Jason's POV
We waited three hours for Angel to arrive at the waterfall, and nothing. The sun would soon be setting, so we headed back to camp. Angel was turning eighteen tomorrow, so we were running out of time. I had sent Wayne deeper into the pack's territory to see if he could catch her scent and find her. Eventually, I received a mind link with directions to a home on the edge of Moonlight Packs territory. Nick's scent was everywhere, confirming that the three of them did live here. Following Wayne's directions, I arrived at a small cottage-style home. It had a white picket fence and pink roses pretty much everywhere. The cottage was nowhere near as lavish as the palace they had once called home. They went all out to hide, so I suppose the downscale in luxury was the point of helping them blend in, and I'm guessing all the roses were their way of remembering Vanessa.
"How are you planning on taking her? I'm sure Nick and Marie won't just give her up."
"Well, Wayne, I found out that Nick has been scheduled to work until lunchtime tomorrow, and Marie will be setting up Angel's birthday party in the community centre. So they won't be around."
"Ok, she will be alone, but how will you do it? If she's half as powerful as Elder Tom suggests, you will not succeed."
"I have it handled. Do not worry yourself over the little details, for all will be revealed when we return to camp."
I had it all planned out. I would wait for them to leave, and while Angel was sleeping, I would inject her with wolfsbane and a small amount of liquidised silver. That way, her wolf can't come forward, leaving her fragile and easier to subdue. The silver wouldn't kill her, but it would be painful and keep her from using any strength. I had waited years for this opportunity, so I wasn't taking any chances. No doubt Nick and Marie had trained Angel well; her mother was a damn good warrior, and so was Marie. There was no way they were going to leave Angel defenceless. Not with so much at stake.
The journey back to camp was silent as I went over and over the plan in my head, ensuring everything worked out so nothing could go wrong. We had stayed at the cottage for a couple of hours, scouting out an escape route. It needed to be the least like an obstacle course, as we would be carrying an unconscious Angel, but it also had to be the least obvious route. By the time we reached the camp, I had gone over the plan enough times to be confident it would be successful. I shared the details with the pack members I had brought from the royal pack, making sure they each understood what they needed to do. I also ensured they knew I would end their lives without blinking if they crossed me. I may not have the strength of an alpha yet, but I still had beta blood, making me stronger than them.
'Remember that we have to do the ceremony tomorrow. We must be with the elder before the moon reaches its apex.'
'Blake, I am well aware of what is needed. I do not want to wait another month, let alone keep her around longer than necessary.' My wolf was on edge; we were so close to finally getting what we had wanted after sixteen years of waiting.
The ceremony needed to take place under a full moon, and as Angel is an alphas heir, she was also born on one. There was only one chance this month, so if we failed, I would have to keep Angel weak and locked up for a whole month until the next full moon, and that wasn't ideal. There would be a chance she could escape or even be found, disappearing and maybe never being found again. I was not willing to let either of these scenarios happen!
Jakes POV
I had woken up early; there was so much I needed to do in preparation for Angel's arrival. Finally, I could claim Angel as mine, and as my packs Luna, I couldn't help but smile at the thought of it-Goddess, what has happened to me? I had once been completely opposed to accepting a mate, and now those thoughts were gone as if I had never even had them. As alpha, I was obligated to attend a wolf's eighteenth birthday party as a sign of respect to the family, but not this time. This time I wanted to go. It was being held at the pack's community centre, so I had taken it upon myself and contacted Marie. She was to spare no expense decorating and to invoice me the bill.
Checking the time on the Rolex that sat on my wrist, I headed to the dining room to meet up with Benson and Alice for breakfast. When I arrived, the dining room was empty, all except for Mrs Roberts. Mrs Roberts was a kind older lady; her family had worked in the kitchen of the pack house for as long as I can remember. Her husband had been a pack warrior and had died when my dad was alpha during a rogue attack.
"Good morning, Alpha Jake. Breakfast won't be long, but can I get you tea or coffee?"
"That's ok, just a coffee, please, Mrs Roberts."
"Always with the 'Mrs', how many times have I told you, please just call me Rita." She said with a smile.
"Only a thousand 'Rita'." I chuckled.
As Rita went to make the coffee Crystal entered the dining room, and by the looks of it, she had just finished training. Hoping she would ignore me, I scrolled through the internet on my phone, looking for a gift for Angel. Well, I was wrong. She came and sat opposite me even though she knew this table was reserved for ranked pack members. Still, I continued to ignore her adamant not to let her ruin my good mood.
"Morning, Alpha."
"Do you want something, or are you here to disturb my peaceful morning?"
"Oh, silly Alpha, I only wanted to see if you would be busy tonight. We could, you know... catch up." She said whilst fluttering her eyelashes and twizzling her hair.
"Fuck off, Crystal; I told you already I'm not interested."
"But we had fun together, didn't we? Come on, Jakey, let me help you unwind. You look stressed out; perhaps, I could give you a relaxing massage." Just the thought of her touching me made me feel sick.
My god, her voice was more squeaky than normal, desperation laced in her voice. What the actual fuck was I thinking to have gone near her in the first place. I had heard rumours from other pack members that she became clingy after sleeping with them, but I figured she would submit and leave when I was through with her. How she said my name made me feel physically sick; I only wanted Angel to say my name that way. My eyes went black as I grabbed her by the throat, dragging her across the table and throwing her to the ground.
"For the last time, it's ALPHA JAKE!" I roared in my alpha tone, making Crystal flinch. "I have a mate, and I want you to leave me alone."
"If you had a mate, she would be here with you now. YOU'RE NOT EVEN MARKED!" She screeched as tears fell down her face. How dare this disrespectful bitch shout at me.
"She's not here because she only turned eighteen today. She will be here tonight, and you will not come near either of us. If you so much as show an ounce of disrespect towards her when she arrives, I mean it, Crystal, you will not live to see your next birthday. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!" With that, she got up and stormed off, bumping into Alice and earning a growl from her as she left.
Alice was like a sister to me, and I would always have her back. As they took their seats at the table, other pack members entered the dining room, taking their seats while waiting for the breakfast table to open. As Rita arrived with my coffee, she announced that the food table was ready. As we ate breakfast, I told Benson and Alice about my meeting with Angel last night and my decision.
"Well, I'm happy for you, man; glad you came to your senses." Benson chuckled as he stuffed his face with a pancake.
"I cannot wait to meet her. It will be nice to have a girl to hang with." Alice chimed in.
"When does Sid get back? He will be more than excited to finally be able to do his given job and stop lazing around."
"He will be back this afternoon, and damn right, he actually thanked the moon goddess." I chuckled, shaking my head as I remembered my conversation with him last night.
I had a busy day ahead of me, but it would all be worth it when my beautiful mate was finally here.
Angel's POV
Everything was dark when I opened my eyes; my limbs felt so heavy that I struggled to lift them. What the hell was going on? I had a bag over my head; I knew that much as I felt the fabric scratch against my skin. I tried to reach out to Star, but nothing; it was then that I felt the irritable sting of cuffs on my wrists. These had to be silver. That was why I couldn't reach my wolf; the contact with silver would have put her into a deep sleep. Without my wolf, I was essentially human, unable to shift and without my strength, I knew I was in trouble. After calming myself, I could tell that I was in a moving vehicle, and I could hear the voices of about three men.
After what seemed like forever, we finally stopped. I was carried out of the vehicle and placed gently on the ground. Loud footsteps approached, stopping just in front of me. One of the men called him Alpha Jason; I had heard that name before. This was the man that took my parents from me. As he took the bag off my head, I glared at him with nothing but hate in my eyes. As I took in the sight of him, I began to size him up. He wasn't much bigger than Uncle Nick, but smaller than Jake. I could easily take him if I could find a way to remove these cuffs.
"Happy Birthday, Angel. Haven't you grown up." He smirked.
"Skip the pleasantries; I know who you are. You're a traitor and a coward, nothing more." My voice held nothing but venom.
"HAHAHA, you think you know me; how clever you must think you are. Do you know why I have come for you, Angel?"
"To kill me?"
"If I have to, yes. But first, I have a ceremony that needs to be conducted tonight. You will transfer your alpha power, making me a true alpha."
"What alpha power? I don't have it. I need to be crowned to gain it; Uncle Nick told me how it works. But because of royal law, I must be marked by my mate before I can be crowned."
"Yes, I know how it works, so you will take me tonight as your chosen mate!"
"I have a mate; I will never complete the process with anyone other than him!" I snarled in response.
"Oh, little princess, you think you have a choice. Once we mate, he won't want you. Alphas like to take a pure Luna, not a disgraced one." He chuckled darkly.
Now I was scared; without Star, I couldn't stop him from forcing himself on me. I had saved myself for my fated mate, and it looked like he would take that away from me. Before I could respond, another man appeared beside me, sticking a needle into my neck. The worried look on another man's face in the corner was the last thing I saw before everything around me went black.