Finding Forgiveness

Of course, I didn’t reply to this remark. He was right and I hated it.

“What’s he doing differently? Why were you never afraid of Leo or Max or me?” he questioned.

“Leo would never hurt me and yours and Max’s powers were limited with him around. Yours still is with Andrea. I can sense that he has authority,” I replied.

A realisation then hit me.

“… Which is why you wanted me to kill him… you want him dead in the same way you want Leo dead. Otherwise, you’ve just gone from living under the rule of one Alpha to another,” I said.

He bit his cheek.

“My only regret is being born only the second cousin to a Megestanis,” he said.

“You’re getting a bit old to be searching for power, surely?” I asked. “You turn 30 this year, right?”

“There’s nothing holding me back.”

“Except the King of North America and the King of South America,” I mumbled.

“I plan to let them kill each other,” he replied. “Don’t worry, cuz. I’ve got it all figured out.”

He then winked and a few seconds later, Andrea climbed up into the truck.

“Family bonding, huh?” he asked. “Cute.”

After roughly ruffling my hair, he sat on the other side of me.

“Vamos!” he shouted and the wheels of the truck began to move.

“Andrea, please tell me where we’re going,” I pleaded.

“Disney world,” he remarked.

I let out a frustrated sigh.

“Stop asking questions, Blanca. It’s fucking annoying,” he said.

For the next hour, I sat quietly. The road was bumpy and I was squished between the broad shoulders of Luciano and Andrea. Venezuela’s weather was also excruciatingly hot and in the stuffy truck, the heat was intense.

At one point, Andrea thrust me a bottle of water. He had already drunk half of it and the water was warm and thick but it somehow still refreshed me.

Even when the truck came to a slow halt, I still had no idea what was going on. I glanced around at the other men in the truck. Their faces were stern and serious but with an underlying tension that paired with the silence, left an uncomfortable apprehension.

“Posiciones,” Andrea said. “Ahora!”

The men, including Luciano, all gathered their guns and filed out of the truck.

“See ya later, cuz,” Luciano said as he left.

“Blanca, you’re with me,” Andrea said taking my wrist. “Come.”

The sunlight burnt my eyes at first as I tried to glance around. Before I had the chance to adjust, Andrea had pulled me into the thick vegetation and the trucks, which now were moving out, kicked up enough dust to cloud my vision anyway.

We moved only a couple of metres through the jungle before he pulled me down to a crouch, facing out into a clearing, where the trucks had been.

“You stay with me no matter what, got it?” he said pulling me closer to his side.

“Why don’t I get a gun?” I asked looking around at all his men that had slipped into the cover of the jungle, only visible if you knew what to search for, who all held big guns wit smaller ones in their belts and pickets.

“Something tells me you’d be reluctant to shoot…” he said.

For hours we sat in that bush. Even through torrential rain which soaked us to the skin. Occasionally, Andrea would produce a scrap of food from his pockets and had the decency to offer me some.

“It can’t be long now,” he said at some point.

We had exchanged very few words. He seemed to have no interest in talking to me and I certainly didn’t want to speak to him so I just let him obsessively watch the clearing, gun in hand, his eyes fixated on what to me was just grass and emptiness.

At long last, his walky-talky buzzed.

Luciano’s voice came through in a fuzzy hum, “I’ve spotted them only a mile away. It won’t be long.”

Andrea’s lips curled into an excited grin.

“Do you see faces?” he asked.

“I see Max… Luca… Blair, Mateo and of course, Leonardo,” he replied. “There’s a convoy of soldiers too.”

My face dropped as Andrea’s only brightened.

“Get the men ready,” he replied.

“No,” I whispered.

“I’m afraid so,” he said. “It’s time your Alpha took his last breath.”

I felt my heart rate rocket until it pounded in my ears and the blood pulsed throughout me.

This can’t be happening.Content property of NôvelDra/ma.Org.

It was hard to think with the panic screaming inside my head. Thoughts flooded into my mind in their thousands, charging aimlessly around, blockading my reason, making it near impossible to think straight.

Andrea was right there and in his hand the weapon that could potentially kill somebody I love. But I was frozen right beside him, paralysed by the fear.

Pull yourself together Ella.? A little voice in my head hissed. She sounded a lot like me but a version of myself I had lost weeks ago. You’re stronger than this. Don’t you dare let a man make you feel weak.

To hear the sharp, assured tone of her voice was refreshing. Somewhere, although deep inside, she was still there.

And she was right. What had become of me?

At that moment I felt the powerful effect of my own persuasion or maybe simply just a surge of adrenaline. Either way, it brought me to my feet and to turning to the forest.

I wasn’t weak but I couldn’t beat Andrea. The fact was simple. But distract him? I could certainly do that.

“Blanca,” he growled. “Get your arse back here.”

He grabbed my wrist but for once I didn’t listen to his order and I didn’t let him drag me back.

“Get the hell off me,” I growled in the darkest tone I’d ever heard my self use.