“That bastard took that woman from me. I am going to teach that man a lesson he would never forget,” he said, leaning forward and glaring at Dvorak. “That bastard had his way with Marianna and now, Selena? What the fuck? He’s screwing around with women in my life! I’m gonna rip his wolf head off!” He got control of himself and set back, his mouth working and he remained motionless until his rage died down. “I’ll need to speak to Hatton. Meanwhile, tell Dutch to keep a good eye on Selena. Weston stays sharp and watches the parameters. You stay in the house”
A little shaken by the horrifying, murderous expression he had seen on Caesar ’s face, Dvorak said;
“Do you want me to check in on Safiya?”
“No, leave her alone. She’s not going anywhere, that one”
Dvorak nodded and went out of the room. Caesar picked up his phone and dialed Bill Hatton's number. He picked immediately.
“Listen to this,” Caesar sneered. And he went on to tell Hatton his new discoveries. When he was down, he could hear the other man, his breathing excitedly at the other end.
“Caesar , this is unthinkable,”
“I know right. You see, it’s safe to say Lionel tried to rape her and she hit him hard. Lionel’s strode was just a whole lie sprinkled with truth. Anyways, you’ve got her cellphone with you?”
“Yeah, yeah. It’s all here with some of the stuffs we found on her at her home”
“Good! Go through her contacts. I believe Victor’s number will be there. If you see it, send it to me. Then go through her social media’s; WhatsApp, message and the rest. Anything you see that linked Victor to her, send it. I need to know what those two have been discussing for months. Also, send Dean and some hunters to Selena’s home. Let them search it clean. We might not find anything but still I don’t want to knock out that angle,”
“Okay, I will do that right away,”
Caesar remained on his chair for close to an hour. Just as he was about to stand up and fix himself a drink, he got a Whatsapp message beep on his phone. He picked his phone and went through it. His eyes widened in shock when he saw Victor’s cell phone number and also screenshots of the back and forth chats between Victor and Selena. A wave of anger gripped him when he saw the newspapers Info about the Wolf Stopper Selena had screenshot ted to Victor. No wonder, Victor had been able to slip through the hunters at the gate. Somehow, he had found a way to bypass the hunters, WolfStoppers, without it detecting their presence. Caesar heaved heavily.
He sat down on his chair, smoking and thinking hard. Did Selena actually know Victor was a werewolf? Did she know? He doubted it. He remembered the incident in Sam’s bar when he heard killed Conan and the way Selena had behaved. No! Selena did not know Ryjker was a werewolf! Victor must have hidden the truth about who he really hit her, that’s why she was still with him. He continued to brood, details swimming into his mind; some he discarded, others he filed away. When he was done, he dialed Victor’s number which Hatton had texted to him. He waited patiently as the phone rang, his face expressionless. Then he heard a masculine voice.
“Selena! I’ve been calling all day. What happened?” There was a lot of worry in Victor’s voice.
Caesar held the cellphone in his hand tightly, and he felt an infuriating rush of blood mounting to his face.
“Hey Selena! Are you there? Won’t you say something?”
“Selena is not here! This is Caesar!” His voice was low and guttural. “You killed Lionel you sonofabitch! I know you want Selena. I know you want her, you fucking sucker! You want her? Come and get her!” And he ended the call before Victor could say anything. He placed the cellphone on his desk, his big hands lay on the table, his fingers tapping, his eyes cold and empty. He thought Victor would call back but after like an hour or so, no call came.
******************************
Victor stared at the cellphone in his hand, his face pale and set. Caesar? Did he just speak to Caesar? What the hell was he doing with Selena’s phone? Then Caesa ’s word came to him; “you killed Lionel you rat bastard”. Victor’s heart sank. Caesar ingeniously had quickly figured out that he killed Lionel.
Oh Selena! He had put her in danger. For some moments, he remained motionless, thinking of calling back Caesar but he discarded the thought. It was useless. The only logical thing to do right now was to find a way to get Selena out of that place. inwardly, he knew Selena would be in Caesar’s mansion. Probably in one of his rooms. But going there alone would be dangerous. He had been lucky with entering Lionel’s house, he might not just be lucky with Caesar .
The wolf hunter house would definitely be well guarded. Also, Caesar was no ordinary man like Lionel, he was an experienced wolf hunter. Though the fact that Caesar was skilled meant little to Victor now that they had a little face off in the past. The fact that Selena could be harmed or killed if his plan of going to Caesar’s lair for a showdown failed is what meant a lot to him.
Victor fumbled into his trouser pockets for a pack of cigarettes. He took it out, shook one out, lit it and drew in smoke. He felt better now and his mind began to work. A wild thought came into his mind and he stiffened. What was that thought? He asked himself. What if he goes back to the Blood Rebel pack and asks for help? Yes, what if? Well, the pack had a grudge against Caesar for killing Jack. So if he tells them he wants to join them in getting back at Caesar , ofcourse, they would oblige. The only person who could stand in his way was Helldog. Yeah, the Alpha could really be a formidable enemy for him.
Victor hated this idea but right now, that was the only logical option that came to his mind. If it was about him, he wouldn’t bother to do anything, but for Selena, he would do anything. Yes, that’s what he was going to do. Get himself teamed up with the Blood Rebel pack and have a great showdown at Caesar’s house. Yeah, that’s the plan! His thoughts went back to Selena. Is there any one in town who would notice her absence? He shook his head. Selena had no friends. There was no one to call. But surely, there had to be someone he could call. He heaved heavily and drew in a long, slow breath. Just then, the image of Selena’s father came to his mind.
For Christ sakes! He had forgotten about the old man. But how could he reach the man? Who could he call? The digital map! Yes! That was it! He remembered that while he had searched for Lionel's house address, he had seen something like a phone contact in the millionaire’s profile.
Quickly, he crossed the room to where he had shuffled the wooden box into a corner, grabbed it up and took it to the table. He opened it and took out the digital map. He switched it on, and searched for Sam Wesley. The man’s profile came up. He tapped on it and scrolled up. His eyes caught the phone contact. His body flooding with excitement and relief, he dialed Sam’s number and waited. The line rang for sometime and then he heard a hoarse, weary voice.
“Sam’s here!”
Victor heaved heavily.
“This is Victor! Remember me?”
Sam’s memory was as sharp as salt.
“Victor? For Pete's sake! What the hell are you calling me for? You are outlawed! Wait a minute. How the hell did you get my number?”
“Save your questions, old ball!” Victor said evenly. “Listen! Selena has been kidnapped. Do you hear me? I believe Caesar has her!”
There was a heavy silence, at the other end, then I heard the old man's voice.
“You’ve got to be wet, behind your ears boy! Don’t go fooling around with old Sam!” Sam said curtly, but there was alarm in his voice.
“Listen to me! Caesar has Selena. There’s a lot you don’t know and there’s no time to talk right now! Find Selena! You can go to her place and see if she’s there, if she’s not, then Caesar has her.”
“Wait! Wait! Who told you all these? How the hell am I supposed to believe all these?” Sam wailed.
“I can’t say anything right now. I just wanted you to know how things are going with your daughter. Find Selena! I’ll do my own part too. Goodbye,” Victor said and ended the call.
Knowing the old man might call back, he switched off his cellphone and walked out of the room onto the patio and stood there. The early morning breeze fanned his face, his opened shirt, cooling the inside of him. Inexplicably, his hand went to the chain with the ivory tusk around his neck. He held it tight. She said it will protect me and bring me luck, he thought. Selena , hope for both our sakes it brings us luck cause we really need it now. And to his amazement, his heart began to pound hard and fast and he did not know why.
****************
Safiya sat still on the bed, cross legged; Buddha style, and smoking, her face expressionless, her eyes hot and intent as Caesar talked to her.
“Victor killed that man,” he said, pacing around the room restlessly, his hands folded behind him. “He killed that man like a chicken! A whole Fur Elder of this town!” He hissed, and he went to the window side and stood there, looking down at the grounds of the mansion absentmindedly.
“What evidence do you have linking Victor to the man’s death?”She asked in a bored, bland tone. “Do you have any proof that he did it?”
Caesar turned to look at her.
“I’ve got enough to nail him clean.”
“What is it? Tell me?” She urged.
Caesar stared at her thoughtfully, Then he shrugged indifferently.
“Well if you have to know, then you must know,” he said, then he went on to tell her about how Victor had slept with his sister and how he had betrayed her, what actually happened on his wedding day and also went on to tell her about his interaction with Selena in the cell. “You see, her reaction to the mention of his name did it for me. You should have seen her face. It was like she wanted to eat me raw. I’ve known Selena for a very good long time now and I would say I’ve never seen her look so disturbed at the mention of a man’s name. It was as if she didn't want me to talk about Victor. Also, she kept screaming at me to leave Victor alone. Christ! You should’ve seen her. She looked like a demented, little witch.” He spat angrily.
Safiya was staring sightlessly at him now, as if her mind were anxious and preoccupied with some urgent thinking. Caesar caught the seriousness on her face.
“What? What are you thinking about?”
She gave a little start.
“What did you say?”
“What are you thinking?” He said curtly. “You seem to be thinking about something not quite long ago,”
She gave him a half smile.
“Wanna hear what I think?”
“Shoot!” Caesar replied.
“According to you, this girl in the cell, Selena, was she the one that left you on the altar?” Caesar nodded, and she went on. “Good! I believe you when you said that the girl in that cell cares about Victor. I dare to say they are even lovers. They have been seeing each other right after your failed wedding”
“That’s no news. I have already thought of that possibility. In Fact, I strongly believe they’ve been intimate for a long time.” he snarled at her.
“Well in that case you should be prepared for a fight, a big one, that is,” Safiya said.
Caesar narrowed his eyes on her.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’m telling you Victor is coming for her! He’s coming for his woman!” She said curtly.
“I’ve thought of that too, but I don’t believe he can actually come for her. One werewolf against me, my Fur Hunters and their WolfStoppers! That’s suicide! He will be killed like a dog,” Caesar spat back, evil amusement in his eyes.
“You are a fool, if you think he’s coming here alone,” she jeered at him. “You have his woman now and he’s gonna do everything there is to take her back! Prepare for a fight, Mr Wolf hunter.The biggest fight ever!”
Caesar stared at her, bewildered, her words running through his head. Then he stiffened as the meaning behind the words hit him hard.