Three

Julian POV

We left early for Leo's pack without letting him know that we were on our way. We should have informed him of our intending visit but we didn't want to give off any vibe that we were coming to investigate him. Alpha Leo was my brother but we had been enemies for as long as I could remember. I always thought of him as a selfish and greedy person who didn't care about others. He was the reason why I was not a part of our father's pack but I was grateful to him for that since I would have been under his governorship now if I had remained at the pack due to the will my father had written down before his death. 

But, just because I left the pack though didn't mean that I didn't want to claim my father's throne as the first child and this could very well be the chance I needed. To hear that he was messing with the spirit codes was more than enough for me to ruin him and claim my father's throne once and for all. Only a crazy person would dare to mess with the spirit code.

Before we left the pack, we had devised a plan. Holden was to investigate while I distracted my dear brother for a while. I already told Holden that I wanted to know what was going on in that pack of his.  It was clear something strange was going on in there, the mysterious crates being moved to another kingdom. Everything going on was uncertain but I was sure Leonard's pack was involved. When we got to the borders of my brother's pack house, our cars were stopped by the patrol guards for inspections. Holden and my guards became tense and were ready to attack if anyone made the wrong move,

“Do you have permission to enter?” A blond guard asked me.

“Do I need permission to enter my brother's pack?” I rose to my full height to question him.

He realized his error quickly and bowed in apology.

“I am sorry alpha Julian, I will tell alpha Leo that you are here.” He said as he kept bowing.

“Very well,” I replied and signaled to my guards to stand back as they let us through the gates.

We drove past the gates towards the structure of buildings Leonard had erected. My brother was standing right in front of one of the buildings, looking formidable with whom I guessed was his beta. I got out of my car and headed to meet him for formality sake when all I would like to do was punch the smug out of his face.

“Ah, alpha Julian, it's nice to see you here." He greeted me.

“Alpha Leo, nice to see you too,” I said in response.

“Come, let us head into my office and talk.” He suggested.

I told the guards to hang back while Holden and I followed him to his study.

“So what brings you to my territory, brother? I never expected to see you here again.” Leo said to me with a smug smile on his face when we got to his office. Ugh! That look.

“Well, we are still brothers, so I came to see how you are doing. I will be staying for a day or two.” I told him

"Very well then, I will tell the luna to make provisions for you." He stated.

I had been about to look around the office but his statement stopped me. I was shocked beyond words. Did he get a mate? Since when? Alpha Leo found himself a mate? Is she even real?

“Thank you,” I told him, masking my surprise well.

He sent his beta to call the Luna to get to the study immediately and we waited patiently as she took her sweet time. My wolf was beginning to stir inside me, he was trying to tell me something. I breathed in to control myself. I could feel the presence of someone at the door even without turning.

Enticing. My wolf muttered to me and I could suddenly feel the delicious scent of whoever was at the door. I breathed in greedily once more. I wanted to wrap myself around this intoxicating scent forever. My chest felt hot and a burning desire coursed through me, making my wolf bounce around in my head. He barked, tail wagging feverishly as he stared down the door with an overwhelming sense of urgency. My finger itched to open the door and see the one who is causing such a reaction from me. The closer the scent got, the faster my heart pounded.

Finally, the door opened and the most beautiful woman I had ever seen came into the room. 

Her presence filled the room with so much light. A gush of her scent hit me straight in the face.

“You asked for me?” She asked in a tone that sounded like a melody to me.

I felt a shiver run through me from the soft yet sharp polite tone of her voice. My wolf whined in my head. I too was losing my sense of reasoning like my wolf was. All I wanted to do was wrap my hands around her slender body and claim her.

Wait! Mine? My mate was Leo's Luna?! How? That couldn't be remotely possible even for a second. I kept asking myself.

“Please prepare a place for Alpha Julian and his guests,” Leonard said, gesturing to me.

She turned to look at me...

Surprising brown eyes pierced into my blue own with no intention of letting go. The scent that had me going off the rails since I stepped foot into the study. My wolf was going crazy, his gaze narrowed in on her like the predator he was and the rest of the people were pushed to the back of my mind as I continued to stare at her. She demanded my attention without even asking for it, my eyes trailed the rest of her. The creamy skin hidden under the dress she was wearing screamed at me to tear it off her. The tease of seeing how smooth her skin was in that dress woke up so many desires in me. I wanted to mess up her hair so I could watch her come undone. To run my hands through her luscious hair and watch it fan out while she was under me.

“How would she look under me?” I asked my wolf and groaned internally as I realized that my thoughts were going haywire. I looked back at her face and saw the soft brown eyes that were paired with long lashes still staring at me which held me captivated. Her soft parted lips did wonders to the most reactive parts of my body as my arousal hit. 

Of course, I knew claiming her was going to cause another war between our clans but I couldn't stand the thought that my real mate belonged to my dickhead brother. She was going to be mine one way or the other. My hands tightened into fists, I couldn't help but sit there and look stupid. I was already losing common sense when it came to her but I couldn't waste any more time, especially not with my brother.

We concluded for the day and I headed to the room prepared by her. I later found out that her name was Olivia. It was as pretty as the woman who bore it. I told Holden that I needed to talk to him in my room privately and he agreed to come up with me. I paced up and down the room we were in, looking for the perfect chance to say something about my plan to him. Deciding that I couldn't say it in any way except being direct, I spoke up.

“I am going to kidnap Olivia” I pronounced. Holden fell off his chair in shock.

“Shhhh, you can't blurt out things like that. At least not while people can hear.” He cautioned. I was both surprised and chastised by him.

“You are not going to ask me why?” I asked him.

“Oh, please Alpha, it was a good thing Alpha Leo didn't notice the gooey eyes you were making at his mate.” He teased.

“Shut up,” I told him without heat.

“So what is the plan?” He asked me.

“I don't know, I was hoping you would direct me,” I told.

After he made a plan with me to stay for a day and watch her activities, Holden left while I battled with my wolf.

Go to our mate. Go to our mate now. We need to claim our mate fast. He chanted in my head.

“I know. Very soon, we will be with her. Very soon.” I assured him. He seemed to be okay with that for now.

~~~

We had been at my brother's place for a few days and I had learned that my brother's Luna pretty much kept to herself as she was mostly indoors reading a book or sleeping. It was either she was avoiding me or she didn't know that she had found her mate. I wonder what she was doing when she chose Leo to be her mate. A knock sounded on my door and Holden let himself in.

“Alpha, can I talk to you?” He asked.

“Mindlink,” I told him and he nodded, showing that he understood why.

“I found a way we can make it work.” He said into my head.

“Make what work?” I asked him, confused.

“The kidnap.” He answered.

“Oh right, what about it?” I asked him, point-blank.

“It's safe to say that Luna is not an outdoor type. So why don't we just take her from inside?” He suggested.

“How do you suggest we do that?” I asked him.

“So, in the middle of the day, Leo is out and his guards are always at the borders, so we can kidnap her, dress her as one of your guards. No one would suspect a thing till after we've gone far away.” He explained the plan to me.

I made a show of thinking it through, meanwhile, I was already sold on the idea. There was no other way we could pull this off without alerting the guards and causing a war between clans except doing it so much quieter. Then, the chances of getting caught would be zero. Since we are leaving for the SilverCrest tomorrow, that would be the best time to kidnap her without anyone knowing or suspecting anything.

Olivia POV.

I flipped through the pages of my book as I tried to grasp what the book was talking about but I failed. My mind was stuck on the man I had seen a day earlier in Leo's study, the blue-eyed man that had made me shiver with just a look. I had to control myself back then because I knew how territorial Leo could get. But seeing the way the man had looked at me had made me feel powerful and hopeful for a better chance at life. It has always been from hell to a hotter hell for me. Never-ending suffering all through my life but it was going to be over soon. He was leaving today and I hadn't even gotten a chance to talk to him to take me with him since I was scared Alpha Leo might see us. 

There went my chance at being free from Alpha Leo out the window.

I suddenly wanted to go for a walk, the book was not helping and neither was me sitting around. I wrote a note for Leo telling him I went for a walk so he wouldn't worry and I headed out into the woods where there was peace. I would be able to think properly about what to do there. Squealing tires ripped me away from my thoughts, I tried to ignore the car but it got closer to me. I increased my pace a little. The faster I walked, the more the car tried to come closer. I was almost convinced it was Leo trying to keep an eye on me till I remembered that he had no idea where I went or what I was up to. Soon the car was right beside me and I began to run, looking for ways to escape. I heard a door slam shut which told me they were on foot now. I ran even faster.

“Who thought it was a good idea to go for a walk?” I asked myself as I ran.

“An idiot, that's who.” Someone behind me said.

I had only taken a few more steps before I felt hands drag me back to the car. Before I could scream, a hand covered my mouth preventing any sound from coming out.  I tried so hard to fight back but it was futile. I resisted the person as much as I could before they threw me into the van. It was so dark inside the van I couldn't see anything and that made me scared that this was going to be the end of my life and suffering. I didn't want to die but just wanted to live a good life. Since fate wanted to decide otherwise, I don't mind falling into the pure bliss of darkness reaching out to me.

~~~

Back at the packhouse, Alpha Leo and Alpha Julian were chatting one last time before Julian set off to leave for his packhouse. Alpha Julian sat there with Holden knowing the plan was being taken care of and they were just stalling Alpha Leo for some time to accomplish their mission. When Niahm's mind-linked him that they were done, Julian got up.

"Well, I will be taking my leave now," Julian said to Leo with a smile.

"Alright brother, till the next time," Leo said with a snicker.

They shook hands and parted ways as Julian climbed into his car with his beta and guards and they zoomed away. Julian had a big smile on his face because he knew he had succeeded in both missions and he was pretty damn proud of himself.