Chapter 125 - Unreject Me

Kaya’s pov

We didn’t have time to lose. With my heart pounding in my chest, I channelled my wolf’s senses and dashed through the trees. Although I didn’t check who was following me, I knew Theo, and the others were close by. It wasn’t long before we started to hear screams for help. I briefly screeched to a halt and listened. It was Wiliam’s voice.

A rush of energy surged through my body as I sprinted towards the screams. I just knew something was very wrong.

“William!”

My shouts rose above the sounds of our feet trampling on the earth. My heart’s palpitations continued to rise, but when I saw William running towards us, looking concerned, I slowed down. Water droplets dripped from his hair strands as he rushed towards us, barely dressed. I could tell that he had gone for a swim and was unharmed. But where was Helena? I looked around in confusion. She was supposed to be with him.

“Where is Helena?” I asked him.

“He took her! Pete! He attacked her while I was in the lake and took her away. I don’t know where he went. I couldn’t find them... my senses suck now. I couldn’t…”

I laid my hand on his shoulder and glanced at Theo. Everyone understood why he wasn’t able to track them.

“That’s okay. We will find them,” I promised him.

“But he beat her up. She was already knocked out when he took her,” William told us.

I sucked a breath in. If he beat her up right in front of William, that meant that he must have realised that William wouldn’t have been able to fight against him. If he hadn’t, Pete wouldn’t have dared to harm her like that.

“He couldn’t have gone too far. He must still be in the pack’s territory.”

“I have alerted the patrol at every border of the pack and warned the warriors about him through mind link. He will be reprimanded on sight,” Theo said.

With each passing second, their scents would diffuse into the air, making it harder to follow the trail they left. So detecting their scent at that moment was crucial.

“We are going to find her,” I whispered as my eyes trailed into the woods. Oh, how I wish my gaze could infiltrate through the trees and find them. The foliage of the woods was thick and offered several hiding spots in addition to the many caves and tunnels in the mountains.

I stepped away from the crowd and tried to focus on the scents in the air. There was a distinctive smell of blood mixed with Helena’s aroma. Pete’s scent was also undeniably in the air. With renewed determination, I ran in the direction the trail of scent led me. Since the scent of blood tend to hang in the air for longer than the scents of individual wolves, I was positive that we could find them.

It sucked that he had already wounded her, but that was eventually going to help me find them. I squinted into the trees and picked up my pace. I would have let Pete go if he hadn’t kidnapped her. Now, he had committed a crime, and there was no way I would allow him to return to Kathy.

She would be better off without him anyway.

The trail of scent led us to a secluded area in the woods where we found them. I was relieved to see that she had regained her consciousness, but unfortunately she was tied to a tree. I cringed when I saw that she was completely naked, but as she had gone for a run, that was understandable.

“Fuck, he used the shirt to tie her,” William whispered under his breath. I was too tensed to care that he followed us despite being wolfless. Without his wolf, we wouldn’t be able to mind link with him. We were at least far enough away not to let Pete know we were around.

My lips twitched. So she was dressed, but he used that clothing to tie her.

“What are you waiting for? Surround them,” I commanded the warriors. They moved stealthily through the trees. The wait seemed long. With my heart pounding heavily, I watched him point an elongated claw to her throat. He said something to her, but we were out of earshot.

From her demeanour, I could tell that whatever he said was enraging her, and that seemed to amuse him. At one point, she screamed at him and broke free from the clumsy pieces of cloth that bound her. Awestruck, I watched her attack him fiercely, but he was also apparently trained.

“That fucker hasn’t forgotten his tactics,” William growled through gritted teeth.

It was obvious that Pete was a skilled fighter from the way he dodged her blows, but she managed to land a couple of mean blows to his chin and crotch. He doubled over for a while.

“Attack!” I ordered the warriors through the mind link, and within minutes, he was subdued. We revealed ourselves once he was handcuffed and forced to kneel on the ground.

“Helena!” William called for his mate as he rushed towards her.

Someone gave her something to cover up with, but she was too agitated to care about anything else. Her muscles were still tensed, and she heaved heavy breaths as she glared at her attacker. Even when her mate pulled her into his arms, she didn’t relax. She was furious.

I frowned. It was the first time I was seeing her so angry. I wondered if she was furious about the kidnapping. Perhaps it was because of something he said.

“Are you okay?” I asked her.

She pointed a trembling finger at Pete. “This rascal!” She screamed. “He is the one who ordered Fin to attack Opal Moon all those years ago! He killed my unborn pup! He is responsible for all those deaths! This traitor is the reason I couldn’t conceive! This imbecile is the one who planned it all!”

My jaw dropped. What! Everyone fell silent. Even the warriors subduing Pete looked flabbergasted.

“He admitted to everything because he was going to kill me. He took joy in admitting to every fucking crime he committed. It has been so long since he had been keeping it a secret. Isn’t it, Pete? Say it! Why are you silent now? Tell them what you did!” She was trembling in anger as she screamed at Pete.

William, although without his wolf, still had a lot of authority in him. His nose flared as he stepped forward to face Pete.

“What am I hearing? You planned it? Why? You were the one who broke her heart first. Why did you care about what we did with our lives?”

Pete scoffed. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Pete’s mask had finally fallen, revealing an arrogant tyrant. Perhaps it was a good thing granddad didn’t allow him to become Golden Crescent’s Alpha.

“I wouldn’t say I planned it. I just asked for help. Don’t tell me you forgot how humiliated I was when I was forced to leave Golden Crescent. I didn’t deserve that. I was loyal to the pack and one of the best warriors in the army. Ben shouldn’t have exiled me.”

William shook his head. “You still realise that you have done something bad, do you? And what has that got to do with us and our pup?”

Pete laughed. “Fools. Did you think I would let you live in peace after snatching everything away from me? You snatched my fiance, and Ben snatched the girl of my dreams. You both had to pay.”

My forehead creased. You both had to pay? What did he mean by that?

“You just couldn’t get over her, could you?” William scoffed. “We couldn’t have a pup, so what? I love every moment we shared. I cherish the memories we created, and right now, we have our goddaughter. Life is pretty perfect.”

“I don’t think so. Your wolf is dormant. I bet he got fed up with your life. I mean, pups mean a lot to a wolf. Don’t even try to lie to me,” Pete said.

William tilted his head. “Funny of you to think that my wolf went dormant. Is that why you took advantage of me? No, he didn’t go dormant. He was a warrior, and I will be proud and thankful for everything he did for us.”

Pete didn’t seem to care. He spat at William, but William just rolled his eyes.

“Take him to the dungeon,” I instructed the warriors. Pete glanced at me.

“Are you seriously going to lock your uncle up? Come on. I didn’t even do anything. Helena is fine, see.”

“You have left us with no other choice,” I responded. “You attacked and kidnapped my godmother and the former Luna of this pack. That is a grave crime.”

He grimaced. “Godmother… they aren’t your relatives. I am the only one alive from your real family. Come on. Bend the rules a bit.”

I sighed. “I didn’t expect this from the only relatives I have left on earth.”

As he was forced to his feet and taken away by the soldiers, he mumbled something about wishing I died with my parents. Perhaps he thought his mumbles would go undetected by my alpha sense of hearing, or maybe he just didn’t care. I ignored it until he said something I couldn’t overlook.

“Maybe they got so caught up in the lust when they raped Kate to realise her pup was hiding in the bunker.”

My blood ran cold. I hadn’t disclosed that piece of information to anyone. Not even Theo. That was something that haunted my nightmares for a long time until I learnt to live with those horrible memories. My mom was gang raped by all those perpetrators. I would never forget the look on Fin’s face when he tossed her to the side and ordered his men to do the same. What ten-year-old deserved to witness something so disgusting and devastating? Even after regaining my memories, I didn’t tell Theo that detail. I just couldn’t bring myself to utter those words. How did Pete know about that if he had nothing to do with the attack on my pack?

“What did you say?” I whispered. I felt my blood rushing through my veins. Mira was on the edge, ready to attack. The soldiers stopped him and made him face me. Pete pretended to be unaware of what I was talking about.

“What?”

I narrowed my eyes. “What did you just say about my mom? They did what to her?”

He stared at me for a while. Perhaps he dreaded what might happen next, but at that moment, I couldn’t care less what he was thinking about.

“Well, you said you knew... didn’t you?” he said.

I gritted my teeth and balled my fists.

“Yes, I know what she had to endure before they slit her throat. I hadn’t uttered a word of it for the past fifteen years. Not even my mate knows everything that happened that day.” I was barely able to hold my anger back as I sauntered over to him. “How did you know what they did to her?” I asked, looking right into his eyes. “Unless you had something to do with it?”