Nicole stayed up all night because she expected Shane to barge into her room and give her the beating of her life. Terror kept her awake. She couldn't dare close her eyes because she knew how mischievous Shane and his bandwagon of female omegas could be. She knew what they were capable of.
She also had terrifying experiences of what they'd done to her when they found her sleeping. Yet after staring at the ceiling all night, he didn't come. It was in the early hours of dawn that she found herself drifting to sleep.
She'd only managed to sleep for an hour when someone barged into her room.
It was Shane's Beta.
"Wake up!" He growled, "Alpha Shane is missing,"
Those words pull her up from the depths of her sleep.
"W-what?" She said groggily.
"Where was he last night?"
The Beta's fear permeated through the air, making her even more terrified.
Her wolf had begun to go haywire in her head. It's mate was missing?
"Bitch, where did you last see him?"
Despite the urgency of the situation and the fear that rippled through her skin, Nicole's memory was still a bit fuzzy.
She couldn't recall anything past the piercing blue irises of Dark Moon's Alpha.
Crimson's beta growled and grabbed her in a chokehold.
"Nicole, you do not want to test my already thin patience. What'd you remember? He's your mate, right? You should feel a connection that we the normal pack members do not feel and it should lead us to him. Tell me what I need to know," He snarled,
Gasping for breath, Nicole clawed at his arms. Her vision was already turning dark as her airflow was cut short. Then she suddenly remembered what happened.
"H-he" she choked,
Grunting, he released her and let her fall back to the ground.
"He was planning with his allies." Nicole panted, her hands clasped around her neck and her eyes and nose burned with tears.
"I know that." The Beta gritted out, "Where and when was the last time you saw him, and who was he with? What was he doing?"
Still panting Nicole tried to recall what happened and it came to her.
"The last time I saw him, he was drinking and I informed him of what his special guests required, and then he-"
She paused and gulped as the memories came flooding.
A resounding slap, so unexpected, sent her flying and crashing on her bed frame.
"Evil bitch. He what? You don't understand how important it is that we find him do you?"
The pain blinded Nicole's eyes, and tears began rolling out. She held her face and sniffled.
Growling the Beta stalked her,
"I've got more where that came from, slut."
"H-he -he promised to deal with me and then went to plan with his allies."
"That's it?" The Bets growled,
Nicole nodded meekly, still cradling her face.
"That's not enough,"
Nicole swallowed, she'd expected to receive a beating, but not from anyone but her mate.
"We need to find him before the time for the treaty. Whatever they planned yesterday must have backfired because the Alpha of Dark Moon is currently taking a walk and touring Crimson. I cannot imagine what would happen or what would befall us if Shane doesn't turn up on time."
Nicole trembled, her wolf was feeling the highest sense of loss.
"Clean up and meet me outside in 5. My men have been checking for his scent all morning, even before dawn but we're still unable to get a scent. You'll probably find something since you're his mate and all."
Nicole whimpered,
"Am I clear?" The Beta gritted out and she nodded.
As Nicole concealed her latest bruise she tried to conceal the excitement budding in her at the thought of something bad befalling Shane.
Would it mean that she was free?
She doubted it, but if he was truly gone forever, she was going to escape before a new Alpha was crowned.
The Beta banged on the door and she shuddered involuntarily, then scowled at the door.
She didn't care if the Alpha of Darkmoon-whose image, voice, and body had refused to leave her head- was going to start a war with Crimson, she was going to take her sweet time. From inside the bathroom, she could sense the Beta's unrest. It matched that of her wolf. Worry oozed out like a leaking faucet. She could tell that the beta was minutes from bringing down her door but she didn't hasten up.
"Nicole!" He growled,
Nicole smirked, then applied lip balm. This was his punishment for the unsolicited beating he gave her that morning.
After a while, she ambled out of the bathroom slipping a solemn mask on her face. Her head was already calculating the best escape routes.
The Beta dragged her roughly and led her to the Pack Hall where his scent was still prominent.
"Do you feel anything?" He asked pushing her into the private room where he'd planned with the allies.
Nicole sniffed the air and was a bit repulsed by the evil scents there. Yet she didn't feel anything. There was no lingering scent or trail. There was nothing.
The Beta and his men led her around the pack, forcing her to sniff and find a trail. They went on like that until two hours were remaining before the treaty signing.
Everyone was wrought with worry except Nicole. Although she cried for a show, she didn't feel anything. She was too busy mapping out possible escape routes to feel a thing.
They were rounding back to the pack house when her wolf picked up the scent of Alpha Liam.
Immediately her heart galloped and her eyes widened.
Why was Darkmoon's Alpha's scent so close to the Packhouse? Against better judgment, she began following it. With each step she took, her heart jumped and her feet wobbled. All the nonchalance she'd been feeling evaporated. Fear seeped into her skull and she allowed what her wolf was feeling to overtake her.
It even began to become more suspicious when the trail continued leading into the Packhouse. The raging Beta suddenly became quiet and moved silently beside her. The trail led straight to the study. The most unused place by Shane.
When Nicole stopped before the study, her heart catapulted. She swallowed and gingerly pushed the door open. The sight of Shane bending over his desk looking pale with his eyes wide open made her shriek.
Her wolf began raging in her head. She was immediately dragged out of the study and a hand was clamped over her mouth.
Pain like she couldn't understand coursed through her. Shane wasn't the best person on earth, but he was still her mate.
She wrestled in the arms of the person holding her as the image she'd seen haunted her.
The logical part of her told her that she should be happy. It reminded her that he was intending to give her a thorough beat down that night.
But the pain, the wrenching pain, took over. Her wolf roared and raged.
Suddenly, a roar pierced through the air. Shane's roar filled with anger and unbridled power washed over all of them. Stunned, the werewolf holding her, let her go.
Nicole froze with her eyes bulging out. Her blood turned ice-cold as the roar rippled through the air.
"Someone drugged me!" He roared,
She wasn't in the room with them but she could feel him punching an unfortunate person mercilessly.
Goosebumps scattered over Nicole's body. She held her breath.
"Someone spiked my drink and took me out. Even when I woke up earlier this morning, I found my frozen stiff and immobile. Even my mind link was cut off." He raged.
Nicole's heart plummeted. All the sorrow she'd felt when she thought he was dead vanished as an ominous feeling hit her.
"Someone wanted me to miss the meeting this morning. That person didn't want me to return to my quarters last night. The treacherous person wanted me hidden away until I missed my meeting,"
Nicole didn't know why she suddenly felt so afraid. Her wolf was hyper-alert and warned her of danger.
"Someone didn't want good for me and my pack! And there's only one person who hates me that much!"
Nicole shuddered involuntarily.
"It's Nicole!"
A gasp fell out of her mouth as her heart crashed. She couldn't believe what her eyes just heard.
"Get that bitch here!"
She was immediately dragged into the study.
"You!" Shane snarled on seeing her.
Pushing everyone around him away. He grabbed her and smacked her forehead. Then tossed her into the shelf of books.
Nicole's disbelief that Shane, whom she'd just been mourning turned around and blamed her for something she knew nothing of, shielded her from the pain that bolted through her back like electricity. She couldn't find it in her to scream because her mind had somehow convinced her that it was a dream.
It couldn't be. How could he accuse her of such? If there was anyone to suspect it was the Alpha of Dark Moon, whom he'd planned to kill. Whom she had blurted out Shane's plans to, gave her a smirk that told her that he knew and was a step ahead of Shane.
His next slap returned her to reality and this time the pain pierced through her.
She let out a scream.
"Bitch, you think I wouldn't figure you out?" He snarled, panting and punching her.
"You want to run away huh? You want freedom huh? You're never getting it! You're mine forever! You'll serve me forever."
Nicole had lost count of the punches and slaps. The tender wounds on her skin burst back open and her blood poured out.
She cried out, writhing in pain as each blow landed.
At that moment, she regretted being born. She wished she could go back in time and cause her mother to lose her. It wasn't as if her parents deserved her anyway.
Shane continued pummeling her until she was barely conscious. He stomped her belly and gave her blow after blow after blow.
"Alpha," Beta whispered, tentatively "the treaty signing is less than 30 minutes away. You know that Alpha Liam is impatient. He's been walking around Crimson on tour."
Shane froze,
Nicole was at the gate of oblivion when she heard him say,
"Get the best assassins in Crimson and place them in strategic positions. The moment the treaty is signed, shoot a silver arrow into that motherfucker's heart. Today we celebrate our victory over the Dark Moon. Get this bitch out of here. And check on the assassins we sent for him last night. If they're still alive, kill them."
And she passed out.