Wincing as he awoke, ze’s eyes scanned the cage he was trapped in. His hands were held in cuffs, tethered to the ceiling.


    He attempted to move, but every motion sent protests through his body. Sandro had personally dealt with him, rendering him powerless. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to fight back; he simply couldn’t. Brianna had stripped him of his will before Sandro’s arrival.


    Upon ze’s return to the pack after meeting with Arabe, Sandro summoned him. ze believed Sandro had asked for him around the Vi, but no one had given him a satisfactory response.


    Perhaps he had received an answer but coerced it out of them, hence the reason he was summoned.


    ze remained unfazed when Sandro used him of meeting Arabe. Hisck of response had only angered Sandro, who then ordered him to be confined. It wasn’t just confinement; he had been subjected to numerous beatings, which he bore withoutint. He believed he deserved every bit of it.


    However, it was Sandro’s deration that he would go after Arabe himself that truly affected him. ze wondered if Sandro had managed to reach her. He had attempted to contact her before his phone was snatched and shattered before him. With no other means, he could only hope that she and Thalia had left the residence.


    “I shouldn’t have gone to her,” he moaned. “She’s in danger because of me.”


    “Right,” Sandro asserted.


    ze looked up as Sandro strode toward him. “Leave Arabe out of this.”


    “Why?” Sandro asked.


    “Because she’s my mate, Sandro. Arabe is mine, and whatever is happening between us, she shouldn’t be caught in the middle.”


    Sandro tossed his head back and burst intoughter. “Did you really think I’d ever heed your words?”


    “I know you won’t,” ze murmured. “But she’s pregnant, man.”


    “I’m well aware of that,” Sandro replied. “I warned you that you’d soon find yourself in this dangerous position. You should have been more cautious, my ex-friend.”


    ze didn’t believe for a moment that Sandro harbored any sympathy for him. There was no trace of it in his cold, green eyes.


    “I don’t intend to harm Arabe,” Sandro murmured, his voice dropping even lower. “I have far greater ns for her than to let her go like that. And the child in her could be mine.”


    ze’s teeth clenched as he pulled at the chain restraining him. The thought of Arabe returning to Sandro’s mercy set him on edge.Còntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    “Don’t bother trying to break free,” Sandro advised. “I’d prefer you conserve your energy for what’s ahead.”


    Sandro retrieved his phone. ze watched as he tapped it for a while before holding it out to him.


    “Speak to your girl,” Sandro growled thest part, his eyes glowing with a dangerous golden hue.


    For a moment, ze said nothing. He couldn’t hear anything and wondered if Sandro was trying to provoke him until he heard her voice.


    “What do you want with me?” Arabe’s voice came from the other end.


    “Oh, you might not want me,” Sandro murmured, then added, “but your lover needs you.”


    “Arabe,” ze murmured as Sandro thrust the phone toward him.


    “ze,” he heard the uncertainty in her voice, imagining her tilting her head.


    “Don’t listen to him,” ze urged. “Don’te for me!”


    Even though Sandro hadn’t explicitly mentioned inviting Arabe, ze knew it was likely his n in the end. If he revealed his situation to Arabe, she might rush to the vi. However, he’d prefer if she didn’t.


    “What’s happening, ze? And what do you mean by ‘run far away’? I received your message earlier,” Arabe said.


    ze winced, ncing at Sandro, whose face contorted in a grimace. “I gave you a simple loyalty test, ze. You failed it. You let her go after being with her!”


    Sandro was beyond furious with ze. He knew ze would never give him easily, which was why he had made people watch his movement.


    “This ends now, and wait until I get the bitch.” Sandro reached for his gun in the side pocket of his jacket, aiming it at ze and pulling the trigger.


    ze gasped, his eyes widening as he stared at Sandro and at the spot where the bullet had struck. He staggered backward, falling onto the concrete floor and immediately slipping into unconsciousness.


    ***


    Arabe’s heart skipped a beat. She stared at her phone for a long moment before cing it against her ear. Though she’d heard the shot, there was only ragged breathing on the line. She couldn’t discern who had been hit or if they were still alive.


    “ze,” her voice trembled as she spoke into the phone, met with silence.


    “Please, no.” Arabe choked back a sob, tears streaming down her face. “Please respond to me.”


    “ze,” she cried into the phone. Again, silence. She headed toward the pack’s entrance. They had just arrived and hadn’t made any introductions yet. She hadn’t even had a chance to look around before receiving Sandro’s call.


    Arabe collided with a body, and they wrapped their arms around her. She struggled, pounding her fists against the chest.


    “Let me go!” she cried.


    “What’s going on, Arabe?” Thalia asked, still holding her. She’d seen Arabe stumbling toward where the car was parked and wondered if she had second thoughts abouting until she saw her tear-stained face.


    “Thalia,” Arabe sobbed, her arms wrapped around Thalia’s body.


    “Tell me what’s going on. We can’t afford to leave here. I’ve gathered information from the members as well,” Thalia said.


    For a while, Arabe said nothing, and Thalia didn’t press. She waited for Arabe’s tears to subside before asking again.


    “It’s ze,” Arabe said, her lips quivering, more tears streaming down.


    “What about him?” Thalia asked. “Did he break up with you or something?”


    As Arabe shook her head, Thalia sighed. “Then there’s nothing to worry about. I assume you’re concerned because he hasn’t reached out, but it hasn’t been twenty hours since youst saw each other.”


    “ze is dead,” Arabe whispered. When Thalia gazed at her with uncertainty, as if she hadn’t heard clearly, Arabe repeated, “ze is dead, Thalia.”


    “What?” Thalia muttered, her brows furrowed.


    “Sandro killed him,” Arabe cried.


    “No,” Thalia refused to believe it. There was no way she’d ept her brother was dead without proper evidence.