Chapter 55
1535words
I grabbed the bloke who held my collar and bent his arm until he cried out in pain. If I was angry, my Wolf was furious, and neither of us was willing to entertain level
Of bullying.
“Brat.” I heard one say and it was followed by someone else dragging me by my hair so that I had to let go
Of the hold I had on his friend.
The man spun around and would have hurt me had I not kicked him in the groin.
“Bullseye,” I said with a smirk as I watched him grow pink with the pain.
“Alright, playtime is over.” The last one said, advancing on me and I gritted my teeth,
“Why don’t you hoodlums ever pick
On somebody your size?”
I turned to the owner of the voice in surprise,
“Paris?” I said, a cry escaping my lips,
“You’re not the only
One with a sixth sense.” He said and winked at me, before turning to face the three goons who wanted to attack me,
“Who the hell sent you three?” He asked angrily, and they all looked one to the other,
“Won’t answer, I see.” He said and stepped closer, “Perhaps a bit of pounding will loosen your tongue.
He started with the one that had grabbed my hair and punched him square in the jaw. The hit was so loud that I feared the man probably lost some teeth. My thoughts were confirmed when the bloke coughed up about three.
Paris made quick work with the one who had grabbed my collar and when he turned to the last one, the man raised his hand in surrender,
“It was Miss Christina, sire. She’s the one who hired us to attack the omega.”
Paris turned to look at me, but I didn’t have the words. It would have been sheer stupidity to think Christina beyond this, but even then I was surprised,
“Christina, who?” Paris asked quietly,
“Your sister, sire. She and her little friend made sure we put the lass in her place. We were just following orders.”
“Orders,” Paris repeated and nodded. I could tell the wheels were turning in his head over time.
I had a feeling the little friend the guy was talking about was Kate. By the look on Paris’s face, I couldn’t tell he thought so too,
“Whether or not it is indeed my sister, I suppose you can tell that you made a bad choice.”
And saying nothing more, he punched him so hard, that the man flew and landed with a thud.
Then he turned to me,
“How did you know I was here?” I asked rubbing my upper arm to soothe myself,
“Same way you knew I had an accident.” He said, walking closer to me, and running his thumb down my cheek,
“Thank you,” I said genuinely. He had saved my life once again and for some reason, I was reminded of the first time we met. He saved my life then as well.
“You don’t have to thank me.” He said and sighed, before taking a step back, “especially now that I know my sister is behind this.”
“And Kate,” I said quietly and he nodded slowly,
“Only, that’s yet to be justified.”
I blinked in confusion and took a step back,
“That son of a gun just said that Christina sent him-“
“And her little friend. I know. I heard him. And yes, I think it’s Kate that too. But until I make sure of it, I can’t pin her down with it.”
“Does the mate bond make you believe the very best of her all the time?”
“That’s not what this is about.”
“Then explain it to me,” I said, sounding sad to my own ears.
He stepped toward me and took my hands in his,
“I promise you, Ember, if I so much as discover that Kate is responsible for this too. It’ll be the end of her. It’s already the end of Christina at this point.”
I didn’t say anything. I didn’t need further investigation to be sure Kate was in this as well. But if Paris wanted to take the longer route to truth, then I wasn’t going to hold him back.
“I want to go home.” I finally said,
He nodded,
“My place is closer.”
“I know it is, but I’m not trying to go there. I want to go home, Paris.”
“Fine. I’ll take you.”
I panicked at the idea of Paris knowing my actual home and shook my head,
“I know the way. I can take myself.”
“If those hooligans try to -“
“They won’t.” I said, looking up at him softly, “I think you did a number on them.” I said and reached out to rub his hand, “I’ll be fine this time. Find out about Kate.”
I said and with that, I turned away from him leaving where he stood.
PARIS’s POV
I watched her as she left and fought the ride to go with her. But I couldn’t, I had to respect her wishes… even if it all but killed me.
I turned to the men who had attacked her and felt a good portion of my anger bubble up at the sight of them.
It was not enough to leave them on the road, I needed to lock them up so they didn’t get the chance to hurt anyone else. I dug into my pocket for my phone and called Jackson,
“Yolo.” He said when the call connected and I shook my head. The man was always excited,
“I need you to get some of your men to clear out some hooligans that tried to attack Ember.”
“Ember got attacked?” He asked, and I heard the worry in his voice,
“Yes, but I got here on time.” I shook my head at all the things that could have gone wrong if I hadn’t,
“Do you know who is behind it?”
“Not exactly, but I have an inkling.”
“You’ve got more than an inkling, sire.”
I sighed and looked over at the battered men,
“They said it was my sister.”
“Christina?” He asked flabbergasted,
“Yeah. I knew she hated her. I just didn’t know the hate was this much. There’s also the possibility of Kate being a part of this, but that’s to be investigated. But first, get people to gather these men”
“And then?”
“and then, when you’ve gathered these men, I’m going to need you to find my sister. And no matter what you do, don’t let her escape.”
~~~~
Christina was spitting bile when I reached the house. Her hands and legs were bound with ropes doused with wolfsbane and Jackson looked like he’d been through it when he turned to me,
“Finally, you’re here.” He said wearily and I nodded,
“Thanks for holding this one down mate,”
“Took ten men. She’s stronger than she looks.”
“Were you part of the ten?” I asked, genuinely curious,
“Nah. I only held her down when she got here.”
“Thanks.” I said and turned to Christina,
“Have you gone mad?!” She shouted when she saw me and I tilted my head.
“I see the wolfsbane hasn’t gotten to you yet.”
“Do you have a good reason for having me bound this way?”
“Only one, to be honest. How dare you send those men to hurt Ember?”
She was quiet for a moment before her face contorted in rage,
“Ember? That whore is the reason you set your men on me? The reason you tied me up? You really have lost it! Let me go so I can deal with her properly because it seems to me that my men have failed.”
I looked at her and my anger warred with my sadness. Where was the loving sister who made sure I laughed a lot as a child?
“At what point did you become so cruel, Christina ?”
“And at what point did you become so blind? You have a mate that would die for you. Yet still, you go after the one who doesn’t deserve you. Why? How dare you stand there and talk about cruelty when you showcase the worst cruelty of all?”
“Is that why you did this with Kate?”
“What makes you think she’s in on this? “
“If she isn’t, then who is?!”
“That’s none of your business. “
“Ember is my business!”
“Then I believe you have your priorities misplaced, brother.”
“I have overlooked too much of your wrongs for the sake of the blood we share. But you’ve crossed the line. “
I said and turned away.
“Make sure she’s locked and decide later what we’ll do with her,” I said to one of the men as I left the room, but she wasn’t done,
“You’ll be sorry, Paris. I swear I’ll make you and that little tramp regret the day you both ever met.”
I paused but didn’t turn around, because in the end she couldn’t make me regret the day Ember and I ever met. She could only
Make me sorry for the amount of freedom
I gave her that possibly left Ember in some regret of her own.
And that was my greatest regret.
