Forty five

JASON

I almost snorted out loud when Valentine Monarch, the woman who hated my brother more than the devil revealed she was going to be trying the nocturnal knot. I had expected more from this meeting. I was certain Valentine would be too headstrong to swallow her pride and submit. After all, we had done to her, it made sense. Her bravery wouldn't be the thing to spare her and her pack though. I had grievances against the monarch. A personal vendetta to watch everything Valentine's parents built go burn to the ground. I could not do it then. At that time, my hate was directed to only her parents. When Devin and I chose to carry on our parent's legacy and converge all neighboring packs, I saw an opportunity to finish the Monarch. A headstrong Luna too stupid to understand the workings of the society, one who remained trapped in futile anger was perfect. It would give me the excuse I needed to end what I started and no one would bat an eye. I came for war but perhaps I had misjudged Valentine.

"You...accept the mate bond?" I queried. "The same bond you have ignored for many years now. Is that how low you would stoop to survive? What happened to the pride of Lunas I am constantly hearing about?"

Valentine dropped her hands from her face and smiled a little. I recognized spite when I saw one. "I apologize in advance for the crude way I am going to be putting this but an Alpha of your caliber should know better than to listen to rumors. The story changes when it reaches the ears of hundreds. Doesn't it?"

"So Lunas don't have pride?" I teased, hoping she would break. The damned elders of her pack probably forced her into this. The mere sight of them made my stomach churn. I hated that they could breathe, drink and leave. They were accomplices to my parents' death. They knew everything their former Alpha planned to do and they went along with it. If I could reach out to that rational part Valentine had managed to shut off, maybe, just maybe she would be overwhelmed. She would take it all back and I could finally slaughter every breathing thing that had an affiliation to Monarch. The rush of my hopes just coming to fruition made my wolf mad.

"I have no idea what you have heard Jason," She drawled on my name like she wanted to piss me off and goddess, was it working. "But I am not like other Lunas. I don't have an Alpha by my side yet. I didn't grow up proper and I am sure as hell pride only comes in when you have a choice. As degrading as it sounds, I want to live and I want my pack to survive while keeping its name so I went for the loophole. The Monarch wouldn't have to merge with the Crow if we are already relations."

I glanced over at Devin. He did not have time for my antics. The mate bond was already making a fool out of him. He could barely keep his lustful gaze away from Valentine. I looked back at my future sister-in-law. There was a condescending smile plastered on her face. It was almost as if she believed she had won. It reminded me of her parents. That was all she ever reminded me of. Was that why the moon goddess chose her in the first place? Was she aware I would be unable to let go of the hate I had for the Monarch and would probably seek for its ruin if she hadn't paired my brother with Valentine?

"That is true. But what if that factor became non-existent. What if I asked my brother to reject you here and now? What other cards could you play?" My keen eyes caught the hair on her skin prick up as her heart went erratic. But it was only for a minute. In mere seconds, Valentine had become the cold and collected bitch who walked into the room before. I suspected Devin had something to do with it. Despite the hate they both were supposed to have, they both refused to shut off the mind link.

Valentine coughed to gain my attention. "Before today, I have tried many times to convince your brother to get rid of this cursed bond that we share, and many times, he has refused me. Trust me, if you can get into his skull and convince him to reject me, I will be more than grateful."

"I'm sure you will," I muttered just before the mobile in my pockets vibrated. I withdrew it and looked at the caller ID. Axel. I poked my head back at the people seated at the table. They seemed to notice my anxiety and I had extreme difficulty managing it. If Axel was calling, that meant he had something important to tell me about Olamide. "Excuse me," I said, immediately heading for the door.

Once I was outside, the call had already ended. I noticed that this wasn't the first time Axel was calling. He had called a good thirty minutes before and it had managed to completely elude me. I hit the phone application and proceeded to call him.

"Hello Axel, what's wrong?"

"She's in danger," Axel whispered. "Sofiane found her. He's going to kill her."

All of my five senses went numb. The thought circling my mind was extremely sickening. It ranged from fear to unbidden rage. That bastard, I croaked. "Where are you?" I demanded."Why aren't you protecting her?"

"Wentworth... he stabbed me...Silver... I don't think I'll make it..."

Wentworth? That was a ton of space to cover. I would never find them on time. I needed more information and fast. Axel was dying and he was the only link I had to find Olamide and ensuring that Sofiane did not go unpunished. I had done my time. If Sofiane did anything as much as dare to hurt a hair on Olamide's head, I would kill him.

"Where in Wentworth?" I asked, shutting my eyes immediately to find Axel's consciousness. I wasn't even sure if he was still awake but I found it. Axel was still alive but barely. As I peeked through his unstable eyes, I could pick out a fuzzy view of the forest. They were somewhere in the forest. Axel looked to his side and I noticed a huge black gate. It looked vaguely familiar. The scene was grainy but I eventually registered what the letters wreathed in with the gates said.

Axel's breath came in slow and jagged. "Wentworth memorial."