Chapter 192

Alexander POV

Arguing with Ella was the last thing I wanted. Yet, as she stormed out of the apartment, frustration burned through me—sharper, more intense than anything I had felt in a long time.

Part of me had foolishly believed things would get easier once we discovered we were fated. That knowing the truth would bring us closer. But, of course, it only complicated everything.

I should have been relieved that Ella hadn’t heard my ridiculous confession as we were leaving after her fight with David. The words had slipped out before I could stop them. Now, part of me wished that she had heard.

Maybe if she had, she wouldn’t be questioning my motives so much. If she only knew how I felt about her– that I love her– my protectiveness would make sense.

The words came so easily. It was shocking to me, really. I never thought that I’d make a confession like that again, but in that moment it was so easy.

Seeing her like that—exhausted but unyielding, fierce even in the face of someone who had tormented her for so long—I had been overwhelmed with pride. I had meant every damn word.

And that was the worst part.

I had spent so long convincing myself I was in control of whatever this was between us. But I wasn’t. I never had been. My carefully laid-out rules, my contracts, my so-called discipline—they meant nothing.

Not when I couldn’t keep my hands or my thoughts off of her.

Even the look on her face when she was angry with me was endearing.

I understood why she was angry. I was keeping secrets from her, even after she had been so honest with me. But if Ella knew the truth—really knew the kind of people I was involved with—it would put her in even greater danger. And I couldn’t allow that.

She had already been through so much. I refused to be the one to hurt her.

I turned my gaze to the stack of papers on my desk, but it was useless. There was no way I was going to get any work done today. The only thing my mind could focus on was her.

I had spoken to Ella’s doctor after she fell asleep the other night. She told me that it was likely Ella would be experiencing mood swings and intense emotions for a short time as she grew accustomed to her wolf.

It made sense to me and I was doing my best to ignore her little outbursts and sudden tears. She mostly seemed happy, so the few minutes of negativity didn’t matter much. Or, so I told myself.

Now it was obvious that I had been ignoring things that I shouldn’t have. Ella had been trying to communicate with me and I had put her off over and over again. I thought that if I could just buy some time she’d lose interest.

I was wrong.

I needed to find a way to fix this. To make her understand why I couldn’t tell her everything.

Because if she knew too much, she wouldn’t just be a target. She would be the perfect weapon to use against me.

Keeping her in the dark was the only way to protect her.

But that didn’t make it fair.

I exhaled, running a hand through my hair. Ella had a way of throwing my world off balance. No matter how much I planned, no matter how much control I thought I had—she always defied my expectations.

And, God help me, that was one of the things I loved most about her.

I couldn’t ignore my selfish motivations in this, either. It was true that telling Ella the truth could put her in danger, but it was also true that I was afraid of how she would react.

The thought of her losing respect for me, or worse, fearing me…

It made my heart twist painfully. If she knew the truth of who I am and what I do, there was no way she could look at me the same anymore.

I wouldn’t even be able to blame her if it was too much. If I told her everything and she wanted a divorce I’d agree, no matter how much it hurt. I would have to let her go.

Losing her was a thought that I didn’t even want to consider. Ignoring her questions was easier, but it led to this. Now she was furious with me and I could lose her anyway.

I had to make things right, I just didn’t know how.

My phone dinged, the light sound filling the silence.

Grateful for the distraction from the untouched stack of files in front of me, I grabbed it immediately. But as soon as my eyes landed on the screen, my stomach dropped.

A location ping.

I hadn’t set up tracking on anyone, so why was I getting this notification?

I tapped the alert, and the screen loaded a second later. I watched the little red dot fly across the image of the city map. My eyes fixed on the name above that dot. My blood went cold.

It was Ella’s location. And she was moving—fast.

That didn’t make sense. She had gone for a walk to clear her head, a habit of hers. I knew James had followed her—the receptionist had mentioned seeing him leave the building just after she did.

But Ella didn’t have a car. And no taxi or rideshare she could have taken would be moving this quickly.

Something was wrong.

I sent her a text. No response. Without waiting, I called.

The first ring. Nothing.

The second. Still nothing.

By the third, my pulse was pounding in my ears.

Voicemail.

I called again. And again.

Each unanswered call twisted the growing dread in my gut.

Something was terribly wrong.

I shoved back from my desk, barely aware of my chair toppling over as I rushed out of my office, moving on instinct. I bypassed the elevator and took the stairs, my breath coming fast as I reached the lobby.

August and James were already heading toward me, their faces tense.

"Sir," August said, his voice tight—edged with something that sounded a lot like fear.

"Where is she?" I demanded.

James looked shaken, guilt flashing across his face.

"She ran from me," he admitted. "I lost her in the crowd."

Damn it.

My anger flared, but I swallowed it back. This wasn’t his fault. If Ella wanted to lose someone, she would. She was fast. Determined.

August cut in. "A call was placed to the police a few minutes ago. We intercepted it over the scanner—someone saw a young woman being grabbed and thrown into a car."

A growl escaped before I could stop it.

I turned to James. "Get the boys together. Follow me."

James nodded, his expression hardening with understanding. Without another word, he turned and ran out of the building, already making the necessary calls.

I met August’s gaze. "Hold down the fort. I’ll update you when I can."

"Understood." He gave a sharp nod, and I was already moving.

I sprinted to the garage, snatching the keys to my fastest car.

For the second time this week, I was about to ignore every traffic law in existence. I didn’t care.

Ella couldn’t answer her phone. But her location tracking was still active.

Which meant she was waiting for me.

And I wasn’t going to let her down.