Chapter 8
Unknown p.o.v
My fury was barely contained within me. "You had one task! One damn task, and you ruined it!" I bellowed at my subordinates, who appeared as foolish as they truly were.
"Boss, we couldn't..." one of them stammered before I swiftly tore out his heart, causing him to collapse to the floor like a sack of beans.
"Does anyone else have something to say?" I turned to face them directly, searching their eyes. None of them dared to meet my gaze.
"Remove that shifter from her presence immediately! She belongs to us and no one else. And don't hesitate to eliminate him if he becomes a problem," I roared, issuing my command once more before storming out of the room.
I was seething with anger. There was no way I would allow a shifter to take her away from us. She was under our control, meant to serve our purposes. Or so I thought...
Eric's pov:
Even in my slumber, I couldn't find peace. My mind incessantly wandered to thoughts of her, my friend. Those contact lenses couldn't hide her true beauty. Behind them were captivating gray eyes that seemed to draw you in, capturing your very soul.
I desire her.
The thought silently crossed my mind.
She was, for lack of better words, stunning. But something about her overly vibrant hair felt off. Could it be a wig, perhaps? I tried to reassure myself that she would be fine, that she would be safe.
As I repeated these affirmations to myself, I eventually drifted back to sleep. However, my rest was short-lived. At three-thirty in the morning, my wolf instincts yearned for its mate, and I could no longer suppress the urge. I had to shift, willingly or not.
"Stubborn wolf," I muttered bitterly, removing my shirt as I left the house I had rented for the week while on a business trip.
Before I even stepped out of the house completely, my wolf emerged, following her scent back to the office where we had left her.
"This is foolish," I communicated through our shared link, but my wolf paid no attention to my words. He pushed me deeper into the recesses of our consciousness and continued running.
Exhaustion began to set in, until her scent grew stronger as we ventured further down a specific road. Trusting my wolf's instincts, we arrived at a house saturated with her aroma. I couldn't resist getting closer.
I climbed the nearest tree and observed her peacefully sleeping, granting me a perfect view of my mate. A sigh of relief, unknown to me until that moment, escaped my lips.
Peace.
That was the only way to describe what I felt at that instant. I could even hear her steady breathing from this vantage point, thanks to my heightened senses.
Finally, when I closed my eyes to sleep once more, it came effortlessly. I didn't need to count sheep or reassure myself of her safety because she was right here, within my sight.
With absolute contentment, I drifted off to sleep, paying no mind to the fact that I was perched in a tree.
….
It could have been just a minute or an hour, but I could hear footsteps nearby. Eloise was still fast asleep, completely oblivious to the world around her.
"We would be in deep trouble if we mess up this time," someone whispered. They hadn't spotted me yet; the tree provided the perfect hiding spot.
"Let's just go inside, grab the girl, and leave," one of the guys repeated to the other.
I carefully surveyed the area. There were only three of them. Excellent, I thought as I silently descended from the tree. I had no intention of reverting back to my human form, especially since my wolf form didn't give me enough time to grab some clothes.
I grabbed the one who was keeping watch. A vampire. I snarled and took him down as quietly as possible, snapping his back.
"She's sleeping like the dead," one of them chuckled, pleased with their easy victory.
Without hesitation, I burst into the room, snarling. They looked terrified.
"I thought you said there was no one around!" one of them snapped at the other. I didn't give them a chance to defend themselves or attack.
I pounced on the one closest to me, tearing him apart limb by limb. His screams were like music to my ears, but unfortunately, they woke her up. She appeared frightened, and I despised it. Since getting to know her personally, she had been nothing but scared. It seemed as if I was the cause of it.
The next one looked at me, his eyes revealing his internal struggle to either flee or fight me. Well, fleeing wasn't an option. He sealed his fate the moment he thought it wise to attack my mate.
With a menacing growl, I lunged at him. He put up more resistance than the previous two, who couldn't even last a minute in a fight and ended up as lifeless as dried fish on the sidelines.
But he was no match for me. My years of experience had not been in vain. After a while, with a few scratches here and there, I ended him. I surveyed the dead body; it was maimed, missing a limb, an eye, and half of his torso as I tore his arm and a portion of his upper body.
I turned my gaze to Eloise. She seemed on the verge of passing out. I moved closer to comfort her, but she recoiled.
"Stay... stay away from me," I said, stopping in my tracks, bewildered by her reaction.
I looked down, only then realizing the problem. I was still in my wolf form. My wolf whimpered. He didn't like how our mate was rejecting us.
I was torn. Part of me wanted to shift back and show her that it was me and that she had nothing to fear. On the other hand, another part of me wanted to flee. This wasn't how I wanted her to see me, like some kind of murderer.
With the latter thought slowly winning, I leaped out of her window, leaving her terrified for her life.
Morning arrived, and I felt exhausted. I woke up, covered in blood.
Ring ring
I angrily slammed the wretched device that had interrupted my sleep.
My phone.
"What?" I snapped into the phone without even bothering to check the caller ID.
"Alpha," my beta, Andrew, spoke from the other end.
"What do you want, Andrew?"
"I'm calling to give you a situation report about your mother," he said, and instantly, any remnants of sleep vanished from my eyes.
"What has she done this time?" I was already weary of the conversation before it had even started.
"She wants to find you a bride." I rolled my eyes at the news.
"Is it something urgent?" My mom's question was all too familiar.
"This time, she's found a bride and is making arrangements for the wedding." I felt a chill run down my spine.
"Well, that's unexpected," I sighed, overwhelmed by the situation.