Chapter 51

Nikolas’s POV.

Something was off, I just knew it. I had a kingdom to run, but leaving Amira alone felt like a big mistake. I was certain Ace couldn't be trusted. He had to be the one who spilt the beans about that project rejection from years ago. Back then I hadn’t done it because I wanted nothing that would remind me of my ‘dead’ mate. I'd kept quiet about it because it didn't matter anymore.

I barely made it back to the kingdom when she called me and goddess, I wish I wasn’t in a meeting. In fact, the following two hours were filled with meetings and in between moments I’d sneak messages to Amira but she never once replied to mine.

"Hey Mila, how's it going?" I greeted as soon as she picked up the phone.

"You're gonna ask for a favor, huh? Messed up, didn't you?" Mila's voice carried a sigh.

"What makes you say that?" I asked, hoping Amira hadn't filled her in already.

"I can tell when Amira's not happy, and the fact that you are calling me? That's rarer than a unicorn," Mila quipped. Alright, this meant she was still in touch with Amira.

"I may have goofed – I think," I admitted, slumping into my chair. I gave her a brief rundown, telling her about my doubts about Ace and his shady character. To my relief, Mila, Amira's best friend, kinda agreed with me.

"Alright, I'll spill. She's been texting me, and she's holding up okay," Mila reassured me. Should've never left Amira's side in the first place.

Mila kept talking, "I'm only saying this 'cause I don't trust Ace. But don't blame Amira. I've known her for ages, and it always seemed like something was missing, like her studies couldn't fill some void. Then, when her secret came out, she spoke a lot about her old pack, she clearly wished for more for that pack."

"I know, it's not her fault. Ace knows how to spin things," I sighed. He must've planned this meticulously, manipulating everyone to get his way.

We wrapped up the call, and once again my gut told me something was off. I ditched the car and hopped on a jet back to Oceans Dawn pack. Jet saves time, no pesky border stops. I aimed to land in the Ocean Dawn pack area, flying under the radar of Ace's attention. It was still under my jurisdiction, after all.

Just as I touched down with a couple of guards, my phone rang again. It was Mila. I answered right away.

"Hey, everything alright?" I asked, signalling my guards to wait by the car.

"Have you seen Amira anywhere?" Mila's voice was tinged with worry.

"No, why? What happened?" My heart raced her words hinted at something not good.

"Well, she messaged me, saying she's heading up north to find the last survivor. But her messages are weird. Full stops, and she signed off with 'kisses' instead of her usual 'xox.' Plus, there's that blushing emoji," Mila explained. None of it sounded like Amira. Angry or not, she wouldn't leave without letting me know. We promised each other.

"She hates that emoji," I remembered, frustration crawling over me.

"I don't know if I'm overthinking, but I thought since you're going to the pack, maybe you could check?" Mila suggested, sounding cautious.

"Thanks, Mila. Something's not adding up, and I'll let you know if I find anything," I promised.

"Thanks," Mila said quickly before ending the call. Formality wasn't her thing, but I appreciated her. She and her mate had been a huge support for us. Even now, she was there to lend a hand.

My crew was already in the car, ready to roll to the Oceans Howl pack, when a scent tickled my nose. We were supposed to be the only ones around, yet there was another presence. Swiftly, I spun around, scanning the area until my eyes locked on a dark car parked not far from the ruins. Someone else was here!

"It's just me, King Nikolas," Ava emerged from the shadows, her eyes locking onto mine.

"Ava? What brings you here?" I wondered, suspicion nibbling at the edges of my mind. Was she involved with Ace too? Had I misjudged her?

"I needed some space to breathe, and since you and the queen found my picture, I thought I'd do a little exploring – even though it's technically trespassing. I mean, I..." Ava's voice wavered as she stumbled over her words, glancing around nervously.

"Don't worry, it was your old home." I recognized the place from the photo Amira and I had found.

"Thanks. Can we talk?" Ava asked.

"Is this about Ace?" I guessed, already putting two and two together.

"He claimed that Amira signed the land transfer papers, but I don't buy it. He said they had dinner alone, and she signed right then and there. Then she supposedly left to find the last survivor up north," Ava began, her words cautious. None of this made sense to me.

"Yeah, I heard something similar. There's no way Amira would've signed off so quickly," I replied, my mind racing to make sense of Ace's motives. Then it clicked – the stormy weather up north. He must be trying to get rid of her. He had her signature already.

"I know he's technically my alpha, but I can't trust him. I worked with his grandpa, and even though he's gone, Ace was never his pick for the position. I want to be transparent, to earn your trust, so we can stop Ace," Ava confessed, and at that moment, I knew I could count on her. But I needed more information.

"Stop him from what?"

"Ace... he's my mate. But he rejected me, claiming it was better for the pack if we each played our own roles. I think he rejected me because he knew his grandpa trusted me more. I'd have been a strong Luna with his grandpa's backing," Ava's words left me dumbfounded. Rejected? And she still stood here, committed to the pack. It seemed my hunch about his grandfather was correct – he must've been in Ace's way.

"I get it. But what exactly are we stopping him from, Ava?"

"I think Ace wants to dominate. He's been so fixated on arming the wolves with powers and pushing his ideas. His grandpa warned me this might happen – that's why he left the book of Powers with me instead of Ace. I got rid of it, but Ace doesn't know that. He believes that by keeping me close, I'll eventually give in," Ava spilled, her ears turning red.

"Are you sure about this?"

"I am. Not everyone in the pack supports his vision, but he's got enough followers to cause real trouble," Ava admitted with a sigh.

"Ava, we can't let this happen. When he fails, and he will, all the progress Amira and I made in portraying the powers positively will crumble. We can't allow that," I growled, the frustration bubbling inside me. Ace was about to ruin everything.

"I've been telling him the same thing nonstop, but he won't budge," Ava sighed. "But first, we need to find your mate."

"You don't think she left, do you?"

"Do you?"

"No, not a chance," I confessed.

"I had my people search high and low. No trace, no scent. The house was stripped clean," Ava said, crossing her arms.

"Take me to the house. I'll be able to tell for sure if she's gone or not," I assured her.

I could recognize it from a mile away – the tiny golden figurine of a dry tree. Amira's travel companion. She'd carried it on every trip since we were kids. I often teased her about it, even now. I never quite understood how a little trinket could bring positivity, but it had always been her thing. And that little ornament would serve as my guide.

As I swung open the front door, my eyes immediately fell on that figurine, nestled among the other decorative items adorning the table. The house came with its own charm, but this particular piece belonged to my wife. She wouldn't set out on a journey without it.

"Your alpha in command has taken my wife captive," I declared, my gaze fixed on Ava, who seemed utterly fed up with Ace's antics.

"You have my support. Are we launching an official search?" Ava inquired, her voice steady.

"I want this to be kept low-profile. No public involvement. If it goes public, the higher court could get involved too soon, and that might not play out well for us," I responded. Ace had managed to corner me yet again. Going public could undo everything Amira and I had worked so hard for – people might start seeing all wolves with powers as threats, falling right into Ace's narrative, even though there were plenty who were just trying to live peacefully.

"How do you propose we go about it? We can't find Ace, yet his tracker says he's in the pack house," Ava started explaining. "I tried reaching out to him, but he's just been lying about his whereabouts. He claimed his men are at my disposal – I might've tricked him by pretending to be on his side," Ava admitted, her cheeks turning a shade redder.

"That's perfect. I need you to lure his men away. How exactly do you know his precise location?" I asked.

"Um... well, his grandpa was worried about losing him and his siblings as kids, so he secretly implanted trackers in them. He only told me when Ace's sister went missing, but she had actually run away with her mate. Both sisters left to join their mates' packs, and while they love their grandpa, they never returned for Ace," Ava explained, spilling more than she probably intended. But the more we knew, the better equipped we'd be.

"Can you lead his men somewhere else? And is there a way to incapacitate wolves with powers?" I wondered.

"Well, yes. I can lure them to my place. There's this plant – I can turn it into a powder. Inhaling it relaxes our muscles and puts us to sleep, giving us enough time to put silver shackles on them," Ava whispered, keeping our conversation private. It seemed brutal, but desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Is there any way to neutralize their powers?" I ventured, hoping for an answer.

"Wait, what? Is that even allowed?" Ava's expression shifted to one of unease. My question had definitely hit a nerve.

"I don't intend to do it right now, but if we take this quietly to the royal court, something similar might be the consequence," I admitted, my honesty coming through.

"Suppose it's possible... I just don't know how I feel about that," Ava confessed, her gaze wandering to the window.

“Let’s focus on one thing at a time,” I changed the subject.

Our plan took shape, with Ava and my team strategically positioning themselves to intercept Ace's men. Once Ava had them securely shackled in silver chains, she sent me a snapshot to confirm. She also informed me that Ace was still at the packhouse. However, when I arrived, he was nowhere to be found. I searched every nook and cranny, room after room, but there was no sign of him.

Just as frustration began to bubble up, something caught my eye in the bathroom – a tiny glint of diamond on the floor. It seemed like a shard from Amira's necklace. It was a hunch, but it was hers. My attention then shifted to a set of tiles that looked different. A hollow spot.

I dug my nails into the edges and yanked off the loose square, revealing a trap door beneath. An immediate mix of Amira's and Ace's scents wafted up, and my heart raced. Without hesitation, I descended the ladder, my presence cloaked to ensure the element of surprise. I navigated through the passages, determined to find Ace or, more importantly, Amira.

“I’ll fucking kill you this time.” Ace appeared from the shadow and flung me across the room using his powers. My back hit the rough stone wall and I winced a little. Shit that caught me off guard.

“Where the fuck is my mate, Ace?” I got up and launched towards him. I didn’t come unprepared. I had a silver dagger with me that had a handle of gold, perfect for me to inflict damage on him. I didn’t remove the dagger just yet.

"You're not getting away with this, Ace!" I shouted as he materialized from the shadows and sent me hurtling across the room with a wave of his powers. My back slammed into the rough stone wall, and a wince escaped me – damn, that caught me off guard.

"Where's my mate, you bastard?" I growled, pushing myself up and launching myself at him. I wasn't unprepared; I had a silver dagger with a gold handle, perfect for inflicting damage. I didn't draw it just yet, keeping it in reserve.

Ace countered with another blast, flinging me back against the wall. I seized the brief window of opportunity to take out a vial of poison, carefully coating the blade. A single nick from that would weaken him enough for me to search for Amira.

With determination, I closed the distance between us, and in a split second, I drew the dagger and sliced Ace's side. He winced in pain, and before he could react, I scored the blade across his right hand. He crumpled to the ground, his face contorted in agony. "You bitch! You've ruined my hand!"

"You make me sick," I hissed, seizing a handful of his hair to tilt his head back and threaten him. "If I find out you've harmed even a single hair on Amira's head, I'll come back for you. I'll strip you of your powers, throw you in my dungeon, and make you suffer for the rest of your miserable life."

As I turned away, planning to leave him writhing, Ace summoned his remaining strength and flung me across the room. My head struck the stone floor with brutal force. Damn, these wolves with powers were stronger than I'd anticipated.

"Perhaps I should just end you now. You can join your mate in the cell," Ace sneered, his grip on me relentless as he struggled for the dagger in my hand. But the silver had weakened him significantly, making it impossible for him to wrest it away from me.

I weighed my options, the dagger's hilt slipping into my hand. If I let go, I risked getting stabbed, but it would provide me with a slim opening –

"Too bad I'm not in said cell," Amira's voice thundered, and Ace and I both snapped our heads toward her. With a swift motion, Amira reached out and plucked the dagger from my grasp. Before Ace could react, she drove the blade through his back. "How's it feel to get stabbed in the back?"

Damn, she didn't just graze him, she actually stabbed him, twisting the knife to inflict more damage. I hope she knows it is silver and it would slowly kill him if she didn’t remove it from his body. "You're in for quite the punishment," she whispered, forcing Ace to his knees and extracting the dagger from his back, only to press it against his throat.

"I'd rather die than let you have the satisfaction," Ace gritted, making a swift movement that caused blood to gush from his neck.

We both stared at Ace with our mouths hung open, his lifeless body fell in front of me and blood pooled around. I hadn’t expected this to happen yet I felt oddly satisfied… I wish I could gloat about it but I was in pain and my mate had been imprisoned.

"Amira, are you alright?" I staggered towards her, still dizzy from the earlier blows.

"By the goddess, your head is bleeding! Nikolas, I'm so, so sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. You were right. That's a lot of blood. We need to fix this. We need to get rid of him. Oh, shit, the contract! We have to burn it –" Her words tumbled out in a frantic rush.

"One thing at a time," I whispered, gently urging her panic to ease. We had to tackle this methodically.

We handled each step deliberately, taking one thing at a time. Despite my reluctance, Amira insisted on tending to my head wound first. Then, in secret, we contacted the royal court. Ace's death needed to be clarified, and questions about his actions and the involvement of his grandfather arose. The original copy of the papers was recovered and promptly burned to pieces – a small relief that he hadn't managed to submit it yet.

I knew Amira and Ava might not see eye to eye on stripping Ace's followers of their powers. However, I couldn't risk his legacy tarnishing the reputation of those who had done nothing wrong. The situation needed to be resolved in the royal court, in private, before the rest of the wolf community got wind of it and started treating wolves with telekinesis like a disease.

As expected, an emergency court meeting was called to address Ace's demise and the suspicions surrounding his actions and powers. His followers were foolish enough to confess, thinking it might somehow extricate them. But they were wrong. This time, they were administered a small dose of the powder substance, enough to relax their muscles.

Those men were sentenced to prison, their powers stripped away using a potion concocted from a recipe found in the Book of Powers. Amira wasn't thrilled about it, but she reluctantly accepted the necessity to protect the innocent.

A week later, evidence linking Ace to his grandfather's murder emerged – yes, murder. What had seemed like a vacation quickly turned into a disappearance, followed by a presumed death within a single day after a court appearance. After some investigation, it was revealed Ace had a role in his grandfather's death.

To contain the damage caused by Ace and his followers, the story was spun that Ace went missing since the death of his grandfather was being investigated and now it was official he did something but was missing, he vanished, and his followers too. In reality, those were placed under maximum security. There was no mention of powers being misused, just as we had requested.

We extended an invitation to Ava, now the pack's leader, and she joined us. Under her guidance, the Ocean Dawn pack was flourishing. She was a true leader, more deserving of the role than Ace had ever been.

"Thank you for having me over," Ava said with a warm smile as she settled into a seat at the table.

"You're always welcome. And we've got some wonderful news for you," Amira grinned, her gaze meeting mine as I pulled out a chair for her.

"More good news?" Ava asked curiously.

I nodded with a smile and shared, "We've given your idea careful consideration – extensive consideration, in fact. Instead of rebuilding the Ocean Dawn pack, we're going to establish an academy just as you envisioned. We'll also focus on medical facilities, housing solutions, and more. Ocean Dawn will become an extension of Oceans Howl, a place open to everyone – not just those with powers. It's all about creating a better academy and addressing housing challenges while boosting the economy through the fertile land."

"It will take about a year to put everything in place, though. So, what do you think?" Amira inquired, a mix of anticipation and nerves in her expression.

"Yes! Oh my goddess, thank you so much!" Ava exclaimed, her excitement contagious as she leaped from her seat, clapping her hands together.