✨Her Essence✨

27. Now or Never.

Two days after my attempt at escaping, I found myself organizing files. It seems what Sir Adriano needed all along was an assistant. I had access to all the top-secret documents, King would have killed to get his hands on these.

Dressed in a pair of black suit pants with suspenders strapped over a white button shirt, my look was completed with a pair of black stilettos and eyeglasses. I must have stepped out of the 'professional wears' catalog. The stilettos made it hard to keep up with Sir Adriano's fast strides.

We stopped in front of a black limousine and a driver held the door open for us. We both entered and soon, the car was in a smooth transit.

"Where are we heading, Sir?"

He took his eyes off the screen of his phone and glanced at me. "You'll see."

Thirty minutes later, we were at the airport. We got out and waited at the 'new arrivals' section. A group of men in suits approached us, they scrutinized the area. When they were seemingly satisfied, they ushered another group of men in similar clothes... except, with this new group was President Tegar. What?!

Sir Adriano greeted him and introduced me. He shook our hands and we led him to the limo.

We sat in the limo accompanied by two men in black. I couldn't believe that I was sitting face-to-face with the freaking President! But I couldn't help but wonder; Why is he here?

The limo stopped in front of a hundred-and-fifty-acre estate. We stepped onto the marbled ground and made our way to the house. The interior is just as enchanting as the exterior. I would liken it to a palace because of its Persian-inspired designs. Two silver swords were hung on the wall over the fireplace as ornaments.

Three maids appeared and led us to a table. They served us coffee. I listened to the two men make trivial discussions like old buddies.

"Lana, is it?" 

"Yes, Mr. President," I responded.

"This is one of my many houses." A smug look appeared on his face. "There's a pool out back, if you would like to relax there a bit, my maid would be happy to take you there"

Creepy much?  "No sir, thank you for the offer."

"You're welcome, Love."

Sir Adriano cleared his throat loud enough to stop the weird gaze I was getting from this so-called world leader. "As I was saying,—".

An explosion came from outside, it shook the doors off their hinges.

We stood up and were heading for the door when suddenly, the entrance collapsed into a fog of dust.

"Let's take the back door!" yelled the President. We followed him, but another explosion was heard, and the back door was buried in a pile of concrete and sand.

The house was becoming unstable, it is only a matter of time before we are buried alive.

I caught sight of a gun on the floor which probably belonged to one of the bodyguards. I picked it up and pointed it at Sir Adriano. They had their backs facing me and didn't expect me to do something so stupid.

I pulled the trigger and instead of hitting Sir Adriano, the bullet hit President Tegar! What have I done?!

Sir Adriano saw his friend lying on the floor and turned to me. "What are you doing, Lana?! This is not the time-"

"We're all gonna die together, Adriano Beltran, and that's final!" I shot at him but he dodged.

He transformed faster than record time— before I could pull the trigger again. His wolf caught the bullet. It glared at me and bared its teeth.

The building started shaking down to its foundation. It is about to collapse on the two of us! Sir Adriano's wolf ignored me and headed for the blocked exit in a bid to dig a hole through it and escape.

It's now or never. I picked up one of the silver swords and flung it at him, hoping my aim wouldn't be as bad as this time. The sword cut right into his back and he growled at me. His eyes were blazing with anger. He charged at me with full force. Mayi took over and I transformed in seconds. But before he reached me, the building started crumbling down. But in a matter of seconds, something carried me out of the collapsing house.

The next thing I knew, I was watching the large property become reduced to a large pile of concrete, metal, and dust...lots of dust.

"Are you okay, baby?" Some patted my wolf.

Mayi whimpered. "Peter"

He kissed my head and stroke my fur. "We need to get out of here before the authorities show up."

I shifted back into my human form. He took off his jacket immediately and covered me. Four men showed up behind him and greeted me. "Luna" They called me.

Luna?

THREE MONTHS LATER

The pack doctor beamed. "Congratulations, Alpha, she is one month pregnant."

What? My heart fluttered with the thought of carrying my child in my arms. Peter kissed the top of my head, pulling me into his warm embrace. I can't believe I'm going to become a mom.

***

I sat on the rocking chair, staring at the moon and rubbing my belly.

"A penny for your thoughts, dear?"

I looked up and saw Maria with a tray of fruits in her hands. "Come join me, Marie."

She shook her head. "Not tonight baby, I have a date." She grinned and placed the tray on my lap before heading back inside.

I returned my gaze to the moon. I couldn't help but remember how everything played out:

After we fled President Tegar's estate, Peter brought me to his pack and I fell in love with the place and everyone in it. I met his dad, he is such a nice man. We bonded well. Peter removed Basset and put his old friend, Jack as his second in command.

Following the deaths of President Tegar and Sir Adriano, truths about their illegal dealings were brought to the limelight. Their involvement in human and drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and murder, to mention a few. It turns out the estate was built on an illegally acquired property, the collapse was speculated to have been due to poor construction.

In all of these, No one ever found out that I pulled that trigger.

The End. (El fin)