t matter to her.
She never wanted him. And I would make sure he would never get her.
My claws and fangs were already out as I prepared to attack him when strong arms grabbed my body from my behind. I hissed and snapped my head to the intruder and saw my Beta, holding me with his outstretched arms. His eyes were dilating into black as he attempted to restrain me.
My eyes flew to Riley. He was being held by his Beta as my Gamma stood in the middle, with his arms stretched between u
“Take them out to the border. They will not be allowed entrance into our territory, as well as any members of their pack. That’s an order.” I told my Beta, my chest heaving while my eyes were still fixed on Riley.
“Keep your fucking hands off Andrea, or you will regret the fucking day you were born!” Riley was sending a threat, but I have more important things on my mind than cowering to his words.
“I want a copy of the damn blood pact!” I spat at him, and I felt my Beta’s body stiffen beside me. Did he know something?
Riley snickered as he smoothened his destroyed shirt. “Not going to happen. I want to see Andrea before I leave.”
“Not going to happen.” I shrugged my Beta’s hands off of me before saying my instructions again. “Take Carlos with you, make sure they’re completely off the territory before you come back here.”
“I’m not leaving without seeing Andrea.”
“You won’t see her unless you have the contract with you. Now get the fuck out of here!” I growled at him as I walked towards the steps of the packhouse, turning around just to see him slide inside my Beta’s car.
I didn’t know how long I had been sitting on the floor, my back against the cold wall, looking at the broken window
inside my office.
My mind totally went blank after Riley and his Beta left.
A blood pact.
There has to be a way out. And I knew it was the reason Riley didn’t want me to see the contract. He was hiding something. I won’t stop until I get to the bottom of this. I would never let Andrea enter this union unless she wanted to.
I stood up from sitting down just as my office door opened.
“I’m sorry I didn’t knock, Alpha. I was in a hurry to check on you.” Beta Paul explained as soon as he entered the office followed by Gamma Carlos.
I nodded in response as I pointed to the window. “Have someone fix this today.”
He nodded his head and gave instructions to Carlos before the latter left.
“What do you know about the blood pact?” I asked him as soon as the Gamma was out of the room.
“I just found out today. Andrea told me while you were talking with Alpha Riley.”
“She’s awake?”
“Yes.”
“How is she?”
“Crying. She doesn’t want to be mated with Riley. We need to d o something to help her out of that blood pact.”
“That’s what I was trying to do. There must be a way out of it.”
“She asked Riley and he told her there was no way out of it.”
I scoffed and punched the wall beside me, leaving a dent on it. “Of course, he would say that. But I don’t trust Riley. I will go t o his territory and demand a copy of the blood pact.”
“We need to move fast, she’s turning eighteen in less than two weeks.”
“I know. I need to talk with her.”
“She’s not in her room.”
“What?”
“She went out as soon as I told her Riley was out of the territory. She wanted to breath fresh air.”
“And where is she headed?”
“Hillside. The meadow beside it.”
My meadow. I have never taken her there since it was my personal place but Alia has shown her that place before.
“Is there anything I need to know between the two of you?” I asked Paul, my brow hiking up.
“Are you jealous?” He snickered, and I found myself gritting my teeth.
“I’m not the enemy here. I just want to look after Andrea,” Paul said before he let out a deep sigh. His eyes were flaring with pain. “She told me she had never talked about it to anyone before. She was alone and scared. And she didn’t know i fthere would be someone who would help her. I told her, I would help her. You and I, we’ll help her.”
“Do you know why she didn’t tell me? Is it because she still hated me after all these years?”
“You should talk to her. She can explain it better.”
I nodded my head before I headed to the cabinet that held extra clothes in my office and pulled out a new shirt, discarding the broken one that I had on me before putting it o
“I will look for her. Can you call Alpha Marco, head of the council, and request a phone meeting with him as soon as possible? It doesn’t matter what time he’s available, take it. I can adjust. I need to ask about blood pacts and the validity of that.”
After I left instructions for my Beta, I jumped out of the broken window and headed for the forest line facing the southern end of the territory where the hillside was located.
As soon as I was inside the forest, I took off my clothes and threw them behind a tree. I didn’t need to carry anything with me since I always kept clothes in the meadow.
I shifted and let Zion lead the way as we ran. Although the place could be reached by walking, I wanted to be there in no time.
Time is ticking. And I didn’t want to waste any of it.
The moment I reached the meadow, her scent swirled around me.
Zion’s nose could pick up any smell, even from a distance, and it made it easier for me when I was hunting prey or rogues. But today was different, I was hunting the female I wasn’t ready to let go yet.
I let Zion follow her scent until we found her, sitting in the middle of the colorful flower bed, her face tilted up to the sun with her eyes closed. She was basking in the warmth of the sunshine around her, despite the sadness on her face.
Zion made his way behind a tree and shifted back into my human form as I grabbed the clothes I had placed there, putting them on as fast as I could.
I slowly walked to where she was, trying my best not to make any noise. I was already beside her, sitting with my knees pulled up and my elbows resting on them when she flipped her eyes open and snapped her head to look at me.
Our eyes met, and for a second, I saw relief flash in hers before it turned into sadness as her eyes started to water.