Chapter 22
KAEL.
I didn't have the energy to object anymore. So I just let my Delta drive us to the Knight's Stone Pack while my mind flew to whatever I could remember of Adessa.
She was beautiful, no doubt about that, so it didn't surprise me that Draco took a fancy to her. Plus, Draco and I had been rivals since our youth.
Our packs were in the same county, with only three human cities separating us. In short, our werewolf communities were closest to each other, but we never got along well. The rivalry had begun with our forefathers and had carried on to the generations after them. But in all honesty, I was not bothered by them. My pack had been thriving well without any help or disturbance from them.
Draco was another case. He would show superiority whenever he could, and I would usually ignore him. Adessa was not the first female he tried to take away from me. There were some while we were studying at Alpha University.
I thought he had grown out of that habit, as he had not made any attempt toward Desiree as far as I could remember. But then, I had never really brought Desiree outside of my territory for any Alpha or Pack functions, as she was not officially my Luna then. So Draco had never seen her in my arms.
Looking at it now, it seemed Adessa was his latest victim, just to get on my nerves.
I wondered if he knew we were officially divorced. Once he finds out, will he let her go, or will he continue to play this game?
But Landon was right; I needed to get to the bottom of this so I could sleep well tonight.
As expected, we were stopped at the checkpoint, and upon realizing I was Alpha Kael, we were not given permission to enter. I requested to speak with him, and fucker made me wait longer than I should.
It made me think he was speaking with Adessa first.
I honestly didn't know what to believe anymore. Landon claimed Adessa slapped him for daring to grab her, but what if it was just a facade? And since we got separated, there was no stopping them from being together.
I grabbed my head and leaned forward, bumping it into the dashboard softly. I wanted to believe Adessa would not do such a thing, but then I had no idea who she was. No one knew her before I took her home. Unlike Desiree, who came from a reputable family, Adessa had no family I could check.
What if I just found her in a stripper club and fucked her? Then she pretended to be pregnant, so I married her.
"Argh!" I bumped my forehead once more, this time harder. There were many thoughts in my head, yet they were not mine, leaving me completely helpless.
I should just let her go and move forward as if she didn't exist.
I have no memory of her, and it shouldn't be a problem, but why the fuck it felt like my heart was being ripped just thinking of the idea that I would let her go?
"Why the fuck did you ignore her and then divorce her without thinking?" I punched the dashboard again. My voice came out growling this time.
Over the course of a week, I came to regret numerous decisions. I should never have ignored her attempts to communicate with me when I woke up. I should have asked her more questions because she was my wife and not anyone else. I shouldn't have shoved Desiree in her face and demanded she divorce me without even letting her explain what we were to each other.
A knock on the window interrupted me from crucifying myself more. It was Landon. He remained outside and spoke with the security at the checkpoint.
I didn't need to ask if he had arrived because I saw a car approaching, and I was sure it was the fucker.
I ran my fingers over my hair before opening the door and slipping out of the car.
Draco came out and immediately flashed me an arrogant grin. My nose flared, and the moment he stopped a few feet before me, I didn't even wait for him to acknowledge my presence.
"Where the fuck is my wife?" I growled at him.
He laughed, just as expected, but then he stopped abruptly, and his eyes narrowed as he met my gaze. A scowl was written on his face. "I should be the one asking you that question. Where the fuck is your wife?" "Stop playing games with me, fucker! Give me Adessa. I want a word with her."
"So after you threw her my way, you traveled all the way here to pretend you want her back?"
My forehead creased at his words, but before I could counter him, he was already speaking again. "If you think coming here and pretending you don't know where she is with save her from her sins, you're wrong. I will not stop until I find her v will make her pay with every ounce of her blood."
My head was starting to spin with questions. I couldn't understand what the fuck he was talking about. But looking at him, he didn't look as if he was mocking me.
I had known Draco all my life, and even though I knew him to be an asshole and an arrogant bastard, he had never told me any lies.
"What did she do to you?" I asked.
His wicked laugh erupted from his
throat, making him tilt his head backward before pulling out his hand from his pocket and pointing a finger at me. "Tell me, Kael. Did you know Adessa was given to me as a gift to me because the Alpha of her pack no longer wanted her?"
"What?" I growled at him.
"I knew it. I fucking knew it!"
"Tell me what you fucking knew!" I pulled my arm back, my coiled fist ready to throw a punch at him.
"Relax, Alpha." Landon's arm extended in front of me.
"I never believed you would give her to me even if you were done and tired of her, but I didn't question it. I was happy to have her." Draco continued. "Adessa was supposed to arrive here a week ago. My brother picked her up from your pack." He laid his hand on the man beside him, and he was handed some photos that were turned upside down, so I couldn't see anything. "Do you know what happened to my brother?"
He handed me pictures, and I immediately scanned them.
Two dead bodies. Gun wounds in the head and chest.
"He's dead. His car was gone, and we found his revolver fifty kilometers from the crime scene, buried inside the forest. It has a GPS chip, as all registered guns are. I am sure you are aware of that, but it seems your wife was not." He scoffed.
The van-the one in the parking lot.Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.
The trembling of her hands when she entered the jewelry shop and her looking over her shoulder, checking if someone was behind her. Her leaving our house without money or anything with her except her ring. The farewell letter that didn't look like her handwriting.
Everything was starting to make sense. She was taken from my territory by force.
I was just staring at the photos, still trying to make sense of these deaths. Did Adessa kill them, or did someone help her?
"The gun was full of fingerprints," Draco said as if he had heard my questions. "I paid someone to get me a record of her fingerprints from the King's Tribunal. It matches."
My jaw clenched at his words.
"She's considered a fugitive." He added.
"Not if she defended herself!" I snapped back at him.
The fucker laughed again before he answered. "It doesn't matter to me. A life for a life."
"Who gave Adessa to you as a gift?" I asked, furrowing my brows as I stared at him.