by Rory Dale
“So what kind of meeting is it?” I asked halfway through dinner.
“Antwerp is very well-known for its diamond trade,” he explained. “This is where all the dealers, brokers, merchants, buyers and businessmen like me come together.”
“So another billion will be earned,” I said jokingly.
But his expression turned serious as if it wasn’t really a joking matter.
“Pretty much. You’ll have a free morning tomorrow so you can go out and explore a little. You’ll see why Antwerp is the center of the diamond industry.”
I wish I could afford to buy something made of diamonds.
I bit my tongue to avoid saying it out loud. Nathan was more than generous and I knew he would offer me money if I said something. But I wasn’t that kind of girl – I didn’t want him to think of me as a gold digger.
We were so tired from our travelling that we decided to go to sleep right after dinner. He pulled me into a tight hug, and as soon as his insanely hot body and his intoxicating smell invaded my senses, I drifted off.
The next morning, I woke up feeling cold. I looked around and Nathan was nowhere to be seen. He must have left when I was still sound asleep. There was a note on his pillow.
Simona,
Feel free to buy whatever you like,
I have heard that diamonds are a girl’s best friend.
N.
Under the note was his Visa Infinite card. I knew exactly what type of card it was – he had left a part of his fortune in my hands. I wasn’t comfortable having that kind of responsibility, having his personal card on me, but I was pleased that he trusted me with his money.
I put the Visa in my purse, just in case, even though I didn’t plan on buying anything, especially not with his money.
I took a quick shower and slipped on a pair of jeans and a sweater to go sightseeing. I really wanted to see what all the fuss was about. As I was just finishing my breakfast, I heard someone fumble with the lock. I was hoping that Nathan was back and we could go explore the city together.
“I’m so glad you’re back,” I exclaimed as soon as the door opened.
I stopped midway to the door. It wasn’t Nathan. Three men I had never seen before stood in front of me. They were all as well built as Nathan, though seemed a little shorter than him.
“Excuse me, I think you’re in the wrong room,” I said, trying to get them out.
“No, bitch,” one of the men growled while the other two started laughing. “We’re right where we need to be.”
Before I could even properly process what was going on, one of them lunged at me, but I was quicker and jumped away, evading his grasp. I ran towards the bathroom, grabbing my phone from the table. I locked the door and started dialing Nathan’s number, but my hands were shaking and I couldn’t get it right. The men were pounding on the door heavily and I heard the wood crack.
Finally, I managed to dial his number and he picked up right when the door to the bathroom flew wide open.
“Nathan!” I yelled as my phone was grabbed out of my hands and smashed against the bathroom wall.
“What do you want?” I yelled trough my tears.
“We want Mister Successful to come looking for you,” the tallest of the three said with an angry expression. “And then we’ll find out who the real Alpha is.”
“What… What Alpha?” I asked, confused.
“Oh?” he replied with big eyes and a mocking, surprised expression. “He didn’t tell you, did he?” he said and they all started laughing again.
“Tell me what?” I yelled through my sobs.
“You’ll find out soon enough,” he growled through gritted teeth.
One of them stepped close and gave me a hard slap on my cheek, causing me to fall over. I heard ringing in my head and then everything turned black as I slumped against the wall.
Eleven
Nathan
What the fuck was that about?
I was staring at my phone, trying to understand what had just happened. Simona called me and yelled out my name before getting disconnected. I tried to call her back, but the phone was switched off.
“Mister Rockwood?” one of the brokers asked with a worrisome expression.
All of the people in the room were staring at me. This was a million-dollar deal we were in the middle of, but Simona’s wellbeing was my number one priority.
“We’ll do this another time, excuse me.”
I stood up, turned and left the room without any further explanations.
I ran out of the building and found my chauffeur waiting. I jumped in the car and ordered him to take the fastest route to our hotel.
I felt helpless, not knowing where Simona was and what had happened to her. It was not a feeling I enjoyed. I tried calling her again and again, but her phone was still off.
I arrived at the hotel several minutes later and sprinted upstairs to our suite. The door was cracked open, but my keen shifter senses told me right away there was no one in the room. I stepped inside only to find that I was right. I closed the door behind me, put my nose up and tried to catch the air to see if I recognized any scents besides Simona’s. Again, my suspicions were confirmed. Entwined with Simona’s lingering scent was the distinct stench of wolf. I knew exactly who had captured my woman but had no idea where to find her.
I went through the room, looking for signs or a note or something that would give me a clue of her whereabouts. I found nothing, moving to check the bathroom as well.
The air in the little room was thick. There were signs of a struggle – the door was broken and Simona’s phone was in pieces on the floor. Next to the pile of what used to be a phone was a note. The one I was looking for.
There can only be one Alpha.
We’ll find out in Blokkersdijk.
I knew where that was and who was challenging me.
They hadn’t chosen Blokkersdijk randomly. A very long time ago, Belgians had tried to mine for diamonds, but had soon discovered that the trading business was far more successful than actual hard mining work. They left their mine on the edge of Antwerp unattended, and soon it filled with water and turned into a lake. Not long after, it was turned into a nature reserve.
My challengers wanted to remind me of what was at stake. They wanted my lands in Colorado, especially the ones with mining sites. They had decided to challenge me on neutral ground so the fight would be fair. But they used the most dishonest way of doing it by taking my girl to ensure my presence.
I felt my muscles grow as my inner bear tried to get out. But it was too soon, I had to retain my strength for the fight.
I went back to my chauffeur and dropped a stack of cash in his lap.
“I need your car,” I said with my voice full of rage.
“S-sure Sir,” the man stuttered, staring wide-eyed at the money before getting out of the car.
I guess my expression and demeanor were intimidating enough for him to just give me what I wanted. I didn’t have the time to thank him or explain my behavior. I just cranked the engine and hit the gas.
I drove fast, speeding over the limit and trying hard not to smash into someone or something. I was determined to get my woman back as fast as I could from the sons of bitches that had captured her.
I noticed several people by the lake as I approached the abandoned site. There were three men there, just standing and waiting. I recognized them right away – two of them were the Figo brothers and the smaller person was their sidekick. I thought I had made myself clear back in Denver, but obviously they were too foolish to take my warnings seriously.
There was also a hunched over figure sitting by the tree. It was Simona, with her mouth taped shut and her hands tied together. Her face was red and a bit swollen on one side and it looked like she had been crying. Those pricks had hurt her.
My bear was more than ready to rip their heads off, but I had to cool my temper and try to keep her safe.
She doesn’t know I’m a shapeshifter.
“Well, well, well… Look at what the cat dragged in,” Jack said with a wolfish grin.
“What do you want,” I demanded, trying to stay calm despite the fact that my bear was ready to shift at any moment.
“Did you really think that I wouldn’t find you,” he answered with a devilish smile. “You fucker decided to run,” he stated.
“What the fuck do you want, Jack?” I repeated.
I was getting tired of his provocations.
“We worked on your friend Bradley real nice, but he still wouldn’t tell me where you had gone to,” he continued. “But a gun to her head made your precious little assistant sing like a bird.”
“I’ll make you pay for this.”
Did he really hurt Bradley and Angela, and why didn’t Bradley contact me right away?
“No, no, no… Don’t make me the bad guy here,” Jack replied. “I’ve said it before, and if you’re that ignorant, I will say it again – get off my land.”
“It was never yours and it never will be,” I spat back angrily.
He started laughing as if in disbelief. We had had the same argument many times before, and each time I had overpowered him. But this time, he knew he had the advantage over me – he had Simona. He walked over to her and grabbed her by the hair, pulling her to her feet. Every inch of my body was ready to attack.
“You see, my friend,” he stressed the last word, “if you want this lovely lady to still be yours, together with your lands, you’re going to have to fight me.”
He pushed her away into the hands of Ryan, one of his younger cousins. I recognized the man immediately; Jack often used him as his little sidekick. Simona tried to struggle, but the young werewolf was much stronger than her and took her in a hard grip.
“Simona,” I uttered and tried to step closer, but Jack’s younger brother, Eric, stood in front of me.
It would have been easy to push him aside, but that would have made him shift and I would have lost the chance to explain my true nature to Simona.
“Simona,” I said again with the two men between us. “Remember when I asked you if you believed in fairytales?”
Her eyes grew bigger and a tear rolled down her cheek as she nodded.
“I’m going to need you to trust me on this one,” I said as my bear clawed against my skin, begging to be released.
Her pupils dilated and she nodded again. I knew she would understand me. If everything turned out the way I planned, I would get the chance to explain everything.
“Yeah, yeah, real fucking lovely,” Jack interrupted me. “Enough of this love shit – let’s do this,” he growled.
I pushed Eric aside with one sharp kick and the fight was on. Jack shifted immediately and stormed towards me. The vicious werewolf was several feet away when my bear took over and I shifted. I was twice his size and it was easy for me to fight him.
But werewolves rarely fought fair. Eric shifted as well and lunged at me. I had managed to knock Jack aside with one swing of my paw. But Eric was younger and faster than Jack, and by the time I turned around, he was on my back, pushing his sharp teeth into my neck. I felt blood gushing out of the scruff of my neck.
I growled because of the pain and stood up. I took him by the scruff with my claws and threw him off. He hit a tree and fell down. That made Jack even more furious. He let go of Simona and shifted as well.
The two of them were running straight towards me. One of them jumped at my throat while the other was aiming for my legs. The combined weight of the two wolves knocked me off balance and I fell on my back.
Jack was at my throat, ripping with his teeth and claws, but my fur was too thick for him to do any serious damage. Still, I saw some blood glistening on my chest. The smaller werewolf was biting my legs with his sharp teeth. I stood up again and kicked them off of me. I noticed that the third werewolf had also recovered and was once again lunging at me.
Three of them had more power than me alone, but I had to pull my strength together, both for my people and Simona. I was the Alpha, and I needed to defend our clan.
You fuckers are not getting anything! I thought to myself, growling with rage and grabbing the closest wolf by the throat.
I picked him up and threw him in the direction of another. They both fell down but scrambled up quickly. Jack managed to attack me from behind and bit my neck even harder than his younger brother had before. The pain was unbearable, and the moment I showed a sign of weakness, the other two attacked me as well.
I was furious, but defending myself was getting harder by the minute. I fell down again and this time it wasn’t that easy to get up.
“Nathan,” I heard Simona’s voice shouting through sobs. “I love you. I love you in any shape or form. You are the love of my life.”
That was the trigger my bear needed – those three little words. Right then, I knew she was my fated mate. I felt my power returning to me and I shook the three wolves off with ease. I hit the smallest of them with my paw so hard that he flew several yards away, landing headfirst on a jagged rock and getting knocked out cold.
Jack and Eric knew that with only two of them left, it would be hard to defeat me, but they still tried. They were darting around me aimlessly, trying to get at me. But I was stronger than ever before, all thanks to Simona. I got to Eric first. I brought my massive paw down on his leg and heard a satisfying crunch as soon as it landed. The wolf whimpered as he fell down, no longer able to get back up. I slashed at him with my claws, painting the grass around us red. I left him there on his side.
I knew I had to finish Jack off or otherwise he would keep coming back. I ambled towards him, while he was backing away, growling. He knew that it had turned into a one on one fight. He kept backing away and I kept increasing my speed. I couldn’t let him get away.
Suddenly, a rock hit his temple and he looked away for a second. Simona had thrown a stone to get his attention, and she’d succeeded. I used the moment and lunged at Jack. He was on his back seconds later.
My weight was too much for him to bear. He shifted back to his human form, as did I. This was over, and we both knew it. He started threatening me, not being able to move under my weight. I was bigger and much stronger than him.
“You think you won…” he said, panting. “This isn’t over.”
“Yes, Jack,” I growled through gritted teeth. “It is.”
“You’re weak,” he countered, trying to talk his way out of certain death.
“There’s one thing you didn’t know about me,” I said, still holding him down. “Werebear Alphas gain their full strength when they find their mate.”
Jack’s eyes grew bigger as he realized he had made a mistake by involving Simona – he had dug his own grave.
He tried to push me off of him, but he barely had any strength left. His hands were fumbling on the ground. He was too weak to fight me. I started to almost feel sorry for him and didn’t want to be a murderer in front of my loved one. I looked at Simona and she smiled a weak smile.
The second I looked away, Jack made a sharp move and gasped. He had found a shard of glass on the ground and used it to puncture his carotid artery. He must have decided death was better than the humiliation of failing, again. Blood was gushing out of his neck. I let him go immediately, but it was too late to do anything to save him. He twitched on the ground for a few seconds until his muscles relaxed and he stopped moving altogether.
I rushed to Simona and picked her up. I wished it had turned out differently. I wished she hadn’t seen all that. I wished I had told her sooner about who I really was.
I kissed her and it was the best kiss in the world. I could barely feel the pain of my severe wounds. We were reunited.
“I love you,” I said, gazing into her beautiful eyes.
“I love you, too,” she replied with unmistakable passion in her voice.
Twelve
Simona
It was
n’t easy for me to process what had happened. But I had to stay strong for my man because he was hurting. His wounds from the fight were deep but didn’t seem to be lethal. He leaned on me as we walked towards the car. He held his ribs and was limping, but he was way too brave to admit he was seriously hurt.
The werewolves had all turned back to their human forms. I knew that their leader was dead, but I saw the other two still breathing. I couldn’t waste time worrying about them. I needed to focus my attention on my man.
“Simona, I need to tell you…” he started while I was concentrating on driving.
“Not now.”
I knew exactly what he wanted to tell me and I needed to process everything I had seen in my head before hearing it from him.
“We need to get you to a hospital.”
“No. No hospitals,” he said sharply.
“But your wounds… They need stitches.”
I was worried about him and wanted to get him help as soon as possible, but being in a foreign country made everything that much more difficult.
“Babe, you’re all I need right now. I will heal faster than any human being with you by my side.”
He was such an Alpha male, literally. Then again, he had a softer, more romantic side to him. I still didn’t know who he really was. I had heard of shapeshifters before but always thought they were fictional characters.
Seeing them with my own eyes had made my whole world turn upside down. When he was in his other form, he looked so much like a grizzly bear, only he was bigger than a regular bear and had far more visible muscles all over his body. No wonder he was so big in human form, a bear hidden within.
I looked at him, covered in blood with his eyes half closed, wincing every time we hit a bump on the road. He was in pain and I had no way of helping him. Yes, I loved him, I loved him so deeply that I would have done anything for him.