Chapter 35
Adam.
Adam’s phone buzzed on the bedside table. He groaned. The darkness in the room told him it was still early in the morning. He and Preston had spent all evening and well into the night trying to find the twins. Their scent had practically vanished! Adam could trace them back to the park, but after that, he had no idea where they had gone - not even a single footprint had been left in the sun-baked dirt.
The dimmed screen showed the time to be four in the morning. Who could be messaging at this hour?! He unlocked the screen and opened the message from an unknown number.
'Alpha Adam. If you ever want to see your precious children again, you will hand over the Rising Moon Pack and relinquish your title of Alpha to me. - Orion.'
Adam bolted upright, gripping the cold phone in a vice, any harder and the screen would have cracked from the pressure. His wolf growled within him, nearly causing him to shift right there on the bed. Orion has gone too far!
***
Ella.
Ella lay staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep, worry keeping her wide awake even at four in the morning. She had tried to get some rest, but nothing she did helped calm her troubled mind. Not even her favorite chamomile tea with lavender could soothe her.
So when her phone buzzed next to her, she hurriedly picked it up, hoping it was Adam with good news. Her brow creased and her nose scrunched as she noticed the number was not Adam’s, but Cassius’s.
'Ella. I have Aaron and Emme. If you wish to see them again, you will convince Adam to give up his place as Alpha of the Moon Rising Pack. Then, you can rule this pack by my side as my Luna.'
Ella’s heart jumped to her throat. There was no way Adam would relinquish his place as Alpha to a man like Orion. Her eyes moved quickly across the words again. She quickly dialed Adam’s number and waited, shaking, on her bed for Adam to pick up.
It seemed like forever, but Adam finally answered. Ella’s voice cracked as soon as she heard his voice. Through her sobs and tears, she tried to relay the text she had received, but her words slurred together with the sobs, making her description incomprehensible.
“Slow down and calm down, Ella. I can’t understand a word you’re saying,” Adam interrupted soothingly.
As Ella tried to stifle her cries, her body was wracked with hiccups. She couldn’t get any words out, only cries and hiccups. Her tears streamed down her face, blurring her vision, and pooling on the comforter below. Her nose ran like a faucet, both tears and snot running down her face in clear rivers that she could not tell what was wet from tears and what was wet from the snot.
“I’m coming over,” Adam said, no room for argument in his voice. He hung up and Ella found herself wrapping her arms around her legs and slowly rocking forward and back.
***
Adam.
Adam knocked fervently on the door, but with no answer, he tried the handle to let himself in. Locked! He knocked again, calling for Ella. “Ella! Open up!” Still, no one came. He tried the window and it was shut tight as well.
Adam moved to the window connected to Ella’s room, knocking on the pane. The curtains were drawn so Adam couldn’t see in, but he could plainly hear Ella crying. He rapped on the glass again, louder, but could not get through to her.
He planted his feet firmly on the ground and gripped the edge of the window, pulling up with all his might. The window groaned under the strain of trying to keep locked. But Adam finally pulled it up, snapping the lock in two.
Adam rushed inside, wrapping his arms around his Mate. Her whole body shook against his as she continued to break down. He brushed his hand through her hair soothingly, shushing her. As he held her, Adam glanced down and noticed her phone open to the text Orion had sent.
That’s it! He’s dead! Nobody threatens my Mate!
Adam gripped Ella’s arms by the shoulder and forced her to look at him so she knew he was serious.
“We’re going to get Aaron and Emme back. I don’t care what I have to do, but Orion won’t get away with this.”
Adam could see the worry in Ella’s eyes clearly before she buried her head back in his chest. He held her there even as Everett walked in.
“What’s going on?” he asked, rubbing sleep from his eyes and turning on the light.
“Orion has kidnapped Aaron and Emme and is now holding them hostage. He threatened both Ella and me,” Adam growled, letting his anger out.
Everett noticed his daughter flinch as Adam’s words cut through the air. “Alpha,” Everett said tenderly but seriously, “Might I have a word with you in the other room?”
Adam looked torn - he didn’t want to leave Ella alone, but something in Everett’s tone told Adam he better not decline.
He got up from the bed, letting his hands slide down Ella’s arms to find her hands. “I will be right back. I promise.” He placed a kiss on her forehead before following Everett out the door.
In the living room, Everett asked Adam to sit on the couch.
“I know that Orion has angered you. He’s taken your children and threatened you, not only individually, but as a leader,” Everett said slowly. “And you have every right to be angry with him. But I beg you to remember what happened last time you let your anger for Orion fuel you.” He paused, letting the meaning of his words sink in. “Please, do not return to the violence and hatred you turned to five years ago. If you do, you will surely lose Ella… probably forever.”