Alpha's Mate

Chapter 40

Jade's Pov

"Jade! You can't storm off like that!" Ayden called out from behind me.
"You do it all the time! Why is it only wrong when I do it!?" I replied.
I knew he wasn't going to like it where we were going, but I had to check. If Ruby was in there that means she might be badly hurt.
"This is no time for games! Where are you going!?"
I turned on my heel and faced him.
"There is only one place I can think of where he could've taken Ruby. It's the only other place that I stayed in overnight." I turned back around and continued walking.
"You're not talking about that death dungeon right? Because you are not going in there." He demanded.
"Oh yeah? Try and stop me." I snapped back. He stayed quiet for a second and I thought he stopped following me. I felt myself getting lifted up and thrown over his shoulder.
"Ayden! Put me down I have to go find her!" I yelled. I tried kicking and hitting his back but it was no use. I stopped moving because I was scared that he was going to drop me.
"Not until you calm down and let me go in first. We don't know what could be waiting for us there." He stated.
"Fine! Fine just let me down!" I yelled. He brought me down and I huffed. He leaned down to kiss me but I turned around and walked away.
"Jade," He growled cautiously. I stopped and waited for him to catch up. "Don't ever dodge my kisses like that ever again." He leaned down to kiss my lips and got close to my ears. "Lose the attitude baby, please" his words made my knees weak but I kept my focus.
"It's right there," I pointed to a small old building that was covered in outgrown vines. He walked over to it and listened.
He knocked down the door and it fell with a loud thud. We walked in slowly and cautiously, considering there might be other people in here. A shiver went down my spine when I saw the chains attached to the walls and dried blood on the floor. There was also a chair with straps that they would use to torture people.
"Please tell me you were never locked into those chains," Ayden growled and I nodded.
"Those bastards are going to pay for what they did to all those girls."
There was a knocking sound at the end of the hallway and Ayden pushed me behind him.
"Do not make a sound. If I tell you to run, you obey me" Ayden said.
Before I could snap back, another loud noise came from the same direction. It sounded as if someone was trying to call attention.
"Help me please," a weak voice said. I stepped out from behind Ayden and ran towards the sound.
"Jade!" Ayden yelled but I didn't stop. I came to a halt when I noticed a body on the floor.
"Ruby?" I questioned. I leaned forward to examine the body but was yanked back with force.
"What did I tell you about running off?!" Ayden's voice boomed through the whole building. The look on his face was scary, but his eyes were filled with worry. I turned my attention to the familiar-looking body on the floor.
"Oliver?!" I asked in disbelief. Ayden turned around to look at him and kept me at a safe distance. Oliver groaned as he pushed his body up to look at us.
"Rose? You look different" He said and coughed. I moved Ayden's hands off of me and bent down to Oliver's level. He had bruises covering up his whole body, blood running down his face, and a swollen eye.
"Jade who is this?" Ayden asked in a low voice. He sounded upset and I'm sure he was confused as to why I was worried about some guy we found, almost dead, in this horrific place.
"This is Oliver, we used to hang out a lot together until Roy suspected that we might be spilling secrets to him," I explained as I examined Oliver's body.
"We?"
"Skylar and I. He was our only best friend outside of the girls" I continued. Ayden stayed quiet but I can feel the anger radiating off of him. I grabbed Oliver's hand and he winced.
"I'll make this all better," I mumbled to myself.
"No, I told you not to use it," Ayden growled.
"I have to help him!" I glanced over my shoulder and saw him standing over us furious about what I was doing. I moved Oliver's hair out of his face and he smiled.
"You look good. By the way, who is grump pants over there," Oliver laughed groggily and I smiled. Ayden walked over to us and I glared at him. He huffed, crossing his arms, and keeping a look out for others.
"I'll explain later. Right now we have to get you out of here" I said and he nodded slowly. "Have you seen Ruby?"
"She was here last night, but then they took her away." Those words shattered my heart.
It means she was here. She is probably in so much pain right now and I don't care what Ayden says I will use my power on her.
"Can you get up?" I asked and he shook his head. I looked up at Ayden desperately and he sighed. He bent down next to me and looked around
"I'll have to pick him up to get him into the SUV," Ayden said and I nodded.
"We are going to get you out of here okay?" I said to Oliver and he smiled. His head fell back and Ayden picked him up.
"Be careful with him please," I said.
"I don't like you touching other men." He snapped.
"He's hurt and he is my friend."
We began making our way out of the building to continue to look for Ruby.
"Don't think you're getting out of this easily because of that excuse"
He closed mindlink and I rolled my eyes. There was an ear-piercing scream outside and I turned to look at Ayden.
"Jade don't-" I took off running leaving Oliver behind with him.
My heart started pounding so hard in my chest. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me toward where I heard the scream. I noticed Roy and Richard talking to Caden, Lance, and Skylar. Skylar let herself fall, but Caden caught her just before she hit the ground. I pushed the last of my energy and caught up with them.
"What is going on?!" I asked trying to catch my breath. Skylar was crying hysterically on the floor and Lance had a panicked look on his face. "Do I have to ask again?!"
"He killed her," Lance said in disbelief.
"Killed who?" I was getting impatient. It was quiet for a few seconds and I turned to look at Roy. He took a step forward and smirked.
"Ruby," He whispered.
Her name rolled off his tongue like it didn't mean anything. I couldn't believe it. Ruby was dead. We were too late for her. My ears started ringing and Skylar's cries were fading away. I stepped back, losing my balance and I looked at Richard.
He was looking at Skylar with no emotion on his face. I felt my blood boil and my fists ball up. I launched at Roy throwing punches to his chest.
"How could you!? She was just a little kid! She was only ten years old! How could you do that to her!?" I let all the anger I build up for twelve years.
My claws came out and I scratched his face. This was the last straw. He had gone too far this time. I wanted him dead. I got pulled away from him but I kept swinging.
"Let me go! You son of a bitch! You should be dead not her! You're going to pay for this!"
"Jade enough! stop it!" Ayden yelled.
I stopped swinging but he kept his grip tight around my waist. I looked at Roy who was spitting out some blood from his mouth. He turned to look at me and shrugged.
"She was too weak. She wasn't supposed to die. It was an accident." He said casually. An accident?! I went to him again but Ayden pulled me back.
"Jade I told you to stop!" He yelled.
I felt the tears building up in my eyes. Ruby was a young little girl. She had her whole life ahead of her. We were about to rescue her from this place and I failed her. I finally let my body go limp and I broke down.
"I guess you were too late" Roy chuckled.
"I have gathered everyone in the meeting hall. We will be sure to tell them about this as well." Alpha Alex said.
He was standing a few feet away from us with his Beta and Gamma next to him. I searched for Oliver and he was laying limp in Lance's arms. I stood up and faced Alpha Alex.
"I want to be there when you announce it," I stated.
"I'm sorry Jade this is for Alphas only." He gave me a sympathetic smile and looked around. "Shall we get this started?"
"Before we go, I want you to know we will also be taking Oliver. We found him in the abandoned building where Roy would take people for torture." Ayden told him.
"Oliver?" Skylar asked. I turned around and saw her get up to look at him. She frowned when she saw the bad shape he was in.
"That's fine" Alpha Alex approved. They took away Roy and Richard and left us all standing there.
"I'll handle this. Lance and Caden will go back with everyone " Ayden said and everyone nodded. He pulled me to the side while everyone headed back to the cars.
"We will talk bout your behavior later," He said lowly.
"No,"
"I wasn't asking. I better not find you cuddling up with your friend Oliver" He had never been this mean to me.
I know he was under a lot of stress, but that doesn't give him an excuse. I was mourning the loss of a friend. I walked away but he grabbed my hand and pulled me close to his face.
"Don't walk away when I'm talking to you princess," He said so low I could barely hear him. I looked up to see his eyes were dark. Milo was in control of him now. He pulled me into a hug and I sighed. I hugged him back and he kissed my head.
"I'll see you later okay? If you need anything, tell Lance to lend you his phone." He said and I nodded.
It still amazes me how quickly he can change between him and Milo. He gave me a small smile and a quick kiss. I turned around and walked toward the SUVs.
Lance was waiting for me by the door and he gave me a sheepish smile. When I sat down, I laid Skylar's head on my shoulder as she continued to cry silently. I turned around to see Ayden's figure fade as we drove away from this dreaded place.

Ayden's Pov

Everything about this trip was fucked up. I couldn't believe that Roy killed Ruby. She was such a fragile young girl. If only we hadn't taken long we could've rescued her.
"Don't forget about that moment between Jade and Oliver" Milo growled.
"Don't remind me. Do you think there was anything between them?"
"Jade was too afraid to come close to us, her mate, you think she would've had something with that dude?"
"I wonder why they never mentioned him,"
"Maybe it was too hard for them?"
"I'll just ask her later,"
"Don't push it. You already scared her enough. Let her mourn her friend."
"You can't lose control anymore," I reminded and he rolled his eyes.
We got to the meeting room where everyone was waiting for us. As I made my way to the front, I kept hearing everyone panic seeing all the Alphas here.
"Good afternoon, sorry to disturb everyone's day with this urgent meeting." Alpha Alex announced. The room became silent and he continued. "The reason we have called everyone here today is that some unfortunate news came to our concern. Your Alpha has been mistreating and kidnapping underage girls for twelve years or more." The whole room gasped and mumbled between each other.
"This resulted in ousting him of his Alpha title. Beta Alfred and Gamma Richard will also be dismissed from their positions. They were helping him run this sickening business." The people were in shock mostly panicking.
"Unfortunately, that leaves you with no leaders. Usually, someone steps up, but we have decided that it's best for the pack to be dismembered today," Everyone started panicking and some started running around scared.
"You think it's cool if we slip out and let them handle it?" Milo laughed.
"This is not a laughing matter. We have to stay here and fix Roy's mess,"
"Grumpy pants," Milo huffed and sat at the back of my head.