Mon Amour

Chapter 34: The Past Always Catches Up

Chapter 34: The Past Always Catches Up

"What situation?" Maksim asked as he shut the bedroom door behind him. He decided it was best to have this conversation in the privacy the hallway offered.

Secretly, he didn't want Anna to hear. Whatever was going on would only give her more to worry about. 

"Remember the boy you killed, Anna's friend, I believe?" Niklaus questioned.

Maks bristled at the question. He had hoped this would never come up, again. It was obvious Anna was hurt over his actions that day, but everything he did was for her safety.

"Kender was his name. He tricked Anna into trusting him, so he could use her to threaten me. But he's dead, Niklaus. Why do you bring him up?"

"It's Cassandra, his sister. Do you remember her?"

Maksim clenched his jaw. 

That she-wolf was trouble from day one.

The alpha had allowed her and her brother to move into his pack's territory after they escaped from the Timber Wolves. He should have known better, for Cassandra's mate wasn't able to escape with them. Eventually, he knew, they would use that against him.

And they did.

Cassandra led the Timber Wolves, a rival pack, right to Anna. After Cassandra was captured and trialed for treason, the Timber Wolves gave up on their plan and headed West.

Cassandra was meant to be executed and rightfully so. Shifter law states that any act of conspiracy against a pack's Alpha or Luna is considered treason. In this society, as in many others, treason is punishable by death.

But that didn't happen. 

Kender got in Anna's head and her, being the soft-hearted person she is, felt bad for him and his sister. 

She asked Maksim to cancel Cassandra's execution. 

The alpha hadn't at first, but after the death of her brother, Maksim released the she-wolf of her debt. Her family had already paid the price. 

Cassandra would remain in a cell, but no one would take her life.

And of course, Anna knew nothing of this.

"Of course I remember, Niklaus. Just tell me what's going on."

The beta sighed. He hated being the bearer of bad news, especially when things were going so well for his friends.

"Cassandra has escaped. I've sent out a scouting team to track her down, but so far they've come up with nothing."

"How did she get out? Someone is supposed to check the locks everyday." Maks asked.

"They underestimated her. She was moved to a holding room while they cleaned her cell. She kicked the door down and escaped."

Maksim couldn't believe what he was hearing. He left specific instructions for them. Because they didn't follow them, a prisoner had escaped. Taking a deep breathe, Maksim gave his orders.

"I see. I agree with what you've done so far. Keep them alert and tell them not to underestimate her again. We don't know what kind of training she's had."

Before Maks could turn around to go back to his mate, Niklaus called out again.

"Maksim, there's something else." The beta waited for him to turn around before saying, "Cassandra didn't just escape. She's looking for Anna."

"Why?" Maksim demanded.

"The news of how her brother died got around. She needed someone to blame. She wants revenge."

"Well she isn't going to get it." Maksim just made things right with Anna. They were on the fast track to becoming a happy couple. This traitorous she-wolf wasn't going to ruin his progress.

"Agreed." Nik nodded. Anna was his friend. He would stand for her no matter what.

Before anything else could be said, a shrill cry came from the bedroom.

Both the beta and Alpha looked at each other, adrenaline pumping.

"Anna!"

Anna was startled by the bedroom door flying open. She watched as  Nik and Maks came tumbling in the room.

Both looked around it suspiciously.

"What's wrong?" Maks asked, still scanning the area.

"There's a spider on the lamp. I almost touched it when I went to turn the light on." Anna explained as a chill went down her spine. That was too close to call.

She became confused when both men gave her a flat expression. 

"Anna, don't ever scream like that over something so stupid again. Do you hear me?"

The girl was taken back by her mates tone. What happened to the sweet guy who helped her pick up the pieces this morning?

"I couldn't help it and it wasn't stupid." She said crossing her arms against her chest. "Look at that spider. Nik's afraid of spiders, too. You can't help but scream, right, Nik?"

The Beta sheepishly scratched his neck. "I gotta go with Maksim on this one."

Suprised by his answer, Anna asked, "What's gotten into you two?"

"Nothing. You just scared us." Maksim replied. 

"Niklaus was just telling me that we have some free time coming up."

"I did?" Nik asked, but seeing the threat on his Alpha's face made him change his question to a statement.

"There isn't a lot going on around here, so I was thinking we could take a day trip. Just you and me?"

Anna's face lit up. She was so excited over the good news that she didn't notice the questioning look Nik was giving her mate.

"Sure." She accepted. "Where do you want to go?"

"It's a suprise." Maks smiled. "Go get your stuff together while I fill Niklaus in on the pack schedule."

"Okay." Anna agreed. She was more than willing to go somewhere with just Maks. She made quick work of packing a small travel bag, while Nik and Maks stepped out into the hall.

**

"What are you doing?" Nik whisper- yelled. "You didn't even tell her there is a crazy lady out there trying to get her!"

"I know what I'm doing." Maks answered. "I need to get her out of here for my own piece of mind. I can't take worrying about her every second."

"It isn't safe." Nik countered.

"She isn't safe here either. Think about it. Cassandra won't expect me to leave with her. You find her today, while I have Anna out of pack territory. I'll take a cell phone and won't go far, just in case you need me."

The more Nik thought about it, the more Maksim's plan made sense. After giving his nod of approval, Maks went back into the bedroom, leaving Nik to his thoughts.

Shaking his head, The beta got to work on his part of the plan. "Why does my life have to be filled with so much drama?"