Chapter 56
Aragon.
I was stoked at the idea of starting afresh with my mate. It took me confronting Millicent in the dungeon to realize that I had been such a fool.
She and her mother used my vendetta against Marcus white to further their own agenda, I had made a deal with the devil and now, I regretted in
I checked my watch and smiled, she would soon be home and I needed her to agree to a date with me.
I looked up just as Leah came down, she didn’t go today because she wasnt feeling too well. She looked at me weirdly, and I frowned.
I knew she wasn’t my biggest fan because of the way I was treating Sapphire but I was hoping to clarify that today
“Leah, can we talk!” I called out to her.
She sighed before nodding at me, “Of course, Alpha”
I led her to the chair in the sitting room and she sat down,
“I already apologized this morning but I know I still have one more to do, I am sorry for the way I treated your friend, and you. It wasn’t great of me
to punish her for her father’s doings. I have apologized and she has agreed to give me a second chance. I am hoping you would too,“
She smiled, “That’s more like it, if she said she has forgiven you then I do con.”
Thank you,”
She leaned in, “But ifI may ask, where do you plan on taking her?”
“Dinner, I already made reservations and I am just waiting for her to come back.”
“That’s sweet and all I don’t want to ask you what your intentions for my friend are, you have a fiance that the whole pack knows.”
“Tunderstand how you feel but I plan on breaking my engagement with Millicent soon. My sole focus is on Sapphire.”
She nodded like she was satisfied with my answer.
“That’s good to know, I am happy for you and please treat her well. Excuse me, I have to go meet Marcel,” she said as she stood.
I allowed her to go, still basking in that glow of my decisions. I checked my watch and smiled when I saw it was school over, I could go pick her up so that I can inform her about the date.
I gripped the steering wheel, my knuckles turning white as I took a deep breath. I had to stay calm, at least for now. The drive to Sapphire’s school wasn’t far, but every second feh longer than it should. My mind raced, replaying the conversation from this morning, the way she had smiled and nodded like everything was fine. It was too easy, I should have known. But I didn’t. I just didn’t see it coming.
When I arrived at the school, I parked near the entrance, where I could see all the students as they left for the day. She’d be here any minute, I told myself. I leaned back in my seat, trying to relax, my eyes scanning every face than passed. There were clusters of kids, langhing and talking completely carefree. Sapphire would be among them, walking out, looking for me.
I smiled at the thought, but as the minutes ticked by, my smule faded. I glanced at the dashboard clock. She should’ve been out by now. I sat up straighter, craning my neck to look at the entrance again. Still nothing. After half an hour, the uneasy feeling in my gut turned into full–blown anxiety. Something wasn’t right.
An hour passed, and I couldn’t sit there any longer. I got out of the car, locking it behind me as I made my way toward the school. The building looned over me, its red brick exterior somehow feeling colder than it usually did. I pushed open the front doors, stepping inside. The hallway was mostly empty, save for a few teachers lingering by their classrooms, talking quietly.
One of them caught my eye, a woman with short blonde hair and a deep frown etched on her face. I walked up to her.
“Excuse me, are the students finished for the day!”
She blinked at me,
her expression puzzled. “Yes, the bell rang over an hour ago. Is there something wrong
I swallowed hard, the lump in my throat growing. “I’m looking for someone. Sapphire White, She hasn’t come out yet.”
The teacher’s frown deepened “Sapphire White? She didn’t show up today.”
The world seemed to tilt for a moment. I shook my head, trying to clear the ringing in my ears. “No, that’s not right. I dropped her off this morning I saw her go inside.”
She gave me a sympathetic look. “I understand, but I can check with her teacher if you’d like. Follow me.”
I followed her down the hallway, my heart pounding in my chest. This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be happening. We stopped in front of a classroom, and the teacher knocked before stepping inside. After a brief conversation, the turned back to me, her expression grim. “Sapphure didn’t attend any classes today. She was marked absent.”
The words fell like a punch to the gut. I stood there, frozen, the world around me blurring as I tried to make sense of a. She had been marked absent? How! I was there. I dropped her off.
to the school.”
“No, no, that’s impossible,” I stammered. “I dropped her off myself this morning. I watched her walk into The teacher shook her head slowly. “I’m sorry, but she wasn’t here today.”
I didn’t know what to say. My head fel like it was splitting open, the pain of disbelief flooding my senses. Without another word, I turned and
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Chapter 36
walked out of the classroom, out of the school. I barely registered the doors slamming shut behind me as I marched toward my car, my pulse hammering in my ears.
When’l got inside. I slammed my hands against the steering wheel, shouting in trustion. “Dams if cursed. She had lied to me. She had looked me in the eyes, listened to the talk about how this was a fresh start for both of us, and she had been planning her escape the whole time.
I punched the steering wheel again, my knuckles throbbing from the impact. I had been to stupid, so naive to believe she had forgiven me so easily. This morning had felt like a breakthrough, like we had finally reached some son of understanding. But it was all a lie. A distraction.
I leaned back, rabbing my temples as I tried to think. Where the hell could she have gone? She didn’t have anywhere else to be at least, nowhere she was supposed to be. 1 fumbled for my phone, pulling it out of my pocket and scrolling through the recent calls. I considered dialing her number.
LI demanding she tell me where she was, ban what would that accomplisle She’d just lie again, wouldn’t she
Instead, I stared out of the windshield, trying to piece it all together. Was there something I missed Some close that she wasn’t okay, that she had been planning this for days or even weeks! My thoughts were a tangled mess of confusion and anger.
Thad trusted her. I had wanted to trust her. She was toy mate, and I had believed that, despite everything, she wanted to start over just as much as t did. But now, now it felt like everything was slipping away. I clenched my jaw, the frustration boiline over
I couldn’t just sit here. I needed to find her. I needed to know where she had gone and why she had lied to me. I started the car, my hands trembling as 1 gripped the steering wheel. My mind raced as I tried to think of where she could have gone, who she could have run to.
But deep down, I already knew. Sapphire wasn’t one to confide in just anyone. There was only one person she would’ve turned to when things get rough
stamed the car into gese, my foot pressing hard on the gista I sped out of the parking lot. If she thought she could run, she was wrong. If she thought I wouldn’t come after her, she didn’t know me as well as the thought,
1 slammed the door behind me as I stormed into the sining room, my eyes immediately lacking onto Leah. She was sitting there, hunched over her phone, completely uncare of the stamn brewing inside me. Without thinking, I barked. “Where is she? Where is Sapphire?”
Her head snapped up, eyes wide with confusion. She fumbled with her phone, almost dropping it before catching it at the last second you talking about” she asked, frowning as she put the phone down on the coffee table. “I thought she was with you.”
What are
My hands clenched into fists, Leould feel the frustration bubbling under my skin, threatening to spill over at any moment. “No, she wasn’t I dropped her off at school this morning, and she never went inside. She wasn’t there.”
Her expression shifted from confusion to shock. “Wait, what she stammered. “You dropped her off, and now she’s missing? Where did she go?” “That’s what I’m asking you,” 1 snapped, pacing back and forth, unable to stay still. “I don’t know where she is, but you do. You have to know.” She shook her head vehemently, her lands trembling slightly. “I don’t I swear 1 don’t know anything. She hasn’t said anything to me.”
I wasn’t buying it. I stormed over to her, grabbing her phone from the uble before she could react. I scrolled through their messages, expecting to see something–anything–that would give me a chie. But all I saw was a mundane conversation from two days ago. Something about a show they were watching.
I cursed under my breath and threw the phone back onto the couch, It bounced softly off the cushions and landed next to Leal, who was staring up
at me with wide, tear–filled eyes
“Where a shel” I demanded. “Where is your best friend!”
“I don’t know!” Her voice cracked as she spoke, the tears that had been welling up thally spilling over. “Why would I be to you! If knew where she was. I’d tell you!”
1 paused, staring at her, and for the first time. I realized she was telling the truth. Leah’s tears weren’t an act; she was genuinely scared, just as confused as I was. She had no idea where Sapphire had gone. The weight of my anger lifted, leaving me feeling more desperate than enraged. She waped her eyes, squilling, “Where could she have gone! Why would she leave without telling in?”
Iexhaled slowly, shaking my head. “I don’t know. But if you don’t know, and I don’t know, there’s only one person left who might.
Leah’s brow furrowed as she followed my gar
“Deniu,” answered.
I nodded grimly. Benita was the wild card. She always had a way of knowing things others didn’t, and if anyone could have influenced Sapphire or known about her whereabouts, it would be her. She was the one who spoke with Sapphire privately. I am assuming she must have said something. Without saying another word, I turned on my heel and marched out of the room, leaving Leah sitting there with tears still streaming down her face. I knew she was hung, but I couldn’t focus on that now. Not until new where Sapphire was
Isped off once entered my car,
I didn’t bother knocking when I reached Benita’s office. I pushed the door open with force, causing it to shm against the wall. She was sitting on her desk legs crossed, her eyes lazily Blicking up from her book as I entered.
“Do you ever knock?” she asked, arching a brow.
“I don’t love time for your games. Benita,” I growled “Where is she?”
She blinked, her expression unbothered. “Who!” she asked, as if this were the first time she’d heard the name.
“Sapphire!” I yelled, taking a step closer. “Where is she
Chapter 36
She sighed, closing her book with a deliberate slowness that made my blood boil. She tied her head slightly and looked at me, feigning innocence. “How should I know! Last Theard, she was going to school. Isn’t that what you told her to do? I don’t see how any of this has to do with me,”
I clenched my teeth, trying to keep my temper in check. “She never went to school today. She’s missing, and you’re the only one who might know where she went. What did you tell her that day! Did you convince her to run away?”
Her eyes flashed with something, but she quickly masked it with indifference. “Missing? That’s a bit dramatic, don’t you think? She’s probably just off somewhere, blowing off steam.”
“You’re not taking thus seriously!” I snapped. “If something’s happened to her
“Something hasn’t happened to her.” Benita interrupted. She stood up from the bed, foing her gaze on mine. “She’s not some helpless child. She knows what she’s doing.”
My heart was pounding in my chest, the frustration building to a fever pitch. “So, you do know something,” I said. “Tell me where she is.”
She smirked, crossing her arms over her chest. “I didn’t say I knew anything. I don’t care about your little whores, get my daughter out of that dungeon and do the right thing.”
“That’s not good enought” I shouted, taking another step toward her. “If you know where she might be, tell me right now.”
Her smirk faded, and for a moment, I thought I saw her coldness return. But just as quickly, she turned away, her expre
