Izabella (The Bloodstone, #1) ✓

Basil

“Where is she?”

“I don’t know, haven’t seen her since the meeting,” Keith answered, frowning as he glanced around. “And I can’t smell her,”

Neither could I… My wolf stirred, restless as time went by with no signs of Izabella. I couldn’t sense her presence or feel her. I tried to contact her through our mind-link, but her walls were up. Why were her walls up? Rage heated my skin and I punched the nearest wall, creating a hole so big I could see into the next room. I heard a few gasps and pups screaming, and some cries, but my thoughts were too foggy, worried about her safety. Where the fuck is she?

Theodore rounded the corner and halted, scanning my appearance. He seemed weary and he had every right to be. I levelled him with a hard glare. Izabella was mine; I didn’t miss the way her father looked at me like I wasn’t worthy of her. Were they trying to take her away? I’d kill them before they got the chance! My patience wore thin as I stalked towards him, getting his space, my eyes never leaving his, daring him. I felt like a grenade ready to explode, ready to fight anyone and anything standing in my way. I scowled at him, clenching my fists as I avoided the urge to punch the motherfucker.

“Is this your plan?” I asked with a cold, bitter laugh. “You’re trying to take what belongs to me?”

“Why would I do that?” He questioned, raising both brows. “She’s my niece and I’m just as worried as you are. Separating mated wolves is a crime in our eyes,”

“The Nobles?”

He nodded. “We know she’s yours and you made that very clear with your mark on her,”

What I felt wasn’t worry, it was pure panic. My skin crawled as I imaged her dead somewhere, her tan skin greyed with lifelessness, her eyes void with the fire I always witnessed. Pulling away, I paced the room, growling, calculating... strategizing. I stopped when I noticed something standing behind Theodore. Nadia, my sister, stood right behind him, watching me. I used to revolt at the appearance of her corpse but that faded through the years. They came to me the night of their death, my family, and have been with me ever since.

They wanted Izabella. They wanted her because she held something that my birth pack never witnessed, a power that they’d tried to attain for centuries.

They could see the Moon through her. They wanted that power, not caring whether or not they’d kill her in the process. I wouldn’t allow that, not when I never thought I’d have a mate picked by the Moon.

Nadia’s eyes were bleak, blacker than coal. I didn’t say anything and watched as she twisted her body around gradually, lifting her arm to point at one of the she-wolves standing at the end of the corridor. My eyes followed the direction of her finger, catching Cassandra holding one of the crying pups in her arms. Theodore followed my gaze but I didn’t miss the question in his eyes.

Without a second thought, I marched towards her, her eyes widening when she felt my authority. She knew something and never bothered to tell me. A frustrated growl rippled through my lips.

“Tell me where she is, now!” I commanded and she stumbled over her words, telling me everything.

“She went to town, a mile up North. That’s all, she told me not to tell you where she’s going,”

“Human territory,” I uttered before stumbling back. I refocused my attention to Cassandra, a growl laced with the anger in my voice. “You allowed her to enter human territory?”

“Basil!” Theodore snapped but I shrugged him off.

“I couldn’t if I wanted to,” She slumped her shoulders and lowered her head, appearing like a scolded child. “She commanded me to keep quiet,”

I took in a deep breath. Of course, she would.

“There will be consequences,” Turning on my heels, I pinned Keith, my Beta, with a pointed look. “Where’s Cena?”

“On patrol by the borders,”

“I’m coming, so is my son,” Theodore stepped forward, worry evident on his face. I detected the questions swarming through his thoughts as they were my own.

Why did she leave? A couple weeks passed since her arrival and suddenly, she decided to leave me. Did she believe I wasn’t worthy of her? She wasn’t in my territory, meaning she was open for attack, for any rogue or hunter to harm her. She walked into a lion’s den, one where I would sacrifice my life a thousand times over to ensure hers.

It’s been an eternity since I’d ever felt my humanity, a tiny spark in the depths of darkness that was savage brutality. It began burning once I saw her face, smelt her scent and touched her skin. Izabella was my redemption and without her, my whole world was dark without my moon.

“Keith, you stay here, watch over the pack,”

Nodding, he retreated to wherever he appeared from. Directing my attention to Theodore, he spoke.

“She only does this when something upsets her,” He smirked. “No matter how much she denies it, she’s just like her mother,”

Narrowing my eyes at his words, I released a heavy sigh.

“Let’s go find her,”

“I can smell her,” Tristan spoke, forcing all three of us to a stop. I turned to him, watching as he nodded to his right. “It continues on from there,”

I took a couple steps to the right, tilting my head back and breathing the fresh air. Something caught in my chest, her scent which was a mixture of rain and peaches. Without another word, I quickened my pace, hearing the two men follow behind me.

“Her scent is fresh, she can’t be far,”

“We should split up. Her scent alone wouldn’t be enough to find her,”

We all nodded and separated in different directions. I walked into a crowd filled with humans, wrinkling my nose as their strange scent. I rarely ever entered human territory as I never understood their ways. The most obvious reason was they were human; I wasn’t so the emotions swarming around, like flies, aggravated me. Ignoring their blatant stares, Izabella’s scent trailed off to the first shop in sight. The bell rang at my arrival and naturally, most humans glanced at me, other’s decided to stare.

I didn’t like it when they did that. It was fucking irritating. I glared at them all and they all looked away.

I found an empty stool by the counter and sauntered towards it, catching one of the workers heading my way. She looked like she was from the Philippines but I didn’t pay too much attention to her looks. She gave me a welcoming smile and I glanced at her name tag. Anita.

“I’m looking for a girl. She’s tall with a slender body, hazel eyes and long black hair. Have you seen her?”

Anita shook her head, looking almost apologetic. “Sorry, I haven’t seen her but she sounds like a beauty,”

“She is,”

“Is she your wife?”

My lips twitched upward. “Something like that,”

I sat there for a few minutes, contemplating on where she could possibly be. She placed a mug with black water in front of me and I lifted it to my lips, taking a tentative sip. I growled, my face twisting in disgust but the liquid warmed my body. I pushed the mug to the side, disinterested

“What is this?” I asked and her brows lifted in surprise.

“You’ve never tasted coffee?”

I didn’t reply as a particular male voice caught my attention. It was high pitched, nasally and grated my ears. Looking over my shoulder, I zeroed in on a group of guys. There were four of them but I paid extra attention to the guy wearing a green polo top, the one with a nasal-like voice. He looked like a complete idiot, the arrogant fucker. His followers stared at him as if he’s worth something as if he was Alpha male. What a joke. A humourless scoff escaped my lips.

Pathetic.

“Dude, you should’ve seen this chick, I saw her heading for the motel,”

“Do you wanna check her out?”

They were talking about Izabella, I knew it, and with their crude words, I wanted to smash their heads against the nearest wall. You’re in human territory, was my repeated mantra but it failed to keep me calm. They were leaving the shop and I tossed a twenty to the worker before following them. Briefly, I noticed the darkening sky and looked at the group of guys heading down the dark alley. I trailed behind them.

Tension pumped through my veins and I struggled to keep the beast at bay but it was getting harder with each vile word they spoke of my Izabella. My humanity was non-existent and in that moment, I lost all conscious will, thirsty for the blood of those threatening to harm her.

With fast movements, I intercepted their crowding, punching one in the face and savoured the sickening crack of a broken nose. Another swung his arm back, ready to throw a punch my way but I wrist locked him, but I went even further to shatter the bones beneath his flesh. Haunting howls of pain pierced through the night sky and I pushed him away, turning to another, locking his arm with mine and swinging him in the air before smashing his back against the concrete ground. He sucked in stuttered breaths, struggling for air and his eyes glazed in fear of death. I didn’t bother to see the life draining from his useless body. I snarled at the guy with the green polo shirt.

He backed away at my advancements but in a blur, I gripped his neck and tossed him to the wall. Gradually, his face turned crimson at the lack of oxygen. Remorse didn’t cease my actions. In fact, I enjoyed watching him struggle, knowing that his life was in my hands… literally.

“The girl you were talking about, what did she look like?”

“Fuck off!” He spat, his voice sounding strangled. I loosened my grip slightly before slamming him against the wall again.

“I have no problem breaking your neck, you know,” Peeling my fingers from his skin, I pressed my palm at the base of his neck and pushing up, the threat of breaking his neck evident in the pain he expressed.

“Okay, Okay,” he wheezed but I didn’t relent. “She’s tall, long dark brown hair and hazel eyes,”

“Where did she go?”

“I don’t know but she was heading south to the motel, I think that’s where she’s staying,”

The pleasure I found watching him suffer was vile, sadistic and with my heavy breathing, I took some time to consider whether to spare his life. My wolf wouldn’t allow me, he was a direct threat, he planned to touch what was ours, and he planned to violate her. I’d be doing the world a favour. Lost in the battle of my morality, on autopilot, I continued to push on his neck and before I got the chance to stop myself, the crack echoing his death filled my ears. I released his corpse and he collapsed to the ground.

I walked away to continue my search for Izabella, my body trembling with the aftershocks of death, knowing their souls were trapped in a realm where they’d never find peace.