Chapter 55 Ciara's POV I ran my hands over my tight fitting dress and smoothened the creases as I walked to Orion's office. Our relationship as husband and wife has been nonexistent since we got back from that stupid conference and I don't know what to think anymore. Last night I had been in the shower taking a shower before bed when he suddenly walked in, scaring me. I relaxed and invited him to join me. I didn't actually expect he would but he did and I was relieved thinking that maybe, finally we were about to put an end to the strike we had been on. Everything had been going so perfectly and I had felt myself getting lost in the moment when he suddenly pulled away and apologized. It had all been a blur. One moment I had been on cloud 9 and the next minute I was suddenly grasping at straws. I stood there, unsatisfied and completely confused. It took me a few minutes to drag myself out of there. I didn't bother looking for him as I crawled into bed and forced myself to
Chapter 56Orion's POV I have never felt so drained in my life. For some reason today's meetings have been back to back filled with a bunch of old men telling me how to run my pack. Dad had stopped sitting in these meetings with me so now I was riding solo. I ran a weak hand over my face as I dragged myself to my bedroom. I had left the room very early to avoid Ciara after the awkwardness from last night but now I wished I had stayed because being with her was better than sitting in a meeting. I was still thinking about Sophie a lot but I knew one thing for sure, I wasn't ready to lose Ciara. With a sigh, I opened the door to our room and stopped in my tracks. “Hey,” Ciara whispered as I walked in and I just stood there, staring at her. “Uhn how was your day?” She asked when I remained still and I forced my feet to move. I slammed the door behind me mindlessly and walked towards her. She was dressed in nothing but sexy lingerie that covered absolutely nothing and she looked eve
Chapter 57 Ciara's POV I ran out of the dining room, tears blinding my vision as Luna Stone's hateful words replayed over and over again. I didn't bother turning around to find out if Orion was the one chasing after me as I made my way out of the house. As the breeze hit my face, I thought of a place to hide out for a bit where no one would find me or bother me. Thinking deeply, only one place came to mind. After the confusion at the training center the last time, I had stayed away from there and busied myself resolving my personal matters but that has been a mistake. There was no way for Orion and I to be together, our worlds were divided by a giant ward and too many obstacles stood in the way. The biggest of them all was his mother who didn't seem to like me at all. Her perceptions of me hadn't changed in all this time since Orion and I had been married. I could never be compared to Sophie and it was disgusting to think that I had even thought of trying. Tears
Chapter 58 Ciara's POV I tiptoed into the house as soon as I walked in praying I didn't run into any of the servants or worse Luna Stone. Thankfully I reached our room without a hassle and let myself in. I walked into the room further and screamed in fright when I found Orion sitting there waiting for me. I gulped as I studied him trying to gauge his expression. Then I shrugged off the guilt I was feeling reminding myself that it was his mother's fault I had needed a distraction in the first place. I ignored him and walked over to the wardrobe to get changed and ready for bed. I heard footsteps behind me and flinched when Orion's arms wrapped around my waist. “What are you doing?” I asked, uncertainty in my voice. I wasn't ready for whatever this was, all I needed was a good night sleep. If I gave in, he'd only leave me wet and unable to reach my climax. “Let me go,” I insisted when he refused to let me go. “I'm sorry," he whispered, against my neck and I took in a long whiff
Chapter 59 Orion's POV My head was pounding hard and my ears were ringing but I was alright. My wolf didn't let the alcohol hit me so I could walk straight and I remembered everything that happened last night. A goofy smile appeared on my face as images of my night of passion with Ciara replayed in my head. I was happy things had gone well. When I had started drinking, it had been to drown my sorrows because I didn't like how things had gone during breakfast between Mum and Ciara. I hated being one of those men who had to worry about the two most important women in his life not getting along but that was what it had come to. It was my own fault for being indecisive up until now. Left to Mum, I should have brought Sophie back already and made her replace Ciara in my life but I just couldn't get past the fact that Sophie walked away from me once before. Even if she was back, what was the guarantee that she'd stay or that she had the right motives for coming back? I just coul
Chapter 60 Bryan's POV I wasn't shocked to see my brother, in fact, I had been expecting him. Finally all the chess pieces were falling into place. I watched Orion’s face twist in shock and snickered secretly. Everything was going so well, it was unbelievable how easy it had been to fool Orion. For such a great Alpha that he was, he was such a fool to have fallen into the trap I had set. “So, they were right all along…” Ciara commented as she walked further into the room. “You’re back,” she glared at Sophie trying to look strong but I could see that this was really hard for her. Too bad she was also one of the pieces on the board but it was for the greater good. “Cee, what are you doing here?” Orion asked, stunned to see his wife standing at the doorway. He hesitated for a bit but walked towards her eventually, reaching for her hand. I clenched my fists by my side as I watched but the next minute, joy filled my heart as Ciara slapped him across the face and pushe
Chapter 61 Orion's POV I stormed towards my car, fuming. I couldn't believe I had been so blind and oblivious to Bryan's schema. He had been playing the long game since we were in California and I had no clue. How could I have been so blind? “Dammit!” I banged my fists on the car repeatedly leaving dents but I didn't care. Everything had been ruined and there was no way out. Ciara was never going to forgive me for this. And even if she managed to forgive me, we could never go back to the way things were. I was fucked. “Shit..” I swore as I jerked the door open. Bryan was going to regret messing with my life like this. He would regret playing these useless games with me for the rest of his miserable life even if it's the last thing I did. I climbed into the car and slammed the door violently before driving off. I had to get home as soon as possible before Ciara did anything rash. I had to at least try to salvage this complicated situation no matter what and I needed he
Chapter 62 Bryan's POV I can't believe it was so easy to trick Orion. For such a well-known Alpha, I expected he'd have figured out my plan from the beginning at least in the middle but just like everyone else except Sophie of course, he had been ignorant. So far, Ciara was angry about Orion's behavior and there was no way she'd forgive him for this betrayal. Besides his mother's insults and the fact that Sophie and Orion were supposed to be together in the beginning would definitely make Ciara lose interest in him. At least that's what I was hoping for. I snickered as I poured myself some wine, swirling the liquid in the glass. “To me,” I chuckled and shook my head, busting at the seams with happiness. With how successful this plan had gone, I had no doubt that Ciara would be by my side in no time. “Alpha, I…” I heard from behind me and turned, smiling at my Beta. “Come in, come in…” I ushered him into the office as I quickly prepared another glass. “Did something happe
Chapter 131 Ciara's POV I closed the toilet bowl and leaned up, wiping my face with the back of my hands. What was happening to me? This was the second time today I was puking my guts out and I hadn't been given breakfast yet. After my little tiff with Brianna, she placed an embargo on my meals. She dictated when I would be fed and what I was served. I didn't think Sophia knew about what she was up to but it wasn't like Sophia liked me that much to stop her minion either. For all she knew I could starve to death as long as she could get Orion to herself in the end. I groaned as I walked back into the room and slumped on the bed feeling weak and completely drained. The door was flung open and I didn't bother to look up knowing it had to be Brianna because her accomplice barely checked on me. The day he kidnapped me was the last time I saw him, not that I was checking for him or anything. “You look like shit.” She said as she saw me and I grunted. I felt like shit too.
Chapter 130 Unknown Person's POV “My King,” one of my men walked in and bowed his head. I grunted and he raised his head. “Speak,” “My King, the killings got the desired reaction from the people.” I nodded, pleased with the reports. “Do you think this is the perfect time to strike?” I asked as I turned my head towards the man seated beside me. Sage Wells grunted but didn't reply. I gritted my teeth not liking his obvious show of disrespect for me but I shrugged it off. He was the oldest man in the werewolf community and people looked up to him. He had been kidnapped and brought to me forcefully so I didn't expect him to be responsive to me. However, he should be scared that I might have his head whenever he is disrespected. He knew, oh but he knew that I needed him and that gave him the confidence to show me up in front of my men. “Well, what do you think Sage?” “I don't have anything to say King.” Even the way he said King felt fake and insulting. I clenched
Chapter 129Orion's POV My desk was filled with urgent work I had to attend to and yet all I could think about was Ciara and how she was doing. After Bryan showed up here last week, it got me thinking that perhaps I had been foolish to trust Sophia so blindly. After all she could have taken a picture of Ciara at another date or perhaps she sent Brianna to take the picture that day but didn't end up capturing Ciara. For all we knew, Ciara was in the hands of some unknown people while Sophia was here milking me for all I had. It was clear she wanted me and was obsessed with me. She could just be using this situation to force my hand. I clenched my jaw and slammed my fists on the table. If that woman was just deceiving me, I would snap her neck before she could even blink. Someone knocked on the door as I leaned back in my seat and I sighed. I muttered a gentle response and closed my eyes not really interested in socializing at the moment. “I have been knocking! Didn't you hear
Chapter 128 Ciara's POV “Here's your food ma'am,” I leaned back in my seat and stared at the food that had been placed in front of me. Who kidnapped someone only to spoil them and make them eat to their satisfaction? Since I got here all I had received was treatment fit for a Queen. It didn't make any sense. The room shouldn't be so organized and well lit. In the movies when someone was kidnapped, they were usually thrown in a basement with poor lighting. I didn't hate the fact that I was receiving great treatment, it was just very suspicious. It had me questioning when the punch would come, when I'd fall and when their true intentions would be revealed. I wasn't complaining because If they hadn't killed me off yet it meant they weren't done with me and I was valuable to them. It also meant they needed me to stay alive until they got whatever they needed. “Look who finally decided to wake up,” My whole body tensed as the familiar voice reached my ears. I looked
Chapter 127 Bryan's POV Ryan walked into the dining room and shook his head. “Alpha there's still no news from your brother,” I frowned. It wasn't like Orion to do this. He had never disappeared like this before so why would he do it now? We had both been pooling our resources and connections together. Finding her becane the ultimate goal and we had been doing so great. Why would he suddenly back down like this? I leaned back in my seat and took a deep breath. “Let's just have the meeting to discuss and we can talk about that later.” He nodded and walked out to call in Gamma Luke and Delta Storm. Once they were all seated, we started the meeting but no matter how much I tried, I couldn't concentrate. Ryan noticed how distracted I was and didn't call me up to comment, he simply handled the entire process like a true Alpha would. Orion's silence was disturbing and I couldn't help but feel like something wasn't right. “The meeting is adjourned,” Ryan announced and I loo
Chapter 126 Orion's POV “Hey, how did it go with Sophia? Were you able to grill her? Did she tell you about Ciara?* Bryan fired question after question at me as soon as I set the door in his office. My shoulders sagged at the hope in his voice and I took my feet gathering my thoughts. “Well I take it from your silence that the meeting didn't go as planned.” I shook my head. “I'm sorry but she refuses to give any information. She denied having anything to do with it.” He scoffed and rose to his feet. “Of course she would but I can feel it Bryan, I know they're both behind it.” I sighed. “We need evidence,...” “Until when?” He snapped, cutting me off. “It's obvious that witch and he'd sidekick are behind this and we keep waiting for evidence and a way to prove it so we might be too late to save Ciara.” I opened my mouth to speak and then closed it again. He has a point. “I just want my mate Orion. We were finally in a good place and everything was working out fine.
Chapter 125 Orion's POV I sighed as I watched Bryan go, my heart breaking for him. If I had been only a minute late, Brianna would be dead. “You should talk to him, you know? If he continues like this,...” Brianna started to say but I wasn't having it. I snapped my head back and glared at her. “Don't confuse things, I don't give a shit about you Brianna and the fact that you are my aunt doesn't mean jack to me.” She gulped but didn't interrupt. Wise woman. I continued “Let's just say I need you temporarily to find out something about my mate, however the minute I realize you're not useful to me, I will snuff the life out of you myself.” I stood up and pushed the plate so hard she flinched from the sound. Smirking, I stormed out in search of Bryan. This was harder for him than it could ever be for me. Ciara might be my mate but we haven't been together for over three years. Whereas he had been sleeping and waking up by her side everyday for the last three years so I co
Chapter 124 Bryan's POV Orion's shoulders sagged in relief but he had a worried look on his face. I ran my hands through my hair frantically. “Well?” I was trying to remain cool but his silence wasn't helping. He looked at me and offered me a small smile. “Nothing about this is related to Ciara.” I let out a sigh of relief but a sense of dread filled me. “She's still out there.” He nodded and we fell into a tense silence. We understood the implications of this. If Sophia’s letter had contained some kind of information on Ciara's kidnapping then at least we'd have a lead to work with. Now we were back to square one and we had no idea where she was. “I don't know how to explain it but I have this feeling that Sophia is behind this.” I just listened to him, my mind swirling with different thoughts. “Don't you find it strange that all this happened and then suddenly Ciara goes missing?” I nodded because I was thinking the same thing. I found it incredibly suspicious
Chapter 123Bryan's POV “Hey, have you seen Ciara?” I asked as I stormed into Orion's room. I paused when I saw him leaning over the baby bed where one of his sons, Jeremy was sleeping. “Sorry,” I wshoepred and stepped outside. As I waited for him to join me, I paced the hall wonderingly where Ciara could have gone. Affair our talk from before, she had been very torn and ridden by guilt. I had meant well when I advised her to whatever made her happy and it had nothing to do with me trying to get back at my brother. Those days were far behind us and now I was in support of him but I wouldn't risk Ciara's happiness for him. If I had to choose between them, I'd easily pick her and Orion would do the same in a heartbeat. I stopped pacing as the door opened and watched as he walked out. “What's going on?” He asked as he closed the door behind him. “Why do you look so worried?” “Ciara has gone missing.” I summarized. “Her phone is switched off and I can't pick up her scent anywhe