Chapter 133
Astor’s POV
I woke up fast, like someone had thrown me into a cold river. But it wasn’t the cold that shocked me; it was the fire in my blood.
I looked down at Faith hoping her presence would calm the wild beast inside me. But that didn’t
calm me now.
I saw her pain. I saw the terror, the beating and the cold fear Kyle had held her in. It flashed through my mind: every bruise, every insult, every time she thought she would die.
Rage, pure and hot, clawed its way up my throat.
“Kyle,” I whispered, the name tasting like ash and iron. “I swear on my life, you will pay for every single tear she shed.”
I pushed myself off the bed quietly. The sheets barely shifted. Faith has been through hell and back and she’s exhausted.
I pulled on a shirt and pants, my hands shaking only slightly. This was no time for waiting. Kyle was
be stopped now. still out there, and he has to
I walked out of our room and immediately heard the sound of happy chaos. I found them in the main living space. My parents were on the floor, building a ridiculous tower of blocks with my two
cuties.
I ruffled Marco’s hair, forcing a smile on my face.
I leaned down and called Isabella’s name.
She looked up, clutching a toy. Her eyes were bright, but I knew the trauma was still sitting just beneath the surface. She misses her mother and a part of her thinks that her mother abandoned
her.
“I need you to come with me, sweet girl,” I said gently. “We have to go somewhere.”
Marco stood up, concerned. “Where are you going?”
I gave him the widest, happiest smile I could muster. “your sister looks a bit down and I just want to cheer her up.”
I was genuinely relieved that Marco didn’t look jealous. He didn’t look angry that I was taking Isabella alone. I flashed him a quick wink and then scooped Isabella into my arms.
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But as I walked out the door with Isabella resting her head on my shoulder, a heavy wave of fear hit
- me.
Faith.
When she wakes up, and realizes that I took Isabella back to that woman. She will feel betrayed. I know this. I just hope she would understands why.
Alice is our only chance and hope at catching Kyle.
But I knew she won’t which is why I prefer doing it and then facing the consequences when it’s
done.
We arrived at the small pack hospital. My heart hammered against my ribs. Let’s get this over with.
We walked into the quiet waiting room. My eyes went immediately to the single closed door where Alice was being held. It was slightly open so I couldn’t stop Isabella.
“Mommy!”
She ripped herself out of my arms and bolted. She didn’t walk, she ran burst inside.
I stood in the doorway, watching the reunion, and a terrible knot tightened in my gut.
Alice was weak, but she instantly lifted her arms. “Isa! Oh, my sweet girl!” She pulled Isabella into a tight hug, showering her with dramatic kisses.
Isabella was laughing, a sound I havent heard often from her in the last couple of days. “Mommy, I missed you so much! Where were you? Are you okay.”
Alice gave her a wide pity–filled smile, brushing the hair off her face. It was the picture of perfect
motherhood.
I felt a surge of cold fury. This wasn’t right. The person who deserved that hug, who deserved that title, was Faith. Faith, who is her biological mother. And the woman who would die for her.
But little Isabella was too young to understand the difference between the mother who birthed her and the mother who raised her and most importantly the fact that Alice practically ripped her away
from her mother.
“Isabella,” I said, my voice low and firm. ” please go outside because your mom and I have to talk.”
She looked up at me, shocked. Her lips trembled. “No, daddy. I don’t want to leave my Mommy! I missed her!”
“You can spend all the time you want with her later,” I said, stepping fully into the room. “But you need to wait outside. Now.”
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Isabella started to cry, wrapping her arms tighter around Alice. Alice just stroked her head, shooting me a look that said, See? She loves me.
I ignored Alice. “Go wait outside.”
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She reluctantly pulled away, sobbing softly. When she was gone, I slammed the door shut.
Alice immediately dropped the sweet act. The fake tears dried up, and her face hardened.
“That was cruel, Astor,” she snapped, sitting up slightly. “You couldn’t let us have a moment?”
I walked to the end of her bed, crossing my arms. “Stop the theatrics, Alice. You know why I brought her here.”
“I really missed her,” Alice insisted, though her voice lacked any real pain. “I can’t bear to live without my daughter-”
“Save it,” I cut her off. “You missed her, but you were perfectly fine putting her in danger by hiding where Kyle is knowing quite well that he could attack us. You can fool anybody else but story of yours because you wouldn’t be bargaining with her if you missed her. Don’t ever talk to me about missing her.”
I leaned in close. “I brought her because you gave me a condition: You see Isabella, and I tell you where Kyle went. That is the only reason. This is the first, and I swear to the goddes, this will be the last time you see her.”
Her eyes narrowed. She had won this small battle, but she knew I meant what I said.
“Fine,” she hissed. “I’ll tell you everything else you need to know.”
I nodded once. “I’ll have George come here and you can tell him everything.”
I didn’t wait for her reply. I turned and walked out, leaving her alone in the sterile room.
Isabella was already a disaster. She was standing outside the room and when she saw me, she launched another tantrum.
“I want Mommy! I hate you! I hate you, Astor! Why did you take me away?”
I picked her up immediately. She was screaming, kicking, a full–blown fit. I held her tight against my chest, ignoring the stares of the few people walking by.
“Shh, sweet girl. We are going home now,” I tried to soothe her.
“No! I want my Mommy! Alice is my Mommy!” she wailed, pounding her little fists against my collarbone.
I just held her tighter and walked toward the house. My guilt was immense. This was only going to
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hurt Faith more.
When I finally reached the front door, my shoulders were covered in tears and I was mentally
exhausted. I pushed the door open, ready to deal with a crying child and then try to explain myself
to Faith.
I didn’t have to wait.
Faith was standing in the middle of the living room. She wasn’t yelling, she wasn’t crying. She was just still. But the air around her was thick with an icy rage I had never felt from her before. She was awake, and she knew.
“Astor,” she said. Her voice was flat, sharp, and cold. It didn’t sound like her at all.
Isabella was still whimpering in my arms. When she saw Faith, she squirmed away from me.
Faith’s face softened instantly. She moved forward, her instincts taking over. She reached out, trying to take Isabella from me, her voice gentle again.
“Oh, sweetie, come here. Come to Faith. What happened?”
But Isabella pulled away violently, scooting behind my legs and glaring at Faith.
“No!” Isabella yelled, her voice raw from crying. “I don’t like you! You’re mean! I just want my
Mommy”
The rejection was like a knife plunged into Faith’s chest. I didn’t need the mate bond to tell me that; I saw the light drain from her eyes. But through the bond, I felt the sharp, agonizing pain of her heartbreak a feeling so deep it made my own chest seize up.
“Isabella, stop it,” I commanded, my voice strained.
I reached out for Faith, wanting desperately to close the distance, to hold her, to pull her into my arms and tell her that Isabella was confused and that she was the real mother.
“Don’t touch me,” Faith whispered, taking a deliberate step back.
Her eyes were locked on mine, and they were full of betrayal.
“How could you?” she asked, her voice shaking now. Not with crying, but with control. “How could you take her back to that woman? To Alice? After everything that happened, after everything she put us through?”
Isabella was still crying softly behind me.
“And you didn’t even ask me,” Faith continued, disbelief etched on her face. “She is my daughter, She is our daughter. And you took her to her kidnapper without a word to me?”
Chapter 133
“Faith, listen to me,” I pleaded, trying to step forward again. “I had to! It was the only way she would tell me where Kyle is hiding. It was insurance, Faith! I did it for us!”
She held up a hand, stopping me dead in my tracks. Her chest rose and fell rapidly.
“I don’t want to hear it,” she choked out. “I don’t want to hear your explanations, Astor. Not right
now.”
She looked at Isabella one last time, her expression devastated, then she turned on her heel and
walked away.
She didn’t storm to our room. She didn’t pause at the door. I heard the front door open and slam shut almost immediately.
Faith was gone. And she left me standing there, holding her crying daughter, completely alone with my terrible choices.
