MARK:

"Maybe we should just let her go."

"Are you insane? Pretty soon we'll have his pack. We can't let her go. She's his weakness."

"She's so innocent."

"So what? So was my mate and child. So was your mate. Have you forgotten already?"

"No."

"Good. Look...I know you are a good man, but she is a means to an end. Once we take over Alpha Hunter's pack, you can relax. Okay?"

"Sure."

"Good man. Time to contact the Alpha."

HUNTER:

Arianna and Mark have been gone nearly a week now. I can't eat or sleep. I just want her back. Zander comes running into my office.

"Alpha! We got a ransom note."

"Give it to me!"

ALPHA HUNTER. WE HAVE YOUR LITTLE MATE. DON'T WORRY. SHE IS SAFE FOR NOW. YOU WANT HER BACK? IT'S TIME WE MET. IN THE ENVELOPE IS A PICTURE OF A CABIN, ALONG WITH THE ADDRESS. COME ALONE AND WE WILL TALK. IF WE SEE ANYBODY WITH YOU, I KILL ARIANNA BEFORE YOU EVEN GET A CHANCE TO SEE HER. BE THERE TOMORROW AT 2PM.

I looked at the photo of the cabin. On the back is an address. There is another photo inside. It's a picture of Arianna. She's sitting on a cot. The picture must be recent. Her hair is cut shorter and dyed black. She looks okay in the photo. Thankfully.

"So now what?"

"I have to go meet him tomorrow."

"We'll dispatch…"

"No. I go alone."

"You can't."

"I have to or they'll kill Arianna."

"That's suicide. What if they kill you?"

"Then you will take over this pack as their new Alpha."

"Me?"

"Yes you. You are my Beta. You can run this pack as well as I can."

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes...I will go. Hopefully, I will bring Arianna home with me."

Arianna:

I have been here for nearly a week. They won't let me out of this shed unless I am accompanied by two guards, and that is only to bathe and use the bathroom. Three times a day, they bring me food and water. I haven't seen Mark since we got here. The door opens again and Nigel comes inside.

"Hello my dear. Enjoying your little vacation?"

He laughs.

Ha, ha..

"Anyway...tomorrow we're going on a little drive. Your Alpha is coming to visit, so tomorrow morning we'll let you get extra dolled up just for him. I'm sure you want to look your best."

"Thanks."

"Hey...no problem. Enjoy the rest of your night. We leave here tomorrow at 8am. I suggest you get some sleep."

He leaves and I sigh. If I want my strength for tomorrow, I need to sleep.

I am woken up the next morning by one of his guards.

"Time to get up. Let's go."

They take me to get cleaned up. I am allowed a longer bath so I can wash my hair and shave. After I am done, I am taken to another tent where some dresses are hanging up.

Is this guy serious?

None of them are fancy, but I guess he was serious about me getting dolled up. I picked out a black cotton dress with short sleeves. It fit fine and went down to my knees. The dress flats he had for me were too big, so I had to wear the sneakers I already had. After I came out, he was waiting for me.

"Those shoes don't match your dress."

"Well, the shoes you left are too big for me."

"Such a shame. Oh well, let's go."

He shoved me into an awaiting van. Mark sat in the back and gave me an awkward smile.

"Hello Ari."

"Mark."

"Look...I…"

"Save it."

"Behave back there you two or I turn this van around."

I shut my mouth and endured the long car ride while Mark sat there and stared at me. If looks could kill, he'd be dead a thousand times over. After a few hours, we arrived at the same cabin we had found the first night. We all got out and went inside. They put me in the bedroom with a guard posted outside the door and one outside the window. I sat on the bed and waited.

HUNTER:

I drove up to the driveway and saw the cabin in the distance. Two guards stopped me then another car pulled up behind me. They trained guns on me.

"Get out!"

I did as I was told. One of the guards ran a metal detector over me, then stepped back. Another one handed me new clothes.

"Change."

"Are you serious?"

"Very."

I changed into the clothes they gave me and threw mine in the back seat. One of the guards from the car, got in my car and drove off with it.

"We walk up from here."

I followed one guard up with another behind me. He kept his gun trained on my back. I had no intention of running. Not until I had Arianna safe with me. We entered the cabin and a man came around the corner with Mark. Once I saw Mark, I growled low in my throat.

"Now, now...let's play nice. Wouldn't want to go in there and hurt your little mate now."

"Where is she?"

"Not until you calm down."

I slowed my breathing and forced my anger down. I couldn't lose control. Not now.

"All better now?"

"Can I please see Arianna?"

"Was that so hard? Okay. Go fetch the girl."

One of the guards went down the hall and came back a minute later with Arianna. God...I missed her so much. She's still as beautiful as the last moment I saw her. Even with the black hair.

"Alpha?"

"Arianna…"

The guard let her go and she stood there, unsure of where to go. I held out my hand to her, and she still stood in her place. I could see it in her eyes. She was afraid of me.

"Damn...she won't go to you even now!"

Nigel laughed, and I seriously wanted to rip out his throat. Arianna had every right to be afraid of me. I treated her like shit, and she was supposed to be my mate.

"Get your ass over there before your 'mate' has a heart attack."

He used his fingers to quote mate, and I cringed inside. My heart hurt knowing what I did to her. Arianba took hesitant steps towards me and reached out to place her hand in mine. I pulled her into a hug and held her there.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes.."

Nigel cleared his throat.

"I think it's time to get down to business."

They tried to take her from me but I growled at them, and she clutched my shirt tighter.

"Oh...leave them. Nobody's going anywhere anyway. Let's sit."

I kept Arianna close to me and we sat at the table with Mark and Nigel across from us.

"Now then...what I want is very simple. Your pack in return for Arianna's life."

"You want my pack?"

"Yes."

"No."

"So...you want your mate dead then?"

"You won't lay a finger on her."

"Oh...I will…"

The two guards tried to grab her away from me and I growled at them.

"Stop!"

I turned to see Nigel with a gun pointed at Arianna.

"One move and she's dead. This gun uses silver bullets by the way."

We all stopped and sat back down. He smirked at us and sat, but kept the gun on Arianna.

"Why do you want my pack anyway?"

"I guess it's time for a little story. About six years ago, I was a happy man with a wife and a son. My son just turned two. Maybe I was a young dad at 18, when he was born, but I loved my mate and son with all my heart. Believe it or not, we were once part of a large pack until your father decided he wanted our territory. My father refused and your father attacked our pack. Slaughtering numerous women and children. Including my mate and son. Along with Mark's mate as well. Our pack dwindled to only 30 pack members after that battle. Your father took our territory and instantly made me the Alpha of our now Rogue pack. Mark here is my Beta. We devised a plan for revenge. I wanted your father, but we figured your sweet mother would be the best revenge. So...we killed her. We thought that would weaken your father, but it only enraged him more. We thought we missed our chance to get control of your pack, but it turned out that your father got sick and passed away only a year later, making you Alpha and still unmated. That's when we devised a new plan. Mark here posed as a lost rogue and gained your trust. He infiltrated your pack, and became your most trusted guard. When he told me the news of you finally finding your mate, I knew it was time to put our plan to work. Like I hoped, you made Mark Arianna's bodyguard, and you played the part of the hateful mate. Too bad you couldn't stay away from her though. Mark is a very good spy. He knew about your late night visits outside her bedroom window and how you punished yourself every time you punished Arianna. We knew the truth. You love her. So Mark made Arianna hate you, fall for him, and run away with him. We could have just kidnapped her, but this was so much more fun. We wanted her to run away willingly. Watching her break one last time, when she found out that Mark lied to her the whole time, was the icing on the cake. Now...I will have back what is rightfully mine. Your pack...or...Arianna's death."

"Well...that's a great story. Only one small problem."

"What is that?"

"Well...you see...I don't follow orders very well, and I have a lot of friends this way. So...I didn't actually come alone."

The timing couldn't have been more perfect. Nigel howled, and I flipped the table, just as he shot the gun. The table hit his hand and the shot hit the wall behind Arianna. I had contacted friends from a nearby pack as I drove down here. They agreed to help me. They came running into the cabin to apprehend Nigel and Mark, along with his guards. There were too many of them for Nigel to fight, and he reluctantly gave up. They cuffed them and drug them out of the cabin. In all this commotion, I forgot about Arianna. When I turned to her, she was shaking and cowering in the corner.

"Arianna!"

I ran to her and pulled her into my arms.

"I am so sorry. Are you okay?"

She only cried and buried her face in my chest. I stroked her back as she sobbed.

"Arianna...I am so sorry for the way I treated you. I can only apologize and hope one day you might forgive me. So now….I will ask you...Do you want to go back to your home with your parents? Or you can come back with me."

"You would let me go home?"

"If that's what you want."

"What about you?"

"I want you to be happy again. My selfishness only brought you pain, so I am willing to let you go. "