"What nonsense!" I growl at Connor as he stands there, his arms crossed over his chest as if nothing's wrong in the world. As if he just didn't say that Nikita's been abducted.

"It is not. I'm afraid that Princess Nikita was lured into a trap by an enemy," whispers Connor while looking at me in the eye. Does he think that I lured Nikita?

"Who do you think is this enemy?" My question is direct, which makes his eyes go wide in surprise.

"Vampires live here."

"Vampires live everywhere. Come to the point, Connor," I urge, resisting rolling my eyes at him. It will be disrespectful and I don't want to insult him when he's standing in my territory, appearing all concerned but trying to hide his tension.

"Well, Princess Nikita came to Blue Moon. We brought her along with us when we went for Princess Selene's birthday. She wanted a change, so we thought it appropriate to bring her here. We came 2 days ago and yesterday night, she went missing. She hasn't returned home yet," he finishes but still appears to be holding back something.

"And you think that she's abducted?" I ask, my heart thundering inside my chest as I imagine my Nikita in some unbearable situation. Was someone waiting for her to come out into the open? Or is she simply lost? Or is she really kidnapped?

"Catrina realized a few things about Princess Nikita and that's the reason why we think that she's in danger."

"What few things?" I ask, almost choking on my own breath. What happened to her?

"Well, she might have been forced upon at some time in her captivity. She doesn't sleep, I mean, she can't sleep. She's showing signs of depression-"

"What?"

I am floored by Connor's confessions. So many things. Nikita has been going through so many things and I didn't even know. Here I am trying to find Dimitry and his mate, but my own mate is abducted?

"I know that your brother's not been found yet but Catrina insisted that I inform you about Princess Nikita's disappearance."

"She did the right thing. Let's go. I want to meet your mate," I mutter and start walking, Connor following me closely. I hop into his car, my mind in turmoil. What could be happening with Nikita, right now?

Why are all my loved ones suddenly in danger?

My mind is running a thousand miles per minute. I don't even realize when we reach Connor's territory. I don't wait for Connor to turn off the engine, simply get out of the vehicle when Connor stops it.

Not waiting for the Alpha, I barge into the house; only to stop in my tracks.

The scent!

My sense of smell is hit with a very potent scent. It's the scent of a pregnant female. Do they have more guests here?

Not wanting to startle anyone, I call out for Catrina.

A few minutes pass by while I am trying to place the familiar yet very strong feminine scent. It's familiar yet at the same time, it appears new and unique.

I am in the middle of almost recognising the scent when Catrina appears in front of me, her gaze as tensed as her entire body posture. But the thing that confuses me more, is her scent.

That potent feminine scent is coming from my own Goddaughter.

"Are you pregnant?"

I want to snatch those words the moment I utter them but Catrina's shy smile calms me a bit. She nods and then her eyes stray away from me and towards Connor.

"Yes, she is. Just two months along," replies Connor and I sense an abundance of happiness flowing from him. Same from Catrina. They are happy and it makes me happy for them.

"Congratulations, rebenok," I whisper and open my arms for her to step in. She is still smiling her shy smile as I embrace her. The life inside her is strong and appears to be adamant about not leaving its mother's body before time.

It's very surprising to feel the foetus's emotions but I soak it up. It's a slight relief from the constant bad news that I am hearing for the past few months.

For a few seconds, I focus on the child inside Catrina's womb. This is her last chance at motherhood. She has Rieka but I can clearly understand the need to have and experience your own child's growth inside your body.

Christine was the same, fighting with every breath of hers to protect her pups. I had seen Sierra when she was carrying Selene and I am experiencing how ecstatic Jenna is during her pregnancy.

It's a feeling, that a male would never experience.

The baby is growing fast. And it's a He. He's strong and an Alpha. He's very protective of his mother, sensing that she's extremely fragile while carrying him. The baby is not physically developed yet but has a strong mind. He's aware of me as well and from the looks of Connor who's observing me; the father is aware of his child's gender.

But from a closer look at Catrina's mind, it appears that she's unaware of her child's gender. And I think that she wants it to be that way. Well, then who am I to burst her bubble?

"You need any help, I am always there for you," I whisper while cupping her cheeks. She smiles at me serenely, her heart beating loud and clear while her mind remains calm, thinking of her child. She's really blessed!

"Yes. Thank you, Dominic," she whispers while stepping back and holding out a hand for her mate to take. Connor's quick to grasp her hand and pull her into him.

And that quick, I am struck with the thought of Nikita. I came here for her.

Taking a deep breath, I focus on the couple and soon the air around us becomes tense. I need to ask some questions to Catrina and looking at her face, I think she knows what Nikita means to me. That's why she sent Connor to me.

"I need to know a few things about Nikita," I begin and watch as Catrina nods her head quickly and motions for me to sit on the couch.

"Yes, I know. Well, I was told by someone that you are her mate."

Connor gasps but I don't let my gaze from Catrina waver. She knows! And she sounds quite understanding. She's not disgusted!

"I know she's your second chance mate, Dominic. And Nikita confessed it to Sierra about you. Sierra told me before I brought Nikita here. She is not ready to accept you. Something's stopping her."

Nikita's smarter than I thought. She knew about this and still, she maintained her ignorant attitude toward me.

"It's the same thing that's stopping me," I whisper, those words ripped out of my mind.

It's about time I accept my past and my future. With two different people.

"I understand moving on from your mate is difficult but your memories must have dimmed by now. There's a place for Nikita in your heart, I am sure."

I watch Catrina as she sits there counselling me to think about accepting Nikita. My Goddaughter's so innocent yet so very strong to face her battles. She faced them and now she's rewarded with a second chance. To have a baby.

Am I being given the same chance?

"I know, rebenok! I need my revenge first and then I can have Nikita. I need to avenge her death," I whisper in a cracked voice, unable to really think of anything else except to kill Char's murderer and to keep Nikita safe.

"You mean that she was killed?"

Catrina's voice is shocked whereas Connor is just sitting beside her, wrapping his arms around his mate and failing miserably to keep his shock hidden. It appears that the wolf females knew about my past but the males don't.

More importantly, Fenris doesn't know about Nikita being my mate. Only the Lord knows how he'll react when he knows the truth.

"Yes, she was killed. It was a vampire and I still haven't avenged her. I am so close. I know that Dimitry's kidnapper is my first mate's killer. He's doing it for the throne, but I need to put an end to it. Or he might really end up killing all of us."

"We will support you."

"Thank you, but you need to care for Catrina. She's dormant and she needs you very much at this moment," I look at Catrina and then at Connor, urging them to understand my concern.

"If you come with me to rescue my brother, Catrina will be alone. I don't know how long it will take and it's a very huge risk to Catrina. She cannot be without your presence around her for a long time. It's not healthy."

"I know. That's why I have already called for our allies," replies Connor, tight-lipped.

"Allies?"

"That would be me."

The newcomer's voice resonates through the living room and soon I am out of my seat. Whipping my head to look at Fenris, I fumble to hide my emotions but looks like it's not needed.

Because Fenris is not looking at me. He's staring at Connor and then suddenly, he's in his best friend's face when a loud smash is heard. The next moment, I find Connor staggering back with the force of Fenris's punch.

"Shit, Fenris! Don't!" Sierra yells from behind and it's then that I see the others.

Christine, Cayden, Alpha Zacharias, and Nora are all standing on the threshold of the house, just behind Sierra as she rushes inside to hold onto Fenris when he goes to attack Connor again.

"Stop Fenris!"

Sierra's shouts fall on deaf ears as Fenris keeps on growling at his best friend for losing track of his sister. That's expected.

This time again, Sierra makes the mistake of walking right in front of an angry Fenris. The force with which she is smacked into the nearby wall causes a crack-like sound to be heard before everything goes silent.

Fenris is no longer growling, having felt his mate's pain through their mate-link and his empath skills. Hell, the pain I am feeling on behalf of Sierra makes me wince a bit.

I am afraid if Sierra's bleeding internally because of Fenris's force.

"Fuck!"

"Fuck!"

"Sierra!"

Those are the only words I hear as Fenris leaps away from Connor and marches toward his mate. She's grasping onto her abdomen tightly. Tears stream down her cheeks as she shakes her head a bit, gasping for air while whimpering in pain.

She's cracked a rib.

"I... fine," she moans and pushes at Fenris's hands. Cayden and Connor quickly pick up Sierra, ignoring her cries of pain at their touch. All the while Fenris's hands are trembling as he holds them mid-air, hesitating to touch his own mate. He's so forgone in his fear that he doesn't even snatch Sierra back to him when she cries in pain at the other males' touch.

"Let me," Catrina whispers, pushing away at her mate and brother's hands and taking over half of Sierra's weight as she walks her away from us.

Nora quickly joins the females and then with a single touch, all three females disappear out of the living room.

I sense them in the infirmary of the pack and so does Connor because he's quick to hold Fenris back with a hand on his shoulder, restraining him from walking out of the house in a panic.

"She's fine. Catrina's checking on her," Connor squeezes his friend's shoulder but Fenris doesn't seem to be listening to him. In fact, he doesn't even look like he's fine or coherent.

He looks distraught.

He should be. That's the second time that he's harmed Sierra in his rage. If this continues, Sierra might end up dead at the hands of her own mate.

I let out a huge sigh, exhausted by my young friend's short temper. I really don't need this additional work now.

I have more important things to deal with.

Without waiting for anyone else's comments, I walk out of the house; feeling relieved that Fenris didn't ask me what I was doing here. I am not really in the mood to answer his pathetic questions.

He needs to grow up to understand my situation. And that is not possible if he keeps on hurting his mate.

Only when I walk out of the house, do I realize that Nora was here. What can it be?

Is she on Alcina's side or is she not aware of her daughter's whereabouts?

The thought keeps running through my mind as I try to track Nikita's scent. It's faint but it's there.

But it's also as if someone's trying to mislead me with small hints.

It makes me want to be extra cautious.

Halting on my run, I wait for my informant to arrive. I hope he gets information on Dimitry's whereabouts.

"Good evening, my Lord!" Damon greets me while handing me a letter.

Grasping the letter from his hand, I frown at the fragrance wafting off it. It faintly feels like Dragon.

"What is it?"

"It is Lord Dragomir's response to your letter. When you asked the Dragon about his reason to aid you in pointing out the traitor of our clan; he responded himself," informs Damon while perching on a nearby branch. He looks pale.

I had purposely sent him to the Lord of Dragons with my letter. I thanked the Dragon for his tolerance and asked him if he knew anything more about my father's stock of those alcohol bottles and Viviana's knowledge about the same.

"You did good, Damon. You can leave. Feed yourself and then you are free to be with Jenna," I order, knowing full well that Damon will not leave me alone.

"But-"

"No buts. Jenna needs you," I reply, knowing what I say is true. It has become very clear now, especially after I saw Catrina and her need to be close to her mate. Jenna must be feeling drained and weak too.

Damon's eyes shine with understanding as I continue staring at him in the eyes. Slowly, he nods his head and then bows in respect. "Very well, my Lord. Please do let me know your whereabouts. It will help me keep back-up ready."

"I will, Damon. Thank you."

Only when Damon leaves and I am alone in the forest, do I open the letter. Such letters are confidential. Not even Damon knows what exactly I wrote in my letter to the Great Dragon and I am sure, no one knows what's written in the Great Dragon's response to me.

After taking a closer look at the letter and understanding the meaning of his words, I memorise it. I need to thank the Dragon personally for this decade-old information. 

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