Clarifying rumours
The overwhelming feeling of disappointment rested on my shoulders as I sat back on the ground. If they weren't coming for me, then getting out of here would be impossible and so would saving Elena.
Trent's gonna do whatever shit he pleases with her and I wouldn't be able to prevent that. That would be a damn apocalypse. The most pathetic and saddening fate that could ever befall me.
I held back the urge to shed the tears rumbling in my heart. I shut my eyes to hold them back. The faint echo ringing in my ears felt like the crashing sound of my heart.
But then it grew louder, forcing my eyes open sharply. The echo was a damn roar! And the gunshots were a fucking melody to it. There were also the slicing sounds of swords in the background.
My heart kicked vehemently at the soothing sound of chaos. They came!
I stood, feeling fucking ecstatic. Not more than five minutes, I heard familiar sounds of footsteps approaching my cage.
“Boss!”
“Greetings, Alpha!” Miguel and his little troop greeted me in unison.
He fuzzed with the keys a bit before the door finally opened. I stepped out, inhaling sharply.
“Sorry about the delay,” Miguel bowed. “We got a tip-off. Alpha Trent is on the run, alongside Luna Vanessa. I think he left at dawn.”
“What?!” I began walking with hurried steps and they followed behind. “And Elena? Where is she?”
“We're still looking for her.”
“Looking for her?!” I gasped in disbelief. We entered the main building, and it was reeling with bloodshed, dead bodies, and the exotic smell of war.
My men had dominated the building but Trent's army was still putting up a fight outside.
“Yes, boss. We don't know if he ran off with her. Or if she's somewhere in this building. We're still searching…”
“That’s impossible,” my bones were cracking at the thought of Trent leaving with Elena. I hope that wasn't the case. I hope she's here, somewhere. Because if not…
“Alpha Vince!” A random voice called. I turned. It was one of my men. And the figure he was carrying was my Elena!
I sprinted to him, taking her from his arms. She was unconscious and had a bad bruise on her temple. Pale, like she'd been out for long.
“Elena!!” I was losing my mind at how ghostly she looked. I ran to the couch and dropped her on it. I patted her face softly. “Elena, baby…”
“We found her in the basement.” The man who carried her said.
My eyes popped. “Ba…sement?!”
“Yeah. It seems Trent had left her there so she would die or something.”
I'm gonna kill that boy!
“Find him. I want him at my feet before the day ends!”
“Yes, Alpha Vince!”
“Elena,” I whispered, checking for a pulse. Thank God, she's breathing. But it's weak. “What did he do to you?” I was frantically touching her face, her hair, whilst struggling to catch my fucking breath.
“Boss, you need to leave right now. Alpha Luke and Alpha Leo are outside. They already arranged the press conference. You should get going.”
“Get going? Are you insane? I need to take Elena to the hospital.”
“I can do that for you.” Miguel opted. It felt like a convincing idea but I didn't wanna let her out of my sight.
“No…” I shook my head.
“Boss. You're needed at the press conference. If you don't go there, this whole thing would be for nothing.”
A tear dropped from my eyes and that left me feeling even more shattered. I wasn't the type to cry. If it gets bad enough to make me cry, then it must have really brutally crushed my soul.
I kissed her forehead, shutting my eyes briefly. It was crushing for me to hand her over to Miguel, but he was right. That press conference was the highlight of my rebellion. I needed to be there.
“Don't take your eyes off her. Let me know when you get to the hospital. And…stay close. Guard her door…”
“Boss, I got it. She's in safe hands.” He assured me.
I nodded, getting on my feet. I was almost hyperventilating. And I was finding it even harder to take my eyes off her.
“Boss,” Miguel whispered.
“Right, I'm going,” I patted his shoulder. “You know I trust you.”
“Thank you, boss.” He nodded curtly.
I stepped outside, and seeing all Trent's men dead soothed my rage a bit. The men at the main gate opened it and I stepped out.
There was a long line of black cars. Leo and Luke were leaning on the middle car.
They saw me and Leo opened the passenger door. I slid inside without a word to any of them. They both entered, too, and the car began moving.
“How you feeling?” Leo broke the silence.
“Elena's unconscious.” That should give him all the answers he needed.
“Aw, man. I'm so sorry.”
Discussing this wasn't a good idea. I was on the verge of tearing up. I'd rather change the subject.
“Where are the others?” I asked Luke, who'd been quietly observing us. He was the only ally here.
“Two at the press conference. The others already assembled the head elders of your Pack, threatening them into letting you become Alpha again.”
“Threatening them?”
“Yes, threatening them. They seem to be really against the idea of you being Alpha again.”
Those ungrateful bastards! Trent probably paid them tons and now they're suddenly loyal to him. These are men that became rich, all fucking thanks to me and my business ideas when I was Alpha.
“They shouldn't be threatened into letting me become Alpha again. They should be more grateful that I'm offering to become Alpha again. This whole pack would be dust if I didn't take back control.” I ended with a hiss.
“I think they'll come around.”
“Like they got a damn choice.”
The brief silence left a gap for me to wallow in thoughts of Elena. I hope she's still breathing. That's the part that scares me the most.
I hope she's breathing…
“Can you try not to look so distraught? We're arriving at the venue soon. You don't want those aggressive reporters to pick on your distress.” Leo said.
I bit back a curse and ‘tried’ to look more relaxed. The cars drove into the sparse compound of the conference building.
We alighted the car and almost got eaten up by the aggressive reporters. Don't get me started with the blinding flashlights.
Our men held them back while we walked through a path, me in front. We got inside the building and headed to the conference hall.
It was crammed with every distinguished, nosy, and professional reporter from my pack, Leo's Pack, Luke's Pack, and the other men who were helping me out.
I had them bring everyone here.
Their cameras were aimed at me as I headed up the podium. But somehow, the chaos died in a second, and their eager eyes and ears awaited what I had to say.
“First off, I'd like to thank y'all for coming,” I began, swiping my gaze across the hall. “I know there's been groundless and ugly rumors about me for months and the fact that they've remained uncleared has been…well, bothersome. So I'm giving y'all the chance to ask your questions before I can go ahead and tell y'all why I called for this meeting.”
The chaos began again. Questions flew right and left. I waited till they were calm enough to let one person speak.
They eventually calmed. And a guy in the front row asked me a question.
“Is it true that you had an affair with Luna Elena?”
Of course. The billion-dollar question.
“Yes.”
There wasn't any hesitation. No regrets in my tone. No…mincing words. It was a straight, unapologetic, cocky ‘Yes.’
It sent the crowd into a frenzy that lasted for roughly ten minutes. And then another asked a question.
“Why??!”
“Because she's my second-chance mate.”