Rise of the She-Wolf

Vanessa’s pov,

The rest of the week it seemed like everything that could go wrong went wrong. The new sheriff came to me asking for more money to buy his silence. I had been fuming because that greedy man already got a higher share than the ordinary policemen. I had to send Tomasso there to scare him and tell him that just because I didn’t use violence as a first resource didn’t mean I wouldn’t use it at all. He said to him that any of his officers would probably gladly accept the sheriff’s salary instead and that it would be a shame if he went missing on one of his hunting trips.

Hopefully, we scared him enough to not behave like a cunt. Besides that, some things went wrong with the deliveries of the drugs. The new training system had everyone test their abilities in all the fields to find their strengths. It sounded good on paper but in reality, it definitely had a trial-and-error phase. I did not know whether I should cut my losses and trust the process or admit that it had been a stupid idea. Tomasso and Lianna were great, but they did not want to advise me about leading a pack because that was the alpha’s job. I missed Spirit but it didn’t matter what I said because she refused to talk to me. Making decisions all on my own and being responsible for so many people was harder than I imagined. Luckily, I would meet up with Julietta at a hotel between our territories. I could really use another alpha’s point of view to help me with the struggles of leading a pack. I also told myself that today I would tell her that I just wanted to be friends and business partners but nothing more. My life was messy enough and I just needed some time by myself to figure everything out.

It was almost time to go, so I put on a feminine suit with black and white stripes. The silk fabric felt cold against my skin, and I left the upper buttons open for some cleavage. My feet slid into a pair of jimmy choo and I tied my hair into a tight ponytail. Blake was already waiting for me at the car as he would accompany me for the day. On the way to the hotel, Blake talked me through every single pack member training so far. I wrote down everything he said so I would be able to station them properly next week. My head was pounding from all the strategizing when we arrived at the hotel. Blake stationed himself outside the door while I went into the hotel room that we reserved. Julietta wasn’t there yet but I didn’t mind because I could use a little silence. Even the sound of running water made my head explode as I filled up a glass to swallow some painkillers. I sighed and laid down on the bed for a moment waiting for the pills to work. I inhaled the smell of freshly washed linen while I closed my eyes for a second.Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.

When I opened them again, I gasped when I looked at the clock and realized I had fallen asleep. It was hours later and still no sign of Julietta. My fingers brushed over my eyelids trying to get rid of the sleep while I stood up and walked to the door. Blake was still waiting, and he asked, “Did Julietta cancel?”

I looked at my phone and tried calling her a few times, “Strange no answer. Something must have happened. We have to go look for her.”

“I don’t think it’s a good idea. It could be dangerous,” Blake said in a worried tone.

I frowned, “I don’t care Blake! I’m not going to abandon her if something really happened, she might need help. I command you to take me amongst the route she would have taken.”

Blake couldn’t refuse a command from his alpha, so he nodded with resilience and locked the hotel door. We stormed out of the hotel into the pouring rain and darkness outside. By the time Blake brought the car around I was already soaked and shivering from the cold. Blake turned to the gravel road that went all the way to Julietta’s house. The lights of the car barely visualized the surroundings through the heavy rain. I clenched my eyes trying to spot anything unusual through the glass of the window. My heart sank to my chest when I noticed the shape of a car in the distance.

“STOP THE CAR,” I screamed before I threw open the door and jumped outside. My body was pumped with adrenaline as I ran to the car. I heard Blake scream things in the back of my mind, but I did not listen. I was just focused on what was in front of me, hoping with all my heart that nothing had happened to Julietta.

As I came closer, I recognized it as one of Julietta’s Range Rovers. The passenger door stood wide open, and I noticed a pale hand laying in a pool of mud. I could hear my own heartbeat pounding in my ears as I slowly walked closer. “NNOOOOOOOO,” I screamed when I noticed long locks of black hair entangled around the arm. I fell to my knees when Julietta’s dead body came into my eyesight. She was laying there in the dirt, her eyes wide open looking at the sky without a single sign of life. Her hair was covered in dirt and dried-up blood from the big cut on her neck. Sobs welled up from the pits of my stomach as I took her in my arms. Tears mixed with rain as I rocked her back and forth. I took her ice-cold hand into mine when I noticed a marking burned into her skin. I studied the mark with a hammer, sickle, and star when I felt someone standing behind me. I assumed it was Blake, so I did not even look up when the person put a handkerchief over my mouth. I coughed when the intense, chemical smell reached my nostrils before everything turned to black.