Chapter 03

Esther’s blood turned to ice. Two days. Two days was all it had taken for him to find them. 

Beta Wesley crossed the road, heading towards her. She dropped the shopping bag, grabbed Arla’s hand and ran. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him in pursuit and made a blind turn down an alleyway. 

Despair shot through Esther as she took in her surroundings and realised the alley was a dead end. The red brick wall of a building was on her left, high wooden fences lined the right-hand side and the back, and a small silver hatchback car was parked halfway down in the centre of the road.

“Arla, run and find somewhere to hide, sweetie,” she said, watching as Arla scurried underneath the silver car.

“Esther, don’t fight,” said Beta Wesley softly. “You know you can’t win. Anton wants Arla returned unharmed, she’ll be safe with me,” he tried to reassure her.

“She’ll be safe with you, but that won’t last once Anton has her. I can’t hand her over to you Wes, please just let us go,” she begged, tears pooling in her eyes as she tried to tamp down the desperation that threatened to overwhelm her.

“If I could, I would, Esther, you know that,” his blue eyes were sad and filled with pain as he looked at his friend, “but I’m here on the Alpha’s command. He wants me to bring Arla home...just Arla.”

The Alpha had given her a death sentence. 

Before she could call forth her beautiful red wolf and shift, Wesley pulled a dagger from his pocket and plunged it deep into her abdomen. The shock rendered her mute, as she clutched her stomach and slid her back down against the car until she was sitting on the ground.

“Arla, come out. It’s time to go,” Wesley shouted, trying to find her hiding spot.

From her position under the car, Arla could see her mother’s feet, and the blood pooling around her. Wesley appeared on the ground behind her, holding the bloodied dagger.

“Get out, come on. I’m not going to hurt you.”

Arla knew there was no way she was going anywhere with this man. She recalled what had happened when she’d knocked out Alpha Anton and decided to try her luck again. She crawled forward towards him, and using her mind, forced the blade out of his hand. 

It clattered and skidded to a stop several metres behind him. He rose from the ground, and Arla again used her power to open the car door forcefully, slamming it into his head as he landed hard on the ground in front of her.

Alpha Lorenzo Montana exited a fancy high rise office building and stepped out onto the footpath, sighing as he looked at the setting sun, realising his meetings with the northern pack Alphas had taken up a lot more of his time than he’d anticipated. 

He caught a glimpse of his reflection in the tall mirrored windows, and ran a hand through his dark brown, almost black hair to try and tame it. He loosened his tie, glancing at his Beta, Drew, happy to note he looked equally weary. Funny how a day of doing nothing but sitting in office chairs and talking could wear you out so much, he thought wryly. 

He’d turned eighteen two months ago, and his father had handed over the reins of the pack to him. Even though he’d been born for the job of Alpha and spent his whole life training for it, he was still adjusting to the workload.

A shiny black SUV pulled up to the kerb in front of them and the window rolled down to reveal Andy and Eli’s bored expressions.

“‘Just a couple of short meetings’ is what you told me, boss,” Eli said, lifting a dark blonde eyebrow that clearly told Lorenzo that he thought he was full of shit.

Lorenzo put his hands in the air in mock surrender. “I know, I know. I’m sorry you had to wait around all day. I should know better by now than to think these meetings are ever short, or easy.”

“Do we still have to go to dinner tonight at Apostle Ridge?” asked Andy, as Lorenzo and Drew climbed into the back seat and Eli started to drive.

“Unfortunately,” replied Drew, frowning, “I’m sure a part of my soul left me, sitting in that room all day. I’m not sure how much more small talk I can manage.”

Lorenzo’s stomach rumbled loudly, and he glanced at the nearby supermarket. “Wait here and I’ll be back in five.”

He’d only just made it to the electronic doors of the supermarket, before a scent he’d never encountered before hit his nostrils, and his honey brown eyes widened in response. Rose and a soft lavender, mixed with a sweet citrus note and a little vanilla. It was intoxicating. 

His wolf, Marcel, who had been napping with the sheer boredom of the day’s events, suddenly jolted awake with awareness inside Lorenzo’s mind.

“Mate!” Marcel shouted with glee. “Find her, follow her!” 

Lorenzo froze in shock. Did he just say mate? He thought.

He knew his wolf would not back down, and he let Marcel surge forward and track the scent, wandering up and down the large aisles of the supermarket before realising the smell was getting weaker. He returned to the front of the shop and back onto the footpath, where the scent was stronger, and started running.

As Lorenzo continued, the scent got stronger, and so did his excitement. Marcel was practically bursting to break free, and Lorenzo had to fight his wolf to retain his human form. He picked up speed, his long, powerful legs hitting the pavement and his muscular arms swinging, pulling his navy blue business shirt tight across his broad chest. He rounded a corner sharply and saw her. 

His chest hammered as he saw his mate slumped against a silver car, bleeding profusely from what appeared to be a fatal wound. Werewolves have the special ability to heal rapidly, but her wound was beyond even the scope of that power. 

He ran to her, taking off his jacket and using it to apply pressure to her abdomen. As he inhaled her scent deeply, confusion set in. He could smell rose, lavender and vanilla, but it was missing the alluring sweet citrus note he’d smelled earlier. This wasn’t his mate.

“Help my daughter. Please,” the woman managed to choke out softly, shakily pointing underneath the vehicle.

Lorenzo lowered himself down. 

“Mate!” Marcel said, relieved and happy.

It was then, Lorenzo spotted her. A young girl with fair skin and long wavy hair so blonde it was almost white, curled up under the middle of the car, cowering in fear and staring at him with the deepest brown eyes he’d ever seen. 

My mate is a child? How can my mate be a child? He thought, completely confused.

“Get out from under there now, before I make you,” came a deep voice from the other side of the car.

Lorenzo saw a hand jut out and roughly grab hold of the girl’s leg, attempting to drag her out. He jumped up, his protective instincts kicking in immediately, and raced behind the car. 

“Let her go!” he bellowed.

“Stay out of it. This has got nothing to do with you. I’m here on my Alpha’s command.”

Lorenzo landed a quick punch, stunning Wesley, who staggered backwards. He retaliated, getting in a swift jab of his own. Lorenzo flinched, but it only gave him more motivation.

“I’m the only Alpha you have to worry about right now.”

Wesley charged, unleashing his wolf's claws as he swung at Lorenzo, attempting to slash his face. Lorenzo evaded the attack easily. This Beta clearly didn’t get the opportunity to fight much. With Wesley momentarily off balance, Lorenzo grabbed him around the shoulders and slammed him into the bodywork of the car, above the front wheel arch.

The impact dented the car severely as Wesley bounced off it onto the road. He was winded, struggling to breathe, and crawling on his hands and knees attempting to get up, leaving a trail of blood behind him.

Lorenzo stood over him and wrapped his large hands around Wesley’s neck. A snap echoed through the alley as Lorenzo let Wesley’s body fall to the ground.

Arla’s scream tore through the air as she ran to her mother and saw her deathly pale face and the blood that covered her. Esther cradled Arla against her, as Lorenzo mind-linked his team that was waiting for him. She then reached out and grabbed him weakly by the arm.

“Please,” she begged. “Please take my daughter. Keep her safe.”

“What’s her name?” he asked.

“Arla. Please, Alpha,” she replied, pleading with her eyes.

“Arla is now in my pack. I promise you, she will be safe with me,” he said, giving Esther’s hand a reassuring squeeze.

“Thank you,” Esther sighed, relief washing over her.

Summoning her last remaining strength, she hugged Arla tight, smoothing a hand over her hair as she cradled her to her chest.

“I love you so much, sweetie,” she said, tears flowing down her face. She leant in closer to whisper softly. “You are a witch as well as a wolf, my little Arla. You must hide it.”

It all suddenly made sense, the swirling power she felt, moving objects with her mind, the energy ball...the way the green-eyed witch had looked at her. Did Alpha Anton know? She thought. Is that why he wanted me brought back?

Esther’s eyelids fluttered closed as she relaxed her hold around her daughter. Arla noticed her mother’s breathing had slowed and she could no longer tell if her chest was rising and falling. Panic set in and she cried out.

“Don’t go. Please. I love you.” Huge sobs wracked her petite body.

By now, Drew had arrived, along with Eli and Andy. 

“We should get moving, boss,” Drew interrupted quietly to Lorenzo. “It wouldn’t be safe to linger too long.”

“Why don’t you and Drew drive the girl home in the SUV? Andy and I will clean up here and organise our own way back,” suggested Eli. 

“No! I can’t leave my mum,” Arla shouted, squirming and kicking in Lorenzo’s arms as he picked her up gently from her mother’s lap and carried her to the car.

Drew hopped in the driver’s seat and started the engine, while Lorenzo sat in the back next to Arla, an arm gently wrapped around her to offer some sort of reassurance. As they continued to drive into the night, her harsh sobs turned into small sniffles the further she leaned into his side. 

He couldn’t deny that he was taking just as much comfort from her presence as she was from him. His wolf, who had howled constantly when she was distressed, was content now that his touch had calmed her, and relaxed even more every time he inhaled her delicate scent. 

Arla knew she should be afraid of this enormous man next to her. He was a stranger who she’d just witnessed kill someone, but in this moment she couldn’t feel afraid.

“What’s your name?” she asked softly, lifting her head to look up at him.

“You can call me Lorenzo.”

“Alpha Lorenzo,” Drew interjected, glancing briefly at Lorenzo in the rearview mirror. “And I’m Beta Drew. Nice to meet you, Arla.”

“Am I safe?” she questioned, still looking up at Lorenzo.

“You’re safe with me,” he reassured her.

Somehow she knew he meant it, and as the car bumped along the highway, making her eyelids heavy, she gave in to sleep.