Chapter 132
APOLLO
I’ve been waiting to talk to my mother for over an hour now. I really thought she would be home so we could go over what we discussed on the phone, but when I arrived, my father told me she had stepped out to run some errands.
I was growing increasingly restless, tapping my foot against the floor as I glanced at the clock on the wall. Every fick felt like an eternity. I was never supposed to stay away for this long. If she didn’t arrive in the next fifteen minutes, I would make the decision to head back to Lana who was waiting for my return.
Just then, my dad strolled into the kitchen, the scent of his high cologne filling the air. With a furrowed brow and a hint of annoyance in his voice, he asks, “Where have you been the past few days? You’ve hardly been around.” His eyes searched mine, wanting for my response.
I fix him with a piercing glare, my frustration evident in every line of my face. “Since you refuse to tell me where Lana is, I see no reason to answer your question,” I state firmly, my tone laced with defiance.
He furrows his brows once more in outrage, his expression a mix of trouble and irritation. “Are you still hung up about that? I honestly thought you would have moved on by now,” he replies, “like I told you before, this is for your own good. It’s for Lana’s sake as well. She is clearly too attached to you based on her reaction to you getting engaged. She needs some time to clear her mind.”
What the fuck was that supposed to mean? She was not too attached to me, I was the one more attached to her.
“We are fucking mates—”
Just then, his phone buzzes, cutting through our charged conversation. “Wait a second,” he says, glancing at the screen with a hint of concern. “Your stepmother is calling me.”
I leaned back in the brown armchair, while I silently observed him. Even though I was very annoyed, I still wanted to hear what my stepmother had to say to my father. Even though her voice is practically shouting on the other end, I can’t exactly make out what she’s saying.
“Hold on, hold on, sweetheart, please, take a breath,” he urges, his voice shaking slightly, an edge of disbelief threading through his words.
I shifted forward in my seat at his surprising reaction to whatever it was she was saying, straining to catch every word. The anxiety in his tone sent a jolt of alarm through me. Was it possible that she found out I had been staying there all this time?
“What exactly happened?” my father demands, his voice low but intense. “Who came into the house?”
If they’d found out I was there, he wouldn’t be asking the question of who came into the house. Instead, he would be focused on me. This conversation was definitely not what I initially thought it was about.
I feel a wave of tension wash over me at his inquiry. The thought of someone entering the house uninvited sends a chill down my spine knowing that my mate was there unprotected. I’d been there not too long ago, what changed since then?
“Did they really take her?” he presses, his voice laced with disbelief. “Are you absolutely certain?”
Took her? The gravity of his words prompts me to leap from the chair, my heart racing with a mix of confusion and dread.
Who did they take? And who were ‘they‘?
Something had definitely happened back there while I was gone and I was determined to get to the bottom of it.”
I couldn’t fucking believe this. I always left members of my pack stationed at her home if I wasn’t around. This time, I was so surprised by the conversation that I had with my mother that it completely slipped my mind.
aly slipp
“Do not worry darling,” he soothes her. “I am leaving to come there right now.”
The moment he hangs up the phone, I step forward, urgency swirling within me, desperate to uncover the truth.
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Chapter 132
What happened?” I demand, my voice on edge.
He avoids my gaze, his expression a mix of frustration and worry as he fumbles in his pants pocket, searching for his keys. “Where are those damn bay he mutters under his breath, growing increasingly heated as he begins to explore the cluttered kitchen counter.
“Father?” I press further, my tone more insistent. “What’s going on? Why won’t you tell me?”
Impatience gnaws at me, a tight knot forming in my stomach. It baffles me that he’s holding back and refusing to say a word on the matter.
Finally, he looks up, his face pale and drawn, and utters the chilling revelation: “Some men broke into the house.” His voice quakes slightly as he continues, “They attacked your stepmother. She lost consciousness but when she finally opened her eyes, Lana was gone. They took her with them.”
As his words sink in, I can feel the color draining from my face, replaced with a cold rush of anger and fear.
No. Not my mate. This can’t be fucking happening. I was just there making sure that she was okay.
“Son!”
I do not wait to hear what my father has to say.
I was already running through the front door when I almost crashed into my mother.
“Apollo?” she asks, surprise in her face. “I didn’t know you’d be home already-”
She stops herself when she sees the panic on my face. “What’s wrong?”
My vision saw red as I replayed my father’s words in my head.
Who would fucking dare kidnap my mate knowing my reputation? The second I got there and found out exactly what happened and who was responsible, there was no telling what I would do.
“Someone broke into the house Lana was staying at. They took her.” I tell her, my fist clenched.
Surprise crosses her expression at my words. She definitely wasn’t expecting me to say that.
“Oh no!” She gasps as she covers her mouth, “that is awful son. We need to find out who is responsible for this right away!”
“Call whoever you need to call to help.” I tell her. “Please mother, I need to find her.”
She hugs me, “I will help in whatever way I can.”
I quickly nod and step away from her. I rush out the house and thread my way past the attentive security guards stationed at the entrance. My mother had them moved here since she was staying here for now.
take out my phone as I dial Jake’s number. A mumble a few curse words when he doesn’t answer.
The moment my foot touches the ground of the woods, I prepare to shift into my wolf form. Just as I am about to embrace the transformation, an unseen. object suddenly strikes me sharply on the back of the head.
I stumble, and whirl around in surprise, my vision blurring and the world spinning around me as dizziness sweeps over me like a dark cloak.
I see about five men above me just before the object hits me once more behind my head. It’s the last thing I remember before losing consciousness,
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