CHAPTER 13. SWEET REVENGE FOR MY MATE
RYDER
“I'm really sorry, your highness, but that's all I know about her. She did not love interacting with others, and would rather keep to herself, always. There's no information about her past, friends, relatives, or even acquaintances.“
I finally looked up from the resume I was holding. It was Hara's resume. Staring at it for half an hour and wishing it had more information to offer was just hurting my feelings. I'd asked for it in a rush, thinking I could find a little clue about her past years, or what she'd been doing since she vanished.
I was pretty much amazed when all the resume had was just her fake identity, Suzy, and an age I wasn't sure was real. Just a name and age. Nothing more. No records of distant or close relatives. No records of her qualifications. Nothing.
It was the silliest of things. I've never seen such a blank resume ever. This just proved how incompetent this buffalo of a manager was, and I was itchy to knock some life out of him.
I picked up the resume again in despair. It was my last chance at knowing a little bit more about my mate, other than just her name and her face. I needed to get deeper, that's the only way I could fight to keep her. She wouldn't give me that information, not after I'd scared the shit out of her a while ago. The only solution would be to wait till she warms up to me, but time was a luxury I couldn't afford.
With my marriage to Ciara looming around, I needed this mate bond to put an end to it. The goddess had shown me epic kindness by letting Hara show up just now. Now when I needed her the most. I have to know her, I need to have her, I must keep her by my side, even if I have to fight against all odds.
“She made a lot of visits to the hospital too. I didn't think it was right to pry into her private matters, but I'm guessing she had an ailment of some sort,“ he informed.
“When last was her visit?“
“Yesterday, Your highness. She'd resumed work today. “
I nodded. I didn't want to think about it. It was breaking my heart to know that my mate was with a child, for another. I'm sure that's the reason for the many hospital visit.
I tried to shove that information into the basement of my mind and just paid attention to whatever crap he was saying.
”Your Highness, If you could give me a little time, I'll have her investigated and you'll get all the information you need, please,“ He appealed.
Again, I looked up at him, waving the paper slightly in the air. “How the hell do you employ someone without getting basic information about them?!“ I thundered, flinging the paper to him. It scattered on the floor.
He quickly bowed repeatedly, muttering an “I'm sorry,“ with every bow he made.
“She could have been a rogue spy, or a serial killer, or one of the cloned witches from the dark forest. Did none of these thoughts ever cross your mind?“
“No, your highness,“
“Then that makes you despicably stupid and incompetent. Firing you isn't enough punishment for what you just did. Your incompetency just left me at a dead end,“
He stole me a glance with a confused look, but bowed again, “Whatever it is you need, I'm sure there's a way to sort it out, your highness. I could send people to go hunt her down and drag her back here,“
“You wanna die?“ I hissed harshly at his words. Dragging my mate was as good as blaspheming the Moon Goddess. they both had the same punishment - death.
“I'm sorry, your highness,“
“Quit saying you're sorry!“ I snapped irritatedly. “ If sorry could fix this mess, it would have already been fixed, don't you think?!“
“I'm sorry, your highness,“ He repeated but quickly shook his head as if trying to erase what he'd just said. “Suzy had seemed sincere and honest, that's why I hired her regardless of the little information she provided.“ he explained.
“Really?“
“Y-yes, Your highness,“
My eyes squinted at his sudden stutter and a cringe on his face. He was terrified of me, but that wasn't the reason behind the stutter. The cringe on his face gave him out - he was lying. Damned oaf!
Without hesitation, I tapped into his mind, he was a member of my pack so it was easy as hell. In all my years of having this ability, there were just a few times I used it to my advantage. I've never loved intrusion. Invading one's mind without their consent was a huge intrusion. And I've not met a lot of people who had the guts to lie to me. But this oaf right here just bit more than he could chew, so I had to do what I got to do.
In his mind laid a bunch of sleazy, obscene thoughts, the dirtiest that could dwell in any wolf's mind. But God, he was too old to be such a shameless perv. I doubt Jason's mind would be this filthy if I tapped into it.
I was biting down my murderous fury with how hard I was clenching my teeth. Son of a gun!!
He didn't hire Hara based on her 'amazing' personality and whatnot This demon spawn hired her for his stricken dick. It was all for his pleasure. In his mind, he had endless fantasies about how he'd have her ride him.
I stood abruptly from the swivel chair. There was no way I could sit put after hearing all that about my mate. The only consolation about it all was that he hadn't done it yet, he'd just fantasized, a lot.
Standing in front of him, I considered a less severe punishment. One that didn't have to do with dismemberment. Or pulling his eyes from their sockets and feeding them to the dogs.
My hands balled into a fist and it landed heavily on his face. When he recoiled in pain, I struck him another blow to his spine and he fell to his knees, groping in pain.
His groping hands held my feet and he was sobbing in pain. “I'm - I'm sorry, your highness…please, spare my life,“
“Spare your worthless life?! Why should I? I bet you've fucked enough to last a lifetime, so it shouldn't matter if you died now!“ I stamped hard on his fingers, crushing all of them. The man had quite a high-pitched cry. It wouldn't be a surprise if residents from twenty blocks away get alarmed by his cries.
“No…please…“ He cried. He was a depiction of misery and pathetic right now. His broken fingers still lay at the spot they'd been crushed. He hadn't tried sitting upright either. I'm sure his fractured spine would never let that happen. And I was far from being done with him. At the end of the day, he'll never fuck a pussy again, never again.
When I spoke again, my voice was raspy with fury and I was grabbing one of the leather chairs made for visitors, “I don't mind if you fuck every female worker in the bar. It's one of the perks of being a manager. But when it has to do with one's mate, you got to keep your crazy erection in check!“ I released the chair and it landed on his head with a hard thud.
His cries complimented the action but I was yet to be done. I grabbed the chair again.
“I'm s….o…r…ry…“
”You could say you didn't know she had a mate, but whoever said you should lust after every lady you set your eyes on?!“ I yelled maniacally, aiming and hitting the chair on his jaw. His head was forced to the side as blood flew out of his mouth. I think he lost a few teeth from the hard impact.
“You shouldn't have looked at her. You shouldn't have undressed her with your eyes the many times you did. You shouldn't have peeped on her whenever she was changing in and out of her work clothes. You shouldn't have imagined thrusting inside her, you oaf!“ Another hit of the chair to his jaw and he collapsed with the loudest shrill.
I trailed towards him and placed the legs of the chair on his heaving chest. His face was bloodied and his eyes were shut in agony. Seeing him now, no one would believe he was looking fly a few minutes ago.
“You probably wondering why I'm so pissed by your actions toward her. I got no plans of giving you an answer. Those unanswered questions are gonna churn your insides endlessly. That's what you get for being such a man-whore!!“ I lifted the chair again, ready to destroy half his face. The door burst open.
“Fuck, Ryder!!“ Jason was rushing towards me with a few bodyguards.
I released the chair on him before I got engulfed in a tight embrace by Jason.
I watched in hopes to see the chair crush him, but it never did. One of the guards had quick hands and had caught the chair before it could land on him.
“Shit! Let me go, Jason. Fucking let go!!“ I struggled to free from his hold and complete the damage I'd half done.
“Ryder, c'mon! You're going to kill him! Jason said, amidst his struggles to keep me firm in his hold.
“Get that piece of shit out of my bar. And take that Shilah - skank with you. I don't ever want to see you about around my property ever again!“ I ordered vehemently, pointing at my ex-manager who was oozing out lots of blood.
The guards rolled him out and Jason finally let go of me.
“What the hell, man?! You looked so wild like you were possessed,“
“Rage is a spirit and a very strong one at that, don't you agree?”
“What happened?“ He asked, gesturing at the mess on the floor.
“His stinking blood,“ He ruffed out, walking around the table to my seat.
“Why did you beat him up so bad?“
”He deserved it. That oaf dared to lust after my mate.“
“Wait, I don't understand, “Jason shook his head, sitting on one of the visitor's chairs. “The lady from earlier, who did you say she was again? I'm still having a hard time, trying to comprehend it,”
I heaved, trying for the first time to soothe my rage.
“Ryder…“Jason urged.
“That was Hara.“ I admitted, meeting his gaze. He was quiet, just staring back at me. “Don't look at me like I've lost my mind,“ I whined, looking away to avoid his stares.
“I'm sorry. I'm not sure how else to look at you. How could Hara be here, in our pack, in your bar?”
“I don't know, dude. I couldn't believe it at first. But I swear, she's the one.“
“What gave you that conviction?“
“I recognized her, dammit! Red did too!”
Jason scoffed, leaning back on the chair. “That makes no…”
“Sense?“ I finished off irritatedly. Fed up, I rummaged in my pocket for that photo of her. I bring it with me everywhere I go. “Here,“ I gave it to him.
He took it and again, I thought I saw recognition lit his face as he stared at the photo.
“Shorter hair, paler skin but she's the one. You saw her,“
“Yeah, yeah I did,“ He nodded absentmindedly, still staring at the picture. ”This is unbelievable,“
“What is?“
“Huh?“ He looked up and shook his head. “Nothing. Just find it shocking that of all the places you two could reunite, it had to be here. Who would have thought right? Feels too good to be true,“
“Yeah, you could say that,” My reply was unsure as I gave him a brief stare. He seemed a little off.
“So you met her, how did it go?“
“Terrible,“ I groaned, slumping into my chair and facepalming myself in mortification. “Red wouldn't let me handle it. He was forcing his way out and I was fighting him in. And Hara was right there, taking in the awful sight,“
”Let me get this straight. You were half-human, half-wolf?“
“Yes,“
“For real?“ Jason inquired in an amused tone. “So, was it like a beauty and the beast thingy?“
I eyed him sharply, “Are you making fun of me?“
He muffled his chuckle and faked a straight face. “Nope. I wouldn't dare. I just find it terrifying that your first meeting with your "supposed mate" went down such an ugly route,“
“That's what I get for having an impatient wolf.“ I mind-linked a million curses to Red, who did nothing but mumble out a few apologies. It was damn too late for an apology. If he'd listened and let me handle it from the onset, then it wouldn't have gotten so messy.
"Red has always been … Red,“ Jason said hesitantly like he was trying to find the right words to use. Sure thing he wouldn't wanna aggravate Red.
“Yeah,“ I replied, drifting off to my thoughts of Hara, being pregnant with someone else's child. It was no biggie, but it had me on an edge.
“What's it you said about her having a child?“ Jason asked as if reading my thoughts.
“It's just as you heard. She's pregnant,“
“Yours?“
“I wish,“ The thought of finally having her on my bed and fucking her so deeply and with so much love gave me an instant hard-on.
That girl is gonna be the death of me. Everything about her always has me on fire. She had to see it for herself - how crazed I am about her. I don't wanna bluff but I doubt other mated werewolves out there had for each other the insane level of emotions she strings up in me. Maybe If she saw it for herself, then she would understand when I say I'm the right mate for her.
“Could the child be for her mate from her pack?“ Jason asked.
"Maybe, I don't know. I don't care. I'll love her and the child. I'm not letting go because of that. It doesn't matter the least to me,“
Jason was gaping like I'd said the most foolish of things. “You serious?“
“Very. I love her. I need her. That's all I know. That's all that matters,“
”And your father? Surely, he'll never let you have her. Not when he's pinning for you to end up with Ciara,“
“I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. Right now, Hara's freaked out. I'm distorted. And I need to fix this,“
The sudden thunder and lightning interrupted our conversation. In a flash, it was raining cats and dogs.
“Is this…. normal?“ Jason asked skeptically. “It isn't supposed to rain today,“
“You figure that out. I got something else to figure out,“ I grabbed my coat from the hanger and marched out of the office.