“Where’s Elena?” Scott demanded. “Is she really dead?”
“Instead of asking that,” the Shaman turned slowly, “shouldn’t you be asking yourself why Joanna used soul–draining magic?”
Scott froze. “She told me it was because of pressure from the elders…”
“Lies,” the Shaman scoffed. “I just got word from the Bloodfang border. They found something interesting on a prisoner.”
He tossed Scott a flash drive. “Take a look.”
Scott opened his laptop and plugged in the drive. An image of Joanna meeting secretly with a Bloodfang wolf appeared on the screen.
“Are you sure this will hurt Black Moon?” Joanna asked.
“Of course,” the man sneered. “As long as you use the soul–draining magic like we planned, weaken yourself, we’ll keep your family’s secret safe.”
Scott’s hands started to shake.
“They had something on her,” the Shaman explained. “The Bloodfangs threatened to expose her family’s secret, forced her to weaken herself.”
“What secret?”
“Her family’s dealings with vampires,” the Shaman sighed. “Enough to get her completely cast out of the werewolf world.”
Fury burned through Scott. “Take me to her.”
Joanna was brought to the council hall. She looked healthy again, as beautiful as ever, but there was an undeniable arrogance in her eyes.
“Why?” Scott demanded. “Why did you lie to me?”
“Lie?” Joanna scoffed. “I just used your weakness.”
“What weakness?”
“Your rejection of your own fated mate,” she said with contempt. “You were so desperate to escape your destiny, you never trusted your own heart, and you certainly didn’t trust your mate. That’s why you believed my lies so easily!”
Every word was like a knife twisting in Scott’s heart.
“Do you have any idea what Elena did for you?” Joanna went on. “She gave up her life essence to save me, someone who hurt her. And you? You didn’t even thank her, You just let her walk away, alone, to die!”
“Shut up!” Scott roared.
“You’ll never deserve her,” Joanna delivered the final blow. “Alpha? What a joke! You can’t even protect your own heart!”
Scott completely shattered. He roared, “Lock her up! Permanent imprisonment! And release the evidence of her family’s dealings with vampires to all the packs!”
As Joanna was dragged away, the smirk finally vanished from her face, replaced by genuine fear.
Scott sank to his knees, alone, his world collapsing around him.
The truth seared into him like a red–hot poker–Elena had never betrayed him, but he had hurt her, again and again. He’d put his own pride and prejudice before true love, and now he’d lost everything.
1
“Elena…” he whispered, tears streaming down his face. “How am I ever going to find you?”
Then, the sharp ring of the phone. Scott’s second–in–command finally had good news.
The human police had just confirmed it: one female body was missing from the bus crash.
