The Alpha's Call Book 5
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Bianca Alejandra
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The Beginning of the End
LYLA
Sebastian’s hand tightened around mine as we approached the shiny Ferrari. I shook my head at the obvious display of opulence. Sebastian’s Uncle Arthur wasn’t shy about showing off his wealth.
Arthur sat in the front of the Ferrari and grinned at Sebastian. “Get in, Runt. We’re going on an adventure.”
“You said that when you messaged me to meet you,” Sebastian grumbled.
He opened the door and frowned.
Arthur arched an eyebrow at him. “Is there a problem?”
“There isn’t enough room for Lyla,” Sebastian said.
I peered around his shoulder. Sebastian was right. There were only two seats, and Arthur was in one of them. I frowned. Was he trying to keep me from joining them?
“She can just sit on your lap if you insist that she comes,” Arthur said.
Sebastian grunted and stepped back, looking at me. “What do you think?”
I wasn’t going to let Sebastian go anywhere with Arthur without me. Arthur might be Sebastian’s uncle, but there was still a lot of bad blood caused by Sebastian’s father, years ago.
I didn’t trust Arthur.
Who knew what he was up to?
“I’ll sit on your lap,” I told Sebastian.
Sebastian squeezed my hand again and slid into the car.
Arthur stomped on the gas, spinning them forward with such a jolt it slammed the door shut. I shouted, startled, and jumped.
I landed on the back of the Ferrari. And almost slipped off—but Sebastian grabbed my wrist and pulled hard. I slid across the car and plopped into Sebastian’s lap. Our limbs tangled, and I thumped against his chest.
Arthur started to laugh. He didn’t slow as Sebastian and I scrambled to pull the seatbelt over both of us.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I snapped at Arthur, my claws growing.
“My dear, we don’t have enough time for me to answer that question,” Arthur replied, still laughing.
Sebastian growled. “If you try to pull something like that again…”
Arthur slowed the Ferrari to a crawl and looked over at us. “What will you do, Runt? Your pack needs me.”
“No, we need money,” I snapped. I was already getting a headache from dealing with this guy.
“And for money, you need me. You should know if I die, everything I have will go to building a giant monument for me. You get nothing, nephew or not.”
Sebastian visibly bit his tongue.
Neither of us expected Arthur would give the pack or us anything.
I hated that he was right. We really did need him, at least for now. The Royal Pack had been in a bad situation for a while, and we were only now clawing our way back.
Arthur had the most precious hostage… the future of our pack. I settled into Sebastian’s chest, giving him a comforting kiss.
Being a luna was different from what I expected, but the duties Sebastian had as alpha were clear. As long as Arthur still offered help to the pack, Sebastian would put up with him.
“So where are we going?” I finally asked.
Arthur smirked. “The airport.”
“And after that?” Sebastian asked.
“Somewhere else,” Arthur said.
Sebastian and I glanced at one another. Oh, boy. This was going to be a long trip.
“What are we doing?” I pushed.
He didn’t reply.
“Are you going to tell us?” I asked.
Arthur sped up again. The speed pushed me back into Sebastian. His strong arms wrapped around my waist and I smiled as he nuzzled into my neck.
It was more pleasant than I thought it would be to barrel down the road at break-neck speed. It at least gave Sebastian and me an excuse to snuggle with one another.
We eventually stopped at an airport. Arthur got out and pulled a small suitcase from the trunk.
Sebastian and I glanced at each other.
“Where are we going?” Sebastian asked again.
“North,” Arthur replied.
I slid my hand into Sebastian’s. “If we had known we were going on a trip, we would have packed.”
“If I had known the runt was going to bring his lovely mate, I would have brought a pretty thing for myself, too,” Arthur said.
Sebastian growled.
Arthur chuckled.
“I don’t care if you find it funny to provoke my mate,” I told Arthur. “But you need to give us some information about what we’re doing.”
Arthur waved for us to follow him as he headed toward his private jet.
Eventually, he shrugged. “Fine, I suppose I can tell you some things. Last time, we were searching for the first Moon Goddess’s veil. I still haven’t forgiven you for destroying it.”
He shot me a glare. I winced. I’d been convinced that the veil was false and put it on to prove it… but the veil had ended up burning to ash in my hands.
“We’re looking for something else the first Moon Goddess had,” Arthur said as he led us onto his jet.
“What?” Sebastian asked.
Arthur shook his head. “Not yet. I’ll tell you what it is when you need to know.”
SEBASTIAN
Lyla fell asleep in my arms as we flew in Arthur’s private jet. I tried to get him to share more information with me, but he refused.
If I had known him better, I might have thought he looked worried.
“Try to get some sleep, Runt,” he told me.
“Why?” I asked suspiciously.
Uncle Arthur shook his head. “You’re going to need it.”
There wasn’t much he could do here without Lyla or me knowing, I decided. With my mate snugly in my arms, I fell asleep.
I woke at the same time Lyla did as we touched down on the runway. I yawned as I looked out of the window. We were surrounded by beautiful mountains. My eyes widened. How far had we flown?
“Welcome to Banff, Canada,” Arthur said.
“Canada?” I repeated. “What are we doing here? Why would anything the first Moon Goddess owned be here?”
“Do you really expect me to answer that?” Arthur asked.
I rolled my eyes and turned on the TV, turning to the news. I liked to stay involved in what was happening around the world.
“We don’t have time for…” Arthur started but trailed off.
Lyla gasped.
On the TV was a scene from the Holy City. The basilica, where the Moon Goddess lived, was a crumpled heap of stone and fire.
My lungs felt like they had frozen. I couldn’t breathe.
The reporter stepped into the scene, the blazing rubble behind him flaring higher. “The attack on the Holy City early this morning has resulted in the Moon Goddess’s temple and the basilica being destroyed.”
“Destroyed,” Arthur repeated, sounding oddly solemn.
“There is no news about the Moon Goddess. She is presumed dead,” the reporter continued.
Arthur grabbed the remote and turned off the TV.
“Oh, no,” Lyla whispered. She leaned into my side, and I pulled her closer to me. “Who would do that?”
“Mercer,” I said.
Lyla stiffened. “Mercer… you’re right. He would do that. He used the Moon Goddess for her power, trying to imprison all the half-breeds. Since she was the one who imprisoned him, and he escaped, he’d want his revenge.”
I turned to Arthur to find his expression strangely tense. When I opened my mouth to ask him if he was okay, though, he turned away.
“Let’s get moving,” he said.
Lyla and I glanced at each other, and we silently followed.
