The Devil's Daughter |✓|

•Chapter 25•

Austin

"Where is she!?" I bust into her room to see her closet empty and Vance standing in the middle of the room. "I will explain everything once you calm down." He takes a seat at the edge of her bed with his hands folded in his lap. "There's nothing to explain, just tell me where my mate is." He stays silent, just watching me as my breathing calms down and the anger on my face slowly melts away into fear. "Where is she?" I question again.

"Sit and don't get mad." I do as he says, sitting down in the arm chair by the window. "She left and before you get mad," he says quickly when I try to stand. "Hear me out." I take a second to think before reluctantly sitting and letting him speak. "She left with Zeke, and I don't know where they went so don't ask." He points his finger at me in a warning before continuing. "She left because she can't trust you; not when it comes to the safety of her family."

"She can't trust me? I'm her mate and she belongs here with me." I growl at him, but he gives me a deadly glare and tells me to shut it. "She can't trust you because you refuse to believe there is a traitor in your pack."

"Because there isn't! My pack is loyal, it's her family that betrayed her." I shout as I stand and start to pace the room. "No, it wasn't, Austin. If you would just calm down, I could explain to you why there is no way in hell her family would've rated her out." He yells at me, his face turning red from anger and his fists clenched at his sides.

"Fine." I grumble and cross my arms. "Okay," he runs his hand through his hair and releases a long, tired sigh. "Look, you've lived in a pack your whole life, so you don't get it when Celeste says her family didn't do it. But she is right, her family didn't because rogues are way more loyal to a person than a pack member when it comes down to it. A pack member will most likely live a privileged life with hundreds of people there when they need them until they die, while a rogue will be on their own, fending for themselves and witnessing unbelievable horrors." He takes a second to collect his thoughts before continuing.

"Once a rogue actually does put their faith and trust in a person, that is an almost unbreakable bond. They won't ever betray that person. A pack member on the other hand, especially a member from a pack where their Alpha became cruel and cold for not having his mate," He gestures to me which has me looking down in shame. "They'll lose their loyalty at the drop of a hat if given the right deal. I know you love your pack and you consider them family, but for a while we lost you. They became scared of you, there was even talk of overthrowing you because they thought your mate wouldn't come and you'd lose your sanity. They lost their faith in you, so I don't doubt that one of the pack members received a deal from the enemy and they took it." I think over his words carefully, trying to see things from Celeste's point of view, but I can't.

"No, I don't believe it Vance. Yes, the last couple of years I've been a bad leader, but I've apologized multiple times. I've been working on my behavior. The ones who didn't trust me anymore left. They joined neighboring packs. Her family has probably been tortured and blackmailed into giving up her location." He gives me a look of disappointment as he walks around me to the bedroom door. "You can keep believing that Austin, but you're going to lose your mate if you do. Then you're going to lose your sanity and then your pack." He leaves, shutting the door behind him.

"She won't leave me!" I call after him. "I'll find her, and she won't ever leave me again!" I shout again before falling onto her bed, her scent surrounding me as I fall into her sheets.

Celeste

"Where are we?" I ask Zeke as I look around the amazing kitchen and living room of the home. "One of my homes. We'll be living here until we find your family."

"One of them? How many do you have?" I question. There's no way he has as much money as he's leading on. "Seven. One in each state that I conduct business in, plus two outside the U.S."