Chapter 3
CHAPTER 3
R onan
“I knew she would be a damn menace to get into the truck .”
I ignore Noah’s words in my head. My wolf paces in my chest, just waiting for my next move.
There is no need to tell Noah that I kept a little something tucked into my back pocket, just in case our mate’s stubbornness got in the way of her making the right decision.
That decision being to come with us peacefully, of course.
“ You know she’s planning to leave soon. This time she will probably never return. It could take us months or even years to find her again,” he reminds me through our bond.
Again, I do not respond to him while I continue to focus on Serafina. Her coffee brown eyes that match her skin’s complexion burrow into mine. In spite of myself, I cannot help but notice how fiercely divine she appears, holding a bow and arrow on the three of us.
She’s dressed in a lavender dress that goes all of the way to the floor. Her long, dark hair is styled in curls that frame her beautiful face to perfection.
Though her cat-like shaped eyes are narrowed, she raises a perfectly-arched eyebrow.
“You don’t know a damn thing about me,” she asserts in a low voice.
I take another step closer, bringing the tip of her arrow in contact with my shirt. The cotton fabric is the only thing standing between me and the searing pain from her arrow.
“Is that so?” I ask. “What about your pack? The danger you and I both know you bring to them.”
The confident gleam in her eyes wavers.
My eyes drop to her plump lips. A light sheen covers them. She’s gone light on the makeup for the wedding, showcasing her flawless skin.
Mate!
My wolf, who is usually just as good as my human at controlling his emotions, is starting to lose patience.
Apparently, we both are because I do not hold back in using her fear against her. To get her to lower her guard for even a second.
“That’s why you left in the first place, isn’t it? Your fear over hurting your pack, and to get answers about your past. Answers you’re obviously still searching for.”
“Shut up.” She grits her teeth.
“You came back here to say your goodbyes, isn't that right? To pack up your aunt’s home.” I gesture around the room. “Because you and I know that if you remain with this pack, you’ll become their destruction.”
A minor slice of guilt lances through the pit of my stomach.
“You don’t belong here and you know it,” I tell her, ignoring my petty guilt.
There is no room for guilt in this circumstance.
What Serafina said is true. In order for three of us to solidify our position as alphas over the Blackclaw pack, we need to be mated.
An ancient pack law that was brought to our attention right before the death of our grandfather. Around the time we also discovered our long-lost brother, Montgomery, was indeed still alive.
Montgomery’s return and our grandfather’s death signaled the beginning of our new status.
To complete it, we need our mate at our side.
Even if she does not want to come with us.
“I don’t belong with the three of you either,” Serafina replies.
“You do because Mother Moon willed it so.”
She scoffs. “That’s not what the two of you said when you rejected me.”
“We have had a change of heart.”
Another scoff, but this time it comes out as bitter laughter.
“So change it right back. I don’t go anywhere I’m not wanted. And I damn sure won’t allow you three to use me just so you can claim your status as alphas over your pack.”
“You will unless you want all of the Nightwolf pack to find out the threat you pose to them.”
I may be overstating the threat. Serafina’s true being is unknown, but the fear of the destruction she could bring about caused my grandfather to threaten her life if we did not cut ties with her.
“You son of a bitch,” Serafina declares.
My wolf actually whimpers from the fierceness in her voice.
“I-I …” Serafina trails off. The bow and arrow wobbles, dropping significantly.
I give Noah a look, and he moves quickly, using wolf speed to snatch the bow out of Serafina’s grasp and breaking the damn thing in half, before tossing her over his shoulder.
“Put me down,” she screeches.
“Close your damn mouth or else I’m going to gag it,” he growls while brushing past Montgomery for the back door.
Montgomery leaps out of the way, making certain not to come in contact with Serafina at all.
Though he has remained quiet almost this entire time, he gives me an odd look before following our brother.
I watch wordlessly. Questions I haven’t asked him yet invade my mind. Eventually we will have to figure out what his hesitance is all about. Does he sense the danger this woman could bring to our pack, as our grandfather did?
Is that what his wolf is responding to?
Either way, she’s ours now.
I pause to retrieve the discarded bow and arrow. It will only be a matter of time before someone from the Nightwolf pack comes looking for Serafina. The last thing I want is for them to find evidence of her abduction.
Though it is highly likely they will be able to scent our presence even after our departure. I will reach out to our contact to help give us a little bit of time.
I find a suitcase in the closet. It is already halfway packed with clothes and some toiletries.
Obviously, Serafina was planning on leaving sooner than later.
By the time I make it outside, Noah, Montgomery, and Serafina are out of plain sight. However, I spot them a few hundred meters away, in between the wooded forest that surrounds parts of the Nightwolf’s territory.
This would be faster if we could shift into our wolves to leave, undetected.
The suitcase in my hands makes that impossible. Not to mention Serafina’s inability to shift.
Still, I use my wolf speed to catch up to them.
“I’m going to kill all of you,” Serafina threatens from over Noah’s shoulder, as I catch up with them.
“Not if I kill you first,” he replies.
I squeeze his shoulder, reminding my brother to calm down.
“We have her now,” I tell him. “ She is not going anywhere.”
I know even if he were to set Serafina on her feet she would not return home. The look in her eyes when I reminded her about the danger she posed to her pack told me so.
The last thing she wants is to cause harm to her pack or for them to find out her secret.
I will use this knowledge to my advantage.
I peer over at a silent Montgomery. The tight expression on his face reveals he is still fighting his wolf.
I shake my head and watch a squirming Serafina. Out of all of the questions in my mind, she is the biggest unknown of them all.
Could this woman, our mate, be as much of a danger to our pack as my grandfather believed enough to threaten her life?