King Alejandro: The Return of Her Cold-Hearted Alpha
Chapter 13

When the first rays of dawn began to appear, that instinct I had been following through the night suddenly vanished. My wolf fell silent, and I suddenly felt all alone. I was exhausted from the running as well. Should I stop and take a small break? Maybe it would be better if I did, but I won't be for long; Kataleya was out there, and I needed to replace her. I wondered if Alejandro found out I had left already ... I'm sure he probably tried calling at some point ...

I shifted and dropped to my knees in exhaustion. I opened my bag and pulled out some sweatpants and a crop top, putting them on quickly before sitting back, feeling the pain in my legs and arms. Goddess ... Kataleya. I hope she was okay, wherever she was.... I would never be able to forgive myself if something happened to her. Please let her be safe....

I stared at the sky, my heart clenching with worry as I tried to compose myself. The distant whimper of my wolf in my head told me she was still upset. We are going to replace her, okay? I said my wolf, although I knew I wouldn't get an answer. I ripped open a granola bar and bit into it, and I took out my phone and switched it on. The shattered screen was still working; for now, I hoped it would make do for a while. I sighed, seeing the thirty-seven missed calls. Oh f**k. Three from Alejandro... Twenty from Dad ... Goddess, Dad, relax-four from Raven, two from Rayhan, three from Darien, and five from Liam.

I sighed so the entire population knew I had vanished.... I looked at my messages, my heart thudding at the single letter from Alejandro. 'I asked you for one thing. One f*****g thing: To stay the f**k safe. Seriously Kia? Just upping and leaving like that? I had half a mind to ask Ri to f*****g replace you; call me when you see this. ASAFP. 'I closed my eyes. He was pissed, as I expected him to be ... I needed to call him ... I skimmed through the other messages; Dad and Liam were stressing out like it was the end of the world. Dad was incredibly pissed off as well, also warning me that Alejandro was furious, and he f*****g should be.

Was I sixteen or something? These men were being ridiculous. I understood their point, but I was not an incapable woman who would sit at home while my daughter was out there. I'm sure I could help replace her-the more of us looking, the better. My irritation and restlessness were flaring up, and before I could even do anything else, Dad's incoming call came again, and I sighed, answering it." Hel-" Kiara, why did you leave? Why was your phone off all night?! What if something happened?! You and your mother do not f*****g listen-" DAD!" I cut him off.

"Calm down! I'm fine and can't answer in wolf form, can 1? I think you and Alejandro forget that I am not a child anymore. I'm capable enough to help look for Kataleya, and I'm sure the more people looking, the better. Please understand that." We know that, but we also know that even Alejandro couldn't deter these wolves when he had taken down hundreds of wolves single-handedly in his teens! These wolves are something else, Kiara, and nothing to be taken lightly!" Dad growled. I frowned; I knew that ..." Dad, I'm not stupid." Kiara, you were the one who found these notes. Don't you think Alejandro is worried that something may happen to you, just like Dante is cursed?

"Okay, I didn't think of that ... but I was okay." Dad, she's my daughter! I will not sleep on a bed, not knowing how she is doing! She must be terrified; how do you expect me to sit at home? Please, Dad, let's not do this." I almost pleaded, unable to hide the pain in my voice. He sighed heavily in defeat." I understand, but we were on it; we will get our Kataleya back. Where are you?"" I was following my instincts; you know how I've always been able to sense this stuff? What if I can replace her? I'm not that far out from your pack. Just south. I said quietly.

"That in itself makes me think we all may be on to something; we got the news that there were some odd occurrences near Oxford. If you're heading south, stay that way. Maybe we are close." My heart leaped at his word; any clue or sighting was hope." Understood.""" Kiara. Wait for Alejandro, though." My heart was pounding with hope, and when I cut the call, I quickly dialed Alejandro's. His phone rang, and after a few moments, he answered." Let me speak." I said before he could even answer." Please."" Do I have a f*****g choice? You'll just hang up and continue doing whatever the f**k you want if I don't." I winced at the anger in his voice; it hurt having that rage directed at me. I couldn't deny that.

But we weren't going to agree, and I didn't want to argue; this was about our daughter, and I was going to help replace her." So then just listen." I said stubbornly, resulting in a murderous growl ripping through the phone. I exhaled slowly, trying to stay calm." I am not far from Oxford; I'll join you there, but if you even think about sending me home... I won't listen, Alejandro." I heard him sigh in irritation, and when he spoke, frustration was evident in his tone." Fine." He replied through gritted teeth." I'm heading towards Oxford now. I'll meet you there." I replied quietly.

It hurt so much that I realized how angry he was at me, but I couldn't voice what I felt inside. This pain of having her away from me was killing me. I wish he could understand how hard it was being a mother, unable to do anything for our daughter, and not even knowing how she was. Was she fed? Was she safe?" How far are you?" He asked me, his voice as cold and emotionless as when he spoke to others." Not too far. I should be there in a few hours.

"Hmm. The silence between us was so tense and painful that it wasn't like ours. But right now, we had different mindsets, and there was nothing I could say would change his anger or make him realize how I felt." I'll see you soon." I whispered. I hung up. My heart was aching as I stared at my shattered phone screen, sighing heavily. I better get up and head out; Alejandro was waiting for me. Replacing everything in my bag, I shifted and began running once again, not caring for the pain in my body as I ran. Determination fuelled me as I made my way through the forest and towards.

Oxford. Kataleya, I'm coming for you, my angel. An hour had passed since I had been traveling, and then suddenly, that instinct that had filled me returned once again. I tensed. Could something be here? I looked around, scanning the area. On one side, there were hills and bushes, along with many trees scattered to one side. We were in the countryside. To the right were some fields of farms. My wolf was restless after being silent for so long, telling me to go forward, and I did, my heart thrumming with panic and anticipation. Was Kataleya close? After a good fifteen minutes, I became confused.

There was nothing out of the ordinary here. I slowly continued on my way, my eyes darting around, my senses on alert. I sniffed the air, my ears perking, trying to pick up on anything that was unusual.

Was there perhaps a cavern or something? Slowly observing the ground, I tried to pick up any footprints, any track marks that would give me a clue to what was around here. After a good fifteen minutes, I saw the paw prints on the ground. Faint, but they were there. My heart was beating erratically. Was I onto something? I padded along slowly. Taking note of every inch, every millimeter of the ground. My heart began thumping fast as I realized that they were becoming more and more frequent, clear signs that wolves had been here.

The size of the paw prints belonged to no ordinary wolf, but werewolves with big paws and claws. From what I knew, there was no pack around here, and it was clear these paw prints had tried to be covered up; if I hadn't been observing, I would have missed them. After another twenty minutes, there was still nothing, but my intuition was becoming more assertive.

I paused, wondering if I should call Alejandro, but what if I was something? What if it was just a false alarm, and I called him away? Somewhere closer to Kataleya? I'll keep searching for a bit longer and take it from there; I was about to lose hope as I was taken out of the forest and towards open countryside, feeling unsure if I should continue or not, about to turn away, when I saw it. It was nothing out of the ordinary, just one of several similar places I had just passed, but something about it gave me the chills. It was a large country home with grey walls; it was huge.

Many trees surrounded the building beyond the gates, black iron gates with sharp spears and barbed wire at the top that was made to keep trespassers out. These metal fences surrounded the entire property. I couldn't sense anything or anyone around. However, my wolf kept telling me to go forward, urging me to, so I listened.

Could this be where she was being kept? The thought that I may be close made my heart leap in excitement. I looked beyond the gates, and in the distance, past the bushes and treés, I could see the enormous house or manor. There was no life or light in the windows, not an animal or person in the surrounding gardens. But still, I felt like I should go check it out. How do I get in? Do I see if there's any broken part in it and just sneak in?

It sounded like a plan. Let's do this! Something at the back of my mind told me that I should stop, shift, and let Alejandro know where I was first. But the more vital part of me was telling me to keep on going forward, something that said to me that my daughter was here, and I couldn't ignore that voice. Still ... for Kataleya, I should tell Alejandro just in case she was there. I quickly shifted, took the phone out, and sent a quick message.

'I'm at this location; I feel as if there's something here; I thought I'll let you know before I check it out. I don't know if I'm even on to something, but I feel she's here. 'I text before sharing my location. Putting the phone on silent, I slipped it back into my bag and shifted into my wolf again. I broke into a run, rushing around the premises, keeping alert in case anyone was out there because there would be some security if they were even here. My eyes darted around, searching for a way in, but there wasn't one. I frowned, and then I knew what I was going to do. Jump the wall.... I looked up at the vast iron fences. They were at least twenty feet high. If I got caught on one, it wouldn't be pretty ... Then Kia, you have to ensure you aren't impaled on it. I began to back away, putting space between me and the deadly wall that promised to kill me. With my bag in my mouth, I took a deep breath of determination and ran towards the considerable metal wall of spears before I leaped into the air, my purple aura blazing around me as I launched myself over the fence.

F**k! I reigned my aura in, my heart thumping, knowing anyone could have sensed my ability. I felt the spears graze the underside of my belly, making me growl internally. Agonizing pain tore through me, and I bit back a whimper; it was more than what an average cut should have been. The agony was far more than a normal wound; I couldn't breathe for a second, and I grunted. There had to be some sort of poison on those spears.

I landed on the other side of my feet, hissing slightly as I dropped my bag. F**k, this hurt. I glanced around quickly, hoping that nobody saw me before I promptly shifted back. I took out an oversized hoodie and the second pair of sweatpants I had, examining my stomach before pulling them on. The cuts were quite bad, but I couldn't smell any poison or anything. F**k. What was this? I quickly rummaged in my bag and took out one of the antidote vials.

I wasn't sure if the spikes contained silver or wolfsbane, but I would not risk it. Goddess. I downed the vial quickly and put the empty bottle back in my bag before picking it up and walking towards the country house silently. I made sure to stick to the sides, kept hidden by the trees and trees lining the property. No one was still coming for me... maybe I had been wrong. Otherwise, I should have been attacked by now. My wolf was calm once again, too. Too relaxed... I couldn't even sense her emotions. How strange. I took my phone out, wondering if Alejandro had seen my message." That's risky, Kia; wait for us. I'll be there at fifteen.'

One frowned but nodded; he wasn't wrong; I needed to be careful. 'Okay. I'm on the property, though; I'll hide. 'I texted back. By the looks of it, the property was lived in. I could see that clearly from the way the house was well kept, and unmistakable marks of footprints covered the ground. I kept to the shadows, trying to replace the best place to lay low, when I felt that same ominous aura behind me that I had felt when Delsanra had performed that spell on Dante.

My heart thumped in my chest, and I spun around quickly, tossing my phone into the bushes. But before I could even see or take in anything else, something grabbed my throat. Pain seared through me as if I was being burned to death. A shriek left my lips as the pain hammered my entire body. Pure agony was ripping through me. It was an excruciating pain that made my head and my body scream for reprieve. What ... I can handle pain usually ... This ...

Whatever was holding onto me was like poison and death itself. I felt my energy drained as I struggled to free myself from everything I had, but it was futile. My attacker was unseen as it slammed me against a tree, but it was there, and I could feel its darkness and power. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't..... I clawed at the invisible hands that squeezed my neck. I could see the blood dripping down my neck and smell it in the air.

Goddess ... Kataleya. F**k no. I couldn't let this happen. I had to be strong for her. Summoning everything I had, with a burst of energy, my eyes blazed purple. I was not weak! I was not going to succumb to this. With strength that I did not even know I still had, I pushed whatever was holding me away from me, my aura swirling around me like a shield." Do not mess with me." I growled venomously. The dark entity that I couldn't see pressed against my barriers, and I heard it hiss as I t moved away. So, whatever it was, it couldn't go against my fence... Good, because I was not here to lose.

Not when my daughter was close. When I thought I might win this round, loud growls erupted in the air, and I spun around just as six blazing urban reddish-brown wolves lunged at me, their eyes glowing like burning embers. I couldn't even move out of the way. The impact knocked me to the ground, two biting into me viciously. I kicked them off, my anger flaring up." I demand to speak to the Crimson King!" I growled ferociously.

The command in my voice emanated throughout the area, and I saw the hesitation in the wolves as they exchanged looks. So, I was correct. This was the home of the Crimson King. Which meant Kataleya was here. She was here, and I was going to replace her. Mama's coming, baby girl, just hold out till we got you. The wolves oversaw me as I got to my feet, my aura still swirling around me. As much as I wanted to rip them all to pieces for everything they had done, I knew I wouldn't win, the bites in my thigh and hip were painful, but nothing was as wrong as the aftereffect of the unseen entity. I didn't move, hoping they understood I was waiting for their reply. I felt they were conversing with one another from the way they were looking at each other until one of them shifted into a man with pale skin and flaming red hair.

His eyes held such a coldness, that they didn't seem ... human." the Queen has come to get her pup, all alone." His voice was as bitter and cold as the rest of him, filled with disgust and hatred toward me. He had an accent... Spanish? Well, the feeling was mutual." Yes, I'm here for my pup and will not leave without her. As for anyone who has hurt her, I will unleash hell. Now show me to your king, who wants something from us. Let's see what this debt is regarding.

"One of the other men who had shifted now had my bag, and even though I tried to reach out through the link, either Alejandro was too far out, or something was blocking me from communicating with him because all I could feel was the block. I just prayed he got my location notification and that my phone didn't break completely. It was apparent whatever that thing earlier was didn't care about the phone... Was it the Djinn? I shuddered inwardly at the very thought. I had to play this safe, even if it meant stalling for time; we just needed to get Kataleya out. I just needed my baby girl safe ...