Chapter 99: Chapter 99

“Did they do it? Are they safe?” I gasped, my hands covering my mouth as I stared open-mouthed at Ethan, my happiness invaded by confusion. “Why were you feeling pain?”

“We lost some of our men out there.” He grimaced. “Usually, Liam and I would visit the families ourselves to deliver the news, but Liam isn’t here, and the home is far away.”

“I’ve done nothing but worry all this time, and I can’t bear it any longer,” I admitted with a sigh. “Now that we’ve done our part, Nicolas has no choice but to do his. I wouldn’t be able to live by killing him, not when he’s Aly’s mate. However, you can rough him up a bit and hand him over to her. I’m sure she’ll enjoy it.”

“I wouldn’t do that to her, not unless she approved.” Ethan promised with a small smile. I knew it went against his nature to leave a threat alive, but he couldn’t be running around dealing with the High Table. He had already dispatched a member unintentionally, and I refused to let that number increase. “We’ll do it…”

A knock sounded on the bedroom door. We both hesitated for a moment and watched as a note card slid under the door.

Ethan motioned for me to wait and rushed to the door. Whoever had delivered the note was gone before he had a chance to unlock it.

“What does it say?” I asked eagerly, thinking it was from Nicolas.

“‘The guards are distracted for fifteen minutes. We meet in room 315.'” Ethan repeated in his deep tone. “Seems like Nicolas got the message.”

“How did he find out so quickly?” I asked.

“I gave Nicolas one of those disposable phones and gave the men his number.” He shrugged. “Figured it would save me the trouble of relaying the message.”

“That was kind of you,” I said, unable to help it as a smile tugged at my lips.

Ethan’s eyebrow arched.

“Kind of me?”

“Yes, helping Nicolas that way.” I nodded, almost choking on the laughter that tickled my lips.

Ethan sighed deeply. “You mock me when we’re in a hurry.”

A tingle of excitement shot between my legs at the thought of what might happen once we had Liam back with us.

We brought Aly along as we sneaked into room 315. The note had been correct. The two guards were currently in the lobby, puzzled about how they ended up there.

We slipped into the room and found it already lit. Nicolas Zoe sat in an armchair, holding a glass of Scotch whisky in his hand. He looked far too neat and pristine to be a drinker, but the half-empty bottle spoke for itself.

“You all look dreadful,” Nicolas commented.

I staunchly refused to let that i***t sour my decent good mood. I bit back my response, but it seemed Aly was feeling extra feisty that night. I had almost forgotten how agile she got when she was tired.

“It’s hard to sleep when your best friend’s partner’s fate depends on sneaking a group of white wolves out of a psychopath’s territory,” she growled, poking a finger at Nicolas’s chest. I could sense the moment his eyes darkened slightly, and something vicious and hungry gleamed within his emotions.

He didn’t say anything to her, but he glanced down at the inch that kept his finger from touching her chest. He raised a pale eyebrow and kept his sea-foam eyes locked onto hers.

“Besides, there’s another issue,” Nicolas told Ethan and me, choosing to divert his attention from Aly.

I could feel his anger flare and fade as he distanced himself from Nicolas. While Nicolas’s emotions were as strange as his father’s, I could feel how it affected Aly. I also knew Aly had some kind of effect on him as well.

“Is this about my brother?” Ethan almost growled, and I found myself digging my nails into the soft fabric of his shirt.

“No, that’s a completely different matter.” He sighed, waving his hand. His eyes shifted from Ethan to me. Since he appeared in the cabin, Nicolas’s gaze had an odd effect. Where most people would look away at some point, his focus was unyielding.

It was sharp and polished, a weapon in its own right.

“My father has learned about the missing white wolves. He has no evidence of who was really involved, but we’re going to deal with a violent reaction if he suspects we have anything to do with it.”

“He won’t suspect anything from us,” Ethan promised, to which I also nodded.

“Very well. So, there’s something else I could tell you.” Nicolas cleared his throat and actually seemed a bit uncomfortable. “Jason Harper has started a movement against you, and he’s been gaining ground. Some of the witnesses are actively turning against you. Jason will be expecting the High Table to hold a vote today, most likely regarding your position in our world. I also have knowledge that Andrew Evans will side with Jason in this argument. As long as my father doesn’t know what we’ve done, I can assume he’ll be on your side.”

I wasn’t surprised about the news about Jason. I could feel how much he despised me. It was logical that he would retaliate in some way, though I hoped it would be much more violent. I was certainly disappointed with Andrew Evans, but again, the news wasn’t very surprising.

That left Robert Reynolds and Sven Ross, and I had no idea how they would vote. Sven certainly seemed to be on my side, but that talk about an alliance could easily have been fake. Robert seemed to be on the side of reason, leaving me clueless. The man wanted to experiment on me for shouting loudly, how was I supposed to know what he would choose?

“We’ll have to deal with that then.” I sighed after a few moments of silence, squaring my shoulders. “They can try, but my life won’t be dictated by a damn vote.”

“It’s time to fulfill your part of the deal, Zoe.” Ethan growled, stifling a growl that threatened to escape his throat.

“Getting your brother isn’t going to be as simple as I did.” Nicolas snorted, rolling his eyes when Ethan burst in with a growl.

“Enough,” I snapped, grabbing Ethan’s arm. I gave Nicolas my best death glare, which must have been pretty good considering it made him pale “Do you want to die? Stop messing with him, or I won’t bother holding him back. As miserable as your life may be, we have more important things to worry about.”

“I said it wouldn’t be simple, not that it’s impossible.” Nicolas growled, straightening his suit. “It took time to get the information I needed. I had to make sure that nothing, absolutely nothing, traced back to my father. There must be no trace of our interference here today.”

“Our interference?” I asked slowly.

“Unless there’s someone else you trust to come with me to rescue your mate.” Nicolas said flatly. “Turns out there’s more security than I anticipated, and the friend I have to help us can’t take out that many, at least not on their own.”

I gave Ethan a long look, and I swear I knew what he was thinking. We were clearly on the same page.

Ethan nodded, “Who is this friend of yours?”

“She’s already here,” Nicolas replied, pointing to one of the bedrooms. “My father doesn’t know she’s here, and it has to stay that way. He might connect the dots if he finds her.”

“She’s a white wolf, isn’t she?” I asked, unable to hide my interest.

“She is.” Nicolas said after a long moment of silence. Clearly, he was in favor of changing the subject, as he switched tactics rather quickly. “Liam is being held about half an hour from here, in Silver Valley. Silver Valley was meant to be a bustling city, but things happened, and the money fell short. It turned into half-built houses that aren’t worth what they’re sold for. Many of those properties are abandoned, and that’s where they’re keeping your brother.”

“Has he been this close all this time?” I said. “I haven’t felt anything through the bond.”

“Since they saw the mark on his neck, they’ve kept him sedated the whole time.” Nicolas frowned. “I’m sure he hasn’t been awake much since they took him.”

“When are we leaving?” Ethan growled, as ready as I was to get his brother back.

“I’d say in an hour or so.” Nicolas shrugged.

“They’re going to kill us.” I told Ethan, leaning in to whisper from the back seat of the sedan we arrived in. “I’m never going to hear the end of it from Axel.”

“I’ll rip his tongue out if you want, sweetheart.” Ethan grinned from the driver’s seat.

Ethan was driving the sedan, with Nicolas as the passenger. It was an awkward duo, especially compared to the three of us in the back. Yes, I said three.

Nicolas’s help was a white wolf named Lucy. It was evident she was just a teenager, but she looked older with her fishnet stockings, pleated skirt, and torn T-shirt. In fact, she was pretty cool, though I didn’t believe her when she said Nicolas wasn’t all that bad. Nicolas’s only redeeming quality was that the white wolves he used weren’t slaves, they willingly worked with him.

He had been helping wolves get out of his father’s clutches for years but had never done anything to confront him.

Currently, I was sandwiched between Lucy and Aly as we sped down the road. No matter how sweetly I asked, Lucy outright refused to tell me what I could do until the time came. Lucy was more than excited when it came to my own abilities and my potential to become a ‘soul-devourer’.

I could hear the music blaring through the headphones she was wearing, but I silently thanked the distraction.

Question after question bubbled in my mind until I had no choice but to voice them.

“That house, where Liam is. Does it belong to the High Table?” I asked Nicolas, my thoughts racing a mile a minute.

If the High Table owned that house, it meant they were solely responsible for taking Liam. They wanted to use him against me and bend me to their will.

Nicolas fell silent for a moment, and through that c***k in his armor, I could feel just a whisper of concern.

“The deed says it’s owned by Maurice Evans.” Nicolas said slowly. “I’ve been going over all my father’s documents, and I decided to check that one. He’s known to hold things in other people’s names, to use them as scapegoats. This deed is one of his documents. He put it in Maurice Evans’s name for a reason, most likely to draw attention to him in case Liam was rescued or escaped.

Nicolas fell silent and let out a long sigh. I guessed he knew I could sense some of his feelings and that he knew that wasn’t all he wanted to reveal to me.

“I know all about my father’s business, even the unsavory ones. I had no idea he owned that house, let alone that it existed. I’m second in command and in line to take over, but now I’m starting to wonder if there might be more that I don’t know about him.”