AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Owen tried to shake off his anxiety by leaping off the balcony and back onto the street. He returned to the shadows, scampering back to the Raff den to speak directly to the man who may be responsible.
Despite the late hour, Owen found his father sitting outside the main door on the porch, swirling a whiskey. With him was his brother, Connor, who greeted his brother with an evil smile.
He shifted back quickly, placing his clothing on in the dark before approaching the main Alpha.
“Owen,” his father said, grinning. “What brings you back to the den at such a late hour?”
Owen clenched his fists tight, trying to maintain control. “Reika is missing,” he said sternly. “You wouldn’t have anything to do with that would you?”
“Would we now?” Connor said, jumping in.
“Hush,” his father snapped at Connor, fangs protruding like knives.
Connor's face went long, and he moved slowly back into the dark of the patio. His father returned his glare to his older son, his fangs retracting back beneath his gums.
“I have indeed placed an order to kill on your young woman,” his father said directly. “But I have not killed her yet, unfortunately.”
Owen wanted to strangle his father by his scrawny, little neck, but he knew that would be a mistake. He simply began walking back into the dark, ignoring his little brother’s jeers.
“We’re gonna kill her, Owen!” Connor screamed. “We’re gonna kill her real good!”
Owen heard his father reach out a hand to slap the back of Connor’s head, a thick sound emitting into the air. It made Owen smile to himself.
“Owen!”
Someone hissed at him in the shadows, then pulled him by the wrist. Owen nearly tore him limb from limb before realizing that it was his more reasonable younger brother, Mateo.
“What are you doing?” Owen asked keenly.
Mateo motioned toward his truck with his head. “Come with me.”
Owen trusted Mateo more than he would ever trust Connor. So he followed him to his pickup, away from their father’s leering eyes. Two of Mateo’s friends were squished in the back seat of the truck.
“What’s going on?” Owen whispered.
Mateo brought a single finger to his lips before throttling them forward. They blasted off into the night, making it out of Raff territory.
Owen had an idea what was going on, but he would wait until they got out of the area of the den. His father may have been old, but his senses were as keen as a freshly sharpened machete. It wouldn’t be prudent to underestimate him in any capacity.
After a few minutes of silence, Mateo turned to his brother and spoke, still in a very quiet tone. “We have your woman,” he said.
Owen felt relief wash over him like a warm rain. “You have Reika?” he said, feeling astonished.
Mateo gave a small, sweet smile. He was the person who should be the alpha after his father, not Connor or him. Mateo was the most thoughtful and gentle of all of them.
But his father had led them with an iron fist, and it was an iron fist that he was looking for.
“Not all of your family is fucked up, brother,” Mateo said.
SIXTEEN
REIKA
Reika sat eating can after can of peaches until she couldn’t eat anymore. Her logic was that if she could eat enough, she would have enough sustenance for the battle ahead. She had convinced herself that someone from the Raff pack had kidnapped her and had simply stored her there for safekeeping.
That is until they chose to kill her off.
When her hunger was satiated, for the time being, she left the cans on the floor and assessed the boarded-up windows and door once again.
