Selling Myself To The Alpha
Chapter 153

Luther

POV

Alfred is resting his head on his hands and staring into the abyss when I arrive at the cell, and Rena straightens her back when she sees me.

I motion for Rena to come to me so that Alfred cannot eavesdrop on our conversation.

"I need the truth, Rena," I say softly and look her in the eyes.

"Why were you here so early this morning?"

"About that," she rubs her neck awkwardly. "I was... uhm, doing the walk of shame."

"The walk of shame?" I gape at her in surprise.

"Yeah," she nods. "That's when you spend the night with another and..."

"I know what it is" I cut her off. "I just, never mind, continue.

"As I was saying," she clears her throat. "I was on my way home when I saw Alfred entering the house, and I followed him. I know there's no reason for him to visit your residence at the c*ock of dawn. So, I remained quiet and out of sight.

He was looking around as if he was searching for something. I heard angry voices when he entered the office, and that's when I decided to act. Out of fear that he might be attacking you or Alpha Adele. When I ran inside, Alfred was hanging out of the window, shouting to Neal to catch that guy. That's when I grabbed him and pinned him to the floor."

"Do you know why Neal was there so early?" I scratch my head thinking.

"No," she shakes her head.

"Thanks," I smile and walk towards the cell. "Open up, please."

Rena unlocks the cell and I enter.

"So, Alfred," I smile as I sit opposite him. "Busy morning, isn't it?"

"I haven't done anything wrong," he looks at me angrily.

"Calm down, big boy," I raise my eyebrows. "I haven't accused you of anything. Not yet anyway."

"I'm locked up like a criminal," he snaps. "Surely not because you think I'm innocent."

"Okay," I shrug. "What's your version of events?"

"I went for a jog," his eyes blaze into mind. "Like I always do for the last ten years. Ask anybody who knows me.

Same route, same time. I saw a stranger entering your house and from his smell, I knew he didn't belong here. So, I followed and confronted him. He was at Luna's desk, but couldn't see what he was doing. I asked him what he was doing, but he escaped through the window. He must've opened it before he did whatever he was doing." "And that's when you told Neal to catch him," I conclude.

"Neal?" He frowns. "Neal wasn't there, it was Sheldon." I keep my face stoic as I process the information. Either Rena is lying, or she simply assumes he is talking to Neal.

And what the fvck was Sheldon doing there?

"And did Sheldon catch him?" I clear my throat.

"I don't know," he shrugs. "Sheldon went after him and then Rena pinned me down."

Thoughtfully I look at Alfred, but his gaze does not waver for a second. I might not be a human lie detector, but I believe Alfred. Besides, he does not have the code to deactivate the alarm. Even if he is guilty, he has help.

"Can you describe the man you saw?" I ask.

"I'll try," he shrugs. "The man was ordinary in every way. He has one of those faces that will blend in a crowd, you know? Brown eyes, brown hair, average build and height."

"Good thing I'm an artist," I smile and get up. "Stay put, I'll be back and then we can put an identikit together."

Adele POV

"He's late" I sigh and look at my watch. "Neal should've been here by now."

"Have you tried mind-linking him again?" Axel asks.

"Yes," I reply. "He said..."

"Alpha," Neal storms into the office and my eyes widen when I look at him. He is only wearing pyjama pants and his hair is standing in every direction. But it is his blood-covered body and face which disturbs me the most. "We must hurry, they have Gwen and. "What the hell happened to you?" I interrupt and walk towards him, but he falls onto his knees and looks at me with tears in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Alpha," he looks at me pleadingly. "I had no choice. I'm so sorry."

"You betrayed your alpha?" Axel bellows and grabs Neal by the neck.

"I had no choice," Neal starts sobbing.

"There's always a choice," Axel hisses and pulls back his fist.

"Axel, wait," I say quickly before he can punch him. "Let's hear his side."

"I... I don't know how they did it," Neal sniffs. "They abducted us while we were sleeping, and ... dear goddess!"

His eyes widen and he looks at me with unblemished fear.

"The children," he mumbles and stands up. "I must go and "You're not going anywhere," Axel grabs him and throws him onto the sofa. "Talk. Now."

"Relax, Neal," I say patiently. "I mind-linked Cathy. She's on her way to your house. Tell me what happened."

"I woke up when that fucker tossed water on me," Neal glares at Axel. "Gwen and I were tied up in an old barn or something. I tried to mind-link for help, but we were outside the borders and could not reach anyone. They started beating me to get your security code, but I refused to give it up. That's when ... that's when they started hitting Gwen. I'm sorry."

He sniffs and looks away for a second.

"I gave it to them," his voice is barely audible.

"Tell me, Alpha," he looks at Axel. "What would you have done differently?"

Axel pales and looks at me briefly.

"I'm going to check in on Liana," he says brusquely and storms out of the office.

"It's okay, Neal," I say softly and sit next to him. "What happened then?"

"They called somebody and gave them the code," he exhales deeply. "I managed to untie myself and Gwen when they weren't looking, but I couldn't shift. I shoved the guy closest to me into the other one, grabbed Gwen's hand and started running. We made it outside, but they were catching up fast. Gwen mind-linked me that we should split up and I should get help while she distracts them. I didn't want to, but I'm faster and we had to think about our children. So, that's what I did. Gwen picked up a stick and attacked them while I ran away. One of them shifted and came for me but I managed to get into the car and drove away. Goddess, I'm such a coward. I should've fought harder for her. I should've..."

"You're not a coward," I comfort him. "Without shifting, you didn't stand a chance. Come on, let's go replace Gwen."

"What if they have already killed her?" He looks at me with pain.

"We won't know if we stay here," I say firmly and get my car keys. "Let's go."

I mind-link Luther that we are leaving and call the guards to meet me.

There is a pit in my stomach as we follow Neal's directions and drive to the barn. I fear the worst. Gwen and Neal were taken for one purpose only - to get the code. Now, they have it and there is no reason to keep Gwen alive any longer.

I look at Neal who is sitting in the front seat. He is an emotional mess and I do not blame him. I would have done exactly what Gwen did, but I would not have run like Neal.

He did the right thing; he was their best chance at survival.

But I do not know if he will ever recover if Gwen is dead.

"There," Neal points eagerly. "There's the barn."

We watch quietly as the trackers get out of the car and start sniffing for a scent. The rest of us remain in the cars until they give us the signal. We do not want to contaminate the scene.

"Let's move," I give the order when a tracker whistles.

"They left about ten minutes ago," Gavin, my lead tracker, informs me. "Their scent is still fresh."

"Take the cars and ride in every direction," I order. "Maybe we're lucky and you can catch up with them."

"What about you?" Gavin frowns. "It's not safe here."

"I'll be fine," I take out my phone. "My ride will be here soon. Now, stop wasting time and go."

I call Luther and ask him to fetch us. Concerned, I walk over to Neal who is sitting on the ground sobbing. I swallow hard when I look at the pool of blood next to him.

"They killed her," he sniffs with his eyes fixated on the blood.

"You don't know that," I say softly and kneel next to him.

"Nobody can lose that amount of blood and be alive," he mumbles.

I squeeze his shoulder and close my eyes because I know he is right.