Chapter Forty-two
GIOVANNI
“I’m sorry, sir. We haven’t been able to find her.” I turned around and threw my table into the wall, screaming in anger.
“What do you mean you haven’t been able to find her?!” I said, sending my fist into his face. His mates caught him as he stumbled, and blood started to flow from his nose.
It had been two months since Luna went missing, and we had been searching for her without any positive outcome.
One thing I was certain of was that whoever did this had to be an expert, but then no one would that level of expertise would dare to cross me. They didn’t usually survive it.
I had more or less combed the country, and not been able to find her. I blamed myself for this. I should have insisted that she went with more guards. I should have insisted that she never left the house at all. Now, here I was… without my mate.
That was why I didn’t want a mate; they made you weak, you stopped thinking logically. And worse, a human mate. She couldn’t defend herself against werewolves even if she tried, and that made it worse for me… and for her.
I sat in my chair and buried my head in my hands. I signaled to the guard to get out and then pulled at my hair. I heard a knock on the door and ignored it. The knocking continued, more insistent with each hit on the mahogany wood.
“Go away!!!” The knocking stopped, but my door opened slowly. I raised my head in pure rage, ready to rip apart the unfortunate being that stepped into my room.
“Hey…”
Alessandro slowly poked his head into the room and waved at me. I sighed and waved him in. He came in, closed the door behind him, and took a few moments to survey the room and the damage I had done. I looked over at the table and saw that two of the four legs had broken, and my wall now had a hole in it. He looked back at me with an exasperated expression, and I shrugged. I wasn’t thinking very properly.
“Brother?”
“What? Didn’t you hear when I said to go away?!”
“I did. But I come bearing news. Good news, depending on how you see it.”
“If it’s not related to Luna, I don’t want to hear about it.” I stood and went to stand at the window, my gesture meaning that I was done talking to him. But he only stepped closer and continued talking.
“It’s about her.”
My ears perked up and I turned around to face him. “Yes?”
“I might have an idea of where she is.”
“How? Where?”
“I was at my father’s place earlier…”
“Guillermo?”
“Do I have another father that I am not aware of?” He sighed and continued, “When I was leaving, I could hear someone screaming my name. I looked up, but I couldn’t see anyone.”
My hopes deflated, and anger rose. “Do you think this is a joke?!”
He raised his arms in defense. “No…no…it’s just that the voice...it sounded very much like Luna’s.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I didn’t see her, though, so I cannot tell you for certain that she is the one. But the voice, and the fact that it came from the top room in the mansion where my father keeps his prisoners... well…”
I nodded. “Where is this place?”
“In the mountains. South of here. It’s one of those really old castle buildings that were built in the 18th century.”
“Grand. I will mobilize my men and we will attack that place.”
“That is not a very good idea.”
“And why not?”
“You see, my father has more mercenaries and weapons than what you can imagine. That building would be very difficult to infiltrate. He would know you’re there as soon as your shadow darkens his doorstep.”
“So, what do we do?”
“We wait. I will go back and spend some time with him, learn about the place and all its security. When I get back, we will draw a proper plan on how to get in and get to Luna before any sort of confrontation occurs.”
As much as I wanted to go in there, guns blazing, and get Luna back, Alessandro had a point. If the place was as fortified as he said it was, it would take a while to get to Luna—and she might be killed before I did.
It was disrespectful and shameful for a prisoner to be taken from you alive, no matter how important that prisoner was. it was better they died. It was very likely that Guillermo shared that ideology, seeing that he was more or less born and raised in the mafia.
“Okay. When would you be leaving for your father’s place?”
“Tomorrow. I need to put some things in place.”
I nodded, and he turned around to leave. When he opened the door, he looked back at me and smiled. “We’ll find her, and we will get her back.”
I nodded, and he left. I sighed when the door closed. Why hadn’t I thought of Guillermo? The way he had been all over Luna at the auction, what Sergio had said happened.
I had just put it down to he was looking for action for the night, and thought she was going to be it.
If he had been the one to take Luna, it wouldn’t end well for him, regardless of the fact that he was family. I picked up my phone and put a call to my father.
He picked up on the first ring. “Hello, son. Any progress?”
“Yes… and your brother is in the middle of it.”
There was silence on the other end for a while. “How do you mean?”
“Guillermo had Luna. It was his men who ambushed her vehicle.”
Silence. “Are you sure?”
It was my turn to be quiet. “No. Not yet, but I have a hunch.”
My father sighed on the other end of the phone. “Your hunch might just be right.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your uncle’s mate. The one who got away. Isabelle. She is Luna’s mother.”
“My goodness. Are you sure?”
“Yes, yes. Things didn’t end very well between them. And he hasn’t gotten over it since then.”
“How do you know that she is Luna’s mother?”
“I like to do my research, especially when my only child’s mate is a human. I’ve only seen that happen once… with my brother.”
“Hm.”
“What is your next course of action?”
“To get Luna back, of course.”
“Be careful. Your uncle is more dangerous than you think.”
“I’ve been given enough reason to believe that.”
I cut the call and headed outside. I needed to get my men in order; we had a war on our hands. No matter the cost, Luna must be returned home in one piece.