Chapter 22: Chapter 22

Nivaan’s POV

“Fuck him!” I slurred as I tried to keep my eyes open. Norton did have a flair for torturing. He kept at it for a very long time; almost reaching the same level as Ariana.

Letting out a pained cough, I closed my eyes. I focused on my breathing; inhaling and exhaling evenly. Once I reached a trance-like state, I let my wolf’s power infuse me with new strength. I even managed to heal some of the injuries.

This was a little trick I learned when Ariana had me. She would leave me worn and battered at the end of the day. At night, I would use the power of my wolf to heal myself. That is how I survived for that long in her captivity.

“Did he beg yet?” the woman’s voice sounded as she walked inside. My muscles became stiff and I cracked open my eyes halfway.

Norton, who had dozed off on a wooden box sat up with a start. Rubbing his eyes, he grumbled, “You might as well ask me to break a rock than break his will.”

I smiled inwardly. This was exactly the effect I wanted to produce. It would make them desperate and then they would make mistakes.

“I should have expected this,” she said as she walked towards me with slow deliberate steps. She placed her hand on my shoulder, “You go and look after that other work, I will handle this.”

“But….”

“Do as you are told, Norton!” She snapped before turning her attention to me. I squinted my eyes trying to look at her face but it was useless. It was as if something more than the cloth was blocking my vision.

I had only one option now. I held my breath as I waited for her to draw closer. The moment she was within my reach, I trapped her using my legs.

She was completely startled; her arms flailed and she struggled to extract herself but I held on with every ounce of energy I had left in my body.

Lowering my head close to her throat, I whispered, “If you want to stay alive show me your face.

She snorted in response and tried to kick her way out but my grip was too firm. Her body went limp and she said, “Don’t be stupid, Nivaan. You can’t keep me trapped like this for more than a few minutes. You haven’t eaten for three days. Your legs will give away due to weakness.”

“Who said I need to keep you like this for more than a few minutes?” To prove my point I let my canines elongate and grazed her skin with them.

Her body became stiff instantly. Before I knew what was happening, a sudden surge of electricity coursed through me, and I passed out.

***

Emilia’s POV

“It's been three days, Kiara. There has been no sign, no clue… We don’t even know if he is dead or alive,” Mark’s worried voice sounded in the tent.

“He is alive…. At least for now…,” Kiara replied as she handed her mobile phone to Mark. Mark’s expression turned extremely pale as he watched something on the phone. His grip on the device tightened and he begged, ‘Please agree to my plan, Luna… We can’t let him suffer like this.”

Kiara crossed her arms over her chest and said in a firm voice, “That is not an option, Mark….”

Mark threw his hands up in frustration, “How can you be so stubborn! You would rather save a stranger than your brother!”

Kiara didn’t look affected by his words. She retained her calm expression and replied in a firm voice, “If Nivaan was in my place, he would have done the same too….”

“Fine…. Keep protecting her…. But, remember one thing, your brother’s blood is on your hands!” Mark shouted before storming out of the tent. “I won’t come here again!”

Kiara slumped to the bed with a thud, buried her face in her hands, and started sobbing. I stood there beyond the canvas of the tent watching everything from the tiny hole I had made.

My heart ached for Kiara. I wanted to console her and hug her. I wanted to tell her that everything will be alright but I wasn’t sure that it will be appreciated. So, I stood there like a statue, while she cried her heart out.

My own heart grew heavy and the ache that had dulled seemed to flair again. I sneaked into the tent after Kiara had left and looked for the video she had shown to Mark.

My heart went numb when I saw him being tortured. They were absolutely merciless. Nivaan looked so pale. His entire body was covered in bruises yet the man didn’t stop. I couldn’t watch it anymore and I hit the pause button.

I was about to keep the phone back when something struck me. I turned on the video again and tried to focus on the background this time. My eyes widened and my jaws hung open when the realization hit me.

It was the same warehouse where Michael had proposed to me. My hands flew to my mouth. We had come to the Lake Elliysr for a camping trip. This warehouse was about a mile from the lake.

F***! This was all my fault. It was my fault that Michael was targeting Nivaan. I held my head with my hand and paced up and down. How would I live with myself if something happened to Nivaan because of me!? I had to find a way to fix this.

My fingers trembled as I typed out a message hastily, ‘I will come wherever you want…. Please don’t hurt Nivaan… signed, Emilia Ryanwood….”

I tapped my foot impatiently as I waited for the reply. The sound of swishing canvas alerted me and I managed to slide her phone into my pocket before Kiara entered the tent.

Her eyebrows narrowed, “What are you doing here Emilia?”

“Ummm… nothing, I just wanted to ask you if there is any news about Ni… your brother….” My voice was so flustered but thankfully she didn’t notice. She merely let out a deep sigh and shook her head.

“I will get going then,” I said as I made my way hastily out of the tent. I rushed to my tent and took out the phone again. My heart skipped a beat when I saw the notification of a reply.

There was an address followed by some instructions:

‘Reach the given place within an hour; don’t tell anyone else, come alone.’

I placed Kiara’s phone on the bed and rushed out of the tent. With my condition, it would take at least 45 minutes to reach the assigned place….