Chosen By My Mate's Father-in-law
Chapter 81: The Smell of Fear

Chapter 81: Chapter 81: The Smell of Fear

After Elliot hung up the phone on his call with Gareth, he frowned.

It was strange that Isabella was missing too.

But Jasmine was his main concern for now.

He put his arms behind his back and paced his living room floor. If his plan was successful, Jasmine would be scared out of her mind right about now, crying and pleading for someone to come save her.

When he saw Axel and Jasmine kissing at the art show, he knew that he needed to take drastic measures to make sure that Jasmine knew how much she needed him. He had ordered his subordinate, Nathan, to arrange a team to kidnap her. Elliot had told Nathan to ensure that her fake kidnappers scared her. He wanted Jasmine to believe that she was on the brink of death.

Then, he would come to save her right before her “kidnappers” killed her. After he had rescued her from a horrible fate, Jasmine would quit holding his past transgressions against him and finally stop fighting their mating bond. Then, Jasmine would move into the house he had purchased for her and agree to be his mistress.

With his genius plan, Elliot would be able to hold a position of power by marrying Isabella, and his wolf wouldn’t weaken with continual access to his mate.

But had there been a wrench in the plan?

It couldn’t be a coincidence that Jasmine and Isabella went missing at the same time. Elliot ran a hand through his dark hair. Did the team that Nathan hired accidentally kidnap Jasmine and Isabella? His fiancé had told him that she was going to dinner with Jasmine. The team should have taken her when she was coming back alone from the city.

Elliot paused in his pacing and scrubbed a frustrated hand down his face. Now that the Lycan King’s daughter was missing, this situation just turned a whole lot more complicated. The last thing Elliot needed was for his plan to get back to Gareth and have him discover that he had set all this up.

He took out his phone and called the burner phone that Nathan gave him if he needed to get in contact with the team. Elliot didn’t want any part of Jasmine’s kidnapping to be traced back to him.

“Hello?” a deep voice answered after the third ring.

“This is Nathan’s boss.” He had instructed his subordinate not to give the team his name. “Send me a picture of the two girls so I know you picked up the right ones.”

“We haven’t taken any girls,” the man replied, sounding slightly confused.

Elliot froze, and his stomach dropped to the floor. “What the hell are you talking about? You were supposed to take a girl named Jasmine tonight. Didn’t Nathan show you a picture of her?”

“Yeah. And we went to the specific place he said the girl would be, but she never showed. My team and I waited for an hour. But we never saw the girl. We left because we didn’t want to seem suspicious. I’ve waited for Nathan to contact me again, but he hasn’t. My team and I just thought that you guys called the whole thing off.”

Elliot let out a shaky breath, and his pulse quickened. Did someone else kidnap them? Isabella was the Lycan King’s daughter. There were plenty of reasons for someone to take her.

Ransom. Revenge. The start of a systematic attack on the Lycan King.

And they took Jasmine too.

Panic shot down his spine, and his mouth went dry.

“Send me the coordinates of where Nathan told you Jasmine would be,” Elliot demanded.

It was time for him to do his own investigation.

“Sure thing,” the other man agreed.

Once the text was sent to Elliot’s phone, he raced out of the house.

“Hey, are we still getting the other half of our—”

Elliot cut off the man by hanging up the phone. He hopped into his sports car and slammed on the gas. As he sped to the location, his mind raced. If Jasmine died—honestly, Elliot didn’t even want to consider the possibility—his wolf might not survive the heartache. And if something happened to Isabella, he wouldn’t get his position of power.

He had to find them.

Once at the right address, he haphazardly parked his car near the sidewalk and surveyed the area. He sniffed around for a few moments and froze when he picked up Jasmine’s scent.

But it was old.

Along with his mate’s sweet scent was a sharper smell. It took Elliot a moment to place it.

When he did, the hair on the back of his neck raised.

It was the smell of fear.

This was where Jasmine must have been taken.

Elliot looked around the area for more clues. His eyes widened when he saw that some of the stores had security cameras pointed outside their shops. He stalked to the nearest one, planning to demand to see their security footage when the door opened. Beta Kevin and men he recognized as Isabella’s guards came out of the store.

How should he play this? What would give him the information he sought? Since Isabella was missing, he needed to play the part of the worried fiancé. He rearranged his features until his face was terrified and his eyes were wide with panic.

He rushed up to Beta Kevin.

“Have you found anything?” His voice had just the right amount of fright.

“The store owner’s cameras managed to get a good view of the license plate,” Beta Kevin informed him, his face grave with concern. “Do you recognize this license plate?”

Beta Kevin showed him a picture of a white plate with black bold letters.

“No, I’m sorry that doesn’t look familiar to me.” Elliot managed to control his reaction. “Anything else?”

Beta Kevin dejectedly shook his head.

“I’m going to drive around,” Elliot told him. “I’ll let you know if I find anything.”

Beta Kevin nodded distractedly, then turned around to consult with his men.

Elliot rushed back to his car. He had lied to Beta Kevin. That license plate had looked very familiar to him, but he just couldn’t remember where. He dialed his Beta’s number as soon as his door was closed.

“Are you near a computer?” Elliot asked as soon as he answered.

“Yes.”

“Look up this license plate.” Elliot rattled off the numbers and letters.

“I have a match,” his Beta said after a few moments. “The plate belongs to a group of rogue wolves who were suspected of many crimes in Ashborne a few years ago.”

That was when everything clicked for Elliot. The reason that he recognized that license plate was because he had seen it when he helped stop the rogues who had been terrorizing his pack. It was one of his solo missions.

He quickly hung up, and looked through his phone to find the address of their old hideout. When the rogues had set up camp here years ago, Elliot had noted down their addresses for easier reference for writing his reports.

“Yes,” Elliot breathed out in relief when he found the location in his phone.

He sped off without even giving Beta Kevin and his team a second glance. He wouldn’t let them steal his glory.

A satisfied grin spread across his face. Maybe it was a good thing that someone had taken the two girls before the team Nathan had put together could. Now, he could make it to the hideout before Gareth’s team to rescue both Jasmine and Isabella by himself.

He had Alpha blood running through his veins, and he had beaten the rogues once before. Why couldn’t he take them on again? Who cared if the rogues would be out for revenge against him? Elliot was practically untouchable.

After he saved them, the girls would owe him their lives. They would be falling over themselves just to please him. Then, he could have control of both women in his life.

He made good time and reached the edge of the rogue territory just as the night had fully begun. The forest was alive with sounds of nocturnal creatures just waking up for the night. Elliot stopped his car and got out.

There were no roads, and he would be less vulnerable in his wolf form. His body morphed as he changed into his other form. Elliot’s nails elongated, and his teeth sharpened into deadly points. When the transformation was over, he ran into the dense woods.

It was time to be the hero.