Chapter 108 108
EMMANUEL
I know this isn’t a good idea, but I couldn’t even refuse. I know this is what Lois needs—at least that I try, instead of standing there like a statue telling her it can’t be done.
But the truth is, it can’t be done!
If my father already has him, he won’t let him go.
The worst thing that could have happened is exactly what did: they caught him again. And this time it was my father.
Maybe… maybe we shouldn’t have left him there. Maybe walking away without him wasn’t the best idea, but Lois was in danger and he couldn’t come with us. The funniest part is that he ended up in the pack anyway. How did they find him? I mean, I know they had his trail—the same way we did—but I thought he’d move, hide, I don’t know… do something.
Apparently he stayed right where we left him, and that’s where they caught him.
The rumors are flying everywhere.
The vampire is here. That’s what they’re saying.
Aidan isn’t here. My chest tightens, rage rising, and I confront a guard in the restricted wing—his figure tense under my stare.
“Where’s the vampire?” I growl, demanding the answer he has.
“Alpha Thorne ordered him removed,” he replies, eyes down, evasive. “I don’t know where.”
“You don’t know?” I repeat, stepping closer, my shadow swallowing him. “Tell me where they took him!”
He shrinks, but shakes his head, and the fury burns hotter. I don’t have time for this. I turn and run toward my mother’s scent—the only place I’ll get real answers.
I don’t want to deal with my father. I’d rather ask my mother.
The door is ajar. I enter without knocking; the air is thick with her presence. Mom stands reviewing papers, her eyes lifting to me.
“How’s Lois doing?” she asks, scanning me up and down for a few seconds before looking away. “You look tense. Has something happened?”
“Nothing bad. She’s fine. Whatever they did with her blood worked. Thank you. I thought you were against her—in fact, I didn’t fully trust you.”
“Do you think I’d use my abilities to kill patients?”
“What I think is that you agree with Dad… and that you don’t believe she deserves to be my mate.”
“She’s not worth killing. This isn’t the Cold War, Emmanuel.”
“You don’t like her.”
“And I’m not going to pretend I do. I didn’t like her from the moment I saw her… But right now she’s just a patient. We gave her a chance, but even now I don’t know what we expected from her. Back at university, part of me hoped she’d change somehow. You’re a strong mate, an alpha—but that wasn’t enough to make her stronger. Many omegas grow stronger with their mates, and with your strength, some change should have happened. That’s why we changed our minds, gave her time to prepare herself better, and it didn’t happen. That’s when we decided… another mate.”
“And now?”
“I haven’t changed my mind. I just refuse to lose both my sons over an insignificant omega.”
“She’s not insignificant to us.”
“It doesn’t take a genius to know you two are once again sharing the bond with her.”
“Something that bothers you too.”
“Sharing a mate… it’s not well regarded, Emmanuel. It isn’t.”
“I don’t care what others think.”
“But you’ll be an important leader! It should matter what others think. You have a huge responsibility to this pack and to a large part of wolf territory. With everything happening right now, it only reinforces the importance of keeping our bloodline in its purest form. A vampire… with your powers. Haven’t you thought about what kind of weapon that is in Enzo’s hands? Peace hangs by a thread—one as fragile as that omega’s life, Emmanuel. Let’s not fool ourselves. In the end, your whim could cost a lot of people their lives.”
“She’s not a whim! She’s my mate.”
“The worst one you could have been given. When the time comes, I have no doubt you’ll be a great leader—but I’m not sure you’ll be strong enough. These years of peace are nothing but an illusion. Even the humans know it, and maybe a species like them has started evolving in the face of threats you still don’t see.”
“I already know the speech. But that won’t make us leave Lois. And I won’t be a great leader—we will be. Ezequiel and I.”
“I love you both… But you’re wrong about many things. And I won’t let youth be the perfect excuse for you to do stupid things. Because you have experienced people trying to guide you. I’m glad you’re back, and I hope many things change for the better.”
“I want to see Aidan.”
She looks at me for a second, eyes narrowing, arms crossing, posture firm.
“He’s isolated, Emmanuel,” she says, voice low and hard. “For everyone’s safety.”
I step closer, hand bracing on her desk, lowering my voice to an urgent whisper.
Feigned disinterest—I shrug, gaze dropping to the floor.
“I just want to see him,” I say, voice casual even though my chest pounds. “Where is he?”
She sighs, hands falling to her sides, and studies me.
“I know you were university classmates,” she says, tone sharp. “But that vampire can’t be trusted, Emmanuel.”
“I don’t trust him,” I lie again, voice soft and persuasive. “I just want to see him. Out of curiosity.”
Mom hesitates for a moment, then nods, eyes still fixed on me.
“He’s in the cave,” she says quietly, almost a whisper. “Guarded by more than ten wolves, chained, with only one exit covered by strong warriors. Orders to kill if he tries to escape.”
That’s all I need. The cave. The vault. I’ve known it since I was a kid—when Ezequiel and I would sneak in, laughing, chatting with the guards, dreaming of being alphas. It’s the pack’s most secure stronghold, the least used, a place no one enters without permission. I nod in thanks and leave.
There’s no easy way out of this—not with my father, not with the pack, not with Lois crying for him.
She expects me to fix it.
I run, leaving the hospital behind, the forest closing around me, dark trees rising like sentinels. The cave is far—hidden in a hillside, entrance a crack veiled by vines. The guards see me coming; their bodies tense.
“No one enters,” the leader says, voice firm, eyes avoiding mine. “Alpha’s orders.”
“Are you seriously telling me you don’t recognize me? I’d like to think that’s it,” I growl, gaze cutting through them as I step forward, presence filling the air.
They exchange glances, hesitate, then move aside quickly.
I enter. Darkness swallows me, damp cold air clinging to my skin. The first door—a massive stone slab—weighs like a mountain, but I shift it easily, muscles straining, the echo booming through the cave. The corridor is narrow, rough walls scraping my shoulders, silence thick except for my breathing.
I reach the cell—a tiny chamber carved into rock—and there he is. Aidan. Chained to the wall, enchanted chains biting into his skin. His body slumps, dried blood staining his forehead, shoulder swollen, shirt torn. His eyes open—just barely—and we stare at each other through the thick darkness, his irises catching the faint light when he sees me.
I approach and crouch in front of him, hands snapping the enchanted chains. The magic burns my fingers, but I don’t stop. The chains fall to the ground with a resounding crash.
Aidan collapses, body weak. I catch him, helping him up—his weight light, fragile.
“Lois…” he whispers, voice broken, eyes searching mine. “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine,” I say, voice low and firm, even though his pain—the one Lois feels—hits me through our bond.
“Get me out of here,” he pleads, trembling hand gripping my arm, breath short and desperate.
I look around the cell—walls closing in, only exit guarded by warriors with kill orders. My chest tightens, rage and helplessness mixing. There’s no clear way out—not with my father, not with the pack, not with the humans and Enzo lurking.
“The first thing isn’t escaping,” I say, voice low and hard, helping him sit against the wall. “It’s knowing where to take you. There’s nowhere to go, Aidan.”
“I can’t go back to Enzo.”
“I know.”
“I can’t go back to Enzo.”
“I said I know! And right now I doubt my father will hand you over to him—I don’t think that’s going to happen. But I also don’t believe he’ll set you free. There’s nowhere to go.”
“I have to… get out of here.” Aidan looks at me, eyes shining in the dark, carrying a weight I don’t fully understand. He doesn’t belong to vampires—Lois said so—but he can’t stay with wolves. There’s no place for him, no refuge, and I have no answers. The cave feels smaller, the air heavier.
“I can’t leave her alone,” Aidan whispers, voice cracking, head dropping, blood dripping to the floor.
“What about human territory?”
“I’m not human!”
“From what I understand… they might perceive you as one, Aidan.”
“They have… things I don’t know what they are—something like anti-vampire barriers. The humans are very well prepared. I couldn’t stay there.”
“Hidden.”
“They know my face.”
“Aidan. I don’t know what to do. Lois wants me to free you, but that’s the worst idea.”
“Free me!”
“Where would you go? Where?”
“Your father… is going to kill me—” he lowers his gaze “—when they don’t know what to do with me, that’s what they’ll do. I had… I had a life I didn’t appreciate. I thought I was rejected at university for being the director’s son… my father—I don’t even know anything about my father. I hated my life. I was no one, felt like nothing. And suddenly I have nothing. I’m still no one, still have no one, and now I don’t even have a place to be. My hell could be Enzo, and my death could be Thorne.”
“If you panic, the same awaits Lois.”
“Do you think I want to drag her into this?! Do you think I want her to go through this?!”
“You can stop it,” I tell him. “You can.”
My chest stings at the idea I’m about to suggest, but… there’s no solution. If Aidan dies, Lois will suffer terribly. If he stays here—locked up at my father’s mercy—I don’t think Lois can bear it either. My mother already said it: it’s unlikely they’ll hand him to the vampires, and even more likely the humans will demand his head.
There are already three places he can’t go, but there are more—beyond wolf, human, or vampire territory.
If I free him, it’ll be so he can go far away.
“What?”
“To Lois. All of this. You say you don’t want to involve her, but she’ll be involved if it comes out that she’s your mate too.”
“Enzo… knows.”
No way.
Of all the scenarios, this is the worst.
“Damn it. Are you sure?”
“Yes. Too sure.”
“This only makes things worse.” Now I’m more certain than ever of my decision. “Do you want to protect Lois?”
“I’d do… anything to protect her.”
“I’ll come back in a couple of hours and maybe… you’ll have to leave. I’ll look for places you can go—but it’ll be without coming back. Best case, you manage to escape. Worst case… they catch us, link Lois to all this, and she becomes a target. Not just to hunt you, but to subdue us.”
“I-I can’t…”
“Go? It’s the only way this ends. You disappearing, Aidan.”