I stood, frozen in shock at the voice echoing through the telephone, my body breaking out into a sweat and my heartrate increasing, my heart feeling as if it was about to beat out of my chest.

"Who is this?" I hissed, anger bubbling up inside of me at the threat, racking my brain with ideas on what to say, but my mind was blank.

"That's not important. I just need you to do exactly as I say," the voice mumbled, the husky tone causing bile to rise up my throat, a wave of nausea overcoming me.

"What do you want with my brother?" I asked, tears dribbling down my cheeks at the thought of how terrified Jared probably was, defenceless and confused.

"Meet me at the warehouse on Oakers Street by the end of the day. If you're not here before dark, your brother will no longer have a head," threatened the man, his heavy breathing echoing throughout my eardrum, causing my ears to ring.

"You were the one who kept calling," I mumbled to myself, causing the voice to let out a raspy chuckle.

"As I said, if you want to see your brother alive again, meet us in the warehouse, and I'll be able to hear if you've brought anyone, so come alone, or I'll slice Jared's neck."

"What warehouse?" I asked, wiping at my eyes, running my hands through my dark hair furiously.

"It's an old abandoned warehouse at the end of the street. You can't miss it."

"What do you want? What's going to happen when I come and meet you?" I questioned, knowing that his demand wasn't going to end well.

"Well, if you don't come, your brother is going to die," the man chuckled, causing my grip on my phone to tighten, furious that he was laughing whilst he was holding my brother captive.

"And if I do come?"

"Well, you'll have to see, Clara. Maybe we can sort something out."

I shook my head, growling under my breath, knowing I had no choice. If I didn't meet this man by tonight, my brother was going to be killed, and if I asked anyone to help me, Jared would still end up dead. I knew meeting this sadistic man was probably not going to end well for either myself or Jared, but I couldn't sit back and do nothing. I was hoping I could bargain with him, get to know what he truly wanted and why, because Jared and I were innocent targets who were unluckily chosen as victims for this man's sick and twisted game.

Whether he wanted money, power, or just the chance to fulfil his dark and fiendish fantasy by kidnapping someone, I was hoping I could change his mind, and convince him that whatever he was doing was wrong, and he was only going to wind up arrested or dead.

"Who are you?" I grumbled, my wolf fuming inside of me, begging me to let her out.

"All will be explained once I see you, Clara," replied the voice, causing me to shake my head, sighing deeply.

"Do not touch Jared, or I will hurt you," I ordered, attempting to sound as threatening as I possibly could, but all I received back was a laugh, which I was more than expecting.

"See you soon."

I pulled the phone away from my ear, staring at the screen in utter shock as the man hung up, causing me to drop my mobile to the grass, crumbling in a heap on the ground, looking around to check Dylan wasn't watching. I allowed the tears to dribble down my cheeks and chin, holding back a sob as I ran my hands down my face in disbelief.

There was no need to search for my brother any longer; I knew exactly where he was, but I was unsure of what condition he was in, or if he was still alive at all. I couldn't think of what this man could want, but I knew I needed to prepare myself for the worst.

I wiped at my eyes, stuffing my phone back into my pocket and springing to my feet, racing through the pack grounds back towards my house, racking my brain for excuses on what to say to Dylan, knowing he would be expecting me to be out there searching for my brother.

I sighed heavily, flinging my front door open, running up my stairs, taking two steps at a time, and entering my bedroom, shutting the door behind me.

I pulled my hair into a messy bun, changing into a pair of stretchy leggings and a thick sweatshirt, deciding I needed some clothes that had a lot of mobility to them in case I needed to run for my life.

I scurried down the stairs, making my way to the kitchen and grabbing our largest kitchen knife, shaking as I held the heavy metal in my hands.

"Hold it there Clara, where are you going?" asked my father, causing me to whirl around in shock, his tone sounding rather unimpressed.

"To look for Jared," I stated, shrugging my shoulders, trying to sound as casual as possible, holding the knife behind my back.

"Alpha Paul is very unhappy with the way you spoke to him. He's expecting an apology."

I rolled my eyes, growling under my breath as I headed towards the front door, manoeuvring the knife around my body so my father couldn't see it, causing him to clear this throat.

"Clara, listen to me!" he ordered, causing me to turn around, my face masked with worry. "As much as I believe Alpha Paul is in the wrong, he is our Alpha and we must respect him and his decisions. I know he won't be your Alpha for much longer, but I want you to have apologised to him by this evening."

"Yes, yes, Dad, fine!" I called as I pulled the front door open, swiping his car keys from the hook in the wall, hoping my Dad didn't notice.

"I'm just going to go through Jared's room again in case there is anything in there that might give us a clue as to where he is. I might have missed something last time I looked, so I'll join the search right after," called my father as I left the house, offering him a quick smile before making my way through the pack grounds towards the pack garage.

I didn't want to say goodbye to my father, because I was determined that both Jared and I would see him again. There was no way I was letting this family be torn apart more than it already was, and I was going to bring Jared back safely, and we could all be a family again.

Suddenly, my thoughts turned to Dylan, and I tried to hold back my tears, my heart begging me to run to him and tell him what had happened, but I knew that if anyone but me took a step anywhere near that warehouse, Jared wouldn't live to see another day, and I couldn't live without him. I knew Dylan would do everything he could to save my brother if he knew about the phone call, but it was too risky to tell him, knowing that one wrong move could cause Jared's captor to lose it.

I rounded the corner, pushing the door to the large garage open, gazing wide eyed at the array of cars in front of me, all lined up immaculately, and sparkling clean. I had never been in the pack garage, since I couldn't legally drive and didn't own a car, but I couldn't help but be amazed by the amount of them that my pack had.

Pressing down on my Dad's car keys, I waited until one of the cars' headlights flashed, signalling that that was his. I rushed over to it, hopping in, throwing the large knife onto the passenger seat, panic flooding my veins as I looked down at the controls, feeling overwhelmed, attempting to remember how to actually drive. I had only ever practised in Gia's car, and it felt much easier when you were having fun, but I knew the pressure was on, and I needed to reach that warehouse as quickly as possible.

I revved the engine, exiting the garage and carefully making my way through the gates, pressing my foot down on the gas, turning the corner, barrelling down the road. Once I had stopped a traffic light, I grabbed my phone out of my pocket, setting the destination for Oakers Street, growling when it came up saying it was twenty five minutes away.

Images of Jared's lifeless and limp body filled my mind, causing my palms to sweat and my face to turn pale, dizziness over coming me, almost making me collapse whilst driving, but I pushed down on the gas, overtaking other cars whenever possible, speeding along the road.

I attempted to steady my breathing, debating on what I was going to say to this man who was holding my brother captive, but I knew I would forget everything once I stepped inside that warehouse, fear overwhelming me.

A wave of guilt washed over me, imagining Dylan's worried and fearful expression once he found out that I was missing, and I knew eventually my Dad would discover his car keys were missing, and it would be obvious that I had left with it. I was hoping they would assume that I had just gone to look for Jared in town, and they wouldn't be too stressed.

"Come on, come on," I growled as I beeped at the car in front of me, quickly over taking them, winding down the road and only slowing down slightly when I rounded the corner, not wanting to waste any time, receiving a few shocked and concerned looks from pedestrians and other drivers.

My heart palpitated once I saw the sign for Oakers Street, quickly turning down the road and parking up. I rested my head against the steering wheel, breathing heavily as I almost gagged in fear, knowing that in a few minutes I would be faced with Jared's sadistic abductor.

I hopped out of the car, taking the kitchen knife with me, tucking it up into my sleeve and holding it there, before making my way down the street, the large abandoned warehouse eventually coming into view.

I swallowed, gazing up at the boarded up windows and disintegrating dirty bricks, my sweaty hands shaking as I forced myself to continue, making my way up to the front door. I took a deep breath, pushing them open and sliding through, the smell of blood and rotting wood wafting up my nose, causing me to hold back a splutter.

I padded through the dingy hallway, peering through the darkness, chewing on my bottom lip, adrenaline filling my body. All I could hear was the sound of my own laboured breathing, sending a chill down my spine. I gasped as I reached the end of the hallway, a set of huge rusty double doors stood above me, almost looking down at me as if I were their prey, intimidating me and making me feel small and feeble. I hesitantly pushed them open, the sound of metal scraping against each other filling my ears, causing them ring. I closed my eyes, half expecting to be tackled, but when I felt nothing but a slight draft, I peeked one eye open, gulping at the sight in front of me.

"Hello Clara, how nice of you to join us."

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