Chapter 304 The Devil’s Deal

The basement smelled like mildew and bleach. Someone had tried to cover up the smell, but not hard enough.

A single bulb buzzed overhead, throwing jagged shadows across the concrete walls.

Jack paced back and forth. His boots scraped against the floor.

“I showed you the goddamn photo,” he said. His voice bounced off the walls. “I said grab the woman. So why is he here?”

The big guy leaned against the wall. He didn’t look sorry. “She never got in the car. What was I supposed to do, stand there with my thumb up my ass? He’s worth just as much. Maybe more.”

Jack stopped pacing.

He looked at Alpha Dominic. Unconscious. Chained to a metal chair bolted to the floor. The Alpha King. The most powerful wolf alive.

And right now? He couldn’t shift. Couldn’t call his wolf. The wolfsbane cocktail was still working through his system. He was as helpless as a human.

Jack thought about it.

If he had grabbed the woman, Alpha Dominic would have come for her. An Alpha King on the warpath. No negotiations. No mercy. Just a bloody slaughter that ended with Jack dead in a ditch.

But this? Alpha Dominic in chains? That was a different game entirely.

Jack pulled out a stack of cash. Counted it. Tossed it on the table. “Fine. We’re square.”

The lanky man picked up the bills. Flipped through them. His face went cold.

“A million? You’re joking.”

Jack raised an eyebrow.

“I did my homework,” the man said. “That guy owns half the state. Wolfe Corporation. Real estate. Pack holdings. Worth more than God. And you’re paying me pocket change.”

Jack smiled. It wasn’t a friendly smile. “How much do you want?”

“A hundred million.”

“A hundred million.”

“Fair price for the Alpha King.”

Jack nodded slowly. “You know what? You’re right.”

The lanky man relaxed. Just a little.

Jack pulled the knife from his jacket and buried it in the man’s chest before he could blink.

“That is a fair price,” Jack said, watching the man’s eyes go wide. “Too bad you won’t live to spend it.”

The man opened his mouth. Blood came out instead of words. He hit the floor. Dead before he finished falling.

Jack wiped the blade on the man’s shirt. Found a canvas bag in the corner. Rolled the body inside. Dragged it to the storage room. Left it there.

No loose ends.

He walked back to Alpha Dominic . Still out cold. Good.

Jack grabbed more chains from the corner. Wrapped them around Alpha Dominic ’s wrists. His ankles. His chest. Bolted everything to the floor. The Alpha King wasn’t going anywhere.

Kill one. Kill them all. That was the only way to make sure no one came looking for revenge.

Jack stepped back. Looked at his work.

The most powerful wolf in the world. Chained up like a dog. Helpless.

Jack smiled.

Now the real game could start.

—

Elara walked through the front door of Wolfe Manor and knew something was wrong.

The house was too quiet. No Alpha Dominic in the living room. No footsteps in the hallway. She checked the kitchen. Empty. The study. Empty. Their bedroom. Empty.

Her chest tightened.

She pulled out her phone and called Walter, Alpha Dominic ’s assistant. He picked up on the second ring.

“Luna Elara ? Everything okay?”

Elara skipped the small talk. “Walter, we were at Xavier’s mating ceremony tonight. Dominic went outside to wait for me. When I got there, he was gone. Did he go to the office?”

Walter paused. “No, Luna. The Alpha King told me not to bother him today. Said he wanted the evening off.”

Elara’s stomach dropped. “Can you check with the others? See if anyone’s heard from him? I’m going to call Vincent.”

She hung up and dialed Vincent. Then every pack member she could think of.

Same answer every time.

No one had seen Alpha Dominic .

Elara was standing in the middle of the foyer when the front door opened.

Yardley and Nancy walked in, still dressed from the ceremony. Yardley took one look at her face and stopped.

“What’s wrong?”

Elara’s voice cracked. “Have you seen Dominic?”

“No. Wasn’t he with you?”

She told him everything. The car. The waiting. The security guard. The empty parking lot.

Yardley’s jaw tightened. He pulled out his phone. “Don’t panic. I’ll make some calls. Nancy, stay with her.”

Nancy put an arm around Elara and led her to the couch. Elara sat down. Her hands were shaking.

“Maybe he just went somewhere,” Nancy said. “Forgot to tell you.”

Elara shook her head. She knew that wasn’t true. Alpha Dominic never forgot to tell her anything. He texted her when he was five minutes late. He called when he was stuck in traffic. He was obsessive about it. This wasn’t like him.

Then her phone rang.

Charlie’s name lit up the screen. She grabbed it.

“Charlie? Are you with Dominic?”

But it wasn’t Charlie. An older man’s voice came through. Tired. “Miss, do you know this guy? He’s passed out in the bathroom here. Can you come pick him up?”

Elara’s heart stopped. “Yes. Tell me where.”

The man gave her the address. The ceremony venue. The same place they had just left.

She hung up and looked around. Yardley was standing by the window, still on the phone. His voice was low. Tense. She walked over and waited.

He hung up. His face was dark. The kind of dark that meant bad news.

“I had Vincent pull the security footage. Someone impersonated Charlie. Same build. Same cap. Got into your car. Drugged Alpha Dominic and drove him off around 11:15.”

Elara’s world went quiet. 11:15. That was right after she walked out of the lobby. Right after Zack let her go.

Yardley reached for her arm. “Stay calm. I’ll handle this.”

But her mind was already working. Rewinding the day. Zack showing up out of nowhere. The way he had held her up for almost 30 minutes. 30 minutes that were just long enough for Alpha Dominic to be drugged, loaded into the car, and driven away.

She looked up. Her voice was ice. “I know who did this. Zack. He timed it. He kept me talking so I wouldn’t walk out and catch them in the act.”

“Elara, you don’t know that for sure—”

“I know.” She was already dialing.

She called Hannah.

“Hannah. Where’s Zack?”

Hannah sounded confused. “Elara, are you really going to see him right now? Isn’t Alpha Dominic going to lose his mind?”

“Just tell me what time his flight leaves.”

“6 tonight. He should be at the airport by now. But Elara, what are you—”

Elara checked the time. 4:30. She had 90 minutes.

She hung up.

Nancy stepped in front of her. “I’m coming with you.”

Elara didn’t argue. “Fine.”

Alpha Hunter walked into the hallway. He had heard everything. His voice was sharp, carrying the weight of a former Alpha.

“Security. Follow them. Both cars. I don’t want a scratch on any member of this family. Understand?”

The guards nodded. Four of them. Armed. Wolves ready to shift.

Elara grabbed her jacket and walked out the door. Her heart was pounding. Her hands were shaking.

But she wasn’t stopping.

She was going to find Alpha Zack.

And if he had anything to do with this, she was going to make him wish he had never touched her mate.