Bad Beta (Sequel to Mate She Rejected)

Chapter 32

Hi guys I know it has been a long wait but I'm too close to the end of this story to quit lol. There are a maximum of maybe five to six chapters left so bare with me. Hopefully this one was worth the wait. 

Luca's  Pov

After listening to Ashley's story I knew one thing for sure, Brent was alive and he was in Spain. I had waited so long for a lead that it was hard to believe one just landed in my lap. Nevertheless I planned to take full advantage of the opportunity to finish what was started. I know there was a lot for me to be grateful for and most people would have considered it crazy to waste as much time and energy as I did focused on the past. I just couldn't shake the feeling of my family and pack being in danger so I let it consume me. Logically I knew that no matter what I did there would be a time when I couldn't protect them despite my best efforts, but I was determined to make sure that day didn't arrive any time soon. I was a firm believer that if you did everything you could and tried your best no matter the outcome, you won. You could find peace knowing that there was nothing more you could have done and that some things are just left up to fate. Putting an end to this once and for all was what I was meant to do. It was the only way to free myself from the thoughts that haunted me. 

"Luca is everything okay?" Maxine in waked in closing the door and instantly all my attention focused solely on her. Every day she seemed to get more breathtaking as corny as it sounds. Time had only made me love her more and having her as my mate and mother of my children was a feeling that I could never fully describe. I was grateful, of course, blessed without a doubt but those words didn't suffice, which was why I could do anything to keep her healthy, happy, and alive no matter the cost. No one would threaten or harm any part of her, she was everything. Brent would die and I would make him suffer. I would make sure that everyone understood that this was my pack and mine alone. It belonged to me, I earned the right to be alpha. 

"Everything is fine sweetheart," I smiled at her reassuring her. Everything was fine and I would make sure it stayed that way. There wasn't a need for her to worry. I would always protect her. 

"Whenever you say that I feel like you're hiding something," I laughed because I usually told her that when something was wrong and I didn't want her to worry. I knew she was strong. Unbelievably strong to the point where I was in awe but it didn't mean that I would risk anything happening to  her. I also didn't like for her to stress. I shared things with her about the pack and we were a team but it was normally when I felt I had no choice that I burdened her with huge issues. This was my fight to finish not hers and I intended to keep it that way. 

She walked over and I pulled her closer and sat her in my lap. I loved the feel of her next to me. I brought me peace when she was close enough we could hear each others heart beat. I would never grow tired of moments like this when I could just hold her. 

"What's been bothering you lately? What have you been keeping from me. You know I hate being kept in the dark. I know something is wrong."

I didn't reply. I just let the silence speak for me because we both knew she was right. But I couldn't answer her and if I said anything I would end up telling her everything. She would want to come with me, be by my side. She would want to be right there in the mist of all and I wouldn't be able to deny her. She knew Mitchell better than I did and although they weren't close I knew she would want to hear his story, see if he was redeemable and I knew he wasn't. She didn't even know that he had gotten away that night, none of them did. This was the secret that I had kept to myself all this time so that everyone else could live their lives without fear. 

"You're not going to tell me are you?" she said after some time. She took a deep breath and forced me to look into her eyes. The eyes that easily saw straight into my soul. 

"Just promise me that whatever happens you'll be safe, that we'll all be safe. I need to know that whatever this is won't  put you or anyone else in this pack in danger. If it does you need to trust me and let me help you. This is my pack too and I won't let anything destroy it, or you." 

Her tone was firm and final. There was only one thing I could say because it was the truth.

" I promise that I'm taking care of us."

I had to trust that Ashley was telling the truth when she said that saving her mate was all that mattered to her. I had to trust that person that betrayed me and almost cost me everything. It was the hardest decision I had ever had to make but I had no choice. I had to believe that she had changed and that Maxine was right to spare her life. If I didn't the consequences would be too severe to even think about because I would be heading straight into a trap leaving everything I loved and cherished vulnerable. Either way this was it. I was heading to Spain.