Her Dragon Protector

Chapter 12

Nicholas was standing in the middle of his ransacked office. He had flipped his desk over, thrown his chair across the room, and broken everything he could get his hands on except Olivia’s pictures. The photographs hanging on his walls were untouched. Perfect, just like his little fairy who had taken them.

“Nick, I’m coming in,” Jacob mind linked him from outside the door.

Jacob shoved hard on the door to push it open with debris from smashed furniture against it. Then, he cautiously stepped in and closed it behind him, rendering the room soundproof again.

Nicholas growled at him, “Do you know where she is yet?”

“No. She didn’t tell anyone where she was going. She called her mother, but it was from a burner phone, so we couldn’t track it. So far, there is no response to the email you sent out,” Jacob told him.

“They are lying,” Nick muttered, running his hands through his hair.

“Everyone I have spoken to is telling the truth. They do not know where Olivia is.”

“How can they not know? They have to know!” Nicholas yelled.

“They don’t know because Olivia is brilliant. She did not tell anyone where she was going. She has not sent a single email that can be used to trace where she is using the internet. She kept her phone on and active until she reached Missouri, and then it vanished. After that, she started using a burner phone with a number registered in this area because she bought it before leaving. She has not made a single post or comment on any form of social media. She does not want to be found.”

“I don’t care if she wants to be found. I will have what is mine.” Nicholas said.

Nicholas walked to one of Olivia’s prints that hung on his wall. It was the same picture in her portfolio he had looked through the day he hired her. The proud wolf watching over his pups as they played. He ran his fingers over the glass protecting it and stopped with his fingers on the smallest of the pups. A thought came to him, causing the corners of his mouth to curl into a wicked grin.

“Jacob, do we have any plans for that open space behind the pack house?”

Jacob replied, “No, Alpha. What do you have in mind?”

“I want you to call our pack contractors. We have been too relaxed regarding pack members respecting their Alpha and following his instructions. It started with my grandfather when he did away with using the dungeon and public punishments. We need to re-establish it. I want a dungeon built in that open spot. I want everyone to know it is there and what it is. Make sure that it includes an interrogation room that can drag anything out of anyone.”

Jacob blanched at what his Alpha was saying. First, he had to make sure he was hearing him correctly. “Sir, am I hearing that you want to build an old-style dungeon and torture chamber to use on your pack members?”

“That is exactly what I am saying,” the Alpha confirmed. “If that is a problem, I will have to give someone else the instructions, and you can be its first guest.”

“It is not a problem, Alpha. I will contact everyone we need and get it started as soon as possible.”

“Good. And I want you to make one thing clear to Olivia’s family and friends. If they do not volunteer to tell me where she is, her brother and father will be the first two I will be interrogating.”

“Yes, Alpha. I will make sure they know that,” Jacob said as he tried not to vomit at the thought. “If you will excuse me, I will get started.”

“Of course, and send someone to take care of the mess,” Nicholas told him as he waved his hand around the room. “I have work to do and can’t do it until this situation is corrected.”

“Of course, Alpha. Right away,” Jacob told him with a bow of his head.

Jacob picked his way through the rubble and out the door, closing it behind him as quietly as possible. He could feel himself shaking as he turned and leaned against the door, trying to calm himself before making the calls he had to make. He looked to see Gretchen at her desk, staring back at him with her mouth agape and eyes wide.

“Goddess Jake,” Gretchen gasped. “What did he do to you?”

Jake shook his head and answered, “Nothing, it’s what he wants me to do.”

“I’m scared to ask.”

“You should be. Gretch, he wants me to have a dungeon and torture chamber built behind

the pack house so everyone can see it and know what it is. And, if he hasn’t found Olivia by the time it is done, her brother and father will be the first ones in it.”

“Oh, dear Goddess,” Gretchen said as her eyes misted.

“I know. I feel the same way.” Jake let out a sigh and rubbed his hand over his face. “Can you call housekeeping and central supply to take care of the Alpha’s office? He needs it cleaned, and much of the furniture needs to be replaced.”

Gretchen nodded, and her voice was quivering when she replied, “Sure, Jake.”

“Thank you, I have calls to make. If you need me, I will be in my office,” Jacob said as he walked out the door.

When Jacob reached his office, he knew the first thing he had to do. He pulled a burner phone out of his desk drawer and texted Olivia. He had to warn her how unstable Nicholas had become. He prayed to the moon goddess that he could convince her to stay away and keep herself and her baby safe from Nicholas.

Olivia’s phone beeped on the table beside her. She looked at the screen to see it was a text message from Jacob. She and Jake had an arrangement. She would message the word “safe” in the morning and evening. She would call him once on Saturday evening to let him know things were alright and to hear what Nicholas was doing. For her to receive a text from him in the middle of the day meant something was wrong.

She picked up her phone and read the message. “CALL ME!!!”

Tyson asked, “What’s wrong? All the color just drained from your face.”

“It’s a message from Beta Jacob Sanders. He wants me to call him, and everything is in all caps with exclamation points.”

“Can you trust him?” Tyson asked.

“Yes. Jake knows what’s going on and has helped me in every way he can. He and my brother were best friends growing up and are still friends. His father was the previous Beta, and when his parents traveled, Jake stayed with us. He is like a second big brother to me.”

“Call him and put it on speaker,” Tyson instructed.

Olivia nodded and made the call. The phone only rang once before a frantic Jacob answered.

“Livie!” Jacob hissed quietly. “Dear Goddess, tell me you are safe.”

“I’m fine, Jake. What’s wrong?”

“Nick has lost his mind is what’s wrong. Liv, he wants to go back to the old ways. He is having a dungeon built near the pack house and is threatening to put people in it if they don’t tell him where you are. Liv, he plans on starting with your dad and brother if you don’t return by the time it is finished.”

“Jake, they don’t know where I am. I haven’t told anyone where I am.”

“I know. He has tried to Alpha order the information out of people, and it hasn’t worked. He won’t stop to think it is because they don’t know anything. To him, they know and are protecting you.”

“Goddess,” Olivia whispered. “I have to come back. I can’t let him hurt others because of what I have done.”

“You can’t. If you are safe where you are, stay there. Right now, Nick might hurt you out of anger. He went from not caring at all to treating you like a possession that he treasured and wanted back, and now,...now it is like he only wants you to make sure no one else can ever have you. When he asked me to start looking for you, it felt like it was out of love and concern. Now it feels like it is out of spite and hate. So please, stay safe and do not return to Dark Moon, at least not now,” Jacob pleaded.

Tyson spoke up, “Beta Jacob, this is Tyson Emery. Devon and I are with Olivia now. I will not tell you where we are. Just know that she is safe, and she is under my protection. Do not volunteer that information, but if Nick orders you to tell him, don’t lose sleep over it. Tell him that if he wants to take her from me, he had better have the balls to come and do it himself.”

Jacob breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Tyson. I will do what I can to delay things, but I don’t know how successful I will be.”

“Don’t do that,” Tyson instructed. “I want you to go about things as if it were just another business transaction with a deadline. If you try to delay it, Nicholas might figure out you know more than you are saying. I don’t want you getting hurt, and I’m sure Olivia doesn’t either.”

“Understood,” Jacob replied. “Livie, I love you like a sister and will do everything I can to protect you. But, if Nick threatens my mate….”

“I know, Jake,” Olivia said with tears streaming down her face. “I would never ask you to risk her for me. Take care of Amber, and tell her I am sorry for causing all this.”

“You didn’t cause this. The Alpha set his sights on you the day of your interview. If I had any idea that this would be happening, I would have walked you back to your car and told you to leave. I’m sorry, Liv. I have to go. Stay safe,” Jake told her before ending the call.

Olivia sat pale and shaking as she struggled to breathe. She was in shock at what Jacob had told her. In less than three weeks from when she found out she was pregnant, Nicholas became a completely different person. He had gone from indifference about her and their child to being cruel and threatening everyone to get what he wanted.

“Olivia?” Tyson whispered to her as he adjusted his coat still around her shoulders.

She turned to look at him as tears streamed down her face. She could tell that Devon was saying something to Andi, but that was all. Everything around her was mumbled and out of focus. She felt the heat of Tyson’s hands as he cupped her face in his hands.

“Olivia, try to focus on me. Please, look at me,” Tyson coaxed.

She looked at him and blinked several times to clear the tears. Tyson’s eyes were filled with worry and compassion. The expression they wore made her think of the look her mother would give her as a child when something had happened. His flame filled irises mesmerized her, forcing all other thoughts from her mind.

“Olivia,” Tyson whispered. “I need you to take a deep breath for me. Just breathe. Please breathe.”

Olivia inhaled sharply, filling her lungs with the air she desperately needed. After the initial breath, she could take in another and another until they were back to normal. She continued to watch Tyson’s face as she breathed. Finally, it began to relax and show signs of relief.

“Is it alright if Devon packs your things in the other booth?” Tyson asked her.

She nodded her head.

“Good, he will pack your things, and then we will go to your cottage so you can pack. I know we had discussed you spending the night at the cabin to take pictures, but I think you should stay there with us after what we have learned.”

“Yeah, I think so too,” Olivia agreed as she finally broke from Tyson’s gaze.

“All packed,” Devon said as he returned to where they had eaten. “Are you two ready?”

“I am,” Olivia said as she pulled away from Tyson and wiped her eyes. “You can follow me to the cottage, and then I will follow you to your cabin.”

“I don’t think so,” Tyson argued. “I will drive you in your vehicle to your cottage and to the cabin. I don’t want you alone anywhere.”

Olivia took her coat out of Devon’s hand and fished in the pockets for her keys. She didn’t argue. Even if she had had the strength, she did not have the desire. She handed the keys to Tyson and her coat back to Devon. Tyson adjusted his jacket around her again before wrapping his arm around her shoulders and walking out of the restaurant with her. How did things get so messed up? The man who had said he loved her may want her dead, and she was leaving her safety to two men she had just met yet trusted fully. She silently prayed to the moon goddess that she was doing the right thing.