Chapter seventy-four

Isabella

I rushed inside, my heart breaking at every single word Brielle had said earlier: Valerio is not a keeper. That I would not be able to rule beside him.

Not that I didn't know, but hearing it from someone else hurt. This is what I wanted, but right now, I was starting to doubt if it's truly what I wanted... to leave him. But I had come too far to stop now.

If I tell him about my plan, Valerio, that I knew him, would want to do it his own way. I didn't want him to meddle in this; this is my business... my revenge.

I had lived till this day for this.

I swallowed the hard lump and stared at my reflection in the mirror. The moment my gaze flickered back at my reflection, I gasped. Both my eyes were silver; the amber color was now gone.

"What's this?" It felt like I was staring into another person's eyes.

I frowned, my heart skipping a beat.

I quickly squeezed my eyes shut before reopening them again, and now they were back to my normal eye color: silver and amber. I took a closer look, and it was normal again.

"But I saw..." I started, but gave up with a sigh. Maybe I was just hallucinating.

I tried to drag myself out of the bathroom and felt a sharp pain along my head.

"Ahh," I groaned, holding my head with both hands as I strode back to the room and plopped onto the bed. My back was lying down, with my front facing the ceiling.

Up till now, there had been no news about Aurora. Honestly, Valerio had been reluctant, and it was starting to make me suspicious of him. From the patrol guards, none saw Rora walking past the pack gate. If that's the truth, then it means there is somewhere within this pack that she followed through.

Just like the one at Blackmoon Pack.

I narrowed my gaze, my mind drifting back to our last encounter before she disappeared. After Valerio summoned her, the tears in her eyes the day I visited her, the sudden change of apartment, and boom... she disappeared.

None of this made sense to me.

Rora was more like a sister to me; I couldn't fold my hands and do nothing.

"I think Valerio has some explanations to do," I seethed, but before I could sit up, the door was pushed open, and there stood the very person I needed to confront.

"Hey," he said with a smile, stepping forward, but I shot him a sharp look, causing his eyebrow to cock up.

"Where is Rora?" I demanded immediately, my voice cold and harsh.

"And how am I to know?" He replied back, frowning, and that annoyed me more.

I instantly stood on my feet, my eyes blazing.

"That day you summoned her, what happened? What did you say to her?" My voice rose, stressing the last words.

I watched his face harden as if something just flashed in his mind. Valerio rubbed the shell of his ear and hissed before locking the door behind him.

"Like I said..." His tone was gruff. He took a few steps before stopping in front of me.

"It was just a change of apartment. She can't stay here with us," he finished, and I smiled sadly, not buying any of his words.

"Why do I feel like there is more to this?" I said, the smile disappearing from my face, and my frown deepened.

"You are hiding something," I blurted, and his brow shot up.

I opened my mouth, my mind glazing as her face pictured in my head.

"Her eyes... and then she suddenly vanished," I stopped and shifted my gaze back to him. He had a blank look on, but I could tell he felt nothing for the situation.

"What are you not telling me, Valerio?" I cast him an icy and reproachful gaze.

And Valerio's face twisted into a stern expression.

"Don't tell me you have no idea how she disappeared?"

He frowned.

"How am I to know?"

"This is your damn pack, Valerio!" I shrieked through gritted teeth, and his jaw clenched.

"Someone vanished from your pack, and you had no idea. People sneaked in, and you still had no idea how they entered. None followed the main entrance, but yet you felt so relaxed. What a true leader you are, huh?"

I had barely finished my words when, like a flash, I felt myself pinned immediately to the bed with an angry, growling Valerio towering over me. His eyes blazed.

"Just know that anything I am doing is just for your safety," he snarled, his breath hitting my face.

I could feel electrifying sparks flying between us, especially with how close our faces were to each other. The sweet, burning sensation his touch brought.

"Fucking matebond," I cursed under my breath and shot him a sharp glare.

"Find Rora for me. She has nothing to do with my safety; she is the one to be saved, not me!" I barked, not minding the murderous look on his face.

I knew he was hiding something. He knew something about her disappearance, or maybe he knew where she was. But why?

Everybody seemed to be having fucking secrets, and that was messing with my head.

"No matter what it takes to keep you safe, I am fucking doing it," he snarled, and I glared hard at him.

And what did Rora have to do with this?

His blue eyes darkened like a stormy night sky. He seemed to be fighting with his wolf; the constant changing of his eye color said it all.

Soon, he shut his eyes and leaned in, burying his head at the nook of my neck. The sudden contact sent a jolt of electricity down my spine. His hold on my wrists tightened.

I wailed, fighting the sparks that seemed irresistible as I struggled to push him off me, but it was more like pushing against a granite wall. He was too heavy for me to lift off, not even when my two hands were pinned down on the bed.

I struggled for the last time before I eventually sighed with defeat.

We both stayed in that position for a while. He rubbed his nose on my neck, and I chewed my inner lips, taking in a sharp gulp of air.

Valerio slowly lifted his head and looked back at me. His eyes were back to normal, warm ocean blue sapphires.

"Just know that my men are looking everywhere for her; soon, everything will be sorted out, but..." He paused, and his eyes hardened again, as if he recalled something.

"Just bear in mind that not everybody beside you loves or cares for you."

My eyes narrowed immediately in a frown at his words.

"Wh... do you mean?" I stuttered, but he ignored me and freed my hands, getting up from me.

He stood and cast me another glance, worsening my frown.

"What do..." My words were cut off as he turned around and started walking toward the door.

"Valerio!" I yelled out his name, but he was already out of the room, leaving me confused.

I quickly tried to run after him, but the closing of the entrance door halted me on my track.

"He's out of the house," I sighed and plopped onto the bed again, my mind deep in thoughts.

His last statement echoed in my head like a crack of thunder that refused to fade.

What did he mean by not everybody around me loves me? Yes, I know I have experienced it, but my confusion is what Rora has to do with this? Or is he not talking about her? Was it about Brielle?

I instantly screamed out and held my throbbing head. My head felt like it was about to explode.

"What is he fucking hiding from me?" I snarled through gritted teeth, my heart racing faster.