Chapter 27 Chapter 27
Chapter 27
DEREK
Connor was already on it, switching between camera feeds as the SUVs pulled back onto the highway. "They're heading east, toward the industrial district. No plates visible—they've obscured them."
"Of course they have." I pulled out my phone and dialed Mrs. Chen, our housekeeper.
She answered on the second ring. "Mr. Sterling?"
"Where was Selene going today?" I demanded. "Did she tell you anything?"
"She mentioned having lunch with your grandmother at the Rosewood Bistro. Noon reservation. Is everything alright?"
Grandmother. Fuck. I hung up on Mrs. Chen and immediately called Rosalie.
"Derek, darling," she answered warmly. "Are you calling about lunch? I'm waiting for Selene, but she's running a bit late—"
"She's not coming," I interrupted. "Grandmother, Selene's been taken."
Silence on the other end. Then, very carefully: "Taken? By whom?"
"I don't know yet. But they were werewolves, Grandmother. Werewolves who knew exactly who she was and what car she'd be driving." I was pacing now, my wolf demanding action, demanding blood. "This wasn't random. This was planned."
"Oh no," Rosalie breathed. "Derek, you don't think—"
"I don't know what to think. But I'm going to find her, and I'm going to tear apart whoever did this."
I hung up and turned back to the screens. Connor had tracked the SUVs to the industrial district, but then the trail went cold—they'd driven into an area with no camera coverage.
"Damn it!" I slammed my fist on the desk, leaving a dent in the metal. "How can there be no coverage?"
"It's the old factory district," Connor explained. "Most of those buildings are abandoned, no active security systems. It's a dead zone."
A dead zone. Perfect place to take someone you wanted to disappear.
Marcus stepped closer, his voice low. "Derek, if these are hunters—"
"They're not hunters." I was certain of that, at least. "Hunters would have killed her on the spot, used her to send a message. This was an abduction. They want something."
"Then who—"
My phone rang. Unknown number.
I answered immediately. "Who is this?"
A male voice, distorted by some kind of voice modulator: "Alpha Sterling. We need to talk."
Every muscle in my body tensed. "Where is my wife?"
"Safe. For now. Whether she stays that way depends on you."
"If you've hurt her—" I started, but the voice cut me off.
"She's alive. Injured from the crash, but alive. We've provided basic medical care. How long she stays alive depends on your cooperation."
"What do you want?"
"A trade. Territory and power, Alpha. You control too much of this city, have too much influence over both the human and wolf worlds. We want the western district—full control, full autonomy. You withdraw your pack, cede the territory, and we return your wife unharmed."
The western district. The same territory where rogues had been spotted, where tensions had been building for months. This wasn't a random kidnapping—this was a calculated move by a rival pack trying to gain power.
"Who are you?" I demanded. "What pack?"
"That doesn't matter. What matters is your decision. You have forty-eight hours to withdraw from the western district and transfer territorial rights. If you comply, your wife will be released. If you don't..." The voice paused significantly. "Well, human bodies are so fragile, aren't they? Especially when they're already injured."
The line went dead.
I stood there, phone in hand, a killing rage building inside me. They had Selene. They were using her to extort territory from me, to weaken my pack's position.
And the worst part—the part that made my wolf snarl with fury—was that it was working. Because despite everything, despite the fact that our marriage was an obligation and not a choice, despite my feelings for Jasmine, the thought of Selene being hurt, being afraid, being in danger...
It was unbearable.
"Get everyone up here," I said to Marcus, my voice deadly calm. "Every pack member who can fight. I want surveillance on every abandoned building in the western district. I want informants shaken down, contacts called in, every resource we have dedicated to finding her."
"Derek," Marcus said carefully. "If we go in heavy, if we start a war with another pack over a human—"
"She's not just a human. She's my wife. She's under my protection." My eyes met his, and I let my wolf show through, let him see the Alpha power that made Marcus drop his gaze in submission. "And I will burn this entire city to the ground before I let them keep her."