Chapter 88

~Alistair~

“Alistair, Alistair,” I heard Eliana’s voice call.

My eyelashes fluttered, as I slowly opened my eyes, blinking it rapidly to know exactly where I was and why the wind was blowing, so much that I felt really cold and frozen. I wanted to rub my eyes with my fingers, but I realised that I couldn’t lift my hands.

By the time I looked down, I realised that I was chained, and that’s why I couldn’t do anything with my hands. Not only was I chained, someone else was chained with me.

Immediately, I looked up and saw that Eliana and I had been chained side-by-side. She looked at me, with an expression that showed how concerned she was.

I wondered if I was still sleeping, and was only dreaming, because this didn’t seem real. Why was I chained and who could have been responsible for such? I shut my eyes tightly, then after a few seconds, I opened them, and saw that I was still bound to Eliana.

“What...What’s happening?” I asked, in surprise.

“Don’t you remember?” I heard Garrett ask, and when I turned towards the direction of his voice, I saw him sitting at another end, chained to Carrie, who seemed tired and weak.

That was when I travelled down memory lane, and suddenly, the events that had taken place began to flood my mind. Sam had been driving, and had sprayed something which had made us all dizzy. He had been taking us to see Ian, just like Jenny had commanded.

“Ian. Where is Ian?” I yelled, remembering that my son was in grave danger, since he was in the custody of an obvious psychopath and lunatic, Jennifer Stuart.

“Ian is over there,” Eliana said, gesturing at where he was with her neck.

I looked at where she had directed her neck, and saw that Ian was tied to a chair with a rope, and his mouth was gagged. I also realised that we had been placed on the roof of a very tall old and abandoned building, in a quiet area.

There was no one in sight, neither were there cars or buildings. It was a desolate area, which was the perfect spot to commit any crime without getting caught. Perhaps, some people still passed by the area if they wanted a shorter route to their destination, but that wasn’t certain just yet.

Worst still, it was dawn, and it was going to take a while before the sun came up, and since it looked like it was going to rain because of the wind that kept blowing, and scattering dust and dirt all around, even if anyone wanted to pass by, it was going to take a while. Even if we were to cry and shout for help, no one was going to hear our cries. I didn’t even know where we were, and all I knew was that we were done for. It was all over for us.

Ian had been tied close to the edge of the roof, and he could easily fall from the building with a little push. The thought of that terrified me, and I wondered how he was able to hold up despite the fact that he was just a little child. “Ian, can you hear me?” I asked, feeling really helpless.

He nodded his head, in the affirmative.

“I’m coming to save you, okay? Daddy will save you, I promise,” I said.

“You may want to refrain from making promises that you can’t keep,” I heard Jenny say.

I looked up, and saw her stride in, with a triumphant smile on her face, and a pistol in her hand. She was putting on jean shorts, a black tank top matched with a black leather jacket, and a pair of black boots, and looked really like a badass bitch.

Just when I had thought I was finally having my happy ending, she just had to come out of nowhere and make my life a mess. Not only had she taken Ian hostage, she had kidnapped her own brother and his wife, and my soon-to-be bride. If I could get a hold of her, I wasn’t going to let her go so easily ever again.

“Why are you filled with so much anger and bitterness, Alistair Duke? Is that any way to feel when you’re just seeing an old friend for the first time in six years? Anyways, irrespective of how you feel, I truly am delighted to see you after all this time. Long time no see,” She said, flipping her bluish pink tinted hair.

“It’s really been a while. You’ve changed so much,” I said, trying hard to curtail my anger.

“Six years is too long to not change, won’t you agree? Meanwhile, your beards look good,” She said.

“Thank you. Your hair looks good, too. In fact, this whole dressing suits you better than the shirt and skirt you were always putting on in the past, which was all so deceiving. Your new style is a reflection of who you truly are,” I said.

“And what am I truly?” She inquired.

“A mean bitch, A psychopath, an evil manipulator, a backstabber, and a betrayer,” I responded, glaring at her.

She scoffed. “And I thought we were on the verge of becoming friends again,” She said.

“That’s never going to happen, Jennifer. Perish that thought,” I said, with clenched teeth.

“Aww. You even call me Jennifer now. I must admit though; that kind of hurts,” She said.

“If you still want to be called a pet name, you would release my friends and family right now,” I said, in a firm tone.

“And if I don’t?” She retorted, wearing a sly smile.

“If you don’t, I’ll make you regret the day you met me,” I said.

“Oh, please. Stop making empty threats. You and I know that you’re not in a position to do that,” She said, with a broken laughter.

I rolled my eyes, getting increasingly annoyed and irritated by her. I felt like ripping apart her throat, so that she could never ever laugh again. She was just out of her mind, and was taking her frustration on everyone else, including a little child who had done no wrong to her, and I couldn’t understand it at all.

“Why are we here?” Garrett asked, looking even more annoyed than I was.

“You’re here to witness someone’s death,” She said.

“I’ll be pleased if it’s your death you’re speaking of,” Eliana said, growing more angry with each passing second.

“Unfortunately, it’s not my death you’re going to be witnessing here today. I had hoped for a dramatic suspense before revealing who is going to be dying, but I am too excited to keep it in any longer. Your son, Ian is going to die, and you’re going to watch him fall to his death after I shoot him with the silver bullets loaded in this gun,” She explained, giggling like a child.

“No! No, you can't do that!” Eliana asked, breathing hard, as she began to panic.

Jenny began to laugh hysterically. “That’s where you’re wrong, sweetie. I can, and I will,” She said, laughing more and more.

“You’re out of your mind. You’ve lost it completely,” Garrett said.

“You guys should relax. I know Jennifer. She may be anything, but she is definitely not a murderer,” I said, unable to believe what she had said.

She began to laugh in an annoying and irritating manner again, and also scratched her hair multiple times. “Isn’t it funny? Isn’t Alistair funny? Sam, Isn’t Alistair funny?” She asked, and that’s when we all looked back, and saw that Sam has been standing in the doorway, in the shadows.

He strode to where Jenny was, and smiled as she laughed uncontrollably. “He is funny, and also stupid to think that you’ve not changed even after six years,” Sam said.

“Are you still going to keep being an accomplice with her? Can’t you see that she’s out of her mind? She’s obviously not in her right senses, and you’re going to let her kill a six-year-old?” Eliana asked, breathing heavily, even as she trembled.

I was at a loss on what to do. I couldn’t even think properly, and I didn’t have the slightest idea on what I was to do or say. I believed Jenny wanted to have her revenge on us, but I never imagined that that was going to go this far in her quest for revenge.

I heaved a sigh. “Jennifer... no, Jenny, I know that you’re mad and pissed that I had sent you away because of what you did, and I believe that you’re only making empty threats. The Jenny I knew and loved as a friend had been sweet, understanding, caring and loving. Hell! She even took care of a wolf despite the fact that it kept on hurting her, and I know that Jenny is still in there. She would never do anything to hurt a child,” I said.

“Wake up, Alistair. That Jenny you knew has been long dead and buried. Don’t forget she left my innocent wife on the brink of death, not minding how badly it was going to affect me. She has gone crazy, and I’m sure she’s not lying about the fact that she wants your son dead,” Garrett said.

“No, I can’t believe it. People don’t just change like that,” I said, looking at her in utmost shock.

“You’re right, Alistair. People don’t just change, and I didn’t change,” Jenny said.

“You liar!” Eliana yelled.

“Shut the fuck up, and let me finish,” Jenny said, eyeing her fiercely. She then continued, “The truth is that I have always been like this, Alistair, but you failed to see me for who I truly was,” She said.

“How?” I asked, confused by her words.

“Remember when Garrett’s mate died?” She asked.

I nodded my head, in the affirmative, wondering what she was about to say.

“I saw how much Garrett despised the poor girl, and because of the love I have for him, I approached her severally to just accept his rejection in order for him to be free, but she refused. The day she died, I saw Garrett push her in the river and she was swimming back up when he had left. I got the idea that he wouldn’t be obligated to have anything to do with her if she died, and forced her back in the river. I held her head down in the water, as she struggled for her life, and I never let her go till she died,” Jenny confessed.

I could hardly believe my ears.

“What? You killed Becca? I always knew something was fishy about her death. When I pushed her into the river, I did that because I knew every Crimson moon werewolf could swim, and that she wasn’t going to just die. So, it was you who killed her? You watched as I was banished, and you never said a word despite knowing the entire truth. How could you!” Garrett asked, with tears falling from his eyes.

I could understand what he was going through, and I felt immense pain as well. I had never known that she could be so cruel, and unfeeling.

She shrugged. “In my defence, I was helping you get rid of a pest out of the sisterly love I have for you, and if I had confessed, I would have been the one to be banished, or maybe even executed. I’m sorry you had to go through all that, but at least, you were able to meet Carrie and fall in love with her, without being bound to any stupid mate given to you by the moon goddess,” Jenny said.

“You’re talking about the same Carrie you almost killed? You’re evil, Jennifer. I hate the fact that you’re my sister, and guess what? Sorry won’t cut it. I’m never going to forgive you for this,” He yelled.

“She doesn’t deserve to be forgiven, G. I can’t believe you could be so heartless, Jennifer. To think that I thought you were pure and kind,” I said, in distaste.

“You already think that I’m heartless? I wonder what you’ll think if you heard what else I did. Did you know your late parents were planning to change their will and remove you from being their heir?” She asked.

“What? You’re lying,” I accused.

“Well, I’m not. I overheard them saying that the day I had been hiding in your bedroom, and you had been sent to get things from the grocery store. They wanted to succumb to their family’s pressure, and although they were still going to give you a portion of what they had and a position in the company, it was one that could easily have been snatched away from you,” She revealed.

I felt quite hurt, but then, I didn’t share the same blood with them, and wasn’t entitled to anything. “I don’t care. If Uncle Donaldson had decided to walk all over me, I could have easily started something. The Dukes were good to me, and it didn’t matter what their intention was before they died,” I stated.

“Well, it did matter to me. You had put in all your work, time and energy into their business, and they were going to just hand it over to someone who only knew how to give orders and sleep around with various women. You and I know the company would have been in ruins by now if they had been able to go ahead with that plan. They were on their way to see the lawyer, and I messed with the brakes of the car. Voila! They died, and everything became yours,” She said, and began to clap her hands, bursting into a fit of laughter.

For a moment, I was silent, still trying to comprehend the information she had just spilled. “I always said that something was wrong with their deaths, but who I was confiding in, was what was wrong with their deaths. I’m disappointed in you, Jennifer. You never changed. You were always a monster, I was just too blinded to see you for who you truly were,” I said, finally admitting the sad truth.

“Exactly. However, you must know that all I did was just to help the two people I cared about in life,” She explained.

“No one asked for your help!” I yelled at her.

“Yes, no one did, but I helped anyway, out of the goodness of my heart. Now, you all will pay for hurting my feelings and abandoning me when all I have ever done was for your own good. You turned against me, and you’ve all been living well without me, when I think about you every single day! What wrong did I do? Tell me, what was my offence? All I did was love Alistair, and asked to be loved back, and so, I took measures to ensure that. What did I do that was so bad? What?” She yelled.

I could see now that she wasn’t someone who could be reasoned with. It was a good thing that while she had been recounting all her evil deeds, I had used my strength to break Eliana and I out of the chains, without her knowledge.

I stood up immediately, and made a move to grab the gun from her hand while she was distracted, but Sam had been quick enough to notice me, and kicked me in the stomach, making me groan in pain.

She chuckled. “Bold of you to assume that you can try to be a hero and save your son. Well, I guess I’ve said too much. Goodbye, Ian,” She said, pointing the gun at my son, who began to tremble in fear, with tears falling from his eyes.