Chapter 5 ~The Rescue~

~Luca~

"Sir, we've been here all night. Are you sure she's safe?"

Elijah asked breaking the silence. Our car was still parked just in front of Aria's house but still no sign of her.

"My instincts are still numb, she's okay. But I need to see her to make sure. Run me more information on her as quickly as possible."

I ordered Elijah.

"Okay sir. I'm on it."

I sat in the back seat of the sleek black SUV, my gaze sharp as I stared out the window. The city lights blurred past, but my mind was elsewhere, on Aria.

My mate.

I had only marked her scent a few hours ago, and already, my wolf was restless. On edge. Despite my senses dormant, I couldn't help but feel she was in danger.

I didn't realize that mating a mere human could be this much of a work.

Elijah, sat in the driver's seat, scrolling through his phone. "I found something," he said, his voice steady. "She works at a small restaurant, named the Green Palace. Her mother owns it."

My fingers twitched. Close. I was so damn close. My wolf growled in approval. "Where is it?"

"It's by the Border District South. A few meters away from us."

Elijah rattled off the address, and without hesitation, I tapped the partition. "Drive there. Now." I yelled out my voice stern, laced with urgency.

Elijah obeyed immediately, smoothly changing direction as he ignited the engine and sped off. "Faster Elijah!!" I yelled, my tone too anxious and impatient.

I leaned back, but I couldn't relax. My instincts were too sharp, too aware.

And then...

A sudden, invisible force slammed into my chest.

"Argh!!!" I groaned.

His breathing hitched.

Pain,Fear,I could feel them soo vivid and fresh.

It wasn't mine. I wasn't afraid or in pain.... It was hers!!

My mate was in danger.

A low, dangerous growl rumbled from my throat, my fingers curling into fists. My wolf snarled, demanding action, demanding to protect, to find her now.

"Elijah," I said, his voice deadly calm.

My beta immediately turned, recognizing the shift in his alpha's energy. "What's wrong?"

"I felt her." My jaw clenched. My heart pounded with the sheer force of it. "She's in trouble."

"Shit." Elijah sat up straighter. "We're almost there."

"Faster," I snapped, struggling to hold in my anger.

The SUV lurched forward, speeding through the streets, moving past cars.

The second we reached the restaurant, I didn't wait. I was out of the car before it even fully stopped, the door slamming behind me as I inhaled deeply...

Her scent. It was here.

And then...

It vanished.

My chest heaved as his wolf whined, claws scraping at my mind. "Elijah." my voice was rough.

My beta was already on his phone, his expression grim. "She was here," Elijah confirmed. "But she already left for the night."

My eyes darkened, my jaw tightening. My pulse roared in own ears, my fists flexing at my sides.

I had felt her distress.

Something had happened to her.

And now, she was gone.

"Sir, what do you think happened?" Elijah asked, almost expectant of the answer.

"What does it look like. My enemies have gotten to her before I did." I admitted.

"I'll try to trace her down."Elijah said as he walked back to the car.

I stood in from of the restaurant, lost in thoughts.

What could be going on in her mind right now. She didn't even know that I mated her and now she's been kidnapped.

I need to find and rescue her now!

~Aria~

My eyes fluttered open to a throbbing headache. My vision was still a bit blurry, but I could tell I was surrounded my darkness. I could barely remember how long I was unconscious or what even happened.

"NO.!"

I let out a huge gasp as it struck me. I was kidnapped! Leaving the restaurant I was kidnapped.

I tried to stand up, but then I realized I had my hands and legs tied to a chair.

"Hello!!! Please is anyone there?" I yelled out to the empty space, my voice echoing. From the size and the structure I could tell this was a warehouse.

My stomach twisted violently. I was kidnapped.

A sharp click echoed through the warehouse.

Suddenly I heard distant footsteps gently approaching.

I swallowed hard, my pulse roaring in my ears as a man stepped into the light.

He was tall, and he had broad shoulders. His green amber eyes looked unnatural to me. I didn't know him.

But the way he looked at me, like he already owned me, sent ice down my spine. "Good. You're awake."

His voice was deep, smooth, but laced with something cold.

Just then about four other men walked out front the darkness and stood behind him.

I stiffened.

"Who, who are you?" My voice wavered. "Where am I?"

He smirked. "Somewhere safe. For now." My skin crawled. "Let me go."

His head tilted, amused. "Oh, I don't think so." He took a slow step closer. "You're here because of Alpha Luca."

I frowned. The name meant nothing to me. "I don't know who that is." My voice was sharper now, though fear still rattled my chest. "I don't know you. I don't belong here. Maybe you got the wrong person."

His smirk deepened. "Oh, but you do." His amber eyes bored into mine. "Because you are his mate."

My stomach dropped.

"That's insane." I shook my head, heart pounding. "I don't even have a boyfriend, let alone a... " My throat tightened.

"How can I even have a mate it's not like werewolf exist. And even if they did I'm sure I'm not one."

His gaze darkened, his smirk curling into something almost dangerous. "You don't believe me?"

And then...

His body shuddered.

I froze as his muscles contorted, bones snapping with sickening cracks.

His limbs stretched unnaturally, his skin rippling like something beneath it was forcing its way out.

I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. And then, where the man had stood...

A massive, monstrous wolf loomed before me.

Towering, its thick fur dark as shadow, its amber eyes now glowing like fire.

I gasped, my breath shattering as pure terror slammed through me.

This wasn't real.

This couldn't be real.

I was too stunned to even scream. I just froze my mouth wide open in disbelief.

And then, just as quickly as it happened...

His body snapped back into human form.

Within seconds, the man stood before me again, adjusting his sleeves like it was nothing.

My entire body shook, my lungs barely able to pull in air.

He crouched slightly, his amber eyes locking onto mine.

"Believe me now?" he murmured.

I couldn't answer.

Because my world had just turned upside down.

"So they are real... werewolves are real..." I could barely mutter words.

"Of course we are." he answered sharply, still wearing that hideous grin on his face.

For a few seconds, it still looked surreal what I just saw.

But gradually the pieces began to fall in place. The two murders that night. The vision of a white wolf.

Gradually it kind of made more sense to me what he said, but for one thing.

"Even if you are a werewolf. Why did you kidnap me?" Is asked again. "After all I'm just a human."

He chuckled turning to me, his amber eyes glinting.

"How many times must I say this,huh? You little girl are the mate to Alpha Luca. The very Alpha who burnt my pack to the ground. Once he feels that his Mate in his danger, he'll be here any minute and then I get my revenge."

The man continued.

But, still it didn't add up. "But, your mistaken. I don't have a mate and I don't know any Alpha Luca."

I

"My senses don't lie lady!" He snapped at me, his tone rising.

"I felt it few nights back when you were marked by Alpha Luca."

"Marked? But I don't remember getting..." I paused for a moment. The images of that night of the party becoming clearer.

There was a werewolf

He was the one who saved me and then marked me!

But... why me??

Suddenly, a loud bang shattered the tense silence as the warehouse doors were suddenly flung open.

The metal groaned against its rusted hinges, the heavy doors swinging so violently that they slammed against the walls with a thunderous crash. The sharp sound sent a bolt of fear through me, my entire body stiffening where I sat on the cold floor.

The men who had kidnapped me also turned, muscles tensing as they instinctively reached for weapons.

Then he walked in.

Tall, imposing, unshakable.

The dim overhead lights flickered against his sharp features, his golden eyes burning like embers in the dark. The very air seemed to shift around him, charged with something powerful-something primal.

My breath hitched.

Even without knowing who he was, I could feel it.

He wasn't just a man. He was something else entirely. And he wasn't alone.

Beside him, another figure stepped in-slightly shorter but just as dangerous. His presence was quieter, sharper, like a blade waiting to strike. His eyes swept the room, calculating, taking in every detail as if already plotting their next move.

Then their leader-the man who had taken me-let out a low, humorless chuckle.

"Ah," he drawled, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared at them. "So the mighty Alpha Luca finally decided to show up."

The name slammed into me like a shockwave.

Alpha Luca? My supposed mate. The man at the party?..

That wasn't possible.

The stranger standing at the entrance-the one with golden eyes locked onto me like I was the only thing in the room-was him?

The very man I was supposedly fated to?

I barely had time to process the thought before another sound cut through the room. A single, commanding growl.

It didn't come from Luca.

It came from the shadows.

One by one, dark figures began stepping into the dim light. Silent. Lethal. Unforgiving. Luca hadn't come alone.

His men surrounded the room like predators emerging from the darkness, their stances controlled but poised to attack at a moment's notice. Some of them weren't even fully human anymore-claws lengthened, eyes glowing in the dim warehouse lighting.

A real pack.

The men around me stiffened. Some hesitated, a few glancing at their leader as if unsure whether they still stood a chance.

Then, without warning, Luca spoke-his voice smooth, controlled, but carrying an edge of pure dominance.

"Let her go."

It wasn't a request.

It was a command.

And suddenly, the air felt thick with something unspoken. A pressure that made my skin prickle, my pulse race.

But my captor only smirked, tilting his head slightly. "You came all this way for one girl?" he mused, sounding almost amused. "Why? What's she to you?"

The moment the words left his mouth, Luca moved.

Not with hesitation. Not with anger.

But with absolute purpose.

In a blur of motion, he was across the room, slamming into the other Alpha before he even had time to react.

The fight erupted instantly.

A deafening crash filled the warehouse as Luca slammed into the man who had taken me.

I flinched, pressing myself against the cold metal wall, my breath trapped in my throat. Everything happened too fast-too violently. One second, they were standing face to face, the next, they were colliding like two storms crashing together.

The force of their fight sent crates shattering around them. Wood splintered, dust filled the air, and the sheer sound of bone meeting bone made my stomach turn.

I had never seen anything like this before.

Luca moved like a predator-controlled, dangerous, utterly unforgiving.

The man who had kidnapped me was strong-I knew that much. I had seen the way his men followed him, the way he commanded them with barely a word. But now?

Now, I saw fear flicker in his eyes.

"You think you can just walk in here and take what's mine?" my captor snarled, spitting blood onto the floor.

Luca's golden gaze didn't waver. He stood tall, his presence alone enough to make the air feel heavier.

"She was never yours."