Female Novel
Chapter 97
“They did it? They’re safe?” I gasped, my hands covering my mouth as I gaped at Kade, my happinesswas overrun with confusion. “Why were you feeling grief?” “We lost a few of our men out there.” He grimaced, “Typically Alec and I would visit the family ourselvesto break the news, but Alec’s not here, and home is far away.” “I’ve done nothing but worry this entire time, and I can’t take it anymore.” I admitted with a sigh, “Nowthat we’ve held up our end, Zayne has no choice but to hold up his. I wouldn’t be able to live withk*****g him, not when he’s Tori’s mate. You can rough him up a bit and hand him over to her though,I’m sure she’d enjoy that.”
“I wouldn’t do that to her, not unless she approved.” Kade promised with a small smile. I knew it wentagainst his nature to leave a threat alive, but he couldn’t go around picking off the High Table. I hadalready offed one member unintentionally, and I refused to let that number creep higher. “We will–“ A knock sounded at the bedroom door; feather soft. The two of us hesitated for a moment, andwatched as a note card was slid beneath the door.
Kade motioned for me to wait, and darted over to the door. Whoever had delivered the note were gonebefore he had the chance to slide the lock. “What’s it say?” I asked eagerly, figuring it were from Zayne. “Guards are distracted for fifteen minutes. Meet in room 213.” Kade repeated in his deep baritone,“Seems Zayne’s gotten the news.” “How did he find out so fast?” I asked. “I gave Zayne one of those disposable phones, and gave the men his number.” He shrugged, “Figuredit save me the trouble of sneaking the message.” “That was nice of you.” I noted, unable to help it when my lips twitched. Kade’s eyebrow’s lifted, “Nice of me?” “Yeah, to help Zayne like that.” I nodded, nearly choking on the laugh that tickled my lips. “You tease me when we’re in a rush.” He sighed sharply, narrowing his dark eyes at me.
I felt a tingle of excitement between my legs as I thought of what might happen once, we had Alec backwith us. We brought Tori along as we snuck down to room 213. The note had been right. The two guards werecurrently down in the lobby, confused to how they got there.
We slipped in the room and found it already brightly lit. Zayne Novak sat in an arm chair, and held aglass of scotch in his hand. He looked too neat and pristine to be a drinker, but the half-empty bottlespoke for itself. “You all look horrible.” Zayne commented. I absolutely refused to let this p***k sour my decently good mood. I bit back my response, but it seemedTori was feeling extra feisty today. I had almost forgotten how snappy she gets when she’s tired. “It’s hard to F*cking sleep when the fate of your best-friend’s mate rests on sneaking a group of whitewolves out of a psychopath’s territory.” She snarled, pointing a finger at Zayne’s chest. I could tell themoment his eyes darkened ever so slightly, and something vicious and starving flashed within hisemotions. He said nothing to her, but glanced down at the inch that kept her finger from touching his chest. Helifted a pale eyebrow and kept his seafoam eyes on hers. “Also, there is another problem.” Zayne said to Kade and I, choosing to turn his attention away fromTori. I could feel her anger snap and fizzle out as she backed away from Zayne. While Zayne’s emotionswere strange like his father’s, I could feel how he affected Tori. I also knew that Tori had some sort ofeffect on him as well. “Is this about my brother?” Kade all but snarled, and found myself digging my nails into the soft fabric ofhis t-shirt. “No, that’s another matter altogether.” He sighed, waving his hand. His eyes turned from Kade to I.Ever since he showed up at the cabin, Zayne’s gaze had a strange affect. Where most people wouldlook away at some point, his focus was unwavering. It was sharpened and honed, a weapon in its own
right. “My father has found out about the missing white wolves. He has no proof who was truly involved,but we’re going to deal with some backlash if he even suspects we had anything to do with it.” “We’ll keep our end; he won’t suspect a thing from us.” Kade promised him, to which I also nodded. “Very well. There’s something else I might tell you, then.” Zayne cleared his throat, and actually lookeda bit uncomfortable. “Sebastian Sable has created a movement against you, and it’s been gainingsome traction. Some of the witnesses are actively turning against you. Sebastian will expect the HighTable to come to a vote today, most likely regarding your place in our world. It’s also to my knowledgethat Nico Deville will be siding with Sebastian on this argument. So long as my father doesn’t knowwhat we’ve done, I can assume he would side with you.” I wasn’t surprised about the news regarding Sebastian. I could feel how much he absolutely despisedme. It was only fitting he’d retaliate in some way, though I expected it to be much more violent. I wascertainly disappointed in Nico Deville, but again, the news wasn’t very astounding. That left Brayton Cliff and Jaspar Fox, and I had no clue how either would vote. Jaspar certainly seemslike he’s on my side, but that talk of an alliance could’ve easily been false. Brayton seemed on the sideof logic, which left me clueless. The man wanted to experiment on me for crying out loud, how was Isupposed to know what he’d choose? “We’ll just have to deal with it then.” I sighed after a few moments of silence, squaring my shoulders.“They can try, but my life isn’t going to be dictated by a F*cking vote.” “It’s time to hold up your end of the deal, Novak.” Kade grunted, stifling a snarl that threatened to tearfrom his throat. “Getting your brother isn’t going to be as simple as I made it out to be.” Zayne huffed, rolling his eyeswhen Kade stormed forward snarling. “Enough.” I snapped, grabbing Kade’s arm. I gave Zayne my best murderous glare, which must’vebeen pretty good considering he had the wit to pale. “Do you have a d***h wish? Quit F*cking with him,or I won’t bother holding him back. As miserable as your life might be, we have more important thingsto worry about.” “I said it wouldn’t be simple, not that it’s impossible.” Zayne snarled, smoothing down his suit. “It took
time to get the information I needed. I had to make sure nothing–absolutely nothing, made its way backto my father. There has to be no trace of our interference here today.” “Our interference?” I asked slowly. “Unless there’s someone else you trust to come with me to rescue your mate.” Zayne said in a flatvoice, “Turns out there’s more security than I anticipated, and the friend I have helping us can only takeout so many.” I gave Kade a long look, and I swore he knew what I was thinking. We were both clearly on the samepage from the looks of it.“We’re in.” Kade nodded, “Now, who’s this friend you have coming?” “She’s here already.” Zayne replied, gesturing to one of the bedrooms. “My father doesn’t know she’shere, which has to remain that way. He’ll be able to connect the dots if he finds her.” “She’s a white wolf, isn’t she?” I asked, unable to conceal my interest. “She is.” Zayne said after a long moment in silence. Clearly, he favored a new subject, because hechanged tactics rather quickly. “Alec is being kept half an hour from here, in River Crest. River Crestwas meant to be a bustling city, but things happened and money came up short. They turned it intohalf-assed houses that aren’t worth what they’re sold for. A lot of them are abandoned, and that’swhere your brother is being kept.” “He’s been this close the entire time?” I said weakly. “I haven’t felt anything through the bond.” “Since seeing the mark on his neck, they would’ve been keeping him sedated the entire time.” Zaynefrowned, “I’m sure he hasn’t been awake for much of anything since he was taken.” “When are we leaving?” Kade snarled, as ready to get his brother back as I was. “Now, if you plan to sneak past your guardians.” Zayne shrugged, “If you plan to run it by them, I’d sayin an hour or so.” “They’re going to k**l us.” I told Kade, leaning to whisper at him from the back seat of the sedan wearrived in. “I am never ever going to hear the end of it from Garrett.” “I will rip his tongue out if you wish, sweetheart.” Kade smirked from the driver’s seat. Kade was currently driving the sedan, with Zayne sitting passenger. It was an awkward duo, especiallynovelbin
compared to the three of us in the back. Yes, I said three. Zayne’s help was a white wolf named Ava. She was clearly only a teenager, but looked older in herfishnets, pleated skirt, and torn t-shirt. She was actually pretty cool, though I didn’t believe her whenshe vogued that Zayne really wasn’t that bad. Zayne’s one redeeming quality was that the white wolves he used weren’t slaves, they willingly workedwith him. He had been helping wolves out of his father’s clutches for years, but had never doneanything to actually stand up to the man. I was currently seated between her and Tori as we sped down the highway. No matter how sweetly Iasked, she absolutely refused to tell me what she could do until the time came. She was more thanenthusiastic when it came to my own abilities, and my potential to become a ‘soul-eater’. I could hearthe music blasting through the headphones she wore, but was silently grateful for the distraction. Question after question bubbled in my mind until I had no choice but to ask them. “This house, does it belong to the High Table?” I asked Zayne, my thoughts running a mile a minute. If the High Table owned this house, that meant they were exclusively responsible for taking Alec. Theywanted to use him against me, and bend me to their will. Zayne was quiet for a few moments, and through that crack in his shell, I could feel just a whisper ofworry. “The deed says it’s owned by Desmond Deville.” Zayne said slowly, “I’ve been checking all documentsof my father’s, and I decided to check this one. He’s been known to hold things in other people’snames, to use them as a scapegoat. This deed is one of his documents. He placed it in DesmondDeville’s name for a reason, most likely to draw attention to him should Alec be rescued or escape. Ihave another–acquaintance with the ability to procure memories from an object. She told me what Ineeded to know.” “That’s not all you wanted to say, though. Is it?” I asked, hoping he’d be truthful instead of becoming allsour and shut down. I knew a man like Zayne wouldn’t appreciate me eavesdropping on his emotions,so bringing those up were out of the picture. Zayne let out a long sigh, “I know everything about my father’s businesses, even the unsavory ones. I
had absolutely no clue he owned this house, let alone it even existed. I’m second in command and inline to take over, but now I’m beginning to wonder if there might be more I don’t know about him.”