Chapter 17

As he sat nearly falling asleep in a marketing meeting, Lorenzo felt his phone buzz. Seeing it was from Eleanor he instantly perked up and read it, not hesitating to reply. His actions shocked the room — his followers were surprised that something had pulled his attention away from business.

“Alpha Lorenzo?” One of his investors gave him a quizzical look, but Lorenzo was unphased.

"Your future luna has invited me to dine with her this evening," Lorenzo said proudly, putting down his phone, "I need to prepare."

His female secretary rolled her eyes and cleared her throat from where she stood at his right hand.

"Sir, you have an engagement this evening, remember?" the secretary whispered, slightly awkward but primarily annoyed at the alpha’s impulsivity.

"Cancel it, it’s not important," Lorenzo said calmly. After all, the other party was just a minor character who Lorenzo could easily have one of his representatives handle on his behalf.

The second the meeting was over, Lorenzo rushed to get dressed up for the dinner with Eleanor. He wasn’t sure what prompted her invitation, but he couldn’t deny that his feelings for her had resurfaced and this could be his chance to show her. After putting on his best suit, his driver came in to escort him.

“You’re looking very sharp sir, I’m sure the lady will be most impressed,” his driver quipped, an inside joke about how nervous Lorenzo was because he only wore his best suit on occasions that made him sweat.

“Oh shut up,” Lorenzo said back, though his words had no real bite. He let himself get lost in his phone during the drive, trying to ignore the nerves that were building up as he approached the restaurant. But before they had arrived, Lorenzo felt the car slowing down. He looked up in confusion only to see that the border between packs was being blocked by rogues from Blue Moon.

“What do we do sir?” his driver asked, a slight waver in his voice at the sight of the rogues. They each carried weapons, visibly threatening the car as Lorenzo approached the border.

“I’ll handle this, just stay here,” Lorenzo said calmly as he stepped out of the car. He exited with an aura of authority, showing the rogues he would not be intimidated. He didn’t even carry a weapon.

“Lorenzo Sinclair,” the leader of the rogues spoke up, a strong looking man who wore a bandana around his neck. “You’ve been spending an awful lot of time over in Blue Moon territory, why don’t you go back to where you came from huh?”

“An alpha’s business takes him all over the city, I can come and go as I please,” Lorenzo replied coolly. “Besides, I actually was raised in Blue Moon, so I think you should offer a warmer welcome to members of your pack.” Lorenzo knew he was pushing it but he really didn’t have the time to deal with these lowlifes. Hatred burned in the eyes of the rogue leader.

“You’re a deserter! A betrayer! You’ll never be welcome here Sinclair,” the man yelled and with that, the rogues closed in, circling Lorenzo. One by one the rogues lunged at him.

Lorenzo’s fighting instincts kicked in and he flawlessly parried their weapons and dodged their strikes, all while landing swift but effective blows to their faces and abdomens. One of the rogues came at him with a knife that he expertly swiped from their hand and used it to slash the throats of two more men. He was severely outnumbered, but the rogues quickly realized they were no match for a powerful alpha such as Lorenzo, and they continued to drop like flies accepting their fate. By the time Lorenzo came out of his blinding rage, he was standing over the leader, a foot on his chest as the man begged for his life.

“Next time you should give a warmer welcome,” Lorenzo spat down at the man before plunging the knife he stole into the man’s clavicle and watching him bleed out. The alpha returned to the car feeling satisfied, but his mood instantly changed upon realizing the state of his best suit.

“Shit,” Lorenzo whispered to himself. His outfit was completely torn up and bloody — he could never show up to dinner like this. He urged his driver to turn around as quickly as possible so he could change, even though

he knew he didn’t have time.

A short while later, wearing a new suit and his hair freshly styled, Lorenzo burst into the restaurant only to find it empty save for a custodian. His heart sank. He had missed his date with Eleanor.

The custodian noticed him, and her expression turned immediately from shock to anger. She must have been a friend of Eleanors’ because she seemed to very quickly understand why exactly Lorenzo was there.

“It’s you! You have the nerve to only show up now?”

“Where’s Eleanor?” Lorenzo couldn’t even care about the custodian’s anger. He had more important things on his mind; more accurately, one more important thing.

“She left about half an hour ago when you didn’t show. She’s probably home by now.” Without another word, Lorenzo burst back out into the night and headed in the direction of Eleanor’s new apartment. As he rounded the corner something on the ground caught his eye.

“That’s Eleanor’s scarf,” his wolf said and for the first time in five years, Lorenzo felt himself panic.

Eleanor's POV:

When I came to, I couldn’t see anything. I opened my eyes but they were covered with a black cloth that was tightly wrapped around my face. I slowly regained my senses and realized I was bound to a chair and there was someone in the room with me. They were standing beside me, breathing heavily and emanating a strong scent of cheap cologne. I was shocked as a hand thrust out and pinched my face.

“Where’s the list?” A harsh voice came from the dark. What the hell was he talking about?