CHAPTER 46: CHAPTER 46 BEGGING FOR FORGIVENESS

Draven’s POV

I sped down the highway toward Puma Global,my knuckles white against the steering wheel.The urge to find Caroline and beg for forgiveness was overwhelming. I couldn’t bear to be without her anymore.

"We need to fix this," Alaric growled in my mind,his presence agitated and restless. "She’s ours."

"I know," I muttered aloud,pressing harder on the accelerator. "I was a complete fool."

Alaric had been in constant distress since Caroline left,pacing and howling within me. The bond between us was undeniable now. How could I have been so blind?

I reached out through our pack mind-link to Linda,"I won’t be back at the office today. Handle anything urgent."

"Is everything alright,Alpha?" Her fake concern was obvious.

"Fine. Just some personal matters to attend to."

I cut the connection quickly,disgusted by her betrayal. Every word from her now felt like poison,but I needed to maintain the facade until we gathered all the evidence.

Twenty minutes later,I pulled into the Puma Global parking lot. Joseph Taylor’s company stood tall and modern against the skyline. Joseph and I had known each other since childhood,our families maintaining good relations despite being from different packs. I hoped our friendship would help me now,because I needed to see Caroline desperately.

Alaric whined as we approached the building. "What if she refuses to see us?"

"Then we’ll try again," I insisted,straightening my tie. "And again after that. I’m not giving up."

The receptionist looked up with courtesy as I approached."Good afternoon,Alpha Draven. How may I help you?"

"I’d like to see Joseph Taylor,please. Tell him Draven Thorne is here."

"I’ll handle this,Andrea. I’ll take care of Mr. Thorne." I heard Eleanor’s voice and felt her eyes boring into my back with undisguised hostility.

"Good afternoon,Miss Larson. How are you?" I tried to maintain my composure.

"Please,follow me to my office. I’ll see if Mr. Taylor can meet with you." Eleanor spoke coldly,gesturing for me to enter her office. Once we were away from the receptionist’s eyes,she pointed her finger in my face and spoke aggressively,"Look here,Draven,don’t you dare try to harm my friend. Joseph won’t fire her,and if you insist on this nonsense of blocking Carrie’s work,my father’s lawyer will sue you,and you know Alpha Gerald has connections throughout the territory."

It was the last thing I needed,Caroline’s best friend preventing me from getting close and threatening me with her father’s influence.

I took a deep breath and spoke patiently,"Eleanor,I’m not here to hurt Caroline. I just want to talk to her,but I thought it would be proper to come to Joseph first."

Eleanor looked at me with eyes flashing in fury.

"Draven,stay away from Carrie. You’ve already crushed her. What more do you want? I won’t let you hurt her again."

"Eleanor,I was an idiot,and I want to apologize to her. We’ve discovered what happened. I was unfair to Caroline,and I want her to forgive me and come back."

At that moment,I heard Joseph’s voice behind me. Today wasn’t my day!

"Well,I’d love to hear what nonsense you did to Caroline,Draven. Let me tell you,I barely know her,but I got very solid references about her. I assume you did the same background check when you hired her,so I don’t understand what happened." Joseph paused with his hands in his pockets,sizing me up. "Let’s go to my office. Eleanor,you too."

We entered Joseph’s office and sat down. Eleanor’s look toward me was pure hatred,and Joseph,who had been a friend since childhood,looked at me with disapproval.

"So,Draven,I’ve known you for a very long time,and you’ve never been unfair to anyone. What happened?" Joseph asked.

"You don’t know?" I asked,looking at Eleanor.

"No,I don’t. Caroline is very discreet; she only told me that you blamed her for leaking information,which she didn’t do,and I believe her. As for Eleanor,the only thing she told me is that you’re a jerk,an idiot,and a fool. Which I also believe." Joseph replied with a half-smile.

At this point,Eleanor’s opinion of me was the worst possible,but I couldn’t blame her. I also knew she would move heaven and earth to protect her friend,and that meant keeping me away because I had hurt her.

I ran my hands over my face and tried to explain everything that happened to them both,including the discovery of who had actually planted the messages on Caroline’s computer.

"So that’s what happened. When we discovered the messages,everything pointed to Caroline’s guilt; it was the only possibility at that time. The plan was well orchestrated,and only today did I get confirmation that it wasn’t Caroline but Linda." I said after explaining everything.

I heard Eleanor’s sarcastic laugh beside me as she spoke mockingly,"Oh,so the mighty Alpha was sure there was no other possibility and that Caroline was the only person in the world who could betray him. He needed proof that it wasn’t her; he couldn’t simply believe the woman he claimed to care about. You’re such a jerk,Draven! You have no idea how much you hurt my friend. You better stay far away from her."

"Easy,Eleanor. Men are idiots." Joseph tried to mediate. "But you really did act like a creep with Caroline. Look,Draven,this woman arrived here completely broken,devastated. Those bright emerald eyes I saw when I first met her are dull now. She’s hurt and suffering a lot. You had just started dating,from what I heard,and you didn’t even stop to listen to her."

"It’s way worse than that,boss. He insulted Carrie,said she’d only find work in the gutter,that he wouldn’t let her work in Harbor Bay again,and many other ridiculous things."

Joseph looked at me shocked while Eleanor detailed my fight with Caroline. Eleanor told everything as if she had witnessed what I did,and my wolf cowered with shame inside me.

"Draven,I’m not punching you in the face right now because you’re my friend and I know you’re not usually such a jerk,but what you did was incredibly cruel." Joseph said,reproaching me. "Honestly,I think you should forget about Caroline,she won’t forgive you."

"But I need to try,Joseph!" I said,my voice cracking with emotion. "Please help me,I can’t lose her."

Alaric whimpered inside,the thought of never seeing Caroline again sending waves of pain through our bond.

Joseph looked at me as if he understood my desperation. He shook his head and looked at Eleanor.

"You’re worried about your friend,and so am I. But he’s also my friend,and he’s being sincere,believe me." Joseph said to Eleanor. "I think we should let them talk here because he won’t stop until he speaks with her. This way,if he acts like a jerk,I’ll punch him in the face,and you can comfort Caroline. Let her decide if she wants to talk to him,Eleanor."

"Fine,better here than at home near Liam." Eleanor huffed,rolled her eyes,and agreed. "But if you hurt her again,I’ll personally help my father tear you apart during the next full moon!"

"I’ll ask Caroline to come up," Joseph said,his eyes showing both amusement at Eleanor’s threat and warning directed at me.