CHAPTER 23
**HAYDEN’S POV**
Since Connor ran out of here two days ago with Arabella, I’ve been tasked with leading Landon’s warriors to find them. I must admit, I haven’t been putting in as much effort as I should have. After all, I did tell them to leave while I held Landon back, and he didn’t see me do it.
So now, I have been wandering around the forest for two days, and there’s still no sign of them. The warriors and I needed to return to the pack when Landon called, but we were all exhausted. We hadn’t gotten hardly any sleep, and that wasn’t about to change.
When we finally got back to the pack, we saw several cars parked in front of the packhouse. As I walked inside with Kai, the head warrior, we found Landon in the living room along with Vincent and his Beta, Milo.
“Anything?” Landon asked, his voice laced with frustration as he scanned the room.
“No, there’s no sign of them,” I replied, perched on a solitary chair that creaked under my weight, the tension in the air nearly palpable.
“They can’t have just vanished into thin air!” Vincent yelled, his voice rising in agitation, fists clenched at his
sides.
“Well, Connor is your head warrior. You should have a better idea of where he might have taken her,” I said, trying to keep the rising anger in my chest at bay.
“We’ve searched all his usual hideouts,” Vincent retorted, his eyes darkening with worry. “But they must not be somewhere within my pack’s borders. If Arabella were hiding there, I’d sense her presence. They’re not in my territory, and we have no clue where the hell he has taken her to.”
“Why are you so pissed at us? Connor is the one who took her,” Landon questioned, his brow furrowing in
confusion.
“Because it was your duty to make sure she stayed here!” Vincent growled, his voice like gravel, carrying the weight of his frustration.
“Why are you so desperate to keep her here?” I shot back, curiosity mingled with defiance in my tone.
“That’s none of your business,” he spat, his eyes narrowing. “But we had an agreement. If the marriage didn’t last, you were supposed to hand her back to me. She wasn’t meant to roam free.”
“And why is that? So you can beat her with that belt covered in barbed wire again?” I challenged, my heart racing, anger bubbling to the surface.
Vincent turned to snarl at me as soon as he heard that. He then glanced at Landon, who raised his eyebrows at Vincent, waiting for a response. Vincent was clearly taken aback that we knew about the marks on her
skin and the scars.
It was no secret that she tried to keep them hidden, but she had shown us, and he didn’t seem pleased at all.
“They’re here,” Milo announced.
“Who is?” Landon asked.
“Connor’s parents,” Vincent replied.
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A couple of warriors then walked in with a very worried–looking older couple. They appeared to be a bit younger than Vincent, but they definitely looked scared.
“Where is he?” Vincent asked, standing up and approaching them.
48 Points
“Believe me, Alpha, if we knew, we would tell you. But we have no idea. We didn’t even know he was coming here,” Connor’s dad said.
“Excuse me. What are your names?” Landon asked.
“I’m Daniel, and this is my mate, Fiona,” Daniel replied.
“Please, have a seat,” Landon said.
They walked into the room and sat awkwardly on the couch, keeping their eyes on Vincent and Milo.
“I swear, we don’t know where your wife is,” Daniel reassured him.
“Has he ever mentioned doing something like this? Running away to anywhere?” Landon asked.
“No. We thought he was happy in the pack. He was so proud when he became head warrior. We never thought he would pull a stunt like this,” Fiona replied.
“Did he ever show any interest in Arabella before?” I inquired.
“I knew they knew each other. I mean, she had a lot of friends at school and she was known as the Alpha’s daughter. But we didn’t think they knew each other that well; we thought they were just passing acquaintances,” Daniel explained.
“I never saw anything between them, either. Connor would say hello to her if he was at the house, but other than that, I never saw them hanging out together,” Milo reaffirmed.
“Well, the sins of the child fall on the parents,” Vincent stated, his voice low and menacing.
“What?” I asked, confused. But Vincent just nodded at his warriors, and they walked over to physically remove Daniel and Fiona.
“What the hell are you doing?” I yelled, getting up from my seat.
“I’m doing what I have to as an Alpha. Don’t tell me how to run my pack, boy,” Vincent demanded.
“You’re not doing anything to them in my pack.” Landon yelled, approaching Vincent. But he was quickly stopped by more warriors that were called to the packhouse.
Daniel and Fiona were taken outside, pleading for mercy, and no matter how much Landon and I yelled, there was nothing we could do.
We could hear them begging outside until suddenly, everything fell silent. I was too afraid to look outside, but we all knew what had happened.
He had executed Connor’s parents because of what Connor had done.
Who the hell does that? They had nothing to do with it and were obviously terrified of him. I doubted they would lie to him about knowing where Connor is.
“I’m starting to understand more about why Arabella didn’t want to go back there,” I communicated through
the mind link with Landon.
He looked at me with an unreadable expression, a mix of shock and anger about what had just happened in
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his pack. It all occurred so quickly that he couldn’t even intervene.
I know Landon can be difficult, but he would never go that far.
+8 Points>
“Find my daughter. She is your responsibility. So find her and bring her back here,” Vincent demanded as he
walked out of my house.
“Landon, what the hell is he going to do to Arabella when he finds her?” I asked.
“I don’t know. We have to find her first,” Landon replied quietly.
“She’s your wife. Maybe you should start to care a little more,” I growled at him.
Instead of getting upset that I growled at him, he simply looked at me with a drawn and exhausted expression.
“Landon, baby. There you are,” Addy said as she walked into the living room.
“Get out, Addy,” I replied sharply.
“I came to see Landon,” she insisted.
“Now isn’t a good time. Get the hell out,” I said firmly. Addy then looked at Landon and fluttered her eyelashes, a tactic she always employed to get her way.
But Landon ignored her, walked down to his office, and slammed the door shut.
“Is this because that b***h ran away?” Addy asked.
“Go home, Addy,” I said as I left the room, leaving her alone with Kai.
It wasn’t long before I heard the two of them leaving the house together, seemingly headed to Addy’s place.
She didn’t care who she slept with, as long as it was someone close to the Alpha.
I went to my office, where I had a map of the area pinned to the wall. As I walked in, I saw Harper standing there, staring at the map.
“Hi. Are you okay?” I asked.
“No, not really. Where have you looked for her?” Harper replied. I grabbed a marker and crossed off all the places we had searched without finding her.
“I really want her back, but at the same time, I don’t,” Harper said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“She’s the first friend I ever had who wasn’t using me to get to my brother. But her running away like this could get her killed. I don’t want her to die because she’s my friend, but I also want her back because she’s my friend,” Harper said.
I could see the turmoil Harper was experiencing in that moment, struggling to hold back tears for her lost friend.
I walked over to her and pulled her into a tight hug. She embraced me and finally let her emotions flow, no longer caring what anyone thought about her crying over Arabella’s disappearance.
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