The Ties That Bond (Love Conquers All Book 1)

by Riki Bishop

  I shake my head no. This is a lot of information. I’m glad that I can finally get some answers, but I wish it were under different circumstances. He continues. “I didn’t expect you would sine we took you before your mate had arrived back home. You see, one of your sons will rule over the wolves, whereas, the others will rule over the vampires. You see, I was irate at first and was just going to kill you while you were pregnant so I wouldn’t have to worry about my throne being taken from me in the future. However, I concluded that I could use this power to my advantage. You see, I only need one of your pups, but I don’t know which would rule my kind, so I wouldn’t be able to kill them until I knew. So, I changed my plan to wait until they were born to find out which would bring me ultimate power. Then I got to thinking, why kill them myself, when I can have the two brothers fighting one another and have the strongest species win.”

  “You won’t get your hands on any of them. You’re sick. They won’t turn on one another. Even if I am not around. There are plenty of people that will make sure they grow up right. You won’t be alive long enough to see your plan through. Even if you were to succeed, you forget that my daughter is the next Moon Goddess and she will be able to keep her brothers from turning on one another.” I say.

  “Ah, yes. Your daughter will have to be dealt with. There is one more piece of information that has spoiled my plans once again. You see, none of them can be killed without the others losing some of their power. They will still be stronger than most, but not as strong as the three of them together. So, I have plans for your daughter that will keep her alive, but barely.” He says. My blood starts to boil. I will not let him do anything to my pups. Levi will be here along with some of our best warriors. As if he can read my mind, he starts to cackle. “He won’t be able to find you until I’m ready for him to find your body. You don’t have anything that he can track on you. So, get comfortable and get some rest. You’ll be here for a while.” I charge at him with a ferocious growl. He seems to be caught off guard, but only for a moment. I was able to get a slash in, but he was quick and the last thing I remember was being thrown on the bed before darkness takes me.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR: NEARLY ESCAPED

  Where is Levi? Why hasn’t come yet? It’s been almost three months and I’m getting close to my due date. My uncle wasn’t kidding when he said he was going to keep me here until my pups were born. They took my ring and my phone. I have no way to let Levi know where I am or how to find me. I have been biding my time trying to find out the best way to get out of here. I don’t even know how they knew about the tracker in my ring. I have tried to get out of here before and the attempts didn’t pan out the way I had hoped. So, here I am, sitting in this damn room once again, waiting for my perfect chance to get out. I have a plan, but I’m not as fast as I once was, so I need to be stealthy and careful. A knock on my door brings me out of my thoughts.

  “Oh, good, you’re awake. Why don’t you join us downstairs? There are some people that I want you to meet. They were most helpful with my plan. We also have some things to discuss about your mate. He has created quite the problem and will need to be dealt with, but first, let’s get downstairs.” He said. Victor is a mysterious man and has my interest. Maybe I’ll find out who told him about my ring. I follow him down the stairs and we walk into the living room and I stop in my tacks. What the hell? Why is she here? How long has she been working with them? I’m not shocked to see the other person that I hate with a passion here, but her? She’s supposed to be my best friend. I trusted her. Levi and Jason trusted her. There must be a logical reason why she’s here. There’s two other people whom I don’t know. One woman looks terrified. She has long blonde hair with orange eyes. Yeah, I said orange. Maybe there is a good explanation as to why Alexis is here. I know why Sierra is here. She’s pissed about getting rejected and with what went down at my dad's pack.

  “Alexis? How could you? What are you doing here?” I’m flabbergasted. I don’t understand. Is this how he knew about my ring and its tracker? So many questions.

  “Ah, yes, I forgot that you knew Alexis. She is your best friend correct. Oh, and you also know Sierra. She has been most helpful. She does share a certain hatred for you. A lot of history between the three of you. However, I would like to introduce you to your cousin, Arabella, my daughter.” She’s the girl with the orange eyes. The one that looks terrified. “Next to her is her husband, Gabriel.” He looks ferocious. Maybe that’s why she’s scared. He doesn’t seem to treat her right. “Now, let’s get down to business. Please, sit, allow me to explain why everyone here has played a role in getting you here.” Victor says. I look Alexis in the eyes, but she seems to avoid my gaze. There must be a reason why she’s here. I wonder if my mind-link will work with her being here. It won’t hurt to try.

  Alexis. What are you doing here?

  Don’t worry Willow. There’s a reason I’m here. You’re going to hear things that will make you pissed at me, but I promise I did all of this to help with the threats. Levi hasn’t stopped looking for you. There’s so much to explain and it will take too long, and Victor will get suspicious. Please don’t hate me until I explain.

  I drop the conversation at that and sit on the chair that’s furthest away from everyone. I look to see that Sierra is sitting extra close to Victor, which is disgusting. I thought he was with Nathan's mom. “So, care to explain why my best friend decided to not only deceive me, but her entire pack and mate as well? Also, how long have you been fucking Sierra? You should be careful with that one. I do have a question that has been playing on my mind since you introduced me to Arabella, are you aware that her husband has been abusing her? If so, you must be one of the worst fathers in the world. I thought mine was bad, but letting your daughter get beat and I’m assuming raped, takes the top of the pyramid on that one.” Just because I’m scared for the lives of my pups, doesn’t mean I have to show it to them. I have been a strong she-wolf since I went through what I did with Jake.

  “Alexis came to us a few years ago because she was looking for some information. I won’t go into the boring details, but when you come to me and ask for help, you tend to owe me something in return. I decided to cash that in when you became pregnant. She’s the one that told us about your tracker in your ring. She’s the one that allowed us to have easier access into the Kingdom to get to you. Let’s just say that she has been my informant. She informed me when your mate came here to the UK and that gave us the opportunity to pull our plan off. As for Sierra, she came here to get away. From what she has told me, your mate was her love in high school and then it was you that caused her true mate to reject her. I saw her at a bar one night and instantly became entrapped with her beauty and had to have her. Your brothers mother became a problem, so we had to get rid of her. I took Sierra here to become my new Queen. She was more than happy to oblige with my plans and help raise your spawns to our liking. Gabriel does whatever is necessary in order to keep my daughter in line. In our customs, the male does whatever he deems fit to keep said female from straying too far from the rules. So yes, I did know about what my daughter goes through. It’s not my place to step on another man’s toes per say, to their wives. That’s simply not how we do things here.” Once again, I find myself speechless.

  “What information did you need to betray us the way you did? Do you know what they plan on doing with my pups? How do you think Levi will react? What about Jason? There will be serious consequences for you when I get back home, and I will escape this place and get home after I kill each and every one of you. I’ll start with your ‘Queen’ and make sure you watch Victor. Then I’ll make sure that Levi gets to end your life when he gets here, and he will come, it’s just a matter of time. All the while, I’ll be the one to rip your sons-in-law head off and make sure that your daughter NEVER has to go through what she is going through again. You all disgust me.” I said and got up to walk back to my prison cell. Tonight, I will escape this place and I will follow through with all my promise
s.

  How was that for acting? I mind-link Alexis. If she is lying then I will make sure I follow through with what I told her I would do.

  Very good. Levi knows where you are. I have my necklace. I leave my ring at home when I come, but I also have a necklace that Jason got me last week that has one in it. He’s coming Willow, I just don’t know when he’ll be here. I have a plan to get you out tonight, but it might not work. I have to go. I’ll be back later.

  Now I just have to play the damn waiting game. There is still part of me that wonders if Alexis is telling the truth. I mean, she did betray us with working with Victor and teaming up with Sierra. This has been a long two months. I can’t stand that I have been away from Levi this long. Goddess only knows how hard it’s been on him. He’s not only an Alpha but and Alpha King. His possessiveness and overprotectiveness are twenty times worse than that of a normal wolf. I miss him. I can’t sleep well without him. I’m anxious and I’m in constant pain. My back is killing me, my feet are killing me, everything is killing me, and let’s not forget these damn hormones. I’m horny all of the damn time and I can’t do anything about it. I want to be back home, with my mate and my pack. I guess I would trust Hades himself if it meant that I could get home. Well, I have time to kill, so I guess I could take a nice hot bath and get something to eat.

  I go into the bathroom that’s attached to the room they gave me and walk over to the jacuzzi tub and start filling it up. I add some orange essential oils and some bubbles. I haven’t really paid attention to much since I have been here, but the bathroom is nice. It has the tub and his and her sinks. Everything is done in a rose gold marble, except for the floors. They’re a white tile. Once the bath was filled I slip out of my clothes and sink into the water. My body is enjoying the hot water. I sink all the way until the water comes to my shoulders and lean my head back and close my eyes. Time to just relax. My mind won’t quit running. I wonder how Levi is, not only him but everyone. I can’t take it anymore. I hope this plan that Alexis has worked because if not, I might just go crazy. The only reason I haven’t done anything that would be super dangerous is because of my pups. I can’t risk their lives for getting out of here. I can’t have anything happening to them. They are my number one priority and getting home is my second.

  I don’t know how long I was in the bath before I finally got out, but I was pruned up and no more rested than I was before. I am hungry. Growing three wolves is exhausting and I’m always hungry. I get dressed and walk into the kitchen, which of course, is guarded. Mainly because I have tried to escape through all the doors and windows on the first floor. Obviously, it didn’t work out in my favor. “Well if it isn’t Victors’ little bitches. How are you all on this fine afternoon?” Why not have some fun while I’m trapped in this hell hole?

  “Watch it bitch. I’d hate to rip your throat out before Victor can get his hands on those spawns of yours.” One guard says.

  “I’d like to see you try.” I snarl. “You won’t lay a hand on me or my pups. I’ll kill you before that happens and we both know I can do it.” He didn’t like that answer because he lunged at me and before he could get to my neck I shoved my hand through his chest and ripped out his heart. Then for good measure, I ripped his head off. I’m sick of the bloodsuckers thinking they can control me. I’m sick of being in this place. The longer I’m away from Levi, the more feral I get. “Clean that up would ya?” I say to the other guard who was smart enough to keep his trap shut. I walk to the fridge and decide to make myself a grilled chicken sandwich. Once I eat I go back up to my room. I like it when I can avoid them as much as possible. I’m exhausted. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to try and get some sleep. I get to my room and curl up under the covers. I cry for my mate, I cry for my pups, I cry until I fall asleep.

  “Willow. You have to wake up. If we’re going to go, we need to go now.” Alexis says as she shakes me a little.

  “What time is it? What’s going on?” I ask her.

  “It’s ten at night. You slept all day. I’ll explain everything later if we don’t get caught.” She says as I sit up in bed and rub the sleep in my eyes. “Now come on. We have to go. There’s only a short window while the vamps are out. We have to be quiet so the ones that stayed back to watch you won’t hear us.” Alexis says.

  “Is Levi here?” I say getting out of bed and following her to the door. I’m not going to lie, there is a part of me that hopes he’s waiting right outside for me after he and our pack killed these vamps that are against us. Obviously, we can’t kill them all, just the corrupted ones. Who else will my son lead once he can take the throne?

  “Not yet Willow. I talked to them after I left here and explained everything that has happened. I have been working with Victor to get intel that will help us take down the threats that he has caused to come after us.” She says. This does explain the business trips that she takes all the time. Now I know why. I’m a little disappointed that Levi isn’t here though. Who am I kidding? I’m devastated.

  “So, what’s the plan?” I whisper as we walk down the stairs.

  “We go out the front door. Victor only has lower level vamps because he knows you won’t try anything after giving up after the first month. The ones he left here are easy enough to take out, but those are just the ones that are guarding the house. There are higher level ones watching the gates and since you can’t shift for another month, we’re going to have to take them out in our human form.” She explains. This is just fan-fucking-tastic. I’m about to give birth and have to fight off a shit ton of vamps.

  “Okay, great. As long as I get to go home to my mate and have my pups with him then I’m down to do whatever it takes.” I say back to her. By now we’ve made it through the front door and taken out a few vamps, but this seems too easy, even for lower levels. “Somethings not right. This is to easy.”

  “I agree, but let’s keep going. I don’t think anyone can handle Levi being without you for any longer. He’s going crazy with each failed search. I’m scared to even know what he has planned for me when we get back. WILLOW! Behind you!” I’m grabbed from behind. I’m trying to break free, but he’s stronger than most. Victor. Alexis is grabbed next. I knew this was too easy.

  “Let. Me. Go! NOW.” I say between gritted teeth.

  “Why would I do that my dear niece? You have something very important to me and I will not let you go until I get my hands on your pups. Take her to the dungeons. You my dear are going back into your room and I’m going to lock it down so tight you’d wish you never defied me.” He says.

  “Whatever. You will never get your hands on my…” I’m cut off by a sharp pain in my abdomen. No. It’s too early I have two weeks left. Another pain hits and I let out a scream. “AHHH!”

  “It seems we don’t have to wait much longer now.” Victor says. This is not how I wanted to give birth. I want Levi. I can’t do this without him, but it doesn’t look like I have a choice because my water just broke.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE: LABORED RESCUE

  LEVI’S POV

  Two and a half months I have been looking for my mate and my pups. They’re not in the States. Of that I am sure. They must have left the states as soon as they got her. I wasn’t here in time to save her. Everyone was busy fighting those bloodsuckers off. She was supposed to be safe. Especially in our room. There are only a select few that have access to get into our room. Once the threat was posed against our pups, I made sure to turn our room into a panic room. Only Willow, myself, my Beta, and Gamma pair know the code and can use their handprint. I know it wasn’t Ryder because he was with me and Shay was caring for the wounded at the hospital at the time. Jason was fighting as well. That only left Alexis. I didn’t want to believe it. I didn’t believe it until she called me this afternoon and that is what led me and an army to get on a flight to London. I’m getting my mate back. We couldn’t pinpoint the exact location of where they had her. Every time we got close to getting her, they would cloak their location somehow.
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  I have to admit that I have been on edge since she has been gone. Without her there to calm me and my wolf, we have been a bit…harsh, but that’s all going to change because I now know the exact location of my mate and my pups. I just hope I’m not too late. Just hold on a little longer baby girl. I’m coming for you.

  WILLOW’S POV

  Pain. That’s all I feel right now. Pain. It’s what’s keeping my hope alive. My pups are coming and I’m doing everything in my power to keep them in as long as I can. I can’t have them now. I can’t have them here. He’ll take them. I expected to be home, with Levi and my sister, my family, when they decided to make their appearance. We haven’t even decided on names yet. Another contraction hits and I feel the need to push. I don’t want to. I don’t trust these people. They’re going to take my pups. I can’t have that happen. I’ll be too weak to defend them, or myself, after giving birth. Hell, I have been too weak the whole time I have been here. “ARG!” It hurts. “I need my mate! I can’t do this without him! You bastard!” I yell at Victor.