Chapter 156
Auren POV
“Well, he hid her in a remote location” Maris shrugged. “But I had heard of the conversation. Josh knew where Bram had put her up. I asked him to help me and he helped. He recorded Sable’s video that night when she was revealing her plans to her companions. He sent me the video and I sent it to you all” She bit her bottom lip. “I did it to save my relationship? “But you said that you are with Josh!” I growled. “Stop lying!”
“I wasn’t with Josh at that time,” she protested. “I was with Bram and wanted to save my relationship with him. He was hell bent on getting you back. What do you expect from me? I had spent a good number of years with him, did everything he wanted, and yet what did he do? He went to the High Council and tried to claim you? Do you realize the kind of stress I was in? I could have lost everything–my position, my prestige and my place in my family. I was fucking desperate!”
She let out a cry and Josh embraced her in his arms. “Hush…”
I looked at Lucien with confusion, irritation, guilt and a number of other emotions. He narrowed his gaze on her.
Maris shook her head. “He didn’t listen to me, so I did what I had to. I got that video and sent it to all the Council members and also to you all. Basically to everyone I could get hold of using an unknown number.”
At her words, I let out a rough exhale. She practically saved me from Bram but in doing so she actually saved her relationship with Bram. The revelation was like a punch in my guts. I didn’t know whether to be happy or sad. “It was you who sent that video?”
“Yes,” she nodded. “I saved you from him that time.”
“Stop saying like you are the victim here,” Lucien snapped. “You saved yourself as well.”
“I did,” she replied, shaking her head. “But it did bring peace for a long time, until I realized that Bram was pushing toward insanity. He missed his wolf and the only person he ever wanted was to be with Auren.” She lowered her head to the floor. “Honestly, I am happy that he is no more…”
There was an awkward silence in the room for a long time as each of us tried to process her words. “So what now?” I asked finally. Seriously, I didn’t know where we were standing at this junction of life.
“The question is where is my daughter?” Lucien growled, snapping. “Bram kidnapped her. So I am sure you know about it!”
“I don’t!” she pleaded. “All I know is that-” She glanced at Josh again. “After I returned home, I wanted to talk to Josh, but Bram had sent him to spy on your border saying that he had gone for a very important mission.”
Lucien’s eyes went wide in shock. “Fuck!” he cursed.
I realized that Bram had used Josh to divert our attention.
“Yes,” Maris said. “I don’t know why or how he kidnapped your pup, because he had gone for a war with you. I called Josh a few nights ago, asking him to return and challenge Bram as an Alpha of the Crimson Howl pack.”
Lucien stabbed his fingers in his hair as he sat on the sofa behind him. Our minds were flooded with a thousand scenarios now as Bram’s scheme unfolded.
Maris added, “Bram had gone to fight alongside other rebel Alphas against you. Not once did he mention that he was going to kidnap your pup! I mean do you understand what I’m trying to say? If I knew that Bram would return with your pup, why would I ask Josh to marry me?”
Lucien’s jaw ticked with frustration. “You are marrying him?”
“Yes,” she nodded. “I swear, I have no hand in your daughter’s abduction. I didn’t know what Bram was planning.”
“I know what he was planning,” I said, plopping on the seat beside Lucien. Helplessness covered me. It was so strong that tears ran down my eyes. “He schemed just to get my pup, just to avenge me.” I covered my face with my hands as a sob wrenched out of my throat. “He took away my baby! He was a twisted animal.”
Lucien wrapped his arms around my shoulders, and pulled me close to him. “Auren…” he said as he placed his head over mine. Both of us sat there together for a long time, not knowing what to do. I felt hopeless and sad, like I was sitting in a paper boat in a stormy sea, which was tossed, torn and was directionless. It was trying to fight with waves too big for its size. Lucien and I felt… defeated.
“Alpha Lucien,” Josh said in a low, cautious voice after some time. “I will do everything in my capacity to find your pup. I promise that.”
Lucien whipped his head to look at him, his eyes flashing golden. “If you think I am going to spare you, then you’re wrong!”
Josh’s face turned sheet white. “Please Alpha Lucien,” he begged. “We have no idea what Bram was up to. And with the treaty, you can’t—”
“The treaty stands null and void!” Lucien shouted. “I will not have any relation to those who have proved to be my enemies!”
Josh swallowed. He looked at Maris who was also scared as hell. Then he turned his face to Lucien and said, “Okay, Alpha Lucien. The treaty is null, but please spare us. My pack people haven’t done anything. They were guided by Bram’s blind rage and revenge. I am taking over as their next Alpha. Trust me, we won’t even look at you for anything. We just want to leave everything in the past and move on.”
I don’t know why, but I could feel genuineness in Beta Josh’s words. He did want to make amendments in this pack. I felt like they should be given a chance. Taking a deep breath in, I said, “Let’s go, Lucien…”
“But Auren-” Lucien protested.
I shook my head. “They really don’t know anything about Tamara.”
“No!” he said. “I want to look in all of Bram’s private files.”
Though Josh appeared shocked, he nodded. “Of course, I’ll show all of them to you.”
For the rest of the day, Lucien read every paper and file in Bram’s office and library. There were many papers, but none was relevant to Tamara’s kidnapping. It seemed like he had planned extremely carefully. There were files about the best herbs to mask your smell. And that made some sense as to how he could go undetected. He masked his and Tamara’s smell using those herbs. And since it had been raining continuously over the last one week, all the smells were washed out. That was the reason why we couldn’t trace Tamara despite sending the best of our trackers. Every trail went cold.
In the evening, when nothing else could be found, we left the pack, but not after warning them of severe consequences if we found out what they said was a lie.
“Where are you, Tamara?” I murmured, clutching her wood toy to my chest. Sadness coated
my soul.
