Chapter 84

[Lorenzo’s POV]

‘Shit. Shit. Shit. SHIT!!’

The moment Lorenzo’s guard had informed him about what he’d witnessed, seeing Eleanor coming out of his office with something tucked into her side, he knew he was deeply screwed.

At first, he was doubtful. After all, he’d purposely locked the disk away in his desk where he knew it couldn’t be reached.

“She picked the lock,” he concluded.

Lorenzo struggled to fight the impending fear and deep anxiety that filled him as he rushed his way home. By the time he reached the front gates of the property, the sun was well beneath the horizon and there was little to no doubt in his mind that Eleanor had already listened to the entire audio.

In the span of the three-hour ride back, he tried calling her phone at least a dozen times. But there was never an actual answer.

Oh, yes. He knew he was absolutely screwed.

There was no telling what sort of hell storm he was heading into, only that he knew from the bottom of his gut that it was well deserved.

When he finally reached the house, he hadn’t even waited for the car to be fully parked before rushing out and barreling through the front doors. Many of the staff members glanced at him in either question or concern.

“S-Sir?”

“Alpha? Is everything okay?”

“We weren’t expecting you back until tomorrow.”

Lorenzo hastily brushed off their excessive questions. “Have any of you seen Eleanor?”

The small group collectively shook their heads. They’d told him that they hadn’t seen her since her friend, Adeline, had left earlier.

The dread in his nerves only grew from there. Without another word, Lorenzo took off through the house, checking nearly every single room he thought she’d be hiding in. As he scanned the master bedroom, a shrilling sound broke through the air, causing his blood to run cold.

“AHHHH!! DAD!! NO!!”

All the air inside of his chest was sucked out and replaced with a searing burn that speared through him.

‘She’s in the study!” his wolf shouted.

Lorenzo ran to the study, only to find the door securely locked. He curled his hands into fists and began to heavily bang on the door.

“Eleanor!” he called out. “Open the door!”

His ears filled with the unpleasant sound of her cries and whimpers. He needed to get to her—he needed to get the door out of the way! Hearing the terrible, anguished sounds of her shattered state was enough to make his wolf take over.

“Eleanor! Eleanor! ELEANOR!! Please, love! Please, open the door!”

It was no use. He knew she wasn’t moving. The poor girl was very likely paralyzed with remorse. When Lorenzo heard another heart-wrenching cry through the walls, he let out a frightening growl and yanked on the door handle with all of his strength.

The wood cracked and split into hundreds of small splintered pieces. He climbed over what was left of the demolished door and made it into the study. Lorenzo came across one of the most unsettling sights he’d ever imagined.

Eleanor was curled up on the floor next to the desk. Her whole body was shaking and trembling. Her eyes were barely blinking as a glossy sheen fell over them. She looked so far away, trapped within her own mind.

He quickly crossed the room and tried to gather her up in his arms but she was firmly resistant.

“Eleanor—”

“How could you?!” she cried. “How could you hide this from me?!”

Another wave of remorse hit him like a slap to the face. Lorenzo continued to try to help Eleanor off the floor but was met with her hands pushing back.

“I...I didn’t want you to ever hear that audio. I knew that it would upset you like this.”

She sniffled and blinked back a new set of tears that came flooding down her cheeks. Her brows pulled together.

“So, you figured it was better to keep it from me and continue lying to me, instead?!”

Lorenzo let his head drop toward his chest in shame. There was no describing the amount of regret that was coursing through him.

Eleanor shoved him back with whatever energy she had left inside of her. She glared at him as though she couldn’t stand the sight of him. She pulled herself up from the floor and tried to move past him.

He swiftly threw out his arm to catch her by the wrist, hoping to keep her from pushing him away any further.

“You made me think I was going crazy. For over a week, I’d been asking you about this and you kept brushing me off and keeping me in the dark about the case. Let go of me!”

Lorenzo refused. He was utterly petrified to let go of her. He wasn’t sure what was going to happen if he did.

“Lorenzo! Let go—”

“No! I won’t!” he countered back. “Eleanor, please. Please, you need to listen to me. Love, calm down, and let me explain why I did—”

“I don’t want your fucking excuses!”

At the rate they were going, Lorenzo wouldn’t have been surprised if the entire house was currently stationed outside the room, having heard the ruckus they were making.

But, suddenly, everything went quiet. A long pause went by before Eleanor turned to glare back at him. Her eyes were red, puffy, and filled with unshed tears. “I can smell that other female wolf on you,” she hissed.

His eyes widened in fear. Fucking Cate!

“Nothing happened.”

A lot of emotion dropped from her face, causing his heart to skip several beats. He didn’t know what was worse. Seeing her tears or seeing her despondency...

Eleanor’s tone came out hollow and cold. “Would it have, had your men not contacted you?” she asked.

Lorenzo’s jaw went slack. How could she think that he would do something as terrible as He took great offense to her accusation while Eleanor forcibly yanked herself away and walked out of the study.