Once Rejected, Twice Desired (Book 1 of Blue Moon Series)
Once Rejected, Twice Desired Chapter 52

Xander

POV

Once Alexi filled me in on the true identity of my receptionist, I walked into my office and called down to security to have them make sure she didn't leave the building. "Are you sure that's her, Alexi? 100% sure?" I asked him.

"Yes. I'd recognize Victoria anywhere. That b***h ruined my life; I could never forget her face."

I had planned to leave her to Aaron to replace and deal with, but it seemed the universe had different plans. Even though she wasn't on my land, she was in my building, and that gave me the right, at the very least, to hold her until her Alpha was notified and made the decision on the next steps.

"Okay. I'll call down and ask to have her sent up to my office. It just so happens that I have an interrogation room here as well, so we'll put her there. I still have the meetings that I have to get to, but she won't be able to go anywhere." I needed to get to a meeting in less than five minutes. I couldn't be late. Not for this one. "Alexi, you've got to handle this."

He looked at me like I had grown two extra heads. "What the hell are you talking about, man? This is your thing. I'm just here observing."

"Alexi, this meeting is 'make or break' for this company. I have too many people depending on it going well. You know Victoria, so when she gets here, just put her in the room and call Aaron. Then you just have to wait for him to either send someone for her or whatever he plans to do."

He looked around the room for a few seconds before his eyes landed back on mine. "Let security know that I'm here, and they can leave Victoria with me. I'll take care of it. Don't worry, just get to your meeting." Whatever doubts he may have had seemed to disappear. He was confident that he could handle this situation, and I knew he wouldn't let me down.

"The interrogation room is there to the right," I said, pointing to the door. "Keys are top drawer, and I think there might be zip ties in there as well. If you need me, just let me know. I'll be down on the tenth floor."

I started to walk back toward my elevator, then yelled out, "You can also call Kade if you need him!" As the elevator doors closed, I tried to push Victoria out of my mind and focus. First, I'd get this expansion finalized; then, I'd make sure she met a similar end to her sister. "We're coming for you, Victoria."

***

Alexi POV

It threw me off when Xander decided to pass Victoria off to me. I wasn't expecting it, and I really wasn't prepared. But I had been trained for these types of situations my entire life. Not 'crazy ex's who tried to kill your mate, then hideout at the business of said mate's other mate' type situations. I don't think anyone ever trained for that. But I was prepared to step in for the Alpha at a moment's notice, so that's what I would do.

I sat down in Xander's black leather chair and took a few deep breaths. I hated this girl with a passion and just wanted her out of mine and Alaia's lives for good. When I ran my hands over the top of the desk to calm myself further, I felt a small button just on the underside. I pressed it and heard the door to the office click.

A lock switch, nice!

I was going to enjoy this.

I turned toward the wall of windows behind me. When Francesca walked in, she would just see the back of the chair and not who was sitting in it.

Very mob-like, I know, but it always worked in the movies.

I heard the ding of the elevator before the doors glided open. The clicking of high heels and the clomp of military-style boots followed before they were at the office door.

"Sir, I have Ms. Elizabeth here as you asked," the security guard said.

I didn't move, and I heard him take a few steps back then close the door, leaving Victoria and me in the room alone.

"It's about time you came to your senses, sexy. I knew you couldn't resist for too long. It was only a matter of time."

Her voice was like scraping a fork on a chalkboard. I didn't know how I ever put up with her. But I couldn't hear her mouth anymore. I heard her take a few steps toward the desk when I spun around and looked her dead in the eye. She sputtered and almost tripped over her own feet.

I wished she would have. That would have been perfect.

"A-Alexi! What are you doing here? Where is Xander?"

"Aww, are you not happy to see me? Have you moved on so quickly? I'm hurt, Victoria, or do you prefer Elizabeth, now?"

Her eyes flicked around while she tried to think of her next move. Then she composed herself and took one of the seats in front of the desk. "You know I'm doing all of this for you, baby. Everything I've done has been for you." This b***h was revolting; I really was an i***t to have ever gone for her.

"And what exactly are you doing here, Victoria? Jade City is far away from home."

She shrugged a shoulder and flipped her hair. "Just research. I've got business to finish and needed information on all the players."

"You're after Xander?"

Victoria's eyes flashed black, and her canines extended. "f**k, Xander! It's that f*****g cunt, Alaia! She ruined everything for me, and she will pay. Oh, how that b***h will pay."

Now it was my turn to get angry. "Victoria, I'm going to say this slowly and only once. Don't you ever speak about her like that again. You will keep her name out of your mouth, and if you ever disrespect her in my presence again, I will rip your f*****g tongue from your skull. Do we have an understanding?"

I was staring her straight in the eye, and even though my wolf was suppressed, she could still feel the fury rolling off me in waves.

"Y-Yes. I understand."

"Good. Maybe you're not a dumb as you look."

Clearly, I spoke too soon, because Victoria was on her feet and walking over to me, trying her best to be seductive. "That was so hot, baby. I love to see you so dominant and possessive. Why were you never like that with me?" She gave a fake pout and sat on the edge of the desk. She intentionally let her skirt hike up, revealing her pale, thin thighs.

She couldn't hold a candle to my angel. I don't know what I was doing, thinking she could ever be a replacement.

She ran a finger along my jaw and down to the collar of my shirt.

When she saw my mark, her eyes went round, and she snatched her hand back. "You're marked. Who marked you?" She was flustered, and I could see her entire plan falling apart right in front of her.

But I still had a little more fun to have. "Don't worry about that; she's not here. But you are." I then reached under the desk and pressed the button to lock the door.

When she heard the lock engage, a wicked smile spread across her face.

I couldn't wait to rip that smile right off. I reached in the top drawer for the keys to the interrogation room, then slid back from the desk and stood up. "Come on, let's go somewhere a little more private. And soundproofed."

She smiled again, and the scent of her arousal hit me.

Old cheese and hot garbage would have been so much more appealing. I repressed the strong urge to gag and gave her my most charming smile."You want dominant and possessive? I think I can do that." I grabbed a few zip ties and waved them in front of her before walking over to the door and unlocking it.

The room was pitch black, and I could barely see where anything was. It didn't matter, though. I didn't need to see the place to do what I had come here to do.

I swung Victoria around and jerked her arms behind her back before I tightly secured the zip ties.

"Not so rough, baby. I like a little pleasure with my pain."

I leaned down and growled in her ear, "f**k your pleasure!" I pushed her down to the ground and fastened ties to both her ankles before I stood and found the light switch.

The room filled with light, which allowed me to see it clearly for the first time.

"Alexi, baby. This bondage thing is hot and all, but when are we going to get to the fun? I've missed you so much. Have you missed me, too?"

While she rambled on, I walked over to a table in the corner and grabbed a roll of duct tape. I then walked back to Victoria, ripped a huge piece off, and slapped it over her mouth.

"Finally! You never shut the f**k up. It's obvious I was too nice when I said you're not as dumb as you look. We won't be having any 'fun' today, or ever again. And I didn't tie you up to live out some kinky fantasy of yours. You disgust me, Victoria!"

Her eyes widened, and she finally realized what was happening. She started to panic and struggled to breathe through her nose.

"Oh, calm down, I'm not going to kill you."

This admission offered her a bit of relief as her huge bulging eyes slowly closed, and her breathing calmed.

"Wait, maybe I should rephrase that. I don't want to give you any false hopes or anything. I'm not going to kill you, but someone is. Xander, Aaron, who knows. But you will die very, very soon."

She began to hyperventilate again, but I didn't care. If she passed out, she'd just be less of a headache for me to deal with.

"And to answer your earlier question, I got this mark from my angel. Alaia."

Her screams were masked by the tape as she thrashed around on the bare floor.

I shut the light off and closed the door, locking her in. I had wasted enough time and energy on her. Now, it was someone else's turn.

***

Aaron POV

I had been lying on the couch in my office, trying to juggle all the things I needed to get done in my head when my phone rang. I went to the desk to see that it was Xander's office. That was strange; he usually called me from his cell. "Hey, Xander. Everything okay?"

I was surprised to hear the voice that came through the speaker.

"Aaron, it's Alexi."

"Alexi? What are you doing in Xander's office? I thought you were down in the cells."

If he had pulled some s**t and broken out, or done anything stupid, I was not going to swoop in and save him. He would be on his own.

"It's a long story, man. One I'll gladly explain later. But the reason I'm calling is I found Victoria."

I slumped into my chair. We had been searching tirelessly for Victoria, and never once did I think to look on Xander's territory. "Where was she? Is Alaia safe?"

"Yeah, Angel is perfect. Victoria was hiding out as one of Xander's receptionists, using the name Elizabeth."

I didn't miss it when he called Alaia "angel." He used to sometimes call her that when we were younger. When he would be pining for her but refused to admit it, but I'd dive into all that later.

"So, where is Victoria now?"

"I locked her in Xander's interrogation room in his office."

"I'd really love to know why you're at the office doing all this s**t. But, whatever. Is this the new building? What's the address?"

Alexi read off the address as I punched it into my cell. A little over two and a half hours away. We could make it in two. "Thanks, man. We're on the way. See you in a couple of hours." I hung up and sighed. Lucas would have to chip away at that to-do list until I could figure out this Victoria nonsense.

I grabbed my things and walked out of the office, running into Jordyn on the way.

"Hey. I'm heading to Jade City. Alexi found Victoria working at Xander's office."

She frowned her face at me. "None of anything you just said makes sense to me."

"Me either, baby. Can you round up the team? I want to be on the road in the next few minutes."

"I'm linking them now."

While she was doing that, I shot Lucas a quick link. Lucas? I've got to head out to Jade City. We found Victoria. Can you keep things under wraps here while I'm gone?

Of course, Alpha.

Thanks. I'll be taking a few of the warriors with me, and knowing Jordyn, she won't miss the opportunity to kick someone's a*s, so she'll probably come along, too.

He laughed at that. I would expect nothing less from the Luna. Be safe; I'll keep an eye on things here.

I also figured I should tell him about Alexi.

Lucas, one more thing. Somehow Alexi is involved in all of this. He's the one who called me with Victoria's whereabouts. Alexi is the one guarding her now. I do not know all the details, but I don't think he's in any trouble. I'll tell you as soon as I can, though. Thank you, Alpha. If he could stay safe as well, I'd really appreciate it.

I'll do my best.

With that done, I headed outside and into the back of the waiting SUV. Jordyn slid in beside me, and we were off.

"Alexi better have a damn good explanation for all of this," I said while looking out the window.

"If he doesn't, I'll kick his a*s once I'm done with that slut Victoria. I've wanted to get my hands on her for a while, but he's a nice substitute."

I chuckled. "Lucas would appreciate if we could leave his son in one piece, if at all possible, babe."

"Fine! I never get to have any fun."

I leaned over and grabbed her face, then gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

"I didn't make any promises where Victoria is concerned. You have all the fun with her you want, baby."

Jordyn smiled her sneaky, devious smile, and I knew then. Victoria was in for a world of hurt when my Luna got her hands on her.