Chapter 79

EzraThey never managed to catch Derrick before he

stepped over the border. I should have known better than to send my warriors

after him. Now I am cursing myself, I should have gone myself. Derrick has Beta

blood, making him stronger than my warriors. He is also one of the best

fighters that Jackson had, just like Shirley, I should have realized they

wouldn’t have been able to subdue him. I didn’t think he would attack them when

they tried to stop him either.Pressing my foot on

the gas, I drive to the border of my territory. Andrei wanted to meet on no

man's land, in our usual meeting place. He had captured Derrick the moment he

stepped over the border into his pack.Andrei is wanting to

negotiate, and now I have to try to get the fool back before Andrei tries to

kill him. I don’t know what Derrick is thinking. Did he truly think he could

just cross the border and Andrei would welcome him with open arms, and let him on

their territory?Derrick’s actions

make no sense to me, he basically went on a suicide mission, or was that his

intention? I don’t understand why he is going after Andrei’s pack, yes, he was

involved, but Jackson was the real enemy. Pulling up at the rundown building, I

can see their cars there in the small parking lot. Swinging the door open, I

climb out of the car and shut the door. Moments later, Andrei gets out of his

with a smug look on his face and I move toward him.“Where is he?” I

demand, and Andrei laughs, his Beta and another man getting out of the black

SUV on the other side of the car. I ignore them, they are pawns, easily taken

down, the real threat stands in front of me.Andrei waves his men

back. “He is alive for now. I have him locked away nice and safe,” Andrei

taunts. Andrei leans on his car, pulling a smoke from his pocket and lighting

it.“I should kill you

for what you have done,” I growl at him, and he raises an eyebrow at me,

flicking his zippo lighter shut, he drops it in his pocket.Smoke fills the air

as he breathes out. “Now, now, Alpha Ezra, don’t be foolish.” He draws back on

his smoke. If he kills Kat’s father, she will never forgive me. “This can all

be sorted. So I suggest that you don’t do anything you may regret. I have Derrick

as collateral, you give me what I want, I will hand him over.” he shrugs like

it is that simple.But I knew his

requests wouldn’t be that simple. My fists clench, not liking the situation

Derrick has put me in. “I am not giving you my mate,” I snarl at him, a growl

tears out of me, and Maddox presses beneath my skin. Andrei watches me, and

tilts his head to the side when Maddox lunges forward threateningly. Fur grows

along my arms as I fight to keep him at bay. Maddox doesn’t like being

challenged, and Andrei is pushing his buttons.Andrei clicks his

tongue, puffing on his smoke before flicking it. “I just want to talk to her,

nothing more.” Andrei shrugs, leaning back and folding his arms across his

chest.“Why would I give

you anything you ask for? I came to you to warn you of an upcoming war, and

then you fucking join it, on the wrong damn side. We had alliances, and you

just tossed them away. You should be careful, Andrei. You don’t want to make an

enemy out of me.”Andrei scoffs.

“Alliances still stand, that hasn’t changed.” he states.“You fucking

betrayed me, am I supposed to overlook that?” I snap.“I never joined

Jackson’s side. We just had a common goal, nothing more. The alliances still

remain, Ezra.” I shake my head. He is fucking insane if he thinks I am keeping

business with him now.“So are you gonna

share what this common goal was? You nearly killed my mate,” I snarl, my rage

reaching boiling point.“Katya was never the

target, Shirley was. An eye for an eye. Katya was on Jackson’s list, not mine,

I have nothing against your mate.” Andrei explains dryly.“What nonsense are

you spewing now, Andrei? Jackson’s intentions have always been to get Kat, so

you band together with him and kill her mother?” I need a fucking drink, this

shit is turning into a never-ending fucking headache.“I have my reasons,

ones I will share if you bring me, Katya. I just want to talk to her. The

markings on your neck suggest that she broke the curse. How is she enjoying

being a Gemini wolf?” I pause looking at him, and Andrei smirks. “You can’t

help her, but I can, bring me your mate, Ezra. Or you can explain why you let

her father die if you refuse. As I said, I have no issues with you. I never

have, my pack has always kept to themselves, I mean her no harm.”“You’re asking for a

war, Andrei.” I warn him.He shrugs, uncaring.

“We’ve always teetered on that edge, Ezra, maybe some things are worth starting

a war over.” he retorts.“Kat has suffered

enough, Andrei. She already has Jackson wanting to use her, get in fucking

line. Let me finish that war first before you take the next spot.”“As I said, she was

never the target. Shirley was, we have a common enemy. Kat has barely reached

the outer edges of what she is capable of. Don’t pretend you aren’t stumbling

blindly through that curse. But I may be able to offer her some help,” he offers,

before opening his car door and reaching into the glove compartment. He pulls

out some old parchment scrolls. He waves them at me and clicks his tongue. “I

couldn’t believe my eyes when you were stupid enough to bring your mate to the

Alpha meeting, I recognized her instantly. I knew exactly whose daughter she

was,” Andrei tells me before handing me the scrolls.Upon opening them, I

found that they were written in a foreign language that I wasn't familiar with.

But I did recognize the symbolic mark on the top of the page, it was the mark

on Kat’s neck.He snatches them

from my hands. “You want to know what they say? Bring me your mate. You and

Mateo are welcome to come with her, but I will be seeing her one way or

another, Ezra. She will need answers, and my help. So be grateful I am

offering. Think about it Ezra, you would hate for her to come looking for me,

and she will once she learns I have her father, you know it and so do I,” he

smirks, and I growl at him, Maddox tries to force the shift.“What the fuck could

she possibly need you for?” I snap at him.He smiles, his eyes

sparkling back at me. “Bring her to me, and you find out. If not, I may just

burn these,” he says, holding up the scrolls.“Where did you get

those?”“Shirley gave them

to Jackson after she killed her sister. I helped Jackson get on to your pack in

return for these. As I said, Katya was never my target. Shirley was. My men

were never going to allow Jackson to take her. I just want to protect her the same

way you do,” he tells me. He passes the scrolls to one of his men, who places

them back in the glove compartment. “Bring her to me tomorrow, I heard your men

excitedly talking of the pack run happening tonight. Go ahead with your

celebrations. My men will keep watch of the borders for tonight.”“And why would you

do that?”“Because after

tonight, Kat will realize something is wrong, and when she does, she will have

questions. Questions only I can answer,” he taunts me before getting in his

car. “I will wait for your call,” he tells me with a chuckle. He shuts his door

and I watch him leave.Fuck!