Chapter 43

ALEXIA

He slapped me hard in the cheeks that I tasted my blood in my mouth.

"Just kill me instead you animal. Why are you waiting for huh? Just kill me" I yelled over and over again but he doesn't answer.

He stood up fully till he was looking down on me.

"You my dear is just what I needed to get my revenge. When they both find out that their beloved mate is missing, they'll do anything I say to get you back" he smirks at me "But that will only happen when I've had my fill of your luscious body. I will have you Alexia. Hopefully when I'm done, I pray to the goddess that your mates doesn't find you dead."

His words has me shivering.

"He will find me. They will find me" the statement was directed to myself more than it was to him. I needed to keep hope alive. I needed something to believe in.

"How can they?"

"What?"

He threw an empty bottle at my feet. I stare at the bottle but I cannot make out what it is or what he's trying to say.

Confused, I raise up my head to look at him. His lips are curved into a devilish smile.

"You can keep praying that they do find you Alexia bit you were sprinkled with wolfbane. It masks a wolf scent so even if they break through the grounds of this earth, they will never find you" he bursts into a cackling laughter and walks away.

I try my best to suppress the tears that are threatening to fall down from my eyes as Fred's words played inside my head over and over again.

"...There is no news. It's almost like he disappeared into thin air..."

My emotions choke me and I couldn't hold back the tears anymore. They won't find me and Jed will have his way with me. I close my eyes and say a silent prayer to the goddess, begging her to not let Jed win and help Fred to find me even though deep down, a voice was telling me how impossible it was going to be.

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FRED

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I am in my bedroom when the warning bell rings out alerting the entire palace and village. That bell is usually ring when something terrible has befallen the land.

I abandon what I am doing and head out of my chambers. The maids and servants are running helter skelter and I am confused as to what is going on.

I lurch towards Asher's chambers. I open the door and he is pacing wordlessly.

The look on his face is uncertain. I cannot tell if he had heard the news or hasn't.

"What's going on?" I ask and that was when he looked at me. He takes a deep breath but doesn't say a single word.

"Asher?" I can again.

"Alexia was not found in the dungeon this morning" he breaks the news like it meant nothing when I am struggling to come to terms with what he said and understand if my ears heard correctly or not.

"There is no way..."

"The guard alerted me" he interrupts and walks back to his desk.

"And how can you act like it means nothing? This is clearly Jed's doing"

"That girl has brainwashed you into believing that she can be trusted. She's working for Jed"

"And how can you be so sure? She has been in this palace ever since she came here."

"And you seem to be forgetting that all our problems started the minute she arrived."

"I will not have you tarnish her image this way?"

"Or what will you do?" He threw the parchment he was working on and advanced towards me angrily "In case you're forgetting then let me remind you. I am the Alpha of this pack. This is my pack and you're the Beta which means you take instructions from me Fred."

"She is your mate Asher"

"The goddess was mistaken when she gave me a woman from Jed's pack as my mate. A backstabbing traitor. Why can't you understand that she has been planning all this From the first time she stepped her foot in this place." He looked at me straight in the eye.

"Our pack is in jeopardy Fred. Not her. For all we know she could be coddling with Jed. Father trusted easily and that was why we lost him. What I expect from you is to be prepared and not worry about someone who clearly doesn't care"

"She didn't do it" I remained adamant on my decision "Sally did"

"Who's Sally?"

"Alpha Jed's daughter that has been disguising herself as an ally of the pack."

"What? And how come you didn't tell me about this?" His facial expression has changed drastically.

"Because I thought that you won't believe me. Alexia found out that about it. That night that you thought I went to visit her. It was actually Sally in disguise as me" I stated he paused for a moment.

"Sally has been working for Jed and now Alexia is gone. Jed must have taken her because he knows that she is your mate" I refuse to tell him the part that she is our mate. One step at a time.

"Where is this Sally?"

I shrug and he alerted a guard to go and fetch her. The guard arrives later with news that Sally is not anywhere near the palace.

"Did you look everywhere?"

"I did Alpha king but the other servants said she didn't return to bed at night" he answered.

"And that was the exact time that Alexia went missing last night" I finish the statement and he looks on.

"Find her" he barked angrily at the guard but I stop him before he could move an inch.

"You cannot Asher"

"What do you mean?"

"If you had listened to me when I tried to tell you before that Alexia was innocent then it wouldn't have come to this." I scolded but he was too astounded to reply "You cannot find what you cannot smell or see." I quoted Alexia's words to him.

"The day that Jed escaped, we couldn't pick up a single scent because he was masked. I do not know how they managed to pull it off but I got thinking and the only thing strong enough to mask a wolf's scent is wolfsbane."

"But it is rare and almost impossible to make"

"That's what I thought but then that's the only explanation to why we haven't seen Fred and it Alexia was captured too then it only means we cannot find her."

Asher creased his forehead in frustration before turning to the guard.

"Assemble the members of the council and Fred, get the warrior sentinels ready. This time, Jed will die by my hands" Asher declared before walking out of his chambers. Leaving me to follow.

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