Nicholas.

　　A bright light enters my eyes and with deep hesitation, I wake up only to be greeted with the sun directly shining through the large window into my eyes. I groan and get up from the bed, rubbing my forehead as pain shoots up.

　　I look around myself and realize that I'm in one of the penthouse rooms. I frown in confusion as I try to understand what I'm doing here instead of being with the Alpha. Last I remember, some men were fighting me as they tried to take Carlisle away.

　　With quick steps, I stand up from my position on the bed and move towards the small mirror hanging beside the door. My eyes are bloodshot red and look really blurry, which is due to the fact that I spent over half an hour fighting those men.

　　The thought of my Alpha's safety springs into my head and with hurried motion, I step out of the room and begin a walk down the stairs. It's easy to notice how quiet the place is, and I'm reminded by the fact that the old woman is dead. Pain shoots through me, but I ignore it and instead search through all the rooms for my Alpha or his future Luna.

　　However, I finally find him sitting outside the penthouse with a bottle of drink by his side. Like me, his eyes are bloodshot but he looks weak and pale like he has been crying. I walk out through the glass door and move to stand by him, but he gives no indication of my presence till he takes a sip of the wine by his side and then hurls the glass towards the bushes.

　　"Are you alright, Alpha?" I ask, but he just turns to look at me for a few seconds before he sighs and gets up from his seat.

　　"Let's go back to the pack," he says and begins to walk towards the hill, without a glance at the penthouse. I move a few steps after him, slowly working up the courage to ask why he's looking so downcast. However, the thought that the house is still open enters my thoughts and I quickly run back to lock it up.

　　Afterwards, I move back to where my Alpha is still moving at a slow pace and his actions bothers me. Alpha Damon has never looked this weak and tired, and I am tempted to ask if it is about his future bride. On a second thought, I stop myself and instead silently continue to walk.

　　My first duty to him is to obey whatever he says and ask questions later. However, I can only hope that everything will be alright soon. Our journey back to the pack is uneventful, as the Alpha doesn't utter a single word.

　　At one point, I tried to break the silence by whistling a tune rumored to attract animals. I don't get very far in it though, as he pauses to fix me with a stern look after which I stop and calmly move forward after him. However, I manage to capture a small rabbit and with swift precision, I kill it and hang it above my neck.

　　My mate made me promise to bring her an animal after my duty to the Alpha, and I'm glad to have fulfilled it. I notice that the Alpha seems to be rapidly blinking and I silently wonder if it's an effect of the wind or if he's holding back from tears.

　　Before I can ponder so much on those ideas, the pack house comes into view and the Alpha quickly moves towards it. When he reaches the door, he just turns back and gives me one last look before disappearing into his home.

　　Taking his actions as me being dismissed from my duties, I turn in the opposite direction and head towards my home. As I near it, I offer a silent prayer to the goddess for the safety of the Alpha's mate. Both of them are good people and don't deserve to be suffering so much, especially when our kingdom needs a Luna to manage the affairs.

　　?

　　?

　　DAMON.

　　The first place I go when I enter the pack house is the kitchen, where I tell a maid to bring a bottle of wine to my room. I rub at my store eyes and grimace as the action causes my arm to shoot up in pain. I dimly remember how the men sprained most bones on my body with their magic, and I punch the wall in anger.

　　As soon as I get to my room, I peel off the stained shirt and try to push out the horrible thoughts from my mind. However, my plan doesn't work and when the maid comes in with the wine, I earnestly grab it and begin to drink.

　　Within seconds, the bottle is half empty and I feel my head spinning with ideas on how the fight could have gone better. Maybe if I arrived earlier or stayed there to watch them by myself, nothing bad would have happened to Carlisle nor the old woman.

　　At this point, I can't even blame Nicholas because he did his best and I barely saved him from death. I am not the type of Alpha that allows his subjects to be manhandled, and I try my best to ensure everyone was saved. The men from the wizard kingdom are too powerful, and with each day they grow stronger.

　　As I'm deep in my thoughts, the door to my room bursts open and my mother comes in with a frown on her face. I watch with mild annoyance as her glare moves between my figure and the bottle on the bedside table. She walks towards me and grabs the glass from my hand, while I reach out to take it back.

　　"No, Damon. Why are you doing this to yourself?" She quickly closes the wine and takes it out of my reach, while she moves closer to sit beside me on the bed. "What is wrong? Talk to me."

　　I look at her for a moment and sigh loudly, as my body weighs down on itself and I shake my head. "Everything is wrong, mother. I can't seem to win in this situation, and I don't know what to do anymore."

　　"What do you mean? Did anything happen?"

　　At her question, I bark out a short laugh. At this point, there is nothing that hasn't happened and I'm sure the only thing left is for another kingdom to come and declare war on us. With the way things are going, I'm beginning to think that Carlisle and I aren't just meant to be. It seems the world is against us and no matter how many prayers I make to the moon goddess, nothing good is happening.

　　I realize that my mother is waiting for me to tell her what's wrong and I sigh again before opening my mouth. As I do so, the smell of alcohol wafts into my nostrils and I instinctively cover my nose at the odor. That earns me a look from my mother but she says nothing and instead, prompts me to talk.

　　"Mother, where do I start from? You remember what happened with Carlisle and how I managed to find her at the kingdom of wizards, right?" She nods her head at my words and reaches out to hold her hands, so I continue, "Well, something happens and she caught me in a compromising situation with one of the strippers at a club there."

　　I catch the look of shock on my mother's face and I raise my hands in defense. "It wasn't like that, I swear. Jake, the king of the wizards, set me up so Carlisle and I would have a fight. Unfortunately, it worked and she ran away again before I had the chance to explain myself."

　　"Oh, that is sad and unfortunate. It seems like it's from one problem to another with the both of you. What happened next?" She asks, and I sigh again. Now that I am saying it, the love story between my mate and I sounds like a television drama, and it makes me tired.

　　"When I noticed her absence, I made my way out of the kingdom and ordered one of my guards, Nicholas, to find her. It was raining heavily that day, so it was lucky for us that he found her in the forest. I quickly ordered him to carry her to the penthouse some miles away from here, and she accepted.

　　My plan was to go and see her the next day to apologize for my actions, and hopefully try to explain what really happened. However, I had a mind-link from Nicholas the next day and I sensed that they were in danger. By the time I got there, the old woman in charge of the house was dead. Carlisle was unconscious and my guard was at the brink of death."

　　My mother's gasps break off my speech and I look at her for a moment, as she shakes her head and pats my hand again. "I remember how much that woman helped me take care of you in your youthful days."

　　At her words, tears spring to my eyes as I remember how much she dealt with my exuberances, and it hurts me that those men killed her with no compassion in mind. I sniff loudly and rub at my eyes as I continue,

　　"Yes, she did. Meanwhile, I noticed five masked men above my guard and luckily, I was able to push them all away before they killed him too. I tried to fight them off, but they used their magic on me and kept me still as they carried Carlisle away and disappeared into the clouds." I paused and punched the bed with my fisted arms as a frown came into my face. "I have no doubt that Jake sent them to kidnap her."

　　"But why would he do that?" My mother asks and I turn to face her, but she is staring at the door of the room with a curious look on her face. "What does she stand to gain by having her?"

　　"Isn't it obvious, Mom?" I ask with an exasperated sigh and raise a brow as she turns to me with a frown on her face. "He is obviously infatuated with her, and is aware of the power he possesses. Besides, he would like nothing more than to spite me and taking my mate offers him the perfect room to do that."

　　"So what do we do?"

　　"I'll make sure to get Carlisle back, even if it means waging war on the wizard kingdom." I stood up from the bed and began to pace around slowly as ideas formed in my head. "I'll make sure of it."

　　?

　　?

　　JACK.

　　A smile creeps onto my face as I stare into the sleeping face of Carlisle. Ever since the men brought her back, she has been peaceful and silent with only her soft breath tickling the air. I notice a small trickle of blood running down her forehead and I sigh in annoyance. Those men just had to make her injured and with a shake of my head, I ran a hand over the spot and muttered some words.

　　The place turns spotless and I smile again as her perfect face fills my vision. There is no better joy than this moment I am spending with her, and I become more sure that she is the woman for me. That Alpha doesn't deserve a woman like her, and I can already imagine how good she will look by my side.

　　All I have to do is make her love me, and even though I know a few tricks, I want it to be natural. From what I know about her, she is very easy to please and I begin to mentally arrange all the gifts he would need. A woman like Carlisle needs to be treated well, and I'm ready to go through any means to make her mine.

　　This half breed damsel is the one for me, possessing all the qualities.i long for in a woman. She is so different from my wife, who is pea-brained and only desires power and sex. I sigh in exhaustion and get up from the bed as I try to still fathom how I've lived with that woman for so long without killing her.

　　The only thing saving my wife, Sandra, is the fact that she's the princess of a nearby kingdom so it was easy for her father to make a deal with mine. One that still holds true after more than five years, but I know that I have paid my dues.

　　It is time for me to enjoy myself and start over with someone I really want and as I glance at Carlisle's still form on the bed, an ingenious idea pops into my head and I grin in delight. If it works, she will be smitten with my charms and have no choice than to fall for me. Whatever happens, all I know is that she will be mine no matter what.

　　?>

　　?>