Saving Mabel

Julian's P. O. V.

My mate was a member of the White crescent wolf pack!

The same pack that killed my mother and tried to kill me as well!

The same pack I've been planning to have my revenge on for years!

I brought out an old but still very sharp dagger that was given to me by Mabel's dad a few years after I started living with them.

Placing it in my bag, I strapped the bag around me and got out of the house in a manner of urgency.

The address he gave to me wasn't too far from where I live.

An abandoned hotel at the hilltop mountain.

Nobody goes there because it was believed to be haunted.

A fake story that I never believed anyway.

The cab that I boarded could only take me as far as the end of the road.

The rest of the journey had to be on foot.

I got off, paid the cab man and hurried on.

I sometimes broke into a run, but eventually reached the gate of the hotel.

Banging on the gate with all my strength, I screamed Mabel's name.

The gate slowly opened and I walked in. It was an automatic gate, so I wasn't too bothered when I didn't find a gate man or anybody present.

It was a long walk until I arrived at the entrance of the hotel.

The building still maintained the creepy old look it was described for, but I couldn't care less.

"Open up," I screamed, banging on the door.

"Open up right now!" I shouted again at the top of my voice.

The door creaked and that made me halt.

Slowly it opened to reveal the face of the guy who took Mabel.

"Where's Mabel?" I asked, eying him.

"Oliver is waiting for you on the first floor," he replied.

I walked in and looked around the large expanse of the hall.

Without wasting time, I took the stairs and hurried to the first floor.

They were rows of doors and I couldn't tell which one was occupied.

Just when I was about to turn towards the left corridor, I heard a door open.

It was Oliver, and he looked entirely different from the first time I saw him.

His hair was shorter and darker than I remembered, and his eyes seemed to bore into mine with an intensity that almost made me shiver.

I eyed him meticulously, and he stared at me with a kind of confidence and aura that could only be eluded from a leader.

If my guts were right, then he is Julio's son.

The resemblance is uncanny.

"Get in," he ordered, his eyes glinting with a challenge that made me want to defy him.

"You don't order me," I stated boldly.

"Are you going to get in, or would you rather Stefan show you the way out?" He flagged the question at me, and I decided there was no need been too headstrong.

I needed to get Mabel out of here as soon as possible, and arguing with this arrogant guy won't help.

I followed him into a dark room and he shut the door.

"Where's Mabel?" I asked, but he ignored my question.

"For someone who has just found her mate, I'm thinking that should be the least of your worries."

"That's not why I'm here," I stated boldly.

"Well, that's why I want you here," he said firmly.

"You see, I'm not really interested in you, not in the least."

His words cut across my heart like a dagger.

It was bad enough that my enemy was now my mate, but this abject rejection was crazy.

"I need to find my mate. It is why I'm here, and the moon Goddess so luckily made me run into you in the woods," Oliver stopped and stared at me with a cold piercing gaze.

"I've made a little research about you, Julian. You're an orphan, so that would make it straightforward. You're going to follow me to my pack. We have some sort of tradition where I need to find my true mate to complete a ritual."  

He stopped again and fixed his gaze on me.

"But that's by the way because you can't possibly be my mate. You're of no royal blood, so it's going to be strictly for the ritual and that would be it."

"Are you being serious right now?" I scoffed in disbelief.

Oliver nodded, with an unyielding expression.

 "Yes, I am. And in return, I'll let Mabel go unharmed."

"You're crazy!" I said, almost screaming.

Oliver stood up and walked up to me in calculating steps.

He grabbed my chin and made me look up at him.

"Don't you ever use those words with me again," He spat out.

His hot breath fanned my face and for a moment, I felt chills run down my spine.

This guy was beyond just arrogant...he was unbelievable!

I forced myself off his grip and stood at a safe distance from him.

"And what if I say no?" I asked.

"Then you'll watch your friend torn apart, right here, right now...piece by piece."

Something in the way he said it, gave me a flashback of that night.

The night my mother was torn apart.

I shook my head, trying to get the memory off my mind, but the short relapse to memory lane had embedded itself already.

Staring at Oliver, all the hurt and anger that I had buried long ago evoked itself again.

Maybe this was my chance to get back at all of them for what they did.

"Okay," I said.

"I'm sorry, okay, what?" He asked as his brows creased in disbelief.

"Are you agreeing to follow me to my pack?" Oliver's gaze was piercing, as if he were trying to delve into my thoughts.

I gave a slight nod, trying to conceal my feelings. 

"Yes, I'm ready to do as you say. All I need, however, is a guarantee of one thing."

Oliver raised an eyebrow.

"What guarantee are you looking for?"

"You promise me that Mabel won't get hurt, not even a scratch on her," I said holding my voice steady.

Oliver's expression didn't change, but I could tell he was a bit taken aback. 

"I assure you, I'll set her free as long as you comply with the agreement."

"Well then," I said, giving him my coldest smile. 

"We have a deal."