Chapter 131: Target Practice

ARIEL

As soon as I hear the roar, I turn my gaze from the glinting motorcycle to the sound.

I run toward it, Mateo and Jo following right on my tail, sprinting deeper into the maze of the gardens. I turn a corner and gasp at what I see.

~A giant tiger!~

It stands right in front of Alex, baring fangs the size of his head. It’s absolutely massive, its muscled body covered in striped orange fur that ripples with rage.

“Hey kitty!” I cry out. “Get the fuck away from my mate.”

It turns its head to glare at me. Just looking into its golden eyes, I can feel my wolf let out a slight whimper.

Normally, she’s used to being the apex predator. But that thing is easily twice as big as my wolf.

And it’s looking at me as if I’m a tasty afternoon snack right now.

“Bubbles. Be nice!” Esmeralda says, laughing and scratching him between the ears. He immediately begins to purr. “You’re not allowed to eat our guests.”

I glance at Alex and we both manage to breathe out a sigh of relief as Bubbles drops to the ground and Esmeralda scratches its belly.

He rolls around on the ground, purring.

~Huh?~

~Maybe he’s friendly?~

But then I feel Mateo grab my hand urgently, squeezing it in a death grip.

His eyes are filled with fear as he stares at the tiger.

“Please…,” he hisses in terror, “get me away from that fucking thing!”

Suddenly, as I stare at all the bones scattered around the grass, I put two and two together.

The claw marks that cover Mateo’s back…

They were caused by that tiger. Despite Esmeralda petting it right now, it’s no friendly house pet.

~Goddess…~

I’m getting the feeling that if she gave the order…that thing would try to kill us ~all~.

***

“That woman is fucking ~loco~!” Mateo hisses, throwing his helmet on the ground in frustration. “Let us just get Isabella and leave this place as soon as possible!”

I glance over at Alex, who’s eyeing the walls of our royal guest suite suspiciously.

The beautiful, extravagant living room is located in its own secluded tower with a view overlooking the ocean.

But just because it’s luxurious, doesn’t mean the queen won’t have ears and eyes in every opulent room.

~We can never be too careful.~

“Calm down,” Alex whispers. “She could be listening.”

Mateo nods, but he still paces back and forth anxiously, running his fingers through his hair.

And honestly, after seeing the tiger’s human-bone chew toys all over the place, I’m just as upset.

“~Mi Diosa~…,” Mateo says, his eyes widening in horror. “What if one of those skulls was Isabella’s?”

“I’ve seen a lot of fucked-up shit in my days as a warrior,” Jo says quietly, “but I still don’t believe she’d do that to her own sister.”

“You do not know her!” he hisses, trying unsuccessfully to keep his voice down. His eyes are wide, and I can see the toll this is taking on his mind.

This place is filling him with memories.

~Painful ones.~

I can understand that. I can empathize with what it’s like to go back to a place that almost broke you.

But it’s more than that. Because of our mate bond, I can actually ~feel~ his pain.

It’s as if the anguish in his heart is in mine, too.

Without thinking, I reach out and take his hand.

My touch soothes him, making him snap out of the anxiety attack and look deep into my eyes.

“Breathe, Mateo,” I say. “We’re going to find Isabella. I promise.”

He takes a deep breath as a calm returns to his face.

“Thank you, Ariel.”

“Okay, now that you guys have had your little moment…,” Alex says awkwardly, taking my hand away from Mateo’s. “Let’s get ready for the party, shall we?”

***

I squeeze Alex’s hand reassuringly as we head toward the main ballroom, with Jo and Mateo right behind us.

I’m wearing Natalia’s dress, which hugs my curves perfectly. The sparkling golden material contrasts with Alex’s crisp black tuxedo.

On top of that, he’s freshly shaven and his hair is lightly gelled back. Goddess, Alex is a special kind of hot when he cleans up like this.

I can’t wait to tear that suit off and let him ravish me on the flight home.

But first thing’s first.

~The mission.~

We get to the main doors leading to the castle’s ballroom. Alex looks at me, flashing a smile.

“You ready?” he asks.

“To watch Esmeralda shamelessly hit on you?” I say, rolling my eyes. “Of course I am.”

He wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me close, kissing me deeply.

“Let’s not forget that you have the fun part of this mission, okay?” he says, pulling away. “So let’s just get this over with and get the hell out of here?”

I nod, straightening out his bow tie, and then we push the doors open.

But what we walk into on the other side isn’t exactly the stiff royal gathering I’ve become used to seeing over the years.

The entire ballroom is dark, only lit by pulsating neon lights. Bodies writhe on the dance floor to thumping electronic music.

Dancers hang from the ceiling above us, floating and spinning in the air like human chandeliers.

On a stage, a group of ripped, shirtless men hold torches in front of their faces and blow huge plumes of fire into the air.

“Well…at least she knows how to throw a party,” Alex says in amazement as we make our way onto to the main floor.

“Yeah, my birthday is coming up,” I say. “You should take some notes.”

In the middle of the room, an elevated platform rises above the rest of the crowd, where Esmeralda sits on a giant velvet couch.

She looks completely different from when she greeted us earlier in her royal getup.

She’s wearing spiky black stilettos, and the skintight latex dress she’s wearing shows off far more skin than it covers.

“Alex!” she says, lighting up and patting the velvet seat cushion next to her. “Come, sit and enjoy the show.”

Alex shoots another look at me, but I just pretend not to notice as I take a seat across from them, folding my arms over my chest.

“You look stunning,” Esmeralda says, turning to face him. She moves her shoulders forward so her boobs press together, and puts her hand on his leg. “A real James Bond.”

~Goddess…~

I’m trying to be good, but this bitch is making it ~really~ hard.

“Thanks,” Alex says, trying to make small talk. “Hell of a party you put together here.”

“Let me get you something to drink,” she says.

“Sure, I’ll have—”

“No, no, no. Don’t tell me. You seem like a whiskey man.”

She claps her hands and a waiter brings him a whiskey. He smiles awkwardly as he takes a sip.

“Are you enjoying your stay? Do you have everything you need?” She scoots closer to him, smiling wider. “I believe a man of your position should get ~everything~ he desires.”

Alex looks over apologetically at me again. I put my fingers in my mouth and pretend to make myself throw up, and Alex tries to stifle a laugh.

“Yes, everything has been great, thank you,” he says, regaining his composure. “But, will Princess Isabella be joining us tonight as well?”

The smile disappears from Esmeralda’s face as soon as Alex says Isabella’s name.

“Ah. Of course,” she says. “You said you wanted to meet her, so I made sure she’d make an appearance tonight, just for you.”

Alex lights up. “Really?”

“Yes,” she says coldly, turning to her servant. “Bring the little ~puta~ out here.”

The music suddenly cuts, and a spotlight bursts to life, illuminating a girl as she stumbles out onto the stage branching off from our platform.

Her skin is completely pale and her blonde hair is unkempt. She wears a simple, tattered dress that loosely hangs off her thin body.

She looks like a deer frozen in headlights as her wide eyes stare out at the crowd in terror.

“Alex…,” Esmeralda says, “I’d like you to finally meet my sister.”

MATEO

I am standing guard behind Ariel when suddenly I look at the stage and my heart skips a beat.

There she is.

~Mi amor…~

~My love…~

On the one hand, my chest is filled with joy at the fact that my Isabella is alive, that my eyes can even be graced by her beauty again.

But, this feeling does not last long.

A fiery anger fills my veins as a guard roughly grabs her by the arm and straps her to the wall. She struggles as the guard locks her legs and arms into silver restraints.

Tears start to fall down her cheeks, and the crowd yells and boos at her.

~These bastards…~

~How can these people be so cruel?~

“My loyal subjects,” Esmeralda says loudly, addressing the crowd. “You all know the story of Princess Isabella, and how she fell in love with a terrorist and almost destroyed this kingdom.”

My fists clench as I try to contain my anger at these lies.

All we wanted was to love each other, but Esmeralda could not stand to see her sister happy.

~She~ started the war, not us.

“This little ~puta~ has caused us all so much stress,” Esmeralda continues. “So I think it’s only fair if she lets us have a little fun, too, don’t you all think?”

The crowd starts to cheer.

~What the hell is this?~

~What is she talking about?~

Esmeralda nods to the guard, who walks to the other side of the stage and pulls out a large knife.

My whole body tenses as he raises it above his head.

~What is he doing with that?~

~Goddess, is he—?~

The guard throws the knife and it flies across the stage directly at Isabella.

~THUD~

The crowd gasps as Isabella lets out a whimper of fear. The knife wobbles, right in between her legs, pinning the skirt of her dress to the wall.

The crowd erupts into cheers and my blood starts to boil.

~They are torturing her.~

~For fun.~

I feel my wolf start to howl in agony, crying out for me to shift, to let him protect her.

Esmeralda laughs with glee. “Shall we try again?” she asks the crowd.

I feel my claws coming out and I can’t stop them. Everyone in this room should pay for the way they are torturing her.

They all need to die, to be torn to shreds.

~Fuck the plan.~

~I am stopping this. She needs my help.~

~Now.~

ARIEL

I can feel Mateo’s anger as if it’s my own.

It’s rising up like a volcano, and I can feel him moments away from shifting and losing control.

I have to do something before he blows our cover.

I manage to make eye contact with him. His eyes are filled with rage, the look of a bloodthirsty wolf ready to be released.

The soldier raises his hand and hurls another knife across the stage. Isabella screams.

~THUD~

It lands right next to her waist, and Isabella starts to sob in fear. The crowd goes wild.

~Don’t,~ I try to say with my eyes, pleading with Mateo.

If he shifts, it’ll be suicide for all of us.

Esmeralda pulls out a knife and turns to face Alex.

“Alex, my dear,” she says, “it would honor me greatly if you threw the last one.”

Mateo and I both stare at Alex, who looks shocked at the proposal.

“Um…you know, I’d really rather not,” he says.

“Aw, you’re so sweet,” she says softly, stroking his cheek. “But it doesn’t matter if you miss. In fact, I really hope you do.”

Alex is being forced into a corner.

Mateo is about to kill everyone in this room.

All hell is going to break loose and our plan will be ruined.

I have to do something…

~NOW~.

So, I quickly snatch the knife from Esmeralda’s hands, and the crowd gasps as I throw it across the hall, straight toward Isabella.