CHAPTER 81. A MAFIA?
RYDER
“What the crap, man? What's gotten into you?!” Darius spat, shoveling to his feet.
“Don't you even think of playing dumb with me. The jig is up. I just spoke with Jason, you damned bastard!“
“I don't know what you're talking about, dude. What did that miserable rogue say to you to get you all worked up?!”
”You're the miserable one!” I barked, railing free from the guys and delivering another punch to Darius. They held me back immediately, pinning my hands to the back, “Fucking let me go!”
“Ryder, get a hold of yourself. What's come over you?” Fred cautioned, pulling me back, it wasn't easy to keep me caged. They were using up all their energy on it.
”What is this?“ Giveon asked confusedly, glancing from me to Darius, “Dude, what's Ryder talking about?” Giveon asked him, but he still wouldn't admit it.
”I got no clue, I think Ryder just lost his mind,“
“The hell I did! You had Hara kidnapped, and then you went ahead to inject rogue blood into Jason. And until now, I still don't understand how you could be so cruel to him,“
”What?” Fred mumbled in awe, ”Darius?”
”No fucking way,” Jay muttered, stepping away from Darius. They were all backing away from him. Of course, they believed me.
Darius couldn't keep up with his pretense anymore. The next thing we knew, he flared up, ”I had no choice! I had no choice, man! Jason stole my position. Ryder, we both go way back, more than any of these guys. All our lives, you trained for the Alpha position and I trained to be your Beta. How do you think I felt when it got handed over to Jason?“
“It was the Moon Goddess' will,”
”But that didn't make it hurt any less!” He snapped furiously, “Jason's just fifth in the Beta lineage, he had no right to take up the offer. He became my enemy the second he assumed the position as your Beta,”
”But you became a Warlord. Wasn't that enough?”
“Hardly,” Darius said in a heated tone. He was a different shade right now. I've never seen him like this, it feels like I don't know him anymore.
I couldn't keep listening to his rants. My mate was in danger and I needed to know who took her. I stepped in front of him and spoke in my Alpha tone.
”Who had Hara abducted?” I asked. He went on his knees, subjecting himself to the power of the Alpha tone.
“I took her to the Rogue Prince. He demanded her,“ Darius replied.
”The Rogue prince? Who's that?”
”The man at the party. Hara's mate,“
“Roland…” I breathed out, bewildered by the shocking revelation. I knew that stench was something deep, that fucker was a rogue! ”Why did Roland demand her?“
”Hara spoke with her Alpha that night she ran off through the balcony. She told him all the horrible things Roland did to her when she lived as his mate. Alpha Zed banished him from their pack, and that's why he kidnapped her for his revenge,“
I tried tapping into Darius' mind and it worked, that means he's a pure blood. Just in some sort of alliance with the Rogues.
”Give me an address. Where the hell did you take her to?!”
”At the haunted house on the border between us and Silver Pack, the haven of the rogues,”
Silver Pack…was the haven for the rogues? No wonder they always claimed to be infiltrated. It was all a facade, covering up the real deal. Roland and his bloodsuckers have always been right under our noses and we never spotted them. Makes me feel kind of incompetent right now.
“Fred, take the pack warriors up to the border. Place it under a siege and await my orders. Jay, return to the pack house and stand guard. If Jason turns rogue, try to hold him down till I arrive. Do not kill him, I gotta see him one last time. Giveon, take Darius to the dungeon. I'll deal with him later,“
”Ryder, please. Cut me some slack. Don't do this to me, please. For old times' sake…“ He pleaded.
“Jason didn't deserve the hate, and my mate didn't deserve to lose her child. You overstepped your bounds, man. Forgiving you isn't an option,”
“I didn't wanna hurt Hara. Kidnapping her was the only way I could implicate Jason. I never knew those rogues would hurt her child. I'm sorry, man,”
”Take him out,“ I ordered fiercely and Darius got dragged out.
My angry gaze caught Father watching me from a distance. His usual demeanor was missing. The haughtiness that always lay in his eyes was missing.
”I'm so sorry, Son,” He mind-linked.
Saying I forgive him would be hypocritical of me. He might not have a hand in Hara's disappearance, but he was one of those who misjudged Jason. Now the poor guy has his life in ruins, and no amount of apology will change that. If he was sorry, then he should live with the guilt forever. Maybe next time, he'll be a little more accommodating.
I raced off to the haunted house, eager to go rescue my mate. When I got there, everything was almost over. Fred and the warriors had already taken charge of the house. There was an endless trail of dead bodies of rogues.
”Ryder…“
”Fred, what happened? You were supposed to wait for my order,”
“They spotted us out and came after us. We had to fight back. It was Ciara, man. She was Ronald's ally,“
“I'm not surprised, she's always been full of shit,“ I snorted out in spite, ”Where is she?”
“I'm afraid she escaped. But we have Roland…“
”And Hara?” I asked, as Fred and I stepped into the largest room in the dark, haunted house. I searched for Hara's whiff and I could smell her weak lavender scent from the next room. She was weak but alive. And our baby too. That was a relief.
“She's fine,” Fred replied. We turned to the low, panting from the ground. It was Roland, covered in his blood and still struggling to talk.
”Even if you kill me, it doesn't change anything. I already had a taste of her, and all those years I abused her body, they happened. You can't change the fact that they did. Hara was my plaything and I enjoyed fucking her pussy!“ Roland laughed maniacally, oozing the stench of rogues.
I bent next to him and took out Jason's dagger, I've had it with me ever since the humans found it. I'm gonna slit his throat with it, revenge for my Beta and I.
“Why Hara? Out of all the sickly, bitches around, why did you have to pick Hara for your psychopathic ways?!“
“Simple. She was an orphan, alone, helpless, and emotionally damaged. Who's gonna come to her rescue when I abuse her? No one. She was the safest game I could play. A game I won!”
”In your next life, try not to mess with another man's mate! And just so you know, Hara's gonna live the rest of her life being loved by me and our child,”
”Yes, that child. I was gonna flush it out with our elixirs. If your men hadn't shown up and ruined everything, your child would have been dead, like you killed mine,“
“I didn't kill your child! Your rogues did. And if you're a rogue prince like you claim, then you had a hand in her kidnap back then,“
“I didn't know about that kidnapping. It was orchestrated by your Beta, Darius. I only got to know about it when I met Hara in your pack and she told me she lost the child. Your Beta hired my men for his dirty job, and I wasn't informed about it,”
”How long have you known Darius?”
“I don't know shit about your Beta. I didn't even know he existed until I met him at the Silver Pack party. He's been hiring my men for his shitty business but I never got to meet him. Not until that party,” He choked out.
”And Ciara? How did she get involved in all these?”
”She was the one who told me where Hara was. She wanted revenge, and I shared her motives. I badly wanna see you go to ruins,“ He spattered to my face.
Hara's painful cry cut us short and I couldn't put out being with her anymore. I had to kill this motherfucker and put an end to our misery.
”See you in hell, Roland!“ I slit his throat and his blood spilled in all directions.
I sprinted into the room Hara was in and pulled her into my arms.
She was wailing so badly and latching onto me like she needed me to breathe.
“Oh, Ryder. I'm glad you came. I was so scared,”
”Hey, it's okay. Don't cry. And you have no more reason to be scared. Just relax and let me take care of you. It's all over now, Queen. It's all over.“
*
Would everything get easier now? I can't bet on that. Would I be happier now? Hell yeah, I will be. Would Hara ever get hurt again? Not on my watch. This was the beginning of our love story and I intend on writing a beautiful masterpiece.
Twenty-eight years of searching finally paid off. I found the one who completes me and makes me wanna be a better man. And I promise to never, ever let go of her. We'll sail the tides of life together, hand in hand, soul to soul, heart to heart.
”I love you, Hara,” I cooed, hoping that would ease her troubled mind. No more abuse for her. It'll be love from here on. Once abused, but always gonna be loved.
“Ryder, “ Jay mind-linked me, “Jason escaped. He turned rogue, and he just killed Darius,“
“What? How's that possible?“
“We don't know how he got into the dungeon. We only saw him get out, but he couldn't hold him. He was ferocious, and an outright monster.“
Something ticked off inside of me, it was Darius' link to the pack. It's been shut down. Jason killed him for real. But there was no sign of Jason. He didn't return. His distant howling was the last I heard of him.
*
Hours turned into days, and days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into years. But there was no sign of Jason. I could still feel his link to the pack so that means he was alive. But I bet he doesn't remember me anymore now. The rogue blood has washed off his memories of me, of us, of the life he used to have.
I'll never stop waiting for him. I doubted him once, I'm never gonna do that again. And no matter how long it takes, I'll always be ready to welcome him home. Jason wasn't just my Beta, he became a friend and a brother. He's family, and you don't ever forget family.
*
Five years later, I'm sitting on my front porch going through the morning papers.
And there he was on the front page of the papers, almost unrecognizable. He had a gun and a killer instinct in his eyes. With a headline that read, 'ITALY'S MOST DREADED CAPO'
No fucking way. Jason became a Mafia?
THE END.
This is the end of Hara and Ryder's story. Book 2 will be out soon and its title is - ONCE A BETA, NOW A MAFIA.
We get to see a world where Jason is the boss.
*
Thank you so much to my wonderful readers for coming through for me. Thank you so much for your comments that never cease to put a smile on my face. Thank you so much for sticking with me.
I hope you join me on the second book and unravel the remaining, untold mysteries.
Hugs and kisses.
I love you all.