Elise argued, “My dad is a good man! He didn’t do whatever you think he did.” Another girl stepped up, “Your dad may be a good guy to you, but he’s one of the villains in other people’s stories.” Elise stood and wobbled, but our sniper grabbed her, so she didn’t fall. It just couldn’t be Melanie, but it was looking like it was. How? Why?

Elise looked at her, “They mean my dad is the villain in your story. They are upset with him because of you. Why?” Someone drove up in an unmarked vehicle with two more cars behind them. Our sniper held out her hands for a key. She announced, “I’m taking her home.”

I snorted “Thank fucking god. We need to chat.” A chorus of, “WHAT?!” “NO!” Were shouted at her. I groaned, “I swear to god if they talk her out of this, I will punch them all ON PRINCIPLE!” Bravo Six grabbed her shoulders, “ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?! You can’t do that!”

Alexander roared in anger. I stared at him as horror filled me. That had to be Melanie. Brutus said, “Oden thinks it is.” Great. Awesome. Love today so much. Brutus replied, “Such sarcasm.”

The sniper pushed him off her, “I don’t recall asking for your permission. I WON’T leave her here!” One guy yelled, “WHY do you keep fighting for these people?! They abandoned you! Yet you send out an emergency text to us to come save her ass. Then you show up bleeding. We need to get you treatment. You’re hurt. They don’t DESERVE YOU!” I was looking around the room in confusion. We didn’t abandon Melanie. Did we? Brutus answered, “Not knowingly.”

Cayden and Micah seemed to be having some silent conversation. The sniper said, “I won’t leave her here.” Onethrew up their hands and said, “They will come for her. We can leave and they will come. We can even give them the coordinates. She’s going to pass out in a few minutes anyway. We can just get her outside their little dark Witch spelled area.”

Elise frowned, “I am not going to pass out. Why do people keep forgetting I am an Alpha wolf?” One member snored, “Yes, you are. Trust us. We deal with this kind of thing all the time. All of us are FULLY aware of your Alpha status. ‘Elise this’ ‘Elise that.’ We know everything about you.” I locked eyes with my dad, and we knew but didn’t want to know.

Someone gently said, “Bravo One, you need treatment.” The sniper crossed her arms, “Then I’d better get going. Bravo Four are you coming with me? It will make it faster.” Bravo Four answered, “Of course. I’m with you always. You know that.” Our sniper turned to Elise.

One yelled at her, “Stop doing this for them! If they catch you, it’s all over.” The sniper turned, “I won’t leave her unprotected out here and you know that. I won’t leave and text EJ her location and leave. She could get hurt. Anyone would try and get her because she’s his mate and she’s defenseless… that’s… no… Plus, I won’t get caught.” I raised an eyebrow.

I linked my dad, “That was very clear familiarity specifically with me to not refer to me as Alpha EJ.” My dad replied, “They also don’t appear to realize we were on a skype call and we can hear them. I think we both know or fear why she’s familiar with you.” I asked, “How is it possible?” He answered, “I can only think of one answer: Magic.”

A different Resistance member shouted, “For the love of god, I wish you could just quit them.” Alexander growled again. Someone else waved at them, “Stop it guys.” She turned to Bravo One, “Do what you need to Bravo One. We will monitor everything, and let you know if anything else happens.”

Bravo One asked somewhat angrily, “How the HELL did you not know THIS was happening? How did they even get to her? The amount of alerts I have on her… specifically her… are high. Everything should’ve gone off… I don’t understand… that’s… did…. you…. UGH! This wasn’t supposed to happen to any of them but NOT ever HER!” Elise bent over and pursed her lips in confusion.

Someone sighed, “It was spur of the moment apparently.” Bravo One nodded, “Get all their things.” One stepped up, “We know the drill. You go take her and get back safely.” Elise frowned, “Hey, I’m fine on my own. I’ll get back to EJ by my bad ass self. Thank you very much.”

Our sniper said, “You’re not on your own… I’m here… well... no. I mean obviously I’m here just get in the car Elise.” Elise backed up, “No. I want to talk about your issues with my dad. We could figure them out.” The sniper sighed, “Elise, just get in the car and I’ll get you back to EJ. You want to get back to EJ, right?” Elise snorted, “Of course I do. Your friends don’t like me though. Why should I get in the car?”

I growled, “Get in the car, Elise!” Wesley said, “She can’t hear you, big brother. We are still muted.” I sent my feelings to Elise to get in the damn car. She flipped me off back. My gaze narrowed at the scene. The sniper sighed, “Just… let me get you closer to your territory… I’ve been nice to and your dad… honestly… he owes me. I saved his life… for you…. maybe me… maybe other people… I still saved his life!”

She rubbed her temples, “You’re going to pass out and it will be MUCH simpler if you get in the car before that happens.” Elise frowned, “I don’t wanna get in the car. I wanna know why you don’t like my dad.” Several people groaned.

One snorted, “Leave her pampered ass here Bravo One.” I snarled. The sniper yelled, “ENOUGH! Don’t talk about her like that! Ow… god that hurts. Don’t make me move my arms…everything already hurt so much… just… be nice.” Jaws locked and a few people looked away.

The sniper turned back to Elise and said, “The deal with your dad… that’s… well… it’s a long story that you do not have time to hear right now… maybe ever. I prefer ever… honestly... You’re going to pass out in a few minutes so to the car... like right now... let’s go.”

Elise stomped her foot, “NO! I want to know the story. They seem to think I’m some spoiled little girl. He called me a Duchess!” I snorted, “You are a Duchess, Elise.” Wesley said, “She still can’t hear you.” I growled, “I know that!” He grinned at me. I knew in the bond he was trying to distract me from the pain I still felt from Elise being gone. My heart felt like it was sputtering.

The sniper said, “You are a Duchess of the Hackura and Faerie… you know… since you are married to the Duke of both realms.” Elise sighed, “That’s another thing. You know so much about so much! How? Why? Because it can’t be why I think it is. It just can’t be.”

One person snorted, “They really don’t get it do they?” Elise growled, “What is THAT supposed to mean?” Someone laughed, “It’s FAR too late to get a clue Duchess Luna Elise Conners. You’ve been blind for so damn long that I think you LIKE it that way. You buried your head in the sand while Bravo One just kept saving your asses over and over.”

“Your dad knows the answer. Red Run is apparently keeping many secrets. I wonder if they lied about things to keep everything the way it was. I think they lied specifically about people in your pack. Don’t you just KNOW they did? Because I do.” Elise snarled and the sniper held her back.

The next words out of the sniper's mouth had Jason passing out and Tristan hitting his knees in shock. Dalton, Dakota, and Cooper were frozen with their jaws on the ground. The rest ofus looked at each other in complete confusion when the sniper said. “Elise.” She waited until my mate looked at her, then said, “Mshango.”