CHAPTER 16
HAYDEN POV
I have been patrolling this territory all night, trying to find Arabella. I can only imagine what is going through her mind right now. I knew she didn’t want to marry Landon. Everything that happened at the wedding pointed to this being a classic case of a contract marriage. But that didn’t give Landon the right to treat her the way he has.
Landon was great when he was a kid–respectful and surrounded by friends. However, since the war, he hasn’t trusted anyone. No one knows why; he just came back different.
Just as I was about to turn back toward the packhouse, Harper came running up to me.
“She’s back! She spent the night on the beach, but she’s back now,” Harper explained, trying to catch her breath.
I was in my wolf form, and she didn’t shift to come and find me. I don’t know why; it would have made it easier on her. Still, she came all the way out here to find me and let me know.
She must have sensed how worried I was about Arabella.
“Good. Has Landon or Kai spoken to her?” I mind–linked her.
“Not that I know of. I was the only one she spoke to after she got home. I went to see her,” she explained.
“It’s breakfast time. Landon is going to order her to the dining hall,” I replied.
“Oh s**t. Come on!” Harper said, turning around and starting to run back to the packhouse.
I caught up to her in just a few short strides, grabbing her by her clothes and throwing her backward onto my back. She let out a cute little squeal as she held onto the fur on my back while I carried her toward the packhouse.
As soon as we reached the treeline near the house, she climbed off so I could shift back. I quickly retrieved the clothes I had discarded on a tree branch when I transformed earlier.
“How did she look?” I asked.
“Depressed. Wouldn’t you?” Harper replied.
I could see that Harper was just as worried about her, and I was impressed. Even though she barely knew Arabella, it felt like they were already best friends. Harper always saw the best in people, and she obviously recognized something in Arabella that Landon refused to see.
1/4
< CHAPTER 16
+8 Points >
As we got closer to the house, I noticed a strange car parked in front of the packhouse. I held
my arm out in front of Harper, signaling her to stop, which made her look at me in confusion.
“That car. It’s from Vincent’s pack,” I said.
“Oh no. Arabella. We can’t let Landon send her back there,” Harper panicked.
We both began running back to the house and barged through the front door, only to see the
office door down the hallway wide open. Harper ran ahead of me, and when we reached the
door, I saw Landon sitting behind the desk with Vincent’s beta, Milo, standing next to another
man.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“If you had answered your mind link, you might know what’s going on,” Landon snapped at me.
“Well, I’m here now, aren’t I?” I snapped back.
“Is there something we need to know about?” Milo smirked as he watched us bicker.
“Why the hell would we tell you anything?” I replied.
“Where’s Arabella? I was told to come and do a wellness check on her,” the other man said,
which made me chuckle.
“Is something funny to you?” Milo asked.
“Yeah, the fact that Vincent cares about her well–being,” I said.
“Kai, go and get Arabella,” Landon ordered.
Kai left the room and headed down the hallway toward the back of the packhouse.
“What is really going on, Landon? You can’t send her back to that man,” Harper mind–linked
both of us.
“I’m not sending her back. They just showed up unannounced. But I can’t send them away
because that might piss Vincent off,” Landon answered.
We all stood in silence until Kai returned, and a few seconds later, Arabella appeared at the
door.
“There you are,” Milo smiled at her and approached. He tried to reach up to touch her face, but
I noticed her flinch, prompting me to take a possessive step forward.
Her reaction made it clear that Vincent wasn’t the only one who had abused her in that pack.
“Dr. Ashby, what are you doing here?” Arabella asked, looking at the other man.
CHAPTER 16
“I realized that I didn’t give you a refill on your medication. I came here to give it to you,” the doctor said as he pulled some pills from his pocket and handed them to her.
“What are those for?” Landon asked.
“Arabella has a neurological condition. She needs to take these,” the doctor explained. However, Arabella scoffed softly, shaking her head as she looked at the pills.
“Excuse me?” the doctor asked, taken aback.
“f**k you,” Arabella replied.
Milo then growled at her and approached her with a menacing and intimidating stance. He grabbed her around the neck, but she barely flinched this time. She just looked him straight in
the eye.
“You gonna kill me Milo. f*****g do it. See if I care.” Arabella said.
I looked at Landon, and I noticed that he had finally gotten up from his seat, watching everything unfold. However, he seemed lost about what to do.
I walked over and grabbed Milo’s arm with such force that he let go of Arabella, and I threw
him back against the wall. “Don’t ever touch her again,” I demanded.
Milo glanced at me and then at Landon. I could practically see the wheels turning in his head,
but he couldn’t have been more wrong. There was nothing going on between me and Arabella,
yet Landon didn’t look like he was going to stand up for her.
“Why are you really here? Is it to make sure she’s still alive?” Harper asked.
“I told you, he needed to give her those pills,” Milo replied.
The doctor grabbed Arabella by the arm and dragged her out of the room, and that’s when Landon finally moved from behind his desk. He positioned himself by the door next to me, so
we could hear what was happening.
“You need to take these, Ashby insisted.
“And what if I don’t?” Arabella challenged him.
“You know exactly what will happen. The agreement was that you take these pills, and Vincent will treat you like his own,” Ashby said.
“When has he ever done that? He sweet–talked my mother into becoming his mate. She was practically forced into it, and then he beat her almost every day. After she died, my life got a hell of a lot worse than hers,” Arabella retorted.
3/4
<CHAPTER 16
+8 Points)
“You need to take these pills. Do you think Landon is going to let you stay once he sees what you’re like without them?” Ashby asked.
“Do you think I care about that right now?” Arabella shot back.
“What the hell are those pills?” Harper asked through a mind link.
“I’ve never seen her take any pills,” I replied. Then Ashby grabbed Arabella’s hand and forced
the pill bottle into it.
“Don’t ruin this alliance. Vincent will make your life even worse,” Ashby threatened her.
Arabella turned and walked back down the hallway, while Ashby returned to the office. He
found us three standing at the doorway, listening.
“What are those pills for, really?” Landon asked.
“I told you, she has a neurological condition,” Ashby replied.
“That’s bullshit,” Harper shot back.
“It’s time to go. She looks fine,” Milo said as he walked out of the office, followed by Ashby.
They weren’t going to answer any of our questions. I needed to find out what those pills were for, or at the very least, I hoped that Harper could uncover it. Harper was standing right in front of me, leaning back against my chest. I could feel the tension radiating from her, so I started rubbing her arms. She was really worried about Arabella–more concerned than she had been
earlier.
Landon stood there watching them leave, looking either concerned or confused. Honestly, I couldn’t discern what was on his mind anymore. Meanwhile, Kai was acting as if he were bored and that none of this mattered to him. He really was a heartless bastard. I couldn’t wait to take him out myself. Or at least find a way to replace him as the head warrior.
That will probably be my greatest victory in this pack.
Comments
