C77 The plan

Artemis Pov

I knew a very peculiar person that would find Freya. She would prove useful. While they were tracking Merona’s cell phone, she would come in handy to draw her in.

“Where is he!” I demanded, “what is taking him so long?” I turned to the guard, “go get Iris,” I ordered.

“Yes alpha,” they bowed and turned on their heels.

“We are here!” Evelyn announced with Iris by her side, wearing a grin.

“Good to know you are familiarizing with her, I wondered if you did with Freya,” Oslo spat.

“I'm sure he did not,” Evelyn said, “anyways, he came to fetch me from my chambers. So where are we?” she asked, looking around.

“Why is Iris always fetching you from your room, it's as though you need him to walk,” Oslo gave a questioning look.

“Would you rather do it, I doubt you will since you are still sobbing over Freya,” she propped her head, staring him down.

“She was a better Luna,” he said

“And yet she ran,” Evelyn remarked, she turned to me, “so what's the plan to get back his Luna,” she tilted her head and took a peek at Oslo, “don't you worry so much, your Luna will be with us in no time,” she assured him with an eye roll.

Oslo’s nose flared as his jaw clenched by his side, “put yourself in order,” I instructed.

A glint suddenly applied on Oslo’s face as he answered, “yes alpha,” that only insinuated that he was up to something.

“I know of a way we can get our hands on our little Luna,” Evelyn sang.

“So we know as a fact that she's struggling right now, any help her way, she would really appreciate it, with Merona’s phone, let’s track her and set a bait,” she clapped her finger on her chest in glee with a prideful grin.

“That's a lovely plan,” I commented, “but we have a better one,” I said flatly.

“We do?” Oslo asked horror struck.

“Yes,” my head swirled to the guard by the door, “bring her in!” I called.

The door to the library opened and Loretta strolled in with guards by her side.

“What is going on here?” she inquired, her face immediately turned sour when her eyes fell on Evelyn, “the desperate wannabe,” she remarked and Oslo snickered from his side.

“Glad to know I'm not the only one that thinks that way,” Oslo chuckled.

“Come in Loretta,” I ordered and her body went rigid. She came in slowly.

“Yes alpha,” her head bowed in respect as she left it that way, not raising it. To think that she was the girl that used to come on me at every given prospect, yet here she stood in respect, not an ounce of flirtatious gaze from her.

Freya did this one.

She was a true Luna.

Sadly she didn't last.

“I have a task for you,” I said.

“I'm listening alpha,” there were no trace of joke from her demeanor, she replied the way any subject should, ready and willing, although I wasn't so sure of the latter when she learnt of whom it involved.

“I need you to ask a bait and draw someone in,” she didn't reply to this, but her shoulder tensed briefly.

“To draw Freya in,” her head snapped up at my direction, so did Oslo, however, he attempted at hiding his which did not slip past me

“What?” Her eyes went wide and she shook her head no.

A giggle interrupted us from the table and all necks swirled in the direction of Evelyn who was trying desperately hard to hide her chuckle.

“Is something funny?” Loretta requested, glaring daggers at her.

“Oh no no, pardon my interference,” she stifled a giggle.

“Luna!” I commanded, making her sit up straight and wiping every grin off her face. She was stone serious.

“You will do as I command, you have no say in this matter,” I told her.

“But Artemis——”

“It's Alpha to you,” Evelyn piped in to which Loretta didn't spare her a glance but took the correction nonetheless.

“But alpha, I simply can't, she's my friend and was once our Luna, I simply can't, please don't make me do it, please,” she begged her voice growing sad every minute.

“Loretta,” I called.

“Yes alpha,” she raised her eyes to meet mine. They had gone puffy just in the flick of seconds.

“Do you know who killed your father?” I questioned rising to my feet.

“No no no,” she wiped her head in denial.

“I know you do, that's why you told Freya that you didn't want to chase after the person is responsible,” she gasped at m y words and cast her gaze back on the tiled ground.

“I killed your father, Ajax, I killed him. He was working with the enemy.”

Despite the knowledge of who did she gasped in shock and tears spilled forth from her already red eyes.

“So I would not hesitate to send you to him, after all he was in so much pain for treating you so badly. I might just grant him his wish of reconcilling with him,” I promised her as I went round the table and came to her quivering side.

“Do you want that?” I asked her.

No answer.

Had I gotten too lenient?

Had she gotten too comfortable?

I asked, “Do you want that?” again.

No answer still.

“Loretta, you and I both know that I can grant that wish within a ticking second without anyone flinching even a finger,” I let her know her predicament.

She nodded, “I know that alpha, but I can't betray her trust, she has been through too much already, to add another betrayal? I simply cannot.”

“Do you not know who you stand before?” Iris commanded by my side, “now speak!”

“Why? Why are you doing this? You have put her through too much, she deserves this much peace from you, for crying out loud you killed her family and destroyed her home!” she yelled on my face. More tears flowed from her eyes as her octave increased.

“Let her be Artemis, you have broken her enough, did you ever love her——”

Her back was slammed to the bookshelves, causing it to shatter into pieces, her hands clawed on mine to break free, she grabbed my arm that had her throat, ready to throttle it.

“It's alpha to you,” I reminded her.

“A..lpha,” she choked as she fought to remove my iron hold on her.

“You will do as I command, do you understand?” I inquired.

In between my death grip hold, she shook her head negatively, “I..would..not..betray her,” she shut me a glare.

Damn!

Freya made her.

“Bitch! Will you die then?” Evelyn snarled from her side.

A dry throaty laugh left her, “you will never understand what it means to love someone, to have a friend. You could die for them,” she forced out and coughed.

Bitch made a lot of people loyal to her.

“Then you will die,” I stated.

“Gladly, so long as I won't betray Freya, I won't. How did I not see how much of a monster you were,” she snapped. Her face had gone red as her face swell from my impact.

I released and slapped her across her face, she fell to the ground and I picked her up again and smacked her till it drew blood from her mouth.

“I know her type, she won't cave, idiot is ready to die,” Evelyn stated and came to stand by my side.

“Her family member is her weakness, anyone to get hold on?” she queried with a smirk.

“Bitch!” Loretta thrust her fist into her nose, breaking it.

“That's my cue, she does have someone,” Evelyn grinned with her bleeding nose.

“Go to her house and bring her brothers,” I ordered the guards.

“Yes alpha,” they echoed and marched out.

“I'll get you for this,” she promised Evelyn, “I hope your hand moves just as your lips,” she told her.

“You will fall alpha Artemis, I assure you you will,” she spat out the blood from her mouth.

“You should stop talking now if you want to live,” Oslo warned from his corner.

She cackled and her red teeth showed, “you call this living, this is prison, you, you betrayed her too. She was so proud of you for being her coach, how can you act like nothing happened between you two?” she queried.

“Because,” Oslo peeled from the shelves that he hung to, “she was my Luna, but he's my alpha, you should be smart enough to know the difference,” Oslo said.

“There is nothing smart about betrayal, don't give it a cute name.”

“So you'd rather your family die for Freya?” he raised an eyebrow at her.

She was silent.

She didn't provide an answer.

“I thought as much,” and he went back.

“Don't you bother, you are not the only one that wishes to see her, Oslo here wishes the same, you will soon reconnect with her, all you have to do is help bring her in,” Evelyn explained, “and who knows, you guys might share the same cell.”

“Alpha we have them,” a guard announced and all the poker face she had on crumbled by that revelation.

I nodded at Iris, “you know what to do.”

“Yes alpha,” he marched towards the armed guards.

“Please no! No, don't harm them. They are innocent,” she pleaded.

“You make them guilty,” Evelyn stated.

“Will you carry out my command?” I asked her for the last time.

“I'm sorry Freya,” she mumbled.

“I will, I will carry it out, so please, please don't harm them,” and cried.

“I will do it.”