Chapter 112 — Incompetence

DEVYN’S POV.

As we walked out of the church, Flora along with the other witches was underneath the tree, waiting. The moment we were out, they walked towards us.

I had a hand on Gina’s waist, guiding her protectively.

After the ritual, she was different. She was more tender, and quieter, and her scent had changed too. She normally smelled more like a human, but this time she smelt more like a wolf, but not completely one.

“I see it was successful,” Flora chimed as a triumphant expression etched on her face, “And quick too.”

Gina nodded lightly and I couldn’t help but feel pride. She was special, and it didn’t just have to do with her destiny and her abilities. She was brilliant, a quick learner and unique.

“Now you’re going to face what’s ahead of you. Are you ready? You’re going to fight the real fight now,” she said, directed to Gina.

I could feel Gina’s emotions even as she tried to hide her uncertainty and anxiety. I couldn’t blame her. She never got to fight, and now she was going to. She was pressured, and I wished everyone would stop telling her what she was supposed to do.

It'll be a fight of life and death, and her first kill-- if I would even give her the chance to kill Damien.

The bastard was too weak and power-obsessed that he went as far as making a deal with the devil.

My fists clenched at my sides as I felt rage course through me. Damien had always been out for me ever since, and I had no fucking idea why.

A thought lingered at the back of my mind to myself. If I had killed Damien a while ago when I had the chance to, would Gina have gone through all of this? Would her powers have ignited?

Would we have met?

At the end of the day, that was the only good thing that came out of this… meeting her. And I never intend to leave her side.

I understood how she felt; she wasn't the only one feeling pressured too. Deep down, I wasn’t ready. I never wanted this for her because It was too much responsibility for her to bear. But I couldn’t twist fate.

If I had the power to, I would.

Flora dropped something on the ground, and I watched as an opening arrived out of thin air. It wasn’t surprising that witches had magic like this since they had access to other realms.

“Walk through it, and you’ll get to your pack.”

I expressed my gratitude for everything they had done for us. If not for their healing; as much as I tried to fight to survive, the poison would have still killed me.

I clutched Gina’s hand in mine, gazing down at her as she stared ahead. I thought of how much she had changed since the day I took her. With time, she had adjusted to a world entirely different from the one she knew, and she had matured.

She was stronger, more determined, and more confident. She wasn't the only one who changed too.

I thought of how much I had changed.

She had shone her light into my life and changed me, when I thought there wasn't hope for me anymore.

After saying our goodbyes, we walked hand in hand through the opening. The moment we stepped out of it, the magical portal closed immediately, like it was designed to once someone walked through it.

As we looked up, we stood before the pack’s gate. The skies were dark, but the sun was slowly starting to rise.

“Magic really makes life so easy. I’m saving the portal I have to go on a vacation.”

That was the first thing she said to me after the ritual, and I couldn’t help but grin. As I looked into her eyes, I could see the light in them.

“You can travel anywhere you want to. You won't even need a portal. I’ll pay for everything.”

She smirked playfully, “I know you’re rich, but I hate sitting in the plane for hours,” her gaze shifted back to the gates, “I can't believe we’re finally home.”

The way she called it home warmed my heart, “Let’s go in.”

As we approached the gate, my senses immediately heightened and I felt the hairs on my neck stand. An uneasy feeling settled in.

Something was wrong.

When I felt Gina’s hand squeeze mine, I knew she got the unsettling feeling too.

The guards were alert as they growled out, determined to know who we were. When they saw me, their demeanor shifted into one of respect as they retreated.

“Welcome back, Alpha Devyn,” they greeted me as I and Gina walked through the gates.

“What the hell happened here?” I asked, catching the smell of blood lingering in the air. One of them stood in front of me, a concerned expression on his face.

“We were attacked a few hours ago, by wolves from another pack,” he explained.

Beside me. I felt Gina’s body tense as anger coursed through me. The enemies had to gut to attack while I was gone.

“How much damage was caused?”

“There were no casualties, thanks to the Beta and Gamma, though few of our men got injured. There were not more than ten of them. We killed almost all, but some managed to escape.”

The wires in my brain kept running as questions about the attack filled my mind.

Why would they attack in such a small number? The defense in my pack was one of the strongest, and sending ten wolves was sending them to die.

Was their plan to kill Gina? Did they think she was here or did they know already?

Realization hit me— the attack might have just been a diversion to take something of value. While everyone was busy fighting, there could have been something going on behind the scene.

That was the only logical explanation.

As we walked back to our home, Gina’s face held a worried expression, and I could hear her heartbeat racing. Something was bothering her, I could tell.

“Thank God no one was killed,” she whispered beside me, “But I have a bad feeling.”

Me too, I wanted to say, but that would only make her worry more.

I sent a mental message to Liam and Wilona, informing them that we were reaching the house already.

When we got there, they were already in front of the house, waiting to welcome us.

I immediately noticed the solemn expressions they wore on their faces, looked extremely worried and far from happy.

“Liam! Wilona!” Gina exclaimed as she left my hand to rush towards them.

As she threw her arms around the both of them, embracing them, something stirred in my gut.

As she stepped back, her smile slipped off when she noticed the expression on their faces.

“What’s wrong?” confusion laced her and it made my heart churn.

At that point, I alreadly knew what was wrong.

“I’m sorry, Gina,” Liam’s eyes hardened as he spoke, “They took her.”

I winced when I saw Gina’s body tense.

After all she had been through in Romania, returning back to hear this weighed heavily on her.

The expression on her face broke me and rage coursed through me.

Stepping in front of Liam, my jaw clenched, “How could you let this happen?”

Liam met my gaze, his expression that of guilt, “We were fighting the others off, and when we realized what their plan was, it was already too late.”

Gina still stood frozen in shock, and I hated seeing her like this.

“You’re both incompetent. Every time I leave you both to something, you fuck it up!”

Wilona’s eyes glowed, and I could feel her anger brewing. Unlike Liam, She was more impatient and highly egotistical. She never liked being scolded.

“How could we have known that was what they wanted? She’s human, she couldn’t have sent us a mind message,” Wilona retorted, “We kept her safe and locked in the house. How they got her is still a mystery.”

Liam cut in, “We had to watch over the pack and fight off the wolves. That was what we were assigned as Beta and Gamma to do, and that's exactly what we did,” I hated his tone.

My nostrils flared, “If I was here, I wouldn’t have let this happen. When Gina got attacked, and her friend killed, you weren't there,” the image of Gina badly hurt that night flashed through my mind, fueling my anger “I should strip you both of your positions.”

Liam took a step forward this time, his chest rumbling with a growl as countered me, “And where were you when that night? Running away just so you could leave your mate?”

Something snapped in me, and I saw red. Hastily, I fisted Liam’s shirt, ready to beat him to a pulp.

“Enough!”

Suddenly, Gina’s voice halted my fist in midair, and we all turned to look at her.

She glared at us through narrowed eyes, and her lips formed into a firm tight line. Something about the intense furious expression on her face unsettled me.

“Kristen was kidnapped, and all you guys do is throw blame?” she stepped forward, and grabbed my arm, her nails digging into my skin, “You let your anger get the best of you, Devyn. Let him go now.”

I don’t know if it was her authoritative tone, or the fiery look in her eyes that made me obey. I released my grip on Liam, while he straightened his clothes.

I avoided her gaze in shame as she looked between the both of us.

“My best friend was taken, and if you’re not bothered about it, I am. I

We should be thinking of how to rescue her, not trying to fucking kill yourselves.”

At that moment, a ringing phone interrupted the tension in the air, and it had come from Liam’s pocket. Silence enveloped us as we waited for him to answer the call.

“Hello? Who’s this?”

Liam’s eyes widened.

Removing the phone from his ear, he handed it to Gina who looked puzzled.

“It’s Damien, and he says he has Kristen.”