Draven's POVEven Strix perked up when he heard Alex's question. Emma only had Natalie and this guy in the name of friends, it was really concerning if she was not with either of them.I replied, “No, I am unable to find her.”“What!” His voice raised, “Where are you? Did you check in the hospital?”“I am in the hospital with her Senior Doctor. Apparently, she went back home early in the morning.”“I don't have a good feeling about this. Especially after what she told me last night.”“What happened last night?” I furrowed my eyebrows.Alex seemed hesitant to talk about it over the phone, so I reassured him, “You can tell me. It's safe.”He hushed his voice and said, “Emma was right. It was not an accident, someone was indeed trying to kill her.”“What?” My whole body went numb, and I couldn't think of another thought.Did he just say that someone was trying to kill Emma?I went to a scheduled corner where no one could hear me speak. I asked, “What do you mean someone tried to kill her
Draven's POVI did not explain further or wait for him to say anything, I just hung up and stepped on the gas pedal. I was driving across the highway, jumped every single traffic light and even edged a few accidents but made it to the pack house in just the right minutes.I did not even bother to park the car and left it right in the corridor. I marched into my office where the charge and staff of the security department were waiting for me.“Alpha.” They greeted me nervously.I sat down on my chair and said, “Play the footage of 4 am of every single surveillance camera near West Wing Hospital.”“On it.” The incharge tapped a few times on his laptop and the screen of the television in my cabin lit up. “There are four cameras around that area, Alpha. And this is the footage of the time you requested.” The incharge explained to me and played the video.Not even two minutes into the video, I could see Emma's frail frame walking alone on the road. The door of my cabin was pushed open a
Emma's POVI don't know how long it's been since I have been left alone here. It feels like it's been a whole day already but the brightly lit sky told me that it was hardly close to being afternoon.I sighed and tried to call the men again, “Hey! Anyone in here?”My words got lost as if they were some needles thrown in the stack of hay. I tried to break loose again and in the process, accidently knocked off an old mirror which was hanging on the other side of the iron grill to which my chair was tied.“What on Earth are you doing in here, woman?” One of the men, whose name was Bradley, pushed open the door. He had a bottle of beer in his hand. No wonder he was pissed, I interrupted their drinking session.“I am sorry. It just fell.”He checked the broken mirror and clicked his tongue in annoyance. He kept the half-empty beer bottle on the floor and picked up the broom to sweep the broken mirrors, “Dumb bitch.”I furrowed my eyebrows, “Hey, who are you calling a bitch?”“You.” He sai
Emma's POVIt was not just torture, it was inhumane. Everyone knows how brutal the human trafficking industry can be!I asked, “Why would they do that to me? What did I even do to them?”I felt tears sting my eyes. As far as I am sound and aware, I have never harmed anyone and even if I did, it was unintentional. Why would anyone want to do such an inhumane thing to me?The kidnappers shrugged, “We honestly don't know what kind of grudge this person is holding against you.”“Do you at least know who it is?”The men looked at each other, they were hesitant.I said, “Guys, this person hates me and there is no way I am making out of here alive. I am not going to rat you out. I deserve to at least know the identity of the person who is destroying my life, right?”There is no one other than that assassin who is after my life. This too should be one of his work! We have been standing across each other for almost seven years now, it would be a shame if I die without even knowing who this per
Emma's POVArgh…I opened my eyes and looked around, the back of my head felt numb as if it had been hit. I touched my forehead and noticed that I was bleeding. I perked up in my seat only to stumble and fall on my face when the vehicle hit a pothole.“Ahhh.” I cried, attracting the attention of Rico who was next to me.“Oh, see. The runner is up.” As soon as he said it, Bradley, who was driving the car, looked at me through the rearview mirror.I asked, “Why am I bleeding?”“You tried to run. What else do you suppose us to do? You got hit while we caught you.” Rico explained calmly.I touched my wound again and hissed, even though it was bleeding it was not that bad and could be fixed with just a bandage.I looked around the car and asked, “Where are we going?”“We told the initiator about your little attempt to run. They determined that it would be risky to hold you any longer and asked us to carry out the already decided plan.” Bradley said.“Already decided plan?” My pupils dilate
Emma's POVI ran down the forest like a headless chicken, I had no idea where I was going or what I was doing. I could hear the men screening through the forest for me. They must be hunter-wolves as they were able to track down my scent even from afar.The deeper I went into the forest the more I started to panic.Where was I?How far till I reach the road?Will I end up getting captivated again?At this point, my ankle was bleeding heavily and I could not think straight. My vision was starting to blur because of exhaustion and my chest was heaving as if I had put a stone over it.I hadn't eaten since last night and my stomach was rumbling. I could feel the sugar level in my body fall down to the pits of hell.I can't do it anymore!I was on the verge and I did not have the strength in me to continue anymore.I did not know how long I had been running but it felt endless. The branches of the canopies were starting to haunt me and the roots seemed to drag me back to where I had started
Draven's POVMy mind was constantly shutting down since I found out that Emma was missing but I had to hold myself together. If I break down, who is going to find her?I found myself driving around the city aimlessly, I was restless and anxious thinking about her. How would she be? Is she safe?I wanted to find her right now but had no clue where those men took her.Suddenly, I found myself unable to drive around any further. I stopped in the middle of the road, remorse and guilt making it impossible for me to breathe. It was all my fault!I was so invested in hating on her that I totally forgot to take care of her. Only if I took her words seriously and investigated into this issue, they might not have had the opportunity to kidnap her.What do I do now?I had never realized how much I loved Emma until now. When she was with me, I treated her poorly and always wanted her to disappear from the face of Earth but now that I lost her, I am scared that I won't ever be able to see her aga
Draven's POVAt first, I could not believe my eyes that it was her. I had a million But when I saw her lying on the road, I lost control over myself and ran towards her.Her eyes were closed and she was lying there unmoving. There was blood oozing out of a wound on her forehead and ankle and various cuts on her body. Her t-shirt was soaking with sweat and there were leaves stuck in her hair. Her ankles were red and swollen, it looked like she had been running through the forest.I called out her name, unable to contain myself anymore. I was scared, I was genuinely horrified to see her in this condition. I was in a state of mind where a million things were running inside my head but at the same time, I was not able to process any of those thoughts.Luckily, she responded and opened her tightly shut eyes. When she responded to me calling her name, my heart skipped a beat in happiness. I was just relieved to see that she was alright.There was not a single thought behind those eyes, they
Emma's POVI hung up on the call and texted Alex, asking him to meet me after the festival. The man replied with a thumbs up instantly and asked me where the kids were. I told him that Robin already took the kids and asked him to head to the venue directly.As soon as I hit send, I heard a knocking on my door. The housekeeper was coming out of the kitchen to open it but I asked her to stop.I knew it was Draven at the door; I almost stood up to open the door but changed my mind at the last minute. I did not feel like opening it so I laid back on the sofa and started scrolling my phone. I heard the knocking on the phone again, this time more intense than last time. He was getting pissed! “Good!” I thought to myself and nuzzled on the couch, enjoying the videos.Ten minutes later….I looked at the clock and finally stood up from the couch. I took leisurely steps towards the door and opened it to be greeted by Draven's furious face.“What took you so long?” He asked, holding himself ba
Emma's POVAfter sending away the kids, I went back to my room to do some final touch-ups. I was ready, all I had to do now was wait for Draven to come pick me up.I dragged my long dress down the stairs and decided to wait for him on the stairs. I made my routine call to a member from each department and made sure that everything was going smoothly. Thankfully, it was! No disputes, no malfunctions, no last minute crisis.I closed my eyes and laid back on the couch. Just then my phone buzzed, I checked the notification not expecting anything but as soon as I saw the name of the sender, my eyebrows loosened.“Hey, doll. Looking pretty in that dress.” Xavier, from whom I hadn't heard for almost ten days, texted me out of nowhere. I immediately sat up straight and called him.He answered my call on the very first ring. “A direct call? Seems like someone missed me a lot.” He licked his lips and teased me over the call.“Xavier! Where the hell were you? I thought you were dead.” I complai
Emma's POVThe next day…“Mom, can I stay back?” Ashel asked as I was looking in the mirror, trying to put on my eyeliner.I asked, “Why, sweetie? I thought you were excited for the festival.”“I was but I am not anymore.” He pulled the bow in his dress and sulked at me, “What kind of dress is this?”For the festival, men and women are required to wear the traditional clothing of werewolf culture. Women had dreamy outfits as the main attire consisted of a flowing, floor-length gown made from luxurious fabrics such as silk or velvet. The gown is typically a pale, shimmering colour, such as ivory, silver, or pale blue. They were required to pair it with a headdress, decorated with extensive decorations. As for the men, they were required to wear Habit à la française, which as you can see, looked ridiculous. Imagine being an apex hunter and showing up in balloon pants and a bow.Asher did not know that there would be a dress code. He only found out two days ago when the dress was deliv
Emma's POVwas not expecting him to ask this question all of a sudden and did not have an answer for it. I stared at him, blinking blankly as I tried to come up with an answer.The dynamics…How did I forget about the dynamics between us? We are a couple going through a divorce. Today does not typically happen, how am I supposed to handle it?Draven stepped closer and asked, “You seem to have forgotten that we have applied for a divorce, Emma. I am fighting for custody of our children. I forced you to come to the festival.”His voice was as dark as his eyes and haunted me. I could feel the colours draining off my face as fear overtook my expressions.He growled, “Think about it, do you still want to be next to me? Don't you want to run away?” He took a step towards me and I involuntarily backed off. This caused him to stop and smirk, “Thought so.”He stepped back and turned to leave, welling me with guilt. “Draven, stop. I didn't mean to.” “You should stay away from me, Emma. I wil
Emma's POVI was not expecting him to ask this question all of a sudden and did not have an answer for it. I stared at him, blinking blankly as I tried to come up with an answer.The dynamics…How did I forget about the dynamics between us? We are a couple going through a divorce. Today does not typically happen, how am I supposed to handle it?Draven stepped closer and asked, “You seem to have forgotten that we have applied for a divorce, Emma. I am fighting for custody of our children. I forced you to come to the festival.”His voice was as dark as his eyes and haunted me. I could feel the colours draining off my face as fear overtook my expressions.He growled, “Think about it, do you still want to be next to me? Don't you want to run away?” He took a step towards me and I involuntarily backed off. This caused him to stop and smirk, “Thought so.”He stepped back and turned to leave, welling me with guilt. “Draven, stop. I didn't mean to.” “You should stay away from me, Emma. I w
Emma's POVDraven walked to the front and said, “I think that is enough. You will get dizzy.”“No, I am never getting off of this.” I said at the top of my voice. His face was clouding with worry seeing how fast this was going. He said, “Emma, I am serious. Get down! I don't have a good feeling about this.”“What are you worried about?” Just as soon as I said this, my hands slipped off the bar and I went flying off the swing.“Careful!” Time seemed to have slowed down as I found myself falling towards the ground. I closed my eyes, preparing myself to hit the ground but instead of the cold, hard ground, I fell on something soft but rigid.I stayed there for a while, feeling two arms tightening their grip around me. That was when I opened my eyes to see Draven heaving, there was a mask of fear and worry on his face.He somehow managed to work fast and grab me, saving me from falling off and breaking my nose.His clutch was so tight that I felt like my bones were about to crush. I was j
Emma's POVI asked, “So, you don't have any fond memories of your childhood?”“No. I think I don't even know what it is supposed to feel like.”I grunted, agreeing with him, “You know, I relate with you.”“You do?” He raised an eyebrow, “But you were in the pack and Gamma Austin looks like he is a good father.”“He was a good father to my brother, not to me. Even though they adopted me and let me live with them, I was still an outsider.”“I am sorry you had to go through that.”“No no! Why are you sorry? Even you had a shitty childhood growing up.” I smiled at him, “It used to bother me once upon a time but it doesn't matter anymore.”“Yeah.” He took the last bite of his meal and said, “There is nothing we can do about it. It's long gone.”I opened my mouth to agree with him but shut up immediately when I remembered something. I put down my fork and grinned at him, “Let's go!”“Where?” I got up from my seat and grabbed his hand, “Let's go!”“But your food…”“Let's go go go!”I starte
Emma's POVHe did not wait for me to say anything and got out of the car. He walked up to my side and opened the car door, silently asking me to step out.I crossed my arms and turned away, “No. I am good.”“You haven't eaten anything since afternoon.”“I am not hungry.”I heard his wolf groan in frustration but there was no expression on Draven's face. He was calm as usual.Just when I thought that he had given up, he swiftly unbuckled my seatbelt and picked me up in his arms again. Before I could even realize it, I was dangling over his shoulder and watching him carry me inside.“Draven, you creep! Put me down.” He turned a deaf ear against my protest and carried me inside the cafe. We were inside now and the weird way he was carrying me attracted everyone’s attention. The guests stopped what they were doing and stared at us in confusion.“Alpha?” One of the customers asked, “Is everything alright?”“Yes.” He replied, “My wife is just upset. You can all go back to your work.”My f
Emma's POVThe empty street was flooding white by the petite snowflakes and the temperature was dropping drastically. I was wearing a simple sweater and it did not prove to be very helpful in keeping me warm. In no time, I was standing on the street, covered in snow and shivering.Fifteen minutes passed by, and I still had not managed to find a cab for myself. They were just mercilessly driving past me, not even caring that I was all alone and freezing.“Hey stop! Please! Asshole!” I cursed at the fifth cab which drove past me.My fingers were numb at this point and I needed warmth. Even rubbing them together or keeping them under my arm wasn't helping me much.I turned around to look at the pack house, how badly I wished to run inside and take cover but my ego would rather make me collapse than ask for help. The snow seemed to be messing with the network reception, neither was I able to access the internet to book a cab or call anyone to come pick me up.I was truly stuck…There was