Chapter 7 Chapter 7

Ella's POV

"Mommy!" I heard a voice cry. "Mama! Higher!"

I was in a green, misty field with a singular swing and on it sat Lili. I'd

always thought Lili was the most similar to me. Although only four

years old, she was already fiercely opinionated and was never afraid for

her voice to be heard. Physically too. Leo and I were fairly similar in

appearance, male and female aside, but she seemed to have still

managed to adopt my traits more. A lighter tan unlike Leo's honey

brown and light, close to white with blonde hair.

"Any higher and you'll fly!" I replied.

"I want to fly, Mama!" She said and for some reason, I began pushing

her harder. I couldn't stop myself. She was going to fall and hurt herself

but I couldn't stop. It was an impulse that I couldn't resist.

A few moments later, she appeared to jump off the wooden seat and

was launched across the plain of green.

I called out to her but my voice had little effect.

Her tiny body soon disappeared into the distance leaving me alone and

lonely by the swing and nothing else.

I gazed out to where my daughter had disappeared to, unable to move

my feet. She was gone and I had pushed her.

Something then began to emerge out of the whisps of low lying cloud.

It was big and it was holding something in its arms. Like a man and a

small child.

A weight lifted from my heart when they got close enough to be

recognised.

My mate and in his arms, Lili- perfectly happy and unharmed.

I watched as he got closer to me and handed our daughter over to me.

"He'll always catch us, Mommy," she said. "No matter what."

I smiled at Leo and reached out to him but he didn't seem to be really

there. Just a construction of the mind. Soon enough, Lili was too. And

the swing and the plain of green and the mist.

My eyes soon began to focus on something else. A warehouse-like

room filled with boxes with a thick musky smell and so much dust it

itched my eyes. The effects of whatever drug I had been given to get

me here from the diner, a journey of which all was a blur, were

beginning to wear off but I was still unable to kick against the ropes

holding me to a small wooden chair.

"I thought you'd never wake up," a voice said from only a few metres in

front of me.

"I was having a nice dream,” I grumbled as my eyes set on him: a young

looking man in a smart black suit and tie.

He stood tall and broad with dark hair and even darker eyes that held a

disconcerting stare.

"And who are you?"

He stifled a laugh.

"I am the boss. I hear you've been meddling with some of my guys?" he

asked in perfect English yet still with a fairly strong accent.

"You're younger than I thought,” I said drowsily.

"And so are you. How old are you, Blanca?" He asked.

Blanca? As in white?

"Older than you," I replied. "Can you loosen these ropes? They hurt.”

He nodded to his men and they hesitated for a moment.

"Ella no es una amenaza para nosotros. Haz lo que digo,” he replied in

a deep voice, almost a growl.

The men instantly rushed forwards and hastily loosened the ropes.

"My men are worried that you are a threat to us,” he replied after

noticing my confused expression. I hardly spoke a word of spanish and

Italian was not similar enough to understand.

"However, I don't believe that is so," he added.

I gave him a sarcastic smile.

"Now are you going to tell me how old you are or what?"

"Guess," I said.

"My mother taught me better than to guess a woman's age.”

"Did she teach you to tie one up in a dirty warehouse too?" I asked.

He narrowed his eyes and stood up stepping closer to me.

"You don’t know how good you've got it, Blanca,” he said running his

finger down my cheek before bringing his lips to my ear. "Twenty."

"You lose," I replied with my most flagellant smile.

"Can you give me a clue?" he asked tucking my hair behind my ear.

"Hmmm," I hummed. "It's a factor of 408."

"Math, huh?" he said.

"Is that a problem?"

"Not at all," he said stepping away from me. "Twenty four.”

I smiled.

"You're smarter than you look, amigo," I commented.

"Watch it," he warned.

"Yes. Now let me guess yours," I said as he stood with an amused smile

and his arms folded across his chest.

"Nineteen."

I saw his men, that were stood either side of him, exchange worried

glances.

"How did you know?" he asked his expression changing.

"Lucky guess,” I said innocently.

"How?" he repeated in a deeper tone.

"Smooth, deep freshly broken voice of a teenager, light stubble that

couldn't be described as a beard and perfectly straight teeth fresh out

of braces,” I replied as an angered expression swept over his face.

"I am not a boy," he stated deeply.

"However you have clearly been in your post-puberty body long

enough to build a high amount of muscle, you know how to dress like a

man and your phenomenal mathematical and English skills are that of

someone who has inhabited this earth for longer than someone only

just nearing their twenties.”

"Nicely recovered, Blanca,” he replied with an amused smirk. "Now I

have a few more questions for you before we get to the real reason you

are here. The mark on your neck, who does it belong to?"

"My mate," I stated

"An Alpha?" he asked.

"No. We are rogues.”

"A rogue doesn't have a bite that big, sweetheart. I may be young but

we have already established that I'm not stupid,” he replied. "And I

don't like to be lied to. Which pack?"

"I already told you, he is not an Alpha,” I said.

"Fine, how did you end up rogues?" he asked getting impatient.

"I was born into it and I don’t know about my mate. He doesn't like to

talk about it," I replied.

"So he could have been an Alpha?"

"Unlikely."

"Hmmm," the man said narrowing his eyes. "I don't believe you, Blanca.

Any pups?”

"No."

"How long have you know him?"

"A few years," I replied vaguely.

"Why no children?”

"I'm not with him anymore.”

"Why not?"

"He killed someone I love so I left him," I said- technically not a lie.

"Who?"

"My brother."

"What was his name?"

"Julius."

"Why did he kill him?"

“Julius was planning to kill him."

"And what is your mate's name?"

I took a deep breath, struggling to deal with the pace of his questions

and answering with what would have to become flawless lies

"Alfonso."

"And you just walked away?" He asked. "From your mate?"

"Yes. I haven't seen him in months and I don't plan to ever again.”

"If we brought your cousin, Romano, in, would he give us the same

answers?" he asked.

Thank God Luca and I had discussed this and decided on the details.

"Yes, of course."

"If 1 find that I am being lied to, Blanca, there will be consequences," he

said stepping closer to me again. "You don't fear me at the moment but

you will by the end of this. I can assure you of that."

I looked up at him as he approached me, trying to refrain myself from

saying anything.

Spoiler: I failed.

"And what exactly is this?" I asked.

"Whatever I want it to be," he said with a wide smile. "Afterall, estoy el

jefe.”

He then placed a hand on my waist and leant towards me. I backed

away but the captivity of the chair prevented me from getting far. He

placed his lips on mine and kissed me for a few seconds before drawing

away and dabbing his mouth.

"Bring Guillermo in," he ordered his men.

I felt a wrenching sensation in my stomach. That was the first kiss to my

lips that wasn't from Leo since Logan years and years ago and it hurt

deep down inside. There was nothing I could have done to have

stopped it but I still felt an overwhelming sense of guilt.

But like Luca had said, to get out of this alive, I had to play along.

A moment later, the two men came back this time accompanied by

Guillermo.

"I presume we have the right girl..or woman I suppose,” the boss said

looking down at me.

"That's her,” Guillermo replied. "Little puta caused me more problems

than a woman ever should.”

"She'll pay for it, I can assure you," the boss stated.

"Give her to me. I know how to punish a girl that has stepped out of her

place," he said with an evil glint.

"No," the boss answered.

Guillermo opened his mouth to protest but his boss raised his eyebrow

and he closed it again

"If you can find him, which I'm sure you can, you can have Romano. But

keep him alive, he's a good exporter and I might need him,” The boss

replied and Guillermo nodded.

"Yes, Sir."

"Now leave me. All of you. I will ensure that she gets what she

deserves," The boss said before Guillermo and the two guards left.

"I don't really understand what I did wrong," I said

"Romano has been exporting for Guillermo for years. You come along

and it is ruined in a matter of minutes," he replied.

"He wanted to take me and we said no...things just escalated from

there,” I argued. "He shouldn't have held a gun to my cousin's head and

there wouldn't have been one held at his. He asked for it really.”

The boss stifled a laugh.

"You are clearly new to this business, Blanca,” he said scornfully. "And

you are the bottom of the pecking order. If someone above you says

jump, you say "how high?". You don't say 'Why?* and you don't say 'No'.

I have known you but ten minutes but I can already see you are not

used to following orders, am I right?"

"Why should I be?" I asked.

"I suppose you have a point. You are a rogue, you left your mate, you

live by your own rules. But not anymore, Blanca. For now, you are here

with me. You will do as you are told and you will not ask questions.

Understood?"

"Can I at least know your name?"

"Andrea."

"Andrea..." I repeated. (pronounced Aun-drey-ah)

"I like the way you say that, Blanca. And fortunately for your safety, I like

you too," he said holding my chin between two of his long fingers. "I'll

see you around,” he added before leaving the warehouse a few

moments before two guards came in and stood silently and

motionlessly behind me.