Chapter 41: Love By Grace

This cannot be happening!

I was finishing my shift today at the training center when a wave of fear hit me unlike anything I had ever experienced before.

It was so Earth-shattering that even my coworkers noticed it right away. Iris asked me if I was okay, to which I replied that I was not sure. I looked pale as a ghost. It was as if my blood pressure had significantly dropped all of a sudden.

"I think something is wrong with my mate!" I exclaimed, distraught by the wave of crippling fear I was experiencing right now. I imagine something really bad must be happening to Carlisle. My worst fear has come to pass. I mean, my second worst fear in all honesty.

Sweat trickled down my forehead, my heart started to race and I was beginning to feel a little nauseous. Iris was so worried about me that she insisted that I should sit down for a minute. My appearance was starting to scare the warriors around us as well.

"Do you think he is feeling ill because of the pregnancy?" She questioned me, worrying. Like everyone else in the pack, Iris immediately assumed my mate would fall pregnant with my pup after the bond completion took place that Saturday in November.

It's impossible for an Omega not to fall pregnant after completing the bond during heat. It's a done deal. But I also told her that Carlisle had been experiencing a bad case of morning sickness lately, so that was a far assumption on her part.

"No, he is not sick. He is frightened of something. Terrified even!" I hazard a thought, sounding troubled. My mind was all over the place picturing scenarios in which my mate would feel this scared. It all leads to one awful possibility.

"Call him!" She suggested it to me in a tone that sounded more like a command. Though it came from an honest place, she is genuinely worried about him. As do I, of course.

"I have a distinct feeling that I am going to need my phone for a different purpose." I spoke, unintentionally sounding cryptic.

Iris looked at me puzzled by my statement. In a moment, I took out my phone and speed-dialed someone.

"SLEEPER ACTIVATE!" I declared on the phone to the interlocutor then hung up. Iris' jaw dropped at my declaration. As Delta of the pack, she knows what this means.

"Do you think someone took Charlie?" Iris questioned me, disturbed by this. She was sitting next to me on the chairs near the locker rooms. I was petrified with fear for my mate's sake, but I knew they would try again to take his son away. Richard will never give up.

"Yes, I do. In fact..." I was interrupted by my phone ringing. As soon as I saw my mate's name on the caller ID, I knew what that was about. But I prayed he was calling me to remind me to stop by the pharmacy after work. If only...

"S-Stephano." Carlisle's voice was shaky on the phone. I could tell that he was crying, not to mention the wave of despair I was feeling right now through our link.

"Hi. What happened, mate?" I replied, desperately in need of information that was crucial at this point.

"They took him! They've taken my baby away!" He sobbed on the phone, crying desperately and breaking my heart in a million pieces in the process.

"Where are you and how long ago did this happen?" I asked my mate, sounding distraught. He told me the avenue where his car was parked, not even five minutes away from my house.

Four masked men carrying guns railroaded Carlisle's car in the middle of the road, then popped out of an SUV and threatened his life to take Charlie away. There was simply no way to predict where this would happen and they knew it.

They studied his route and planned it accordingly. It would be impossible for anyone to predict where they would strike and even more unlikely to plan safeguards for that eventuality. There is just no way to protect my mate throughout all the avenues of Regency Falls. But I really wish that I could do that.

I hung up the phone with my mate and explained the situation to Iris, who was deeply disturbed as she heard it. They are testing us and toying with war by coming into our pack like this. But two can play that game.

An alert on my phone notified me that I had received some messages on my Telegram app. I scrolled through the information and voice-activated my phone to do what was necessary in this urgent situation.

"SIRI, call Ezekiel Blackwood."

It is said that every Beta worth a damn has a network of other Betas' contacts. Not only the Betas of pack allies but every man or woman of consequence must be a part of this network as well. Especially across the South, but beyond that if possible.

Of course, I have the phone number of Richard's Beta. I have Richard's phone number too but he is not the one I need to talk to right now. I need to talk to Ezekiel, Beta to Beta, for I have some difficult news to share with him.

"Beta, I'm sorry–" Ezekiel answered the phone call sounding apologetic, but I interrupted him before he could finish the sentence.

"Listen carefully, I have your Luna in my gun sights. If you do not return Charles to Regency Falls, she will be executed on the spot." I declared, causing the man to scoff at my declaration.

"Did you really think bluffing would serve any purpose? Do you think I was born yesterday?" He scoffed and it was as if I could watch his eyes rolling right about now.

"I never bluff. Your Luna is wearing a red satin top with beige pants. At this moment, she is doing community work in the town's rec center. If you warn her, she is dead. If you mind link or text her any information about this threat, she is dead. If she suddenly goes to the bathroom, she will be put to death right then and there. Your only option is to return my stepson before she leaves that place. Because if she does anything suspicious, she will be down on the ground before she can reach her purse." I told him in a calm but dead serious tone.

Ezekiel gasped in shock at my words, he stayed in silence contemplating his options.

"Even if you warn the warrior on her escort, he won't get to her in time. But I can. You should know by now that we have excellent sharpshooters at our disposal. If you panic and decide to warn anybody, she will be dead before anyone can reach her. That's a promise." I continued in a menacing tone.

"You can't do this!" He cried out on the phone, flashes of panic coloring his tone.

"No, Beta! You are the one who can't send men into my pack and expect me to not do the same. Did you seriously think I would let you take a son from his father? Did you seriously think I wouldn't prepare myself for this eventuality? Two can play the invasion game, Beta. Now the choice is yours. But I warn you, I WILL EXECUTE HER WITHOUT A SHADOW OF A DOUBT if Charles is not brought back to me. You have half an hour or until she leaves that place. Are you sure you want to gamble with her life?" I told him, pissed off.

"I need more than half an hour! They are probably further out than that from your pack right about now." He pleaded with me, fearfully.

"I suggest you work fast, Beta. Because if your Luna finishes her work sooner than my stepson is here, she is as good as dead. Mark my words, I will not hesitate!" I declared, decisively. I ended the call and watched Iris and some other warriors looking perplexed at me.

I am raging right now.

"They should know better than to mess with my family!" I exclaimed, eyes shining with anger at the situation. I will not falter. It's either Charlie or her. And I am prepared for everything.

"This is war and they messed with the wrong Beta!" I continued, scaring people as I felt enraged for my mate whose desperation was overflowing to my very soul. Meanwhile, I texted the warriors stationed in Oklahoma with the message: 'IT'S ON'.

SOME TIME LATER.

I comforted my mate at the back of my car because it was the nearest place I could stay with him at the moment. Carlisle was in shambles, completely devastated over the loss of his son. I try to keep him as comfortable as I possibly can in my arms, but nothing can stop the tears from falling down his face.

"My baby!" He sobbed, inconsolable. It was heartbreaking for me to watch my mate unravel like this. I wept with an impossible sadness that overran me through our mate bond. There was nothing else I could say right now. I don't know if my plan will work, so I can not promise him anything.

I can only pledge myself to make this right by any means necessary. It was breaking my heart to see my mate so undone. This is destroying him and any life we can have together now is in jeopardy because of this nefarious act.

I am afraid for my mate if I can't remedy the situation. Because I know how much that boy means to him, it is impossible to describe the pain that he is feeling right now. I can only embrace my sweet mate and hope he can be okay, even though I know he never will be.

This is something parents cannot simply get over. Charlie is not lost, he was taken from us.

It's tearing him apart and I can barely keep us together at the moment. Carlisle cried for what felt like an hour and I could not leave his side. We stayed inside my parked car on the same avenue that his son was kidnapped on because I feared for his life.

Our house was close by but I could not bring myself to be apart from my mate even for five minutes in fear of him doing something desperate, unthinkable. In reality, I don't know how to fix this situation other than what I have set in motion.

I can only pray that Ezekiel heads my call because any other option means pack war.

But then again, who am I kidding here? It is war regardless of what they do next. One thing is for sure, I will never bow down. I won't stop until I am victorious. Hell hath no fury like a man whose happiness was robbed by a tyrannic megalomaniac asshole. Pardon my French.

An alert on my phone caused me to hurriedly take it out of my front pocket to see what it was. It was a text message from Ezekiel:

"Where are you right now?"

"I am at the same place where Charles was taken. My car is parked nearby, a convertible red Porsche." I texted him back. At the same time, I ordered Iris to send a team to my location via mind-link. I am not dumb enough to be caught off guard, though if they try anything, their Luna is still in mortal danger.

Carlisle was nearly passed out at the back of my car as I was comfortably resting his head on my chest, stroking his hair. At this point, he had no more tears left to cry. He just murmured his excruciating pain.

It didn't take more than fifteen minutes after the text message for them to honk at me, double parking their SUV by my car's side on the avenue. Carefully, I opened the passenger door to see what they would do. I am exposed here, but a team of warriors was already nearby. I can not spook them, but I also cannot be caught unprotected.

As the car door was opened, I watched the passenger door of the black Range Rover open to reveal Charlie being released by one of the men who was by his side in the back seat. He was still wearing a mask and they wasted no time to screech off as soon as the boy was released to me (us).

I could have my team intercept their car, but I didn't want any bloodshed on the streets of Regency Falls. As much as I hate them, they were just following orders in the grand scheme of things. Not that it is easy to see that right now.

Charlie rushed in the direction of his father in the back seat next to me.

"Daddy!" He shouted, incredibly relieved to be with his father. Carlisle was beside himself, incredulous that his son was by his side once again. He held his child tightly once the boy practically trampled over me to get to him. I had tears in my eyes seeing them together again, but I knew what I had to do now. There is no time to waste.

Text message to the Sleeper team: 'MISSION ACCOMPLISHED'.

It took Carlisle a few minutes hugging his son, baffled by this, until he looked at me and asked the obvious question in both his and his son's minds.

"How did you do this? How the hell did you manage to have them bring back my son?" My mate was perplexed by this stunt, ecstatically happy to be with Charlie again but wide-eyed at me in curiosity.

"I can be very persuasive when I need to be. I told you and Charlie that the two of you would be safe by my side. I wasn't just making conversation. I will never let them take your son away from you." I pledged myself, wholeheartedly.

Charlie hugged me next and thanked me for delivering him back to his father.

"I told you I was going to protect you, didn't I? There is nothing I won't do to keep you safe and sound right here by our side. This is where you belong." I spoke, overcome with emotions at this happy reunion.

"I don't know how you did this, but I can never thank you enough, mate. You are incredible!" Carlisle said, looking perplexed at me. His eyes were shining with happiness as his son was once more by his side.

"No thanks necessary, mate. You are both my family and I will stop at nothing to keep my family safe. They should never have messed with him in the first place..." I stated, deeply thankful that my threat worked. I figured it had to be someone so significant that Ezekiel would have no other choice than to comply with my demand.

You know what they say... Hope for the best but prepare for the worst.

"I love you so much!" Carlisle cried with relief, checking if they did anything to his son - which they didn't, as I suspected. He is the Alpha's heir after all.

"I love you with the power of a thousand suns, Carlisle Ross Aragon. I pity the fool who dares to stand in the way of our love. I did not wait eleven years to be mated to the most gorgeous man in the world to NOT be able to protect him and my new son. As long as I draw breath, you two are safe here. That's a promise. And I keep my promises." I declared, feeling overwhelmed with affection for the two of them.

This is not a fight I can ever afford to lose. If they want a war, I am ready for it. Game. Set. Match.

A|N: BOOM!💥💥

War it is.

I genuinely teared up by the end of [writing] this chapter. Honest to Goddess.

I am very emotional at their union because I know what it is like to wait a decade to finally be happy. To feel worthy. I empathize with them a lot. I guess all writers start from an honest place deep within themselves. I know I do.

If I were a "normal" writer, I would probably milk this kidnapping for a while until they could be reunited again, but I don't write like other authors. I am me. And I thrive on going against the flow.

Some people actually keep promises and they will stop at nothing to protect their loved ones. But make no mistake my darlings, war is coming. Blood will be shed. Lives will be taken. Place your bets and hope for the best.

OFF: I love this song. It was the soundtrack of a seminal moment in a popular soap opera in my country ages ago, but it stuck in my memory. I wanted to make this chapter about the power of love instead of anything else. What can I say? I am a sucker for love stories.

Love,

Léo.