All Chapters of Bound to the Capo: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

THIRD-PARTY POV “It’s a thank you gift. Everyone received them at the function." Ren finally raised his eyes to meet Makena's, but she had no intention of accepting the gift. “Thanks, but I just started here. I’m sure I don’t qualify for one.” “Don’t be silly, open it.” Ren's face lit up with a warm smile as he leaned back in his chair, and Makena reluctantly took the bag while keeping an eye on him the entire time. She peeked inside and noticed a small black box. Pulling the black square, she opened it, and there lay a pair of diamond earrings that made her pause. “Thank you, but I’m sorry. I can’t accept this,” she told him, closing the box and placing it back in the bag. And just then, she took in something else. Ren's eyes reminded her of Akira's, and when he smiled just now, it was the same smile. An uncomfortable feeling crept over her, and even Snow narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Ren, who asked why she wouldn't accept the gift. Before Makena could respond, Ren placed h

THIRD PARTY POV Ren packed for the night, grabbed his car keys, and left the office after calling Astrid to ensure that everything was ready. Once Astrid had finished with Makena, he would be in charge of erasing what remained of her. Makena had only been at the restaurant for a short time, so her sudden absence would not cause too much concern among the other employees, who did not know much about her. If someone asked, he could say she was helping out at his house or that she had quit and moved back to her hometown. She kept to herself while working at the restaurant, so Ren doubted she made any friends. Reaching the front of the restaurant, he spotted her taking an order. It was unfortunate, he thought, because she was a good employee. She looked up, saw his signal, and nodded in response before he walked away to wait for her in the car. He brought the car around to the front, threw his bag into the back seat, and just as he finished, she dashed out toward him. "Thank you

MAKENA “What’s going on?” I asked Val, sitting up and rubbing my eyes after he abruptly sat up in bed, startling me awake. "Someone's here," he said softly before quietly getting out of bed. I asked what he meant. "What did you hear?" I added, an uneasy feeling washing over me as I followed him to the blinds that divided the bedroom from the rest of the apartment. But he motioned for me to turn back, and I complied, my heart racing. I couldn't decide what scared me more: what he said or the fact that I couldn't hear or feel anything. We hadn’t turned on the lights, but it wasn’t completely dark. The outside lights were turned on, which provided enough light to illuminate our small apartment. Val and I despised those lights since we could see fine without them, but this building wasn't just for wolves. In fact, I hadn't seen one since we moved in. All of our neighbors were human. I was never one to be scared easily, but that night at my father's morgue changed everything, and

AUTHOR’S POV Ren looked around nervously while Astrid waved her hand over the padlock on the back door of the herbal store. This was the part he did not like: breaking into herbal stores at night. But he knew it had to be done. Astrid needed the herbs, but the store would not open until later. Plus, even if it was open, some of the items she needed would cause a stir, so she had to break in at night when no one could question her. The last thing she needed was someone to suspect she was a witch. "Astrid?" He watched her rush between the shelves, her eyes scanning each label. And she hummed in response, not looking at him. “Why is it so important for you to read this strigoi?” Her curiosity seemed to have turned into an obsession. He had already given her 24 hours to break through to the strigoi, but what if time ran out and she still didn't know who he was? He didn't want this to keep them from returning the strigoi to Wiremond. Ren had always wanted allies in the city whe

MAKENA Hearing a car approaching, I quickly ducked behind a trash can, trying to get a good look, and sighed in relief when I saw it continue past without slowing down. Val had gone inside our apartment and instructed me to wait outside, but he should have returned by now. He was only supposed to grab our money and get out. We had no time for anything else. We needed to leave the city. Ren had most likely returned and seen what we did. He was undoubtedly enraged and pursuing us with everything he had. He knew where we lived. And even worse, he had a witch. The thought of him catching us terrified me. I hadn’t even wanted to come here in the first place. I wanted to run without looking back, but Val insisted that we come get our money. Moments like this reminded me how inconvenient it was that we couldn't mind-link because I would have linked him already and asked about the delay. After the car vanished from view, I stood up and dashed inside to find out what was going on.