Mates: Revenge

Chapter 15

~Stella~

It has been a long journey. I’ve had to do most of my traveling at night so I don’t get seen. I hate to make this journey alone, but I’ve been summoned. I’ve been promised revenge and I will stop at nothing to get it.

I know I’m close to the area so I stop among the trees. I shift back into my human form and put my clothes on that I was carrying in a bag. I make sure to listen for any peculiar noises and when I hear nothing, I continue to walk through the brush. I made sure to sniff along the way in case someone was waiting for me. I can smell nothing out of the ordinary. Standing in front of the abandoned building, I feel dirty. I hate being in places like this, which is funny since I have been surviving in a cave most of the time. I can’t help that I’m accustomed to better things and I want those things. Maybe, once I get my revenge, I will be able to live the life I have been used to all this time. I may not remain the mate of an Alpha, but at this point I don’t care. Losing all I have lost has changed me to a degree. I realized that the status I was seeking came at too high of a price.

I, tentatively, walk into the dilapidated building and cringe as I take in my surroundings. There is dirt everywhere along with small, dead bodies. I can smell the decay and it is making me sick to my stomach. I realize we need to stay under the radar, but this is just disgusting. I try carefully to watch my step as I make it to the kitchen. I swear I’m close to passing out looking at this disgusting room. I can feel the bile rise up in my throat and I’m trying my hardest to not let it loose. While it could do nothing but make the room look better, it would add to the stench and I’m not sure I could survive it. I continue through the kitchen, sending up silent prayers that I don’t step on a body or step in any remains.

I, finally, maneuver to the basement door and stop. This is what I have been waiting for the past year and I want to savor every moment. I slowly open the door and start to step down the stairs. I can smell different scents in the room and the only one I recognize is from that witch, CeCe. She, truly, gets on my nerves, but Malachi wouldn’t hear of letting her go. I continue down the stairs, taking in everything I can. I can see legs tied together, but I can’t see the upper body of the person. I hear an extra heartbeat and wonder if she is with child. That would be exciting, to me anyway.

I make it to the bottom of the stairs and CeCe is blocking my view of who is on the ground. She turns towards me, giving me that glare that I hate. We both dislike each other and that is completely okay. I can’t wait to be done with this so I can be rid of her. The man she was talking to stands up and faces me. I have never seen him before in my life. He has long blonde hair and green eyes. There is a scar on his face that makes him look a bit dangerous, but brings no recollection to my mind. “Stella, love. I’ve missed you so much. Are you feeling better?” If I didn’t know any better I’d think that was…..no, it couldn’t be. I look at the man and really focus on his eyes. There is something familiar behind those green orbs. “It’s me……Malachi.”

I hear a gasp come from behind him which causes him to smirk. She must not have known who he was before he got her. This may add to everything. “Ma…..Malachi? How is it you look like that?”

“That wasssssss my doing.” Ugh, I can’t stand that snake. I continue to look at Malachi, waiting for him to explain.

“I had to get to her somehow. The best way was through the mate bond.” Malachi smiles with pride and I’m left confused. How the hell would the mate bond bring her to him? She is already mated to my ex-mate. I really don’t understand what is going on and my confusion must be all over my face because Malachi’s smile fell. He sighs out of frustration. “I had to fake the mate bond to get to her. I had CeCe help me with that. She broke into her dreams for a while to get her essence. We used that to create this.” He gestured to himself. “Her wolf is tied to my looks so when they fade away, her wolf will return.” This makes no sense. She already has a mate. As a matter of fact, she is with her second mate. I know Jayden hasn't died, so how would a third mate come into the picture? Even if Jayden was dead, a third mate is impossible.

“Kehlani already has a mate.” Malachi looks at me like he wants to slap some sense into me.

“Why are you bringing up Kehlani?” Malachi sighs and rubs his forehead. “I thought you were getting better,” he mumbles.

“You told me you got her……that we can get revenge. How could I not bring up Kehlani?”

“Kehlani means nothing, that's how! Melanie was the one who ended our child’s life and now she will pay!” Malachi has a sneer on his face that I know to be extremely dangerous. I stand trying to put all of the pieces of the puzzle together. CeCe is distancing herself from Jayden and that allows me a peek at who is on the floor. Melanie is tied up on the floor, watching us with wide eyes. F**king Melanie, the Gamma! I don’t care about her. While it is true that Melanie wielded the sword that ended my child, it was Kehlani who set everything into motion and caused my love to die. It is Kehlani who needs to pay. I could care less about Melanie.

“Damn it, Malachi! Who cares about Melanie?! You told me you had who needed to pay and I came here as fast as I could. You don’t have who needs to pay…..you don’t have Kehlani here! Kehlani did all of this. Kehlani is why my child is dead. Kehlani took away Dominic!” I’m breathing heavily, my anger pouring out of me in waves. Malachi moves closer to me.

“What the hell does Dominic have to do with anything?” Malachi continues to come closer and I realize that I said a bit too much. “I had questions from that challenge that I never got an answer to. You seem to have known both Kehlani and Jayden. I didn’t ask you after because we lost our child because of this b***h,” Malachi turns and spits towards Melanie. “It was weird that you were so distraught after Dominic was killed and that you went after Kehlani at all. Had that not happened, we would be parents right now. I never got the chance to ask you about any of this because you were pulled under by the grief of losing our child.” Malachi reaches out and grabs the back of my head, pulling it down so I have to look up at him. “There are a lot of questions that I want answers to and I think it is time that I get them. You are no longer sick. You have your wits about you. I want to know what you were keeping from me.” I hear a whimper from behind Malachi, but it wasn’t Melanie. I grab Malachi’s wrist and try to remove my hair from his grip. I’m able to angle myself so I can see behind Malachi and that when I see it. A tiny body is stuck behind Melanie and I know instantly who it is. Malachi not only captured Melanie, but he also has my daughter; my Brooklyn.