A Matter of Convenience

Forty-Three

~Blade~

The plan isn’t much, but it will suffice. I just need to meet with these bastards and get Isis back. It’s been a struggle to keep my wits about me, but I’ve had to do it, or else I would have allowed Ericson to take over again. I’m not convinced he would go after Isis, so I’d rather stay in charge for a while. “Thank you.” I look up to see that guy standing over me.

“For what?” He sits on the grass next to me. I’ve been outside for a while, trying to get ready for tomorrow. I have no idea how things will turn out, but I’m going either way.

“I appreciate the fact that you and Ericson are willing to sacrifice to save Isis.” I chuckle at his words.

“More like just me. I’ve buried Ericson so I can get this done.” He laughs and shakes his head.

“Those two really hate each other, don’t they?” I nod and stretch my legs out on the soft grass.

“I honestly think that if they could get past their issues, they’d find that they are a good fit. Isis is an amazing she-wolf.”

“That she is. I can’t believe that I allowed this to happen.” I slap his back with my hand and squeeze his shoulder.

“Don’t think like that. You did what she asked of you. This isn’t on you. This is on that scum who took her.” He nods and looks out into the forest. I just hope we can get Isis back tomorrow without any issues. Once we do, I will kill anyone who had a hand in her disappearance, including Alpha Felix.

➲➲➲➲➲➲➲➲➲➲➲➲➲➲➲➲

I stand on the cliff, overlooking a human town. I was told to meet them here, and if I’m being honest, it makes me suspicious. This place is pretty isolated, so in theory, they can do what they want to me, and no one would know.

I pace back and forth in nervous anticipation as the various possibilities of how this could play out run through my mind. It should calm me that I have allies hidden in the surrounding woods, but a small part of me isn’t convinced that they will be any help. I’m sure it’s just my nerves, right?

Their stench hits me, and I swallow to keep from losing my lunch. I slowly turn to find two men a few feet from me. They are definitely rogues based on the dirty, homeless looks they’re rocking. The problem is that I don’t see Isis anywhere. I take a few steps forward while discreetly scanning the area beyond them. I don’t see any sign that Isis is even here. “Alpha Ericson?”

“Were you expecting someone else?”

“I just wanted to make sure we have the right person.”

“Forget all that. Where is she?” They look at each other before looking at me with a smirk on their faces. I see that this is going to go sideways pretty quickly.

“She’s…close by.” I scoff.

“Do I look stupid to you? I know for a fact that she’s nowhere close by. The agreement was that I show up and get Isis back.”

“Well, we will be making a new agreement.” It’s a big-ass rogue talking with a scar on his face. I can only imagine how he got the scar.

“A new agreement? Over my dead body.” The big one steps forward, cracking his knuckles.

“That can easily be arranged.” The other one grabs his arm and shakes his head.

“Look. If you want the girl, you will come with us. It’s literally that simple.” I know this is one big ass trap, but I can’t figure out why. I see Miles peeking his head out of where he’s hiding. I can tell what he wants to do; it’s written on his face. I can’t let him do it because if he does, we could lose Isis for good.

I discreetly shake my head, not letting my eyes linger on that spot. “I guess I don’t really have a choice, do I? Take me to her.” They nod and step to the side. I move forward, walking toward the forest. I feel their presence behind me; their stench is more than I can bear.

“Oh, we forgot something.” Before I can turn around, I feel a prick in the back of my arm. My body starts to drop as darkness takes over.

~Jovanni~

I roll to my side and groan. My body feels like it’s been pummeled, and my head is throbbing. I work hard to pry my eyes open and find myself laid out in the last room I remember being in. I roll over to my back and just look at the ceiling.

All at once, everything comes flooding back to me. I struggle to get on my feet and rush to the room Isis was being held in. The room is empty. Actually, the entire place is empty. f***k! They got away with Isis. I run out of the building and shift into Wolfgang, allowing him to take over.

It doesn’t take long to make it to packlands. I don’t stop as I run past the border. I shift when I get outside the packhouse and push through the doors. It’s lunchtime, and people are looking at me. I don’t stop to acknowledge them, noting that Alpha Felix isn’t eating in the dining room.

I run up the stairs and get to his office. I push the door open without knocking and find Alpha Felix in a meeting with Beta Terrance. “What the hell are you doing here, Jovanni? You’re in my office, stark naked! WHY?!” I take a step forward, ignoring the growing discomfort that’s my fear.

“We have a problem, sir?” Alpha Felix looks behind me for a few moments before looking back at me.

“Where the hell is Isis?” I sigh and hang my head.

“That’s the problem. She’s gone, the rogues took her. I’d imagine that they took Ericson too.”

“We were just meeting about the fact that we can’t reach anyone right now. We even tried to reach you a few times, to no avail.” I nod at Beta Terrance.

“What the f***k?! How are we going to find them?”

“I saw a map last night.”