Chapter 23
MALIK VLADIMIR
After the spectacle at the food court, Malik knew that he couldn’t stay in the Lupum Griseo pack any longer. It was a few days earlier than he had agreed with his dad but Malik couldn’t stay there any longer. Not after he had nearly killed his mate’s brother.
It was late at night when he returned back to the Apo to Chaos pack, but that made it the perfect timing for the plan. Even though he probably wasn’t in the best mindset to execute it, he needed something to get his mind off things. To get his mind to stop picturing the look on his mate’s face when he was strangling her brother.
It was just a good thing that his bag was already packed before he had gone out to spend the whole day with Trinity. Malik had rushed back to the house and grabbed his belongings before demanding the guards – fake guards, in this case – that he needed to head back to the Apo to Chaos. The both of them had been adamant that they couldn’t leave now as the plan hadn’t been completed, that it was too early and would definitely raise too many eyebrows so Malik left them both behind.
It didn’t sound well now but he led them both into the forest and knocked them both out. He was confident that they would be out for hours, two at the very least, which gave him just enough time to head back to the Apo to Chaos pack before they managed to get close enough to mind link Orpheus and tell him what had happened.
Malik was completely going off grid here. He wasn’t following the plan that Orpheus had discussed with him, and he was carrying out the plan that Anastasia and Marcellus had suggested a few days too early, but he couldn’t think of what else to do.
All he knew was that he couldn’t stick around in the Lupum Griseo pack for a moment longer. How could he when he feared his mate would reject him for nearly killing her brother? For proving himself to be the monster that he kept claiming that he wasn’t?
For being just like his father?
It was immature and cowardice but in the moment, Malik couldn’t think of what else to do.
He parked the car on the border of the pack. Leaving all his belongings but one, he shifted into his wolf and began toward the pack. Instead of heading toward the pack house like he usually would have done, Malik made a beeline for the dungeons.
The dungeons were located on the other side of the pack, right against the border and several minutes away from the pack house which gave Malik just enough distance and space to do what he needed.
Orpheus was already asleep when Malik sought him out in the pack house. Given the time of night, Malik wasn’t surprised but to execute the plan, he needed his dad awake.
“Dad,” Malik whispered, stood at the foot of the bed. “Dad!” he whispered more harshly, this time moving around the side of the bed so he was now stood beside the Alpha wolf. “Dad! You need to wake up! I need to show you something!”
Before he could reach out to grab Orpheus’ shoulder and shake him awake, the Alpha wolf’s eyes snapped open as if he hadn’t been asleep in the first place.
“It’s still the weekend. What are you doing home?” Orpheus asked, pushing himself to sit up in bed.
“This is an emergency! I don’t have time to explain!” The words rushed out of his mouth as he reached for his dad’s hand, forcefully tugging him out of bed.
“You better have time to explain,” Orpheus snorted as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. “I don’t appreciate being woken up in the middle of the night like this.”
“You will once you see what I have to show you,” Malik snorted as he pulled him out of his room and the both of them began down the hallway. “I know I was supposed to stick around until those she-wolves gave birth, but when this opportunity came up, it was just too good to pass up.”
“I’m so confused. What opportunity?”
“You won’t need an explanation once you see what I have to show you.”
Malik continued pulling his groggy dad behind him, all the way out of the pack house and toward the engine.
“If you’ve woken me up for some stupid practical joke, son or not, I’m going to whack you,” Orpheus threatened him in a menacing tone but the words were quick to die on his lips the moment he got a whiff of what Malik had to show him. “Malik?”
“I told you this was too good of an opportunity to pass up on!” Malik grinned as he unlocked the dungeon door and pulled it wide open, allowing his dad to walk in first. Yet another part of his plan.
“How did you manage to do it?” Orpheus turned to ask him with wide, disbelieving eyes. “How did you manage to get Marcellus Storm into our dungeons?”
Malik grinned, looking very proud of himself.
“It’s a long story.”
“With how impressive this is, I want to hear every moment of it,” Orpheus laughed as he began walking down the tall steps. “Tell me, dear son, how did you manage to get Marcellus Storm locked in our dungeons? How did you bring him over here?”
“I cornered Marcellus in his home office,” Malik lied smoothly as he began down the steps behind his dad. “I confronted him on everything that you told me.”
“What did he say?” Orpheus asked casually, but Malik picked up on the way his body froze before he continued walking, slower than before.
“Obviously he didn’t admit to anything,” Malik fake scoffed. “I can’t believe that he and Anastasia have been lying and keeping this hidden from me for so many years. They were pretty much the only family I had at the time and they had the nerve to lie to me all about it,” he made a disgruntled sound to make the whole thing all that more believable. “You’d think that they’d at least have the decency to tell me that you were innocent in all of this but Malik kept denying it.”
“So, you kidnapped him?”
“What?” Malik paused to question, forcing his father to turn around and face him. “You think I did the wrong thing?”
“No, of course, not,” Orpheus was quick to deny, shaking his head. “You absolutely did the right thing but I’m sorry for the way Marcellus and Anastasia were keeping things from you. I thought they’d treat you better as they were friends with your mum but I guess not.”
“I’m sorry, too, but not as much as Marcellus is about to be,” Malik chortled as they continued walking down the steps, but not for the same reason as his dad.
If only his dad knew just what he was truly in for.
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Layla Knight
22.08.2021