Chapter 44: Chapter 44

Isabel woke up the next morning to the feeling of feather like kisses on her back. She smiled to herself, enjoying her mate’s gentle ministration on her skin.

“Happy birthday, gorgeous.” Dylan’s husky voice said through mind link, causing memories of the previous night’s love making session in the woods to fill her thoughts.

Dylan was quite wild last night, probably because his wolf was at its peak, as a result of the full moon, and she loved every bit of his roughness. Her legs could still feel the impact, but she wanted more.

“Happy birthday to you too, hunk.” She turned around to face her mate, kissing him deeply.

Dylan moaned into the kiss. He was tempted to take the kiss further since that was what his mate was asking for, but he refrained himself because he wanted Isabel to have a good rest after several weeks of barely sleeping, so he reluctantly ended the kiss.

“Why are you dressed?” Isabel asked with a frown when she noticed her mate was casually dressed in jeans and a grey tank top.

“I, uh. I wanna head out for a bit.”

“Why?”

“Don’t do this, Isabel. It won’t be a surprise if I tell you.”

“I hate surprises, so, out with it.”

Dylan sighed in defeat and told Isabel that he wanted to go grocery shopping and make something special for their birthday.

Isabel wasn’t too happy about it because for several weeks now, she has tried her best to make sure her mate and her parents didn’t leave the house. She wanted them close by, where she could keep an eye on them.

“Ingrid can do it, you know?” She suggested, not making it sound like she was ordering him to stay.

“Babe, I’ve been indoors for too long. It’s suffocating!” Dylan groaned the last part, slumping on the bed beside Isabel, to show his displeasure.

Isabel didn’t want them arguing on their birthday, so she agreed to let him do whatever he wanted, only for today. Dylan excitedly kissed her goodbye and asked her to get enough sleep because he was going to make it up to her that night. She threw a pillow at him, concealing her excitement at his promise to make her sore that night, but Dylan was out of the bedroom before the pillow could reach him.

She yawned in exhaustion as she was still too tired to get up, and in a matter of seconds she slowly drifted back to sleep, concluding within herself that she was going to ask Dylan to mark her that night.

Dylan wasn’t expecting to see his mother in law already awake when he got to the living room.

“Didn’t mean to startle you, dear. I woke up early to make something special for breakfast, for my birthday babies.” Paulina explained when she noticed the shocked expression on Dylan’s face, pinching him playfully on the cheek.

“Happy birthday, darling.” She continued, giving him a warm hug.

“Thanks, Paulina.” Dylan replied with a smile, returning the hug.

“Where’s Isabel?” She then asked, staring at the stairs like Isabel was going to show up any minute.

“She’s fast asleep.” He lied, so that no one would go bother his mate in the room.

She needs some time to herself, he thought to himself, hoping his mate doesn’t beat herself up over the current situation even on her birthday. He only hopes she doesn’t blow his cover by coming downstairs anytime soon.

“She needs it.”

Paulina was worried about her daughter who has lost some weight over the last couple of weeks. She was concerned because Isabel ought to be enjoying her union at this age, but instead she was faced with one problem after another.

If only Rodrigo had dealt with his own mess, her daughter wouldn’t be burdened with this issue.

“Are you going somewhere?” She quickly changed the subject before she gets sad on this special day.

“Yeah. I wanna make a special dinner for Isabel.”

The excitement in Dylan’s voice warmed Paulina’s heart and she immediately reminded herself to stop worrying about her daughter because she’s in good hands.

“Really!... I’ll give you a hint then. She loves her food spicy.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Dylan thanked Paulina for the extra help, and promised to be back early for her special breakfast, before leaving the house.

It was already noon when Isabel woke up for the second time. She stretched and yawned lazily, and eventually forced herself out of bed. She couldn’t remember the last time she slept this soundly. Dylan was indeed her happy and peaceful place. She went into the bathroom to freshen up after picking out something casual to wear for the day.

“He said he’d be back by breakfast time. I wonder what’s keeping him.” Paulina was telling her mate, who had asked after Dylan, and didn’t notice Isabel’s presence.

“Where’s Dylan?” Isabel didn’t bother greeting her parents and asked about her mate’s whereabouts instead.

“Oh honey, you’re finally awake. Happy birthday.” Paulina avoided her daughter’s question because she didn’t want her getting unnecessarily worried on her birthday.

“Happy birthday, dear.” Rodrigo wished his daughter a happy birthday while her mom guided her to the dining area, so she could eat.

Isabel glanced around the living room and dining area, when she found no sign of her little sister and David, she asked about their whereabouts too.

Something doesn’t feel right, she could feel it and so could her wolf.

“They’re in the backyard playing with Fernando.” Her mom’s reply erased her fears as she was beginning to go into a panic from not seeing the pups around.

“I made a combination of American and Mexican breakfast cos I want you both to have a taste of each other’s culture.” Paulina explained, wearing a proud smile while she poured a cup of coffee for Isabel.

“Where is Dylan?” Isabel asked for the second time, causing her mom to stop what she was doing.

She doesn’t intend to have breakfast or brunch, considering the time, without her mate on their birthday. It was their birthday, not just hers.

The hesitancy on her mom’s face wasn’t encouraging at all, but she didn’t want to jump to conclusions.

Dylan only told her about going grocery shopping and nothing more, and if that were the case, he should’ve been back a long time ago. So, why the delay?

“He told me he was going to get some supplies from the supermarket, to make something special for dinner… That’s all I know.” Paulina eventually replied.

Isabel abruptly stood up from the dining chair at her mom’s reply and started her way towards the front door, but Rodrigo stopped her midway.

“What if he’s planning something special and doesn’t want you finding out about it?” He asked, considering the possibility that Dylan may have lied to his daughter in order to hide his real intentions.

Isabel wanted to consider her dad’s opinion, but the strange feeling in her stomach, the sudden agitation of her wolf and the promise they made to each other the previous night never to keep secrets, made her brush off the possibility of Dylan lying to her.

She was about picking up from where she stopped but was stopped for a second time. This time, it was her mom.

“Honey, don’t make rash decisions… How about you ask Xavi to look for him?”

Her mom’s suggestion wasn’t a bad idea but Xavi has more important duties at the moment, so she doesn’t think it’s necessary to bother him with this. But on second thought, what could be more important than the safety of her mate?

With that conviction, she wasted no time in calling Xavi through mind link and asking him to search for Dylan in the entire pack. She advised him to assign some warrior werewolves to make the search easier and faster as she was growing impatient.

While they were waiting in the living room for Dylan’s return or Xavi’s report, Teresa, David and Fernando joined the other werewolves inside the house. The pups jumped in excitement on seeing Isabel because they had waited for hours to wish her and Dylan a happy birthday.

Teresa gave her a painting she made of them while David showed off how much he had improved with little help from Rodrigo without Isabel’s knowledge. She was impressed with both presents and played with them for close to an hour, at the pups request.

She tried her hardest to conceal the sudden sharp pain she felt in her chest from not being able to sense her mate’s wolf any longer.

‘What is going on?’ she rubbed her chest discreetly, hoping to reduce the pain, but that didn’t help as her wolf was whimpering for its mate.

This isn’t right. Her mate could be seriously injured, or even worse, dead.

Rodrigo, on noticing his daughter’s discomfort asked her through mind link what was upsetting her.

“I can’t feel his wolf?”

Dylan felt something wet and cold on his face, causing him to regain consciousness. Before him stood Ignacio with a smug expression on his face. He glanced around his current surrounding and realized that he was inside an abandoned warehouse.

‘Where could this be?’ he wondered.

“Don’t waste your time. You’re far from home.” Ignacio stated with irritation in his voice, causing Dylan’s thoughts to flashback to the events that led to his present state.

He had walked out of the supermarket with a wide grin, as he couldn’t hide his eagerness to get back home to his mate. He put the paper bags in the trunk of his car and made his way towards the driver’s side, but as soon as he climbed into the car, an all too familiar scent hit his nostrils, causing his wolf to become alert. He jerked his head backward, to confirm his fears and unfortunately found Ignacio in the back seat of his car wearing a sick smile on his face. Dylan didn’t have the chance to fight off the outcast or alert his mate since he could now talk to his mate through the mind link, as he was injected with wolfs bane and knocked unconscious.

Dylan glared at Ignacio and tried to get his hands on him, to teach him a lesson as he regained his memory, only to realize that something was restraining him. Ignacio smirked at Dylan’s poor attempt to free himself from the cuffs on his wrists and ankles. His wolf is currently unconscious, so he is as helpless as a human at this point.

“Wait till I get my hands on you.” Dylan threatened through gritted teeth when he noticed that his wolf wasn’t responding.

“And how do you intend to do that?” Ignacio mocked, rolling his eyes at his victim’s empty threat.

He took two steps towards Dylan, to close the gap between them and inched his face forward, so they were looking at each other in the eyes, and whispered in a menacing tone,

“Read my lips, boy. Just like your pretty mate murdered my son, I’ll make sure I tear you limb from limb.”

“Not if I kill you first.” Dylan threatened back, not willing to look like a coward in front of the older werewolf.

Isabel should’ve killed him along with his miserable son.

It’s only a matter of time before his wolf regains consciousness. He’ll do his mate the favor of sending this thorn in her flesh into an early grave.

“Well, well, well. Who do we have here?..” A deep voice spoke out of nowhere, causing Dylan to tear his eyes away from Ignacio.

From the far corner of the warehouse, came a tall figure in black. He squinted his eyes to make out who the figure in the distance belonged to, but the person in question looked quite unfamiliar to Dylan.

“If it isn’t my little brother in law.” The stranger said, sounding pretty pleased.

Dylan realized only then who he was.

“You coward!” He spat at the stranger, recalling the sleepless nights his mate put herself through waiting for her half brother to show up, only for him to make a cowardly move. He should’ve confronted Isabel head on if he was brave enough, but instead he wants to use a bait to lure her out.

Dylan, in that moment regretted his mistake. Isabel was trying really hard to protect him, but he was too stubborn and self centered to realize it. Look where it got him.

“Tsk tsk tsk! I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Dylan’s abductor stated in a disapproving manner, grinding his teeth to contain his wolf, who was more than ready to pounce its prey.

“Or what?... From what I see, you’re only a coward who will forever remain in the shadows.”

Rodrigo’s son wasn’t at all pleased with Dylan’s show of strength, so he slapped him hard across the face with the back of his hand, causing Dylan’s lips to burst open.

Dylan spat out the blood from his cut lip. He didn’t wince neither did he shout, he just glared at his attacker, clenching his fists to stop his trembling, as he could feel his fever slowly returning.

“What do you want with me?” He growled at the stranger, watching intently as he fought back his rage with a sick smile.

“Me?... Besides getting rid of the only one who stands in my way of becoming the alpha, I want to do absolutely nothing with you. But him…” He pointed his finger in Ignacio’s direction.

“He wants you dead… Now, let’s see how important you are to your beloved mate.”