Fifty Three

The remnants of the tranquilizer and wolfsbane in Eva’s system made her limbs feel like jelly and her head spun with any sudden movement. Ethan didn’t seem to care though as he dragged the female onto her feet before pulling her after him with an iron grip on her bicep. Eva had no choice but to follow despite stumbling over her own feet and the uneven ground. Even with heightened senses, Eva struggled to make out where they were. She could tell they were no longer on pack land as she wasn’t able to connect with anyone via the mind-link but even then, the wolfsbane would make it difficult to create a link with anyone.

Eva couldn’t help but wince when she was suddenly shoved through a door roughly and found herself in another room that looked like an abandoned garage lit by a couple of camping lanterns that cast long shadows across the walls and ground. She didn’t have time to admire her surroundings though (not that there was anything to admire) as Ethan dragged her towards a metal chair that seemed to have been purposely set in the middle of the room.

“Apologies that our setting is a little run-down. Being packless means I’m not privy to funds for the Savoy hotel.” Ethan teased. “You’ll just have to use your imagination.”

“What is going on, Ethan? Where’s Daniel?” Eva growled, bucking against the male’s grasp as he pulled Eva to the chair and forced her into the seat.

“Don’t worry, you’ll see your mate soon enough. It’s all in the plan.” Ethan muttered as he used zip ties to secure Eva’s wrists to the arm rests before stepping back with a satisfied smirk. “To be fair, this would have been so much easier if you two had finished the mating process already but that isn’t something I can’t fix.”

“What do you mean?” Eva glared at the male.

“Well as you know, here there are only three ways for someone to become Alpha.” Ethan shrugged. “By blood, by union or by appointment. Since Daniel and I aren’t related by blood and I very much doubt the pack would vote me in, there is only one way I can earn the title. That, beautiful, is where you come in.”

“That has to be the stupidest thing I have ever heard.” Eva balked at the implications. “Daniel would never mark me willingly if he knew you were going to try and steal the title.”

“Oh I know.” Ethan smirked. “But I have that covered and once he has done his part, he’ll be dead leaving you to become the new Alpha. I just need to take you as my mate and there you have it. I can take the title or not one but two packs.”

“You won’t get away with this.” Eva breathed as the icy fingers of fear began to curl around her spine. “I will make sure you don’t.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, Eva, you’re in no position to stop me and no one knows where you are.” The male raised an eyebrow and shoved his hands into his pockets.

“You killed innocent people, Ethan!” Eva snapped, eyes flaring in rage. “There is no way you can get away with this. People will find out.”

“Hm, I beg to differ.” Ethan sighed dramatically. “Anyway, stay put and I’ll go see what lover boy is up to.”

Eva had no choice but to watch as Ethan waltzed away as if he was just taking a casual stroll. The zip ties bit into Eva's skin but at least they weren't covered in Wolfsbane anymore. Not that it made much difference, it would take a while for it to be out of her system. That didn't stop her from trying to break the ties, hoping she could get free before Ethan came back. At full strength she knew should break the zip ties without breaking a sweat but it could take hours to regain that kind of endurance and Eva had a feeling she didn’t have that kind of time on her hands.

*Focus on getting your strength up for when you really need it.* She thought, hating the idea of just sitting idly by while a maniac threatened the life of her mate and the livelihoods of the packs.

It wasn’t long before Eva heard footsteps again, her eyes flickering to the shuddering shadows of human forms before Ethan reappeared followed by two males Eva hadn’t seen before dragging a hunched over form along with them.

“Daniel?” Eva sat up, arms straining against the ties despite herself as she saw her mate being dragged over to where she sat and dumped unceremoniously onto the dirty floor.

“He’s fine.” Ethan rolled his eyes dramatically. “Okay maybe not totally fine but what does it matter.”

“What the fuck did you do?” Eva snapped, eyes flaring with rage.

“Like I told you, wolfsbane and tranquilizers. He just happened to have more than you.” Ethan shrugged carelessly. “However my men might have had some fun.”

Fun didn’t seem to be the word for it. Eva felt her heart clench when she saw the bloody nose and lip as well as the bruises forming on Daniel’s skin. His eyes were glazed and unfocused suggesting he was still under the influence of whatever they had pumped into him. Eva wanted desperately to free herself and go to Daniel while at the same time, rip the throats of the men currently surrounding them, sneering and chuckling wickedly.

“And so the destined mates are reunited!” Ethan sighed dramatically, a cruel smirk forming on his lips as his eyes flashed black, his wolf simmering under the surface. “Oh how I have waited for this moment. It took you all long enough to figure out what was going on but it was rather amusing watching you all run around like you didn’t have a clue.”

“Why?” Eva muttered. “Why did you have to kill the Emerald pack members and what does the Mad Alpha have to do with any of this?”

“Because I couldn’t have witnesses and in truth, the Mad Alpha had nothing to do with this except being my father.” Ethan replied.

Eva scoffed at this, shaking her head. “So you think you’re entitled to the position because what? You dad was once the Alpha and you wanted to make him proud?”

“That’s a pretty obvious assumption to make but no.” Ethan shook his head. “I couldn’t stand the pathetic bastard. He was so whiney and useless. I could see why Silver Moon wanted him gone. You see, Michael was a sack of shit who spent his days drunk and beating up his mate and kids. There was nothing to admire there and I was glad the day I finally got rid of him. So no, none of this has anything to do with him but rather because I could do it and it was so easy.”

Eva felt the lump in her throat as she watched Ethan stroll around her and Daniel’s slumped form. He was clearly proud of himself for fooling so many people and finding a way to put himself right into the heart of everything.

“Anyway, I could stand around and brag all night but I have places to be and an Alpha title to take.” Ethan finally came to a stop behind Daniel. “I will admit, I’ve been looking forward to this part since I came up with the idea.”

The blonde male stuffed his hands into his pockets, producing two syringes. While the light was terrible, Eva could make out that each was filled with something different. One was milky while another was a light purple. Eva had seen plenty of medications in her time thanks to her mother being a healer but never had she seen anything like these.

“Oh don’t worry, these aren’t lethal.” Ethan smirked. “I can’t have you dying before my plan is complete now. These are just a little… booster. Just to get you in the mood, if you know what I mean.”

Her blood ran cold as she realised what Ethan was about to do. If she went into heat then Daniel would struggle to stay in control of Hades who would be hellbent on marking and taking his mate. Alphas felt the pull stronger than anyone given that their instinct was to make sure they marked what they considered to belong to them. It was a rather misogynistic practise but when it came down to their basal instincts, werewolves were no different from their wolf counterparts and females were just as possessive.

“Daniel will resist.” Eva finally announced defiantly. “There is no way he will cave. He knows what’s on the line.”

“Oh I know. Danny boy here is stubborn, which is why one of these is for him.” Ethan sneered. “It’s just a little something I picked up that will put his wolf in control until the job is done. Witches are great in making sure that their spells and potions do exactly what you need them to. For example, the antidote to this particular poison is well...you.”