Page 31 of Betrayed By the Alpha

"Thank you," he said to Monroe. "Everything was going smoothly. Until Zach became the new Alpha and head of the black ops and started messing with my operations. Also, your old maid Greta kept reminding Monroe that it was time to hand over the inheritance to you and I wanted that for myself. So, I sent a few of my men to kill you, but..." He let out a tsk sound. Here you are."

"What are we going to do with her?" Monroe asked.

Bruce didn't think twice before giving a reply. "We have to kill her, but here is the genius plan I have. We will blame it on her wolf lover."

"The Alpha?"

"Yes. I mean, he's the only one who people will say has enough reason to kill her. When she's dead, you will reveal to the public that Albert is behind the death of Adrien. Zach killed Albert to avenge his father and then killed Hayley, too. Everyone saw the way he spoke to her years back. Surely, they believe he still hates her. Zach is taken to prison, and you, Monroe, will oversee the black ops. With that, I can continue my activities, and everyone will live happily."

Monroe chuckled. "That’s a brilliant idea, sir. But Zach, he will deny it. The people love him. The other day, I heard a few people in the market talk about how he would be a great Mayor."

"What?" Bruce growled. "People said that? Why am I just hearing of this?"

"I didn’t think it mattered. Also, no offense, but you are hated by almost everyone. I doubt they would believe your words or mine."

"Fine. Then we just kill Zach."

"How do we kill the Alpha?"

"I bet he is on his way here. If he’s as smart as I think, he will have figured everything out by now."

"So, what now?"

"Now? We wait." He looked over to Hayley, who had been making muffled sounds. "Do you have something to say, darling? Monroe, take off her tape."

Monroe pulled the tape off all at once to make it painful, but Hayley didn’t care about the pain in that moment. "You won’t get away with this. The people will never believe you. Zach will be here, and he’ll kill you."

"Oh, I’m praying he shows up. There’s one thing I have always wanted to do to him. He’ll be dead before sunrise."

Hayley coughed and spat at him. "You are disgusting."

"I’ll surely have fun with you before I kill you, Hayley Green." He brought out his handkerchief and wiped the spittle away from his face. "Come on, Monroe. We must prepare for the Alpha." When they closed the door, they turned off the light, leaving Hayley alone again in the dark.

She struggled against the rope again, but all it did was cause her more pain. Hayley had heard of magic like the one used to make this rope. All she needed to do was cut it, and she would have her powers back. But she didn’t have any sharp object she could use, and even if she did, she was tied in such a way that she wouldn’t be able to reach for it.

She was going to give up. Then she remembered something. She had gotten her nails done the other day, and they were pretty sharp and would be able to cut through the rope. Hayley began to use her thumb and index nails to work on it. She didn’t know how much time had passed, but when Monroe returned to the room again, Hayley was successful.

"Bruce has sent me here to handle you," Monroe said, not realizing she had broken free. "Don’t worry. I’m not going to kill you, just cause you a little pain."

Chapter 16 - Zach

It was Bruce. The handwriting was his. Zach recognized it from the many letters Bruce had sent to the black ops, explaining why he couldn't attend important meetings because he was a 'busy man'. Everything made sense to Zach now. Of course, it had to be Bruce sending those threat letters to Hayley. If property was left unclaimed, it went to the head of the town—Bruce. Zach had always known Bruce to be greedy, conniving, and disgusting, but he didn't think he'd go to the extent of killing just for property. He remembered the way Bruce had kissed Hayley's palm at the festival. He had noticed the way Bruce looked at Hayley. She was a beautiful woman, and Bruce was clearly interested. Perhaps he wanted her.

Bruce had enough money. Zach didn't need proof to know that Bruce had stolen millions of public funds. He didn't understand why the man would still be interested in Albert Green's property. Was it just pure greed? He sent the letters to try and scare Hayley away, and Zach wouldn't be surprised if the person who dropped the letters for Bruce was Monroe—who bragged about knowing every corner of the Green's house in the past.

As he drove, he reached out to pick up his phone. Zach was strong, but he wasn't stupid. If he was going against one of the strongest wizards ever, and an experienced werewolf, he would need backup, and there was only one person he knew who wouldn't let him down even though it was the middle of the night.

Ryder picked up the call immediately. "Hey, Zach. What's up?" Ryder's voice sounded heavy. Zach could hear the voice of a woman in the background.

"Ryder, I want you and Tolliver to meet me at Bruce's house."

Zach could hear someone else speaking in the background. Whatever the person was saying, it stopped Ryder from giving a quick reply. "Bruce's house? Zach, why—hold on, Phoebe—sorry about this. It's late, Zach. But you sound like it's urgent, so I'll be there. Do you want to tell me why before you go?"

"Ryder, Bruce has Hayley."

The other line was quiet for a while. "What?" Ryder finally said, just when Zach thought the call had ended. "I don't understand. What’s going on?"

"He sent his men. They broke into her home, beat up Greta, and took Hayley. Greta is fine, but—Ryder, I can't tell you the entire story now. Just meet me there."

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