Azalea

My body is heavy as my mind tried to clear. This fogginess was vaguely familiar as I tried to wake myself up. Soreness crept over me as I became aware of my body lying on a hard surface. “Ugh,” I let out a weak g***n. I tried not to panic as I slowly reached my hands up to my stomach and rubbed it. I felt a small flutter, relaxing my worry.

Feeling beneath me, I realized I was lying on a cement floor. After a lot of feeble effort, I managed to push myself up to sit with my arms supporting me. I blinked my eyes, trying to clear away the fuzziness. I was in a dim room with cement walls and a cement floor. There was one door on the wall across from me and a tiny window above me, letting in the smallest amount of light. My eyes started to acclimate to the dark, and I noticed a vent cover near the floor on another wall.

I shivered. Looking down, I was still in the clothes I was wearing previously, a loose tank top and maternity shorts, but my sandals were gone. Then realization flooded through me- the attack. All the rogues were attacking us, getting through our borders. They hadn’t come from the East as Damien said; they came from the West. That means that the attack on the East side was a distraction like last time.

I wracked my mind trying to remember everything that happened. Bits were coming back to me, but it wasn’t all connecting. I rubbed my face, trying to clear away the fogginess still lingering. This is what it felt like when Kol drugged me. I shivered involuntarily, not wanting to think about that again.

I pushed myself all the way up, spreading my legs to accommodate my round belly. My throat was parched, and my body was aching. I looked around again, trying to see if there was anything else in the room as I rubbed my hands along my arms.

The door on the other side of the room swung open violently. Fear crawled down the back of my neck as a pale man stood in the doorway. He had dark, handsome features that were twisted into a cruel smile.

“Our little pregnant Luna is finally awake,” he drawled. “My apologies, truly. My kin did not realize they would not need to use so much to make you…. compliant.”

I gave him a stony look. “What do you want?”

“Oh dear, you surely already know that. This has been a long time coming for your little puppy pack and Blackfur,” he laughed.

“Warwick,” I said. He smiled evilly.

“So, she isn’t just a pretty face,” he said. “Yes, I am Bancroft Warwick, the vampire that is going to rid the world of you filthy mutts.” He took a few steps into the room, looking around with a bored expression. Someone else entered the room behind him. “Ah, yes, your amenities have arrived.” The man behind him moved towards the corner of the room, setting down a bucket. Then he came back over to Warwick, handing him something folded up before he scampered from the room.

“It’s so hard to find tough ones these days,” he sighed. “Do you mind if I borrow this for a moment?” he asked rhetorically. He spread out the folded blanket in his arms, laying it onto the cold cement floor, before lowering himself onto it. His eyes raked over me as I shielded my stomach protectively. He let out a shallow laugh.

“Oh, I am not going to do anything,” he said. “It’s not time yet. And I have one more piece to collect. That pesky little boy managed to evade my soldiers with my prize.” He watched me again for a moment. I tried to keep my facial expressions neutral, but the fear and confusion were winning over.

“Why am I here?” I asked. I knew I needed to get as much information out of him as possible if I had a chance of getting out of here.

His cruel smile returned. “Isn’t that obvious? You are here so I can slowly strip away everything from your mate.” My gut clenched. If he is targeting Liam like this, he would definitely kill the baby and me. He waved his hand around dismissively as he continued, “I know he is not the one who started the war with me years ago; you dogs certainly don’t live that long. But he is not only the descendant but the spitting image of Johnson Blackfur. It just makes revenge much easier, honestly.”

Warwick spoke like we were having a normal conversation over coffee as if he were not holding me captive. “Taking all those little pups didn’t quite go as planned,” he continued. “But then, dogs are so unreliable. Luckily, my other plans are working wonderfully. I now have his b***h with the unborn pup, and soon I will have the one of mating age as well.”

“You bastard!” I yelled. He was planning on taking Missy. “You won’t lay a hand on her!”

“Oh, I won’t? Just like I wouldn’t lay a hand on you?” He moved incredibly fast, crouching in front of me in the blink of an eye. He ran a cold, scratchy finger down my cheek. “I would be careful, little b***h. Dear little Theodore may have told you about my kind, but you haven’t seen what I am capable of yet.” I was frozen as his dark voice filled the narrow space between us.

His eyes bore into mine for another minute before he sat back. “I do have choices, though,” he continued as if we were still carrying on a conversation. “I could use his little pup to make myself a hybrid. I have only heard whispers, but I must admit I am curious about the possibilities. Or I could just be more direct and let her fend for herself against one of my kin. It truly is a hard decision.”

“You are sick,” I spat.

“g******e is sick. I am simply returning a favor,” he countered.

“We didn’t wipe vampires out. You are clearly still here,” I said through clenched teeth.

“You dogs will never understand your place,” he said, shaking his head. “That’s why you need to be taught a lesson every once in a while.”

Warwick stood to his full height. “No matter. Everything is already in place. I will slowly strip everything away from Blackfur. I will destroy everything he has before I destroy him personally.”

“If you want to fight him, then fight him. Leave the pack and my family out of this!”

“But what fun would that be? His grandfather killed so many of my children, and I never got the chance to return the favor thanks to that mangy Greyback.”

I couldn’t hide my surprise at the mention of Greyback; there was only one wolf in the whole pack named that. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, that is right, that old mutt is close to you. Well, I haven’t forgotten the bite he left me with and will be paying him back in kind before I finish with your mate.” He watched me for a moment, deciding that I still needed more explanation. “I guess he never told you; little old Greyback was the one that thought he delivered the fatal blow that night.”

“Greyback was the one?”

“Yes. Apparently, I killed his pregnant b***h or something,” he said, again waving around dismissively. “He made the mistake of not making entirely sure I was dead before he left, though. So now, I can go ahead and return the favor. Though, I don’t think his chances at survival will be as good as mine.” I clenched my jaw, biting back words.

If Liam knew about Greyback’s involvement in the war, he never said anything to me. He has been living secluded for some time now that the Inn no longer needs him. He’s defenseless and probably doesn’t know about any of this.

“Well, I think that is enough of a welcome for now,” he said. He gestured towards the bucket in the corner of the room. “The bathroom has been set up for you, and of course, the linens are fresh.” He motioned to his feet where he stood on the blanket. “I wouldn’t want my guest to feel uncomfortable in their dwelling.”

He turned on his heel and strode from the room, pulling the door closed behind him. Dread consumed my insides. All I could hope for right now was for Liam to get the kids to safety and find me before it was too late. I hugged my baby bumped and tried not to cry.

Liam

“ARGHHHH,” I screamed. My chest rose and fell rapidly as I breathed. My office was in shambles as I took my rage out on everything inside.

“Liam, you need to calm down! We won’t find her if you aren’t thinking straight!” Damien shouted. He stood in front of Felix and Azeron in the doorway to my office.

“MY MATE WAS TAKEN BY THOSE BLOODSUCKERS! THEY CAME ONTO MY PACKLAND AND TOOK MY MATE! I WILL NOT CALM DOWN!”

“We know! We have multiple groups out trying to follow any trail we can find! But you need to get it together, or none of us are safe!”

“I DON’T CARE. WARWICK HAS MY PREGNANT MATE! I WILL END THAT B***D-SUCKING LEECH IF ITS THE LAST THING I DO!”

“Liam, Hunny,” another voice came. My mother pushed her way through the group at the door. “Liam, you will find Azalea. Your pack will not let their Luna go unfound,” she tried to reason. “But right now, you have three very frightened pups that need their father. You need to calm down so you can comfort your children.” I let out a low growl and turned away from them. She was right, even if every part of me was engulfed in rage at Azalea’s kidnapping. Missy, Liam, and Leo needed their father.

“Are you sure?” I could hear Damien mutter. “Can Lacey begin collecting information on all the missing?”Belongs to © n0velDrama.Org.

Someone came up behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder as I tried to reign Gavin in. I looked over my shoulder to see it was my mother. “Let me take the children away from here. Your father and I will keep them away from Warwick and safe. You can focus on finding Azalea and stopping Warwick.”

“Fine. Tomorrow,” I agreed. “Warwick just declared war on my pack. He has my mate, but I will not let him get my children.”

Missy

I sobbed quietly into Maddox’s chest. He held me tightly in his arms, rubbing soft circles on my back. “Shhhh,” he tried to calm me.

We ran from the packhouse after coming upon the fighting. Maddox pulled me into the woods, and we ran until we were far away from anyone. We were somewhere near the lake when Maddox found a minor cropping of rocks to hide us in. After what felt like hours, Felix linked us to come back to the packhouse. The c*****e around the packhouse had my stomach in knots. Maddox rushed me inside and upstairs. When we got upstairs, Maddox told me that Azalea was taken, and I immediately lost it. Now he stood there while I cried.

“It’s going to be okay. They will find her,” Maddox tried to console me. I just shook my head deeper into his chest. “Do you want me to get your dad?”

“Where are my brothers?” I suddenly pulled away from him.

“I can find out,” he said. I knew he was probably linking Felix. “Come on,” he said, pulling me gently. He pulled me out of the room and down towards Liam and Lea’s room. Inside, Liam was kneeling on the floor talking to Junior and Leo. Leo had tears streaming down his face. Liam turned his head towards me when I walked in. He stood, and I ran at him, flinging myself into his arms.

“It’s okay,” he said softly into my hair.

“We have to get her back,” I sobbed.

“I will. I promise,” he said.