The Assassin’s Mate
Romero’s POV

I sent Li on a run to cool herself down. She was distraught thinking about Julius sending someone else to kill Tanner, but I knew that he wouldn't let this go because his obsession with becoming King had clouded his judgment. And after what I found out about his past, it only made me more furious for ever letting his sleazy ass into my pack house. He had been working with Baxter and created this whole sex trafficking operation.

Baxter had always been an evil man but to have organized such a sick thing made me happy I killed his ass. I actually never intended to but when he tried to kill me first I let my monster out and ripped him to shreds. He treated Li like trash when she was a child and that made me want to bring him back to life and kill him all over again. I never told Li what happened to him or that it was me that did it because I didn't want her to be afraid of me.

I heard a knock at the door and Damon entered the room. "Well, I got Olivia all settled in, where's Li?"

"She went for a run. She was pretty upset about our conversation." He nodded his head not pushing me any further for information because he knew what Li and I talked about always remained private.

"So what kind of damage control do we need to do?"

I looked at him wishing that this wouldn't be so complicated but unfortunately, it was and the longer we waited to the more could go wrong.

"I need to talk to Crane."

He stared at me with a shocked look on his face and opened his mouth like he wanted to ask me something but then he closed it shut.

"I'll call him tomorrow, make sure the meeting hall is ready, I'm going to need speak with him there."

"Ok. But are you going to tell me what this is about?"

"Tomorrow. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some paperwork to finish."

He never said a word and instead he got up from his chair and walked out the door. I needed to come up with a way to convince Crane to team up with us. We would have to approach Tanner about Julius and possibly be ready for the ramifications so the more men I had on my side the safer everyone would be. My pack may have the most power, strongest and smartest wolves in the world but we needed more numbers to take on Julius if he became a threat.

I picked up the phone and dialed his number. After three rings he answered "Alpha Crane."

"Derek, it's Romero. I need your help."

There was a long pause and finally I heard him say "Ok. I'll come to your pack tomorrow."

"Agreed, meet me here at 9am. I'll explain everything then."

The call ended and I placed my cell down on the table. It had been a few hours since Li left to go on her run but I knew she had a lot of steam to blow off. I didn't know what she had gotten herself into while she was in Oregon but whatever it was had been weighing on her since she got here. I hated seing her like this but I also knew that I couldn't fix her problems, in fact this wasn't something that could be easily be fixed at all.

I walked to my room and when I passed Li's and noticed that it was empty. Olivia must have gone with Li and they were still out, I only hoped this run would at least help her some. I went into my room and laid down thinking about what I would say to Crane. We hadn't really been the greatest of friends, in fact there was a time where we wanted to kill each other and since then we hadn't been civil at all. In fact, the night that he invaded my pack, he's lucky I didn't catch him before Li did because he probably would have been murdered.

But he did take Li away from that asshat of a father and intended on giving her a better life until she ran away. One day I would tell her how long we had been looking for her, how amazing her mother really was and when the time came I only hoped she would listen. Our lives here haven't always been easy but we protected our kind and rarely ever let them leave, her mother just happened to have a different dream and needed to see the world. Unfortunately she met Baxter and became his infatuation and was forced to bare his child. I guess the Moon Goddess had other plans for her Li, but I didn't care what they were because somehow she was brought back to us.

I was just about to fall asleep when I heard footsteps pounding up the stairs. I thought it was Li and Olivia coming home so I turned over in my bed and closed my eyes again when Cinclair, my Gamma, rushed into the room out of breath talking about someone being taken.

"Cinclair what they fuck are you doing bursting into my room? And what are you mumbling about?"

"Alpha...Li...was...taken..." he said as he gasped in between each word.

"WHAT?" I said as I jumped out of bed and ran down the stairs to find Damon.

He followed me downstairs into the kitchen and said "I was doing border duty when I saw Li and her little wolf friend at the river. Then I saw them both fall down and before I could get to them a man threw Li over his shoulder and took off. I couldn't leave my station because if there were any more it would have left the border vulnerable to attack so I sent one of my men to follow them. He said Li has been taken to a house in the woods and was chained to a tree. She was awake but couldn't move and he tried to help her but someone was standing guard over her all night. Sir they took her away to the airport."

My hands were changing I was so mad, JULIUS. That fucking Wolf is dead when I find him. How did he know Li was back? Has he been watching us? I picked up my phone and dialed Cranes number again only this time I didn't give him a chance to say hello.

"Get your ass to my pack now." He never said a word then hung up the phone.

20 minutes later Damon was escorting Crane and his guest into my office.

"Sit." I commanded as I gestured to the table.

"I don't have time to explain everything so just listen. There is an eminent threat to our new King and something bad is going to happen. I need your packs help."

He nodded and said "Romero this is Finn, my Betas son, he was sent to be Li's bodyguard in Oregon. He knows about everything, he's her guardian." My eyes saw red. This bastard had Li's guardian all along and he was with her in Oregon and never told me?

As mad as I was, my first priority was finding her and taking care of that loser Julius, so this conversation would have to wait until later. I looked at him and said "So I take it you're both going to help me?"

They nodded their heads and I told him to be prepared because at any moment I would be calling for him to fly to Oregon, and this time we were doing things my way.

Finn is back!!!! What will he say when he sees Li?

What's the deal between Crane and Romero?

Do you really think Julius will start a war?

And as always thank you for your support. Shout out to my girls Bre and Meg for always telling it like it is and for helping me work through those nights when I don't want to write!! Love y'all!!

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