Bullet Between My Eyes

4

"Zena."

His vitals began to go haywire, so the medic grabbed the mask from my hand and slapped it onto Domenico's face. They then began operating on him.

Dante dragged me out the room. He didn't have to worry about Lara since she took off the moment Domenico uttered Zena's name. More than likely, she's scoping the perimeter. My father had found us just as my knees buckled.

My father carried me to the main office. Domenico began shouting orders at the pack members. He joined them in the search for my daughter. I cried into my dad's shoulder. I should be out there helping them, but I'm paralyzed. I can't even stand. The fear is all consuming.

Way into the night, the pack dejectedly came back. Dante's face was enough to tell me of their failure. Lara arrived later, but not alone. Her brother and friends were with her. Alec stated that he'd send men to find my daughter. I merely nodded, not having the energy to do anything else. Lara discussed the different options with everyone.

Lara looked at me, softening her gaze. She carried me to our room and laid me down. She climbed in next to me and wrapped me up in her arms. Lara tried urging me to sleep, but my mind was too distraught to relax. I was exhausted, but my body refused to allow me a moment of peace. I felt my eyelids get heavy while Lara mumbled something. Clearly, she was casting a sleeping spell over me. I didn't even fight it since I knew I desperately needed sleep.

The next morning, Domenico was out of surgery. We went to speak to him and he was in full on hysterics. Lara placed a spell on him to calm him down. When he was calm, he began to retell the events that led to Zena's capture.

Zena had found Domenico in the study. She grabbed his hand and urged him to play with her. Domenico, not being able to deny the girl, conceded. The two walked into the yard and began playing football (soccer). Zena kicked the ball into the forest. Domenico went to get it, but Zena felt uncomfortable. She didn't want Domenico to leave her all alone for some reason.

Domenico chalked it up to the girl wanting to be around him. He then picked Zena up and placed the girl on his shoulders. The two walked through the forest in search of the ball. They easily found it. Domenico gave Zena the ball to carry, which she happily did. When Domenico turned around, the serene atmosphere changed.

In front of them stood a pack of rogues. Domenico quickly placed Zena down before shifting into a wolf. He growled in warning at the intruders, but they refused to back down. Domenico easily handled the pack. What he didn't expect was to turn and be met with a woman with frizzy, black hair.

She had our daughter in her hands. Zena began screaming and crying. Domenico growled at the woman. She responded by flicking her wrist, causing silver swords to appear out of thin air. She then sent the swords flying at Domenico. He tried to dodge them, but there were too many. He was gravely injured, but attempted to retrieve Zena. He swiped at the witch, causing a gash to appear on her arm. Pissed, the witch then used a spell to hail him into a tree.

Domenico was barely conscious when she walked off, so he let out a final howl. He hoped that we'd hear and know something was off. The woman cursed and quickly ran off. Lara had spotted him when he began shifting back into his human form.

Domenico then held up his hand that had blood under his nails. He said this was the best we could do at finding out her identity. I gave Domenico a bone crushing hug, causing him to groan and the monitors to beep erratically. I sheepishly apologized. I looked at Lara who was already on her way to retrieve the supplies.

Lara had acquired a q-tip to get some of the blood under Domenico's fingernails. She then placed it on a table and scraped some of the particles off. Lara retrieved a spell book and began searching for the appropriate spell.

During this time, I had notified my mother and friends. They were terrified and stated they'd be on the first flight to Italy. I thanked them because I really needed the support.

Lara had gathered everything necessary to complete the spell. Purple mist appeared and her eyes darkened once she began chanting. I saw the liquid from the potion begin to snake it's way around the map. It continued until it formed several circles along Italy.

"Her essence has been found in these locations." Lara pointed at each circle. There were at least a hundred. "She has to be in at least one of them."

Dante, my father and I nodded. Dante and my father went to round up the pack. They also had to delegate who was going where. I texted my friends where they were. Matt responded that they'd be there in an hour and could assist with the search. Lara's brother and friends stated that they'd be here soon to help.

Lara and I glanced at each other before getting dressed for the hunt. As I was putting on my clothes, I felt a fire inside. I was going to find my girl and kill the bitch who separated her from me. Lara felt my aura and turned to me. The intensity of her eyes matched mine. We were killing this bitch, no option.

Everyone had arrived at the villa in under an hour. The alphas delegated who was going where. Matt and my friends were going to Napoli. Lara's friends and family would be searching northern Italy. My father and uncle would be traveling around the border between southern and northern Italy.

I wasn't sure where Lara and I should begin our search. I was about to ask her, but I saw her intently staring at the map. Her fingers traced along the several points.

"What are you thinking?" I knelt next to her.

"She has to be somewhere remote... somewhere she hasn't visited yet." She breathed out. "Where though?"

"Somewhere witches once occupied?" I voiced out. Lara looked at me like I just said the correct answer.

"I think I may know where she is."

X

Since we weren't completely sure if our hunch was right, we kept our suspicions a secret. Lara and I were on a boat to Sardinia. I was incredibly nervous. What if Zena wasn't there? What if she was hurt? Or worse?

Lara felt my unease and gave my hand a squeeze. The ferry dropped us off at the docks. The captain didn't require payment since it was a favor. Some of the citizens knew about our search and were keen on helping us. After all, my family looks out for all the Italian citizens.

I looked at Lara, silently asking where we should begin. She urged me that we should use our senses to find our daughter. I nodded and took a deep breath. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on my daughter's scent. I smiled as I inhaled the familiar flowery scent.

I turned to Lara who was already looking at me. We nodded before whizzing up the mountain. We stopped outside a colorful, small building. All rationale left me when I could hear the heartbeat of my daughter inside.