Vincent's Betrayal

Chapter~26

HADLEY

I T ' S B E E N A long time since anyone has seen me, the real me. The scared eighteen-year-old rebel who hated everyone and everything, even herself.

Little has changed. I hate anyone who is not part of my trusted circle. The past twenty-two years have treated me kinder than the eighteen years before that.

Now at the age of forty years old, I can happily say I've built up quite the career. I don't have a family, or a man in my life but that's okay. Not everyone is meant to have those things, and if you don't, you just take it with a pinch of salt.

I have good friends, however. Matteo and Arlo are my guys. Whenever I shout, they come running. My big protectors, I call them. Arlo is a little geekier than Matteo but he still carries a mean six-pack and huge bulging arm muscles.

All my people are strong because I made them that way. Each one of them broke down and became a better version of themselves.

You have to break down in order to build yourself back up again. You become more grounded, sturdy even.

Twenty-two years ago I was just a girl with an attitude. Now I have an empire and a reason to be angry. I'm angry at them, all of them.

I haven't heard from anyone from my 'past life' other than Celestè, she's still my girl and I owe her my life.

That night after everything came crashing down and I took a beating, she was there to pick me up and haul me to safety.

Nursed me back to health and gave me her nest egg and told me to leave and never return. We've been meeting up in Paris ever since every once in a while. It's easy for me to jet off anywhere anytime when there's no work to be done that is.

In saying that, I believe there is always work to be done. We can always improve and bring new ideas to the table.

As I run a mafia, I work alongside other wolves such as Matteo and Arlo, as well as the Divine.

The divine is a species of human which are more advanced in speed, strength and intelligence.

I however differ from these beings, I have werewolf heritage even though I have no wolf. These beings were born to simple humans but became more powerful.

And no my wolf never came through. I am wolf-less, it's never stopped me before and certainly won't now.

Matteo and Arlo are both white wolves. The divine of the werewolves. The superior to the werewolf kind.

I killed one years ago and was never forgiven. Sometimes I wonder if that is why everyone turned on me in the end.

I told my best friends about this incident from my past, they never judged me and agreed what I did was all I could do. Kill or be killed. That's the kind of society we surround ourselves in.

A voice draws me out of my thoughts. I look up at Matteo who is sitting across from me on a small wooden chair.

His arms are crossed and he's looking at me intently.

"Yes?" I ask him.

"You retreated into your head, I thought I should bring you back to reality and tell you we should probably leave soon," he says softly.