An Unwavering Promise--Completed

Chapter Twenty-One

Eleanor’s POV

“No. No, you’re not going to do that because you’re better than that. Also, why? This is a ridiculously stupid plan,” I scolded.

“Candy filled me in on everything. That asshole was trying to take you away from me. I can’t let that stand. And, on top of that, he was part of an underground, human trafficking ring! Why would I not want him dead? How could you not support me in this?” Alexander shot back through the mindlink.

I sighed audibly. “Alex, killing him isn’t the answer. Please come to my hospital room, so that we can talk face-to-face. I don’t need you to fight every single battle for me. Why can’t we just enjoy the fact that both of us are alive and well today? That we are okay and survived the building freaking falling on top of us? Why isn’t it enough that we’re together right now?”

Silence answered me for several minutes. I wasn’t sure whether it was because he was busy or simply ignoring me.

“You’re right,” I heard from Alexander weakly. “I wasn’t thinking about us. I was only fixated on beating that guy to a bloody pulp. I should also explain a lot of stuff to you.”

I smiled to myself. “Thank you. I do appreciate you hearing me and halting your vindictive pursuit. How soon can I expect you?”

“Give me twenty.”

I continued smiling to myself, happy knowing that my mate was finally being fully honest with me and willing to listen to me. We had come so far from where we started, and though we still had quite a ways to go, I relished knowing we were moving forward. I stared out the window into the night sky waiting for him, and it wasn’t until I jolted awake from his touch that I realized I’d fallen asleep.

“Hey,” he said sweetly, grinning at me. “How are you, my love?”

I sank into his light kiss, bringing him closer and kissing him again when he attempted to pull away. He chuckled and then broke the kiss, finding a chair to sit next to my bed.

“I’m better now,” I smiled.

“First, I want to say that I’m sorry for my behavior. I let my bestial instincts take over and didn’t think through how it may affect you,” he began.

I grabbed his hand and squeezed it lightly. “Thank you. And I get it.”

“Now comes the not so fun part. I hope you remember those warm, fuzzy feelings you have for me because I’ve been keeping a lot from you.”

Readying myself the best I could for whatever terrible outcome I could imagine, I nodded at him in encouragement to proceed. I was extremely curious.

“Okay, so like I mentioned before, Brit and I were never married. It was the cover story we created in case someone was getting too close or needed answers as to our involvement.”

“But, you did sleep together? You were a couple at least at some point?” I interjected.

Alexander’s sheepish face said all I needed to know. “ We were…involved in that manner, yes. Though, we never put labels on our relationship. I told her early on that the moment I found my mate, it would be completely over.”

I frowned. “So, you were with her up until you met me?”

“We had been investigating Robert for quite some time before our encounter. Is that what you mean?”

“No,” I said tersely. “You know what I mean. You were sleeping with her until you figured out that I was your mate. Did you have s*x with her after you knew or suspected? I was tricked into being with Charles.”

“And I was locked up in his stupid cell during that time. No, I was not sleeping with Brit during that.”

Squeezing my eyes shut, I reminded myself that his past had no bearing on our future. However, now I couldn’t stop picturing them together, and it made me sick.

“But you were with her until the Alpha’s Summit?” I asked, still with my eyes closed.

I couldn’t bear to look at him while he answered, “Yes.” My heart sank, but I tried to tell myself that it didn’t matter. I was the one with him now, and he seemed to be blind to her advances since being with me.

“I love you, Eleanor. And no girl will ever take that from you. I haven’t thought about her in that way since I knew you were mine. Please don’t ever question that part of me. I will forever be yours and yours alone until I die,” Alexander pleaded.

Opening my eyes, I met his deep forest, green ones and saw his earnestness and love. It was prevalent that Alexander cared for me deeply, and if I couldn’t believe him now, then I had no reason to stay with him.

“Okay,” I said. “I believe you. I’m sorry that I got so upset. I shouldn’t shame you for your past. You’ve been faithful to me and that’s all that matters. We can move on now, and I’ll drop it.”

Seeming surprised, Alexander smiled at me and nodded. “Now for the part you probably won’t like, and may have a lot of questions about. I will answer what I can, but I may not be able to explain everything.”

I watched as he took a deep breath, and said, “Alright, to start off, I work for a special organization for the government. It is a highly secretive group that knows about all the races, and is primarily made up of orcs. Well, that’s how it started. When the dragons and the orcs were fighting for control over this planet, they had a major war. Both sides suffered heavy losses, and while the dragons were gifted with magic, the orcs were gifted with technology. The dragons nearly succeeded in wiping out the orcs, but they were able to curse the dragons, which has given them time to rebuild. The orcs colluded with the other races, and thus The Recovery was created. All other races, except for the demons, joined together in order to keep the dragons in check.”

“So…you’re part of The Recovery?” I questioned.

“Yes, and so is Brit. Her father is our ranking commander, and he is also in charge of the recruitment and mission field.”

I pursed my lips. “You work for her dad, but you were also sleeping with her. I feel like that’s a bad idea, but whatever.”

“Probably in retrospect it was,” Alexander chuckled.

“Okay, so is The Recovery some sort of way to defeat the dragons? That’s going to be weird if I’m tasked with freeing them,” I prodded.

“Well, we don’t want to bring an end to the dragons, we simply believe in peace between all races. The problem we’re facing is that the orcs who designed the curse have all perished, and we’re only left with their notes, which are written in a code that we haven’t yet cracked.”

“Why did you join?” I asked.

Alexander shifted in his seat and stretched out his long legs. “My parents were involved before I was even born. I guess I just kind of fell into it. It wasn’t really an option offered to me, it was an expectation given to me.”

“But they were in The Order too, weren’t they? How did that work?”

“My parents were the werewolves' representatives. By working with both The Order and The Recovery, they were able to pass along information easily and steer both organizations towards a path that suited the werewolves the best.”

“So,” I started. “They were informants on both sides?”

“I guess you could look at it like that, but I don’t choose to. I see it as a way to make sure that the werewolf faction always has a say and will ensure our safety as a people,” Alexander clarified.

Thinking to myself, I wondered briefly if my parents had also been involved. I hadn’t seen any paperwork left behind talking about The Recovery. But I had so little left from them, part of me wondered if I really even knew my parents well at all.

“What’s your mission, then?” I asked abruptly.

This outburst took Alexander by surprise and he tilted his head to the side.”What do you mean?”

“I mean exactly what I said. You mentioned that you were in an organization, and I’m guessing that since Brit was your partner, you have missions to follow through on. So, what’s your mission? What are you supposed to be doing?”

He grimaced at me. “I’m afraid that’s classified information.”

“Well, can you give me a hint? Anything at all?”

He thought for a moment before answering, “I suppose I could tell you that meeting up with Dominic wasn’t an accident. He is the head of an underground human trafficking ring that specializes in procuring orcs. Plus, his previous relationship to you makes him a threat. We’ve been keeping tabs on him.”

My eyes bulged in understanding. “All those business trips,” I began, making sure to emphasize ‘business trips’ with my tone. “Was you just going on missions with Brit?” I finished.

He nodded sheepishly, regret evident in his eyes.

My frown deepened. “Wait, you said my relationship with Dominic. What relationship? I don’t know him. What are you keeping from me?”

Alexander sighed and scooted closer to me. “I think your memories were tampered with by Nicholas. Dominic was a childhood friend of yours from the daycare Nicholas and Liam ran.”

“I don’t remember the daycare, like, at all,” I confessed. “I don’t remember Dominic.”

“He clearly remembers you, and from what our records show, he had a hand in helping Nicholas with the experiments. Also, we got our hands on the file that he was keeping on you, and it’s…” he stopped for a moment.

I could feel his anger surfacing, so I quickly ran a hand up and down his arm in comfort.

“Eleanor, this guy is a grade A stalker. His file is extensive and fully fleshed out. And, it dates all the way back from before your parents’ accident. I mean, he has pictures and clips of your hair. For whatever reason, he’s obsessed.”

I shuddered at Alexander’s words. Pictures and hair? That was really creepy.

“Brit agreed that I couldn’t kill him yet, but I’m just letting you know that as soon as we discover his operation, I’m taking him out,” Alexander stated.

“Okay,” I said, shocking us both. “But we’re going to use me as bait.”

*****Hey everyone! Due to some personal matters, I’m going to be taking a break from the story. I’ll try to keep you posted, but wanted to let you all know as to why I haven’t been posting consistently and won’t be posting for a little while. I do plan on finishing the story, so don’t worry about that! Hope you’re doing well!********