Chapter 45

I was in instant denial mode. "No... That can't be... Zenith is safe... Right, Marcus?" Both my voice and my hands were shaking as I waited for Marcus' reply.

But Marcus was just as confused as I was. "Roma told me that the Blackholes raided Gloverstone and took Zenith."

'NO!"

"They left us a message," Marcus continued. "They want you in exchange for Zenith's life, Milena. They said they'd be waiting for you in the Rockies up north."

"The Rockies? Why there?" I asked, shocked that we have to go back to that place to rescue my son.

"I have no idea. Maybe they have a secret base there too since it's a huge place. But either way, that place is dangerous enough without those Blackholes. I won’t forgive them for bringing our son to that place. I'll kill them as soon as I find them."

"My poor baby... I'm sure he's very scared right now...." I cried as Marcus comforted me.

"We'll bring Zenith back, Milena. Don't worry."

I shook my head. "But what if they hurt my son? Our son?"

"Or my son," Darren chimed in and both Marcus and I threw dagger looks at him.

Darren shrugged and looked back at us. "So Randy was telling the truth. But I thought Gloverstone was well-protected? So how did that happen?" he added, looking worried too. "Don't you have strong men that can protect your family?"

"Ava, Hugo, and Gil were there!" Marcus insisted. "And don't start with me right now because I don't have time!" He was yelling, but then his expression softened when he saw that I was crying again. "I'll find him, Milena. Shh... Please don't cry. I'll bring our son back."

"I'll help you, Marcus! It's me that they want, so I should go too."

"But what about the ritual with Lady Xinxia?" Marcus asked me. "Shouldn't you cut the mating bond with this bastard first?" he reminded me, glaring at Darren. "Milena, I can bring back Zenith. Gil will come with me. You can still go on with the ritual first, and just meet up with us."

"I don't think I can still do anything with my son in danger, Marcus. Just let me help you search for Zenith. Please."

Marcus hesitated at first. "Fine. I just want to protect you too. But okay, I guess if we fight them together we have a chance against them. Let's worry about the ritual later," he said and then called Lady Xinxia. He told her to join his men and rest at his hotel just next to the Atrium. The shaman obliged as she looked shaken from everything that had happened. "And what about you?" Marcus yelled at Darren. "I can't leave you here. I'm starting to get suspicious with you too. Who knows? You could be those fools' accomplice too."

Darren looked outraged at that. "Were you not listening to what I just told you? Randy wanted me dead. And because I'm Exodus, the other Blackholes are after me too! They want my head just as they want Milena's! I thought that was clear! If you want to suspect someone as their accomplice, why don't you look at the people around you? Randy said someone from your side gave them important pieces of information!"

Marcus was about to reply but I knew that this would turn into another argument so I stopped them before they fought again. "Can we just go back to Gloverstone now? We're wasting time here, you know!" I wiped my tears and hugged Marcus, who was still angry at Darren. I could tell that he was trying his best to calm himself, but he was just human too and there were a lot of things that had happened already. I was angry at Darren too but I didn't think I could accommodate my anger for him right now.

"I'm sorry, Milena... Let's go back home," Marcus told me and we walked back to the elevator with our hands intertwined. Darren followed us reluctantly while Marcus ordered his remaining men to handle the fallen Blackhole. I saw them carry Randy's body while Lady Xinxia was on her phone at the edge of the rooftop calling someone.

As soon as we reached the ground floor we went to the parking building and got inside Marcus' car. Darren joined us despite Marcus' stopping him. "Oh come on. Let me join you and give me a ride too!" he groaned because Marcus blocked him from getting into the backseat. "I want to rescue Zenith too!"

"I don't trust you," Marcus hissed at him.

"You have no choice but to trust me," Darren replied. "I know the remaining Blackholes the best. I also know where their hideout in the north is, since that's where me and Clyde fought."

"Clyde? Is that another Blackhole?" I asked. I saw Marcus relax and let Darren get inside the car and we drove off, a sign that Marcus had now agreed that the three of us were on a mission to rescue my son. Personally, I thought it was more beneficial for us to let Darren join us since he really knew the Blackholes better than Marcus and I combined.

"Yes, he was a Blackhole too. But I already killed him. That means only three Blackholes remain. You already met two of them—Nightshade and Malcolm. The other one is a man named Yul and he's the toughest of them. He's an old psychopath and a cannibal. He believes that eating his victims makes him stronger and for some reason it's true for him."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not exactly sure, but I just heard it from some rogue grunts that eating his own kind makes Yul abnormally stronger. Plus he's deranged and fed his own men werewolf meat too, and that had a terrible side effect to them. They were able to wolf out even if it was not a full moon."

I gasped. "Marcus, didn't we meet those kinds of rogues five years ago on the way to the Rockies?"

"Yeah. I guess they were his men."

"So you had been there," Darren said. "That's good, but I'm still worried for you, Milena. Maybe it's not a good idea for you to go back there."

"If Marcus can't stop me, what makes you think I'll listen to you?"

"Don't you still get it, Milena?" he asked me a little louder than usual. "The reason they want you to go there is because Yul probably had heard of you. He'll want to eat you to become the strongest werewolf to have ever existed!"

***

No amount of warning made me stop from coming with them though. I was scared, but I am also a mother. When we arrived at Gloverstone we found out that Gil was taken out by the Blackholes. He was seriously injured, and for some reason Ava and Hugo were missing. Roma was unharmed, and according to her she saw Ava and Hugo run away the moment Nightshade spread her gas around the town. They never came back, even now that the gas was already gone.

Marcus and I exchanged worried looks after we found that out. "Marcus..."

"Yeah, I know what you're thinking, Milena. They're probably the traitors that Randy was talking about. But if that was the case, then that means they knew everything. But it makes me think. Why did they not use that against me?"

"That's a very good question," I replied. "But we don't have time to speculate about them right now. It's time for us to go back to the Rockies and take Zenith back."