The Alpha’s Curvy Cinderella - Chapter 101: Chapter 101

Alpha Blaze POV
I tore through the forest, my paws thudding along the ground, sniffing desperately for Jordan’s scent, it fading slightly as I ran, my heart thudding painfully in my chest. Thomas was beside me, the two of us scanning the forest, several warriors spread out. What had possessed her to go into the forest, instead of heading to the hospital which had been her original plan? Something had to have lured her inside it but what? We drew closer to the boundary line and I smelt the putrid scent of metallic blood, not human though, thank god, but one that was definitely of a small creature, that had been killed not that long ago.
Jordan’s scent is mingled in with the blood of whatever that poor unfortunate creature is Lucifer muttered keep heading south. It’s just past the border. For some inexplicable reason, she passed over the boundary line and headed into neutral territory. What on earth possessed her to do such a thing? Did she not think of the danger?
I don’t know. It’s not like her to be so reckless. Something had to have gotten her attention. You know how soft-hearted she is. If she thought an animal needed her help then she would have gone to help it, no question. Damnit. We should have just waited for her and taken her with us. I never dreamed she would have been in danger heading straight to the hospital.
Neither one of us could have anticipated it. As you said it’s a relatively short distance and there are pack members everywhere. Nobody saw anything unusual. The fact is, they, whoever they were, needed her to be on neutral territory, which meant they knew they couldn’t get their hands on her while she was in our pack and on our grounds. This wasn’t just some random attack on our mate, this was meticulously planned. They had to have had help.
Whoever has done this, I’m going to bloody kill them. They’re going to be begging for mercy by the time I’m done with them. Nobody lays hands on my mate and unborn child and lives to get away with it I snarled.
The important thing is to get our mate back safely and unharmed and we need to hurry. Especially since we don’t know what their intentions are towards her or our pup.
I let out a ferocious growl and charged, stopping as a grisly sight met my eyes, and skidded to a halt. I crinkled my nose and narrowed my eyes. Lucifer gave a low hiss of disgust. A raccoon, lay on the ground dead. Its throat had been torn out, by teeth. I could see the bite marks that looked eerily like one from a wolf. Blood pooled around the body and there was a cage by its side which had been lifted up, presumably from over it. Had this been what Jordan had been drawn to? Had there been another creature inside that cage that she’d sought to free? It was just in neutral territory, I realized with a sickening feeling. This had to have been what had lured Jordan, but where had she been taken from here?
Look, over there? Is that Jordan’s handbag? Lucifer asked grimly as Thomas sat on his haunches, letting out a howl and mind-linking the warriors to continue the search, telling them to go deeper into the neutral territory.
I spotted the handbag on the floor and shifted back to human form, walking over to it and grabbing it. It had her purse and her phone in it. I sighed, feeling helpless and not liking the feeling. Something gleamed in the light, near my foot and I bent down, hearing Thomas shift behind me, picking up a small dart and examining it closely, sniffing at it as the scent of a familiar herb drifted into my nostrils, making me stiffen. Son of a b***h. Rage shot through me. I clenched my hands into fists, wishing I had somebody to lay my hands on.
“Wolfsbane” I hissed “This means it was definitely planned.”
Thomas looked concerned. “But who would have known she was here? Not to mention would have known she would be walking between the pack house and the hospital. I mean how do you plan for that…” he trailed off, as both of us looked at each other.
Stefanie, I thought, not wanting to believe it, even as Lucifer agreed it was a certainty that she was in on it. Thomas looked uncertain “Surely your sister wouldn’t go this far? I know she hates Jordan but to connive with someone to get rid of her. That’s beyond anything I could have anticipated her capable of doing.”
But it made perfect sense to me. Stefanie had been nothing but antagonistic towards Jordan. She’d been quiet, and withdrawn the last few weeks, and while I’d initially put that down to depression, what if it had been something far more sinister? I knew she was angry that Chelsea had been sent away, that was one of her best friends and because of her rather volatile nature, she didn’t really have any friends in the pack. She didn’t tend to stick around long enough for anybody to get to know her, not with the amount of shopping trips and vacations she took. Not to mention, the pack didn’t quite like her rather hostile and immature personality.
“Think about it,” I told Thomas tightly “Isn’t it rather convenient that Stefanie tries to take her life and the very day afterward Jordan is taken after trying to get to the hospital to see her?”
“It could just be a coincidence” Thomas argued, although he didn’t sound convinced.
I ran a hand through my hair in exasperation. “It’s a pretty strange coincidence, considering that Stefanie has never been suicidal before, and we both know how manipulative she can be. This is the first time I’ve found a mate and she’s felt this threatened. You know as well as I do that she doesn’t like it when I have a female in my life, she never has. Add to that the fact that I was going to have a baby with Jordan, and she could have completely lost it.”
I should have known Stefanie was behind this, I thought bitterly, but who wanted to imagine their own sister could be capable of something like this? It was beyond monstrous and completely callous. Did she care nothing for my happiness? Would she never grow up and realize that the world didn’t serve to revolve around her? Was I always going to be a victim of her wishes and whims? Or was this her punishment for me, for not falling for her friend and sending Chelsea away? I felt a flash of bitterness flow through me. My hands clenched into tighter fists, my nails digging into my flesh and drawing blood. I welcomed the pain. It served to distract me from the pain in my heart.
“What are you going to do?” Thomas whispered, sensing the anguish I was feeling as I wrestled with my feelings.
I could no longer ignore my sister and her actions. All it had done was create a selfish, entitled woman who would do anything to get her own way. Now my mate was suffering because of it. As was my unborn child. Anything could be happening to them and it was all my fault.
I let out another growl, my eyes flashing dark. Lucifer was going insane and I fought to retain control, knowing he would kill Stefanie without a second thought. We needed information out of her, I reminded him as he skulked back and forth in my mind.
“Confront her,” I said hollowly “Get her to tell me the truth. You need to come with me” I requested and he nodded, tight-lipped, grim-faced, a solemn expression on his face.
He knew as well as I did that there were serious consequences for this and that Stefanie would not be able to resist my Alpha tone, which I planned to use on her. I couldn’t afford to waste time. This time, there would be no leniency given, even as my sister. She had gone too far and my anger barely contained.
I shifted, back into my large black wolf form, turned, and headed away, my paws thudding loudly on the ground, as I raced, the scenery passing by in a blur, Thomas loping behind me, passing by warriors who still searched for my mate, leaping over branches and debris, our minds racing, until we reached the grounds. We made it to the hospital and shifted, walking inside. Nurses gaped and then rushed to hand us a pair of scrubs which we hastily adopted. I strode towards Stefanie’s room, purposely, loud, anger in every step, my body vibrating with pure rage. Thomas was quiet, following behind me, his own eyes dark with anger and concern for my mate and his Luna.
I flung the curtain back and saw Stefanie sitting on the bed, looking relaxed, her hair clean, dressed in casual clothing. A far cry from what I had left her as. She blinked, looking stunned, and then opened her mouth. I cut her off, my voice loud and angry “Save it” I snapped as she shut her mouth, her eyes blinking and her face going pale.
“Did you find her?” she whispered, still pretending to give a damn about my mate.
I snorted. Damn, she was a good actress, I would give her that. She was giving a performance worthy of any actress on the big screen. I would have fallen for it too, if I didn’t have my suspicions.
“Nice try Stefanie” I hissed as she shrunk back, intimidated by my tone of voice.
“Blaze, what’s wrong? Why are you talking to me like this? Why is Thomas glaring at me?” she whimpered pathetically. “You don’t know?” I asked coldly.
She shook her head. I laughed, moving closer, towering over her, barely keeping my anger in check. Lucifer was ready to rip her into pieces. She had no idea how close I was to letting him do just that.
“You know I thought it was odd when Thomas told me about your suicide attempt. It’s never been like you to act so broken and defeated Stefanie. It’s not in your nature” I said scornfully “but I told myself it was my fault. That I had wronged you, not been the brother that I was supposed to be. But now” I shook my head, contempt in my eyes “Now I know I should have listened to my instincts and my gut. You’re rotten to the core, aren’t you? I just refused to see it all these years. Or maybe I didn’t want to believe my sister was exactly like our parents were. Cold hearted, selfish, and downright evil” I sneered.
“That’s not true” she protested weakly, “Blaze you’re my brother, how can you say that about your own sister” she added, looking at me sorrowfully, her voice full of grief and hurt.
I stepped closer, my hands balled into fists.
“Where is she” I spat out “So help me god you have one minute to tell me before I lose control and let my wolf take over instead and by god trust me you don’t want that Stefanie, believe me.”
Let me at her. Let me at the lying deceiving b***h Lucifer howled I don’t care if she’s family, she’s responsible for all of this. She’s nothing but a traitor who deserves to be killed for this Blaze and you know it.
She sneered, her lip curling back in contempt. Her eyes glittered with derision. Gone was the mask that she’d had on her face. She didn’t look like she was in need of help. If anything she looked half-crazed, like the mask had dropped from her face completely and I was finally seeing what she had kept hidden underneath for so long.
“Do you really think I would tell you?” she asked gloating “And you can try and use your alpha tone on me but you’ve forgotten we are brother and sister haven’t you” she laughed, the sound sending shivers down my spine “it doesn’t work when you’re blood related, remember.”
s**t. I had forgotten that. Damn it. I cursed out loud. I drew in a breath, about to blast her when another voice spoke from behind me, cold and harsh, familiar and not too impressed as he walked in behind me, his tone filled with venom “Then I guess it’s a good thing I’m an Alpha and I happen to not be blood-related then, isn’t it” as I whirled around and faced him in shock, part of me relieved that he was there, while another part of me was annoyed.
“Jaxon” I growled, as Stefanie gave a gasp of shock, the pallor draining from her face, as she saw another Alpha ready to tear her to shreds “What on earth are you doing here?”