My Alpha Ex-Husband Snapped

Scarlett POV

"Jaxen Hale, I've got your Luna! Transfer fifty million dollars to my account right now, or in twenty-four hours, you can start planning her funeral!"

"Tell Scarlett to quit playing these dumb games."

Jaxen's voice came through the speakerphone, cold as ice. He hung up without another word.

I heard every single syllable.

I was tied up in some abandoned warehouse out in the middle of nowhere, mouth taped shut, hands and feet bound so tight behind my back it hurt. The man's twisted face glared at me as if I were a piece of worthless trash. My "late bloomer" wolf, the weak little thing everyone described as such, gave a strange twitch in the darkness, reminiscent of a thin string tugging me toward an unknown destination.

The hope that used to shine in my eyes was gone. Now there was just this sad, empty feeling. Deep down, an icy wave of heartbreak hit me-I'd actually been stupid enough to hope he'd come running to save me.

He had kidnapped me to shake Jaxen down for ransom. I'd been terrified, praying over and over that my husband would drop everything and come for me. Reality slapped me hard across the face. For life or death, Jaxen didn't give a damn whether I lived or died. He thought the whole thing was just him pulling some stupid stunt.

The ransom call failed. The man's face twisted with rage. He smashed the phone on the ground and spat on it.

The warehouse door suddenly flew open. Both of us turned to look.

Two of his guys came in carrying a big burlap sack. There was clearly a person inside.

My eyes widened. Had he grabbed someone else,e too?

"Boss, we got her!" The two guys dropped the sack and ran over to Draven, grinning.

"Nice job!" Draven nodded, looking pleased. "Good thing I had a backup plan, or this whole thing would've been a waste."

He waved his hand, telling them to dump the person out.

When I saw who it was, my eyes widened.

Liliana Ashford.

The woman I recognise, even if she turned to ash.

I can't lie-seeing her sent a familiar stab of panic through my chest. Everyone in the Iron Claw Pack's high society knew Liliana Ashford was Jaxen Hale's white moonlight. Childhood sweethearts, engaged since they were kids. If Jaxen hadn't lost the brutal Hale family heir selection back then, and if her parents hadn't broken the engagement and sent her overseas, the Luna position would never have gone to me.

Now she was suddenly here.

My mind started spinning. When did she come back? Had she already met Jaxen? No wonder he'd been getting colder and colder to me lately...

Liliana finally got some fresh air and tried to sit up. The second she saw me, her scared expression flipped to pure disgust. She flipped her hair back, raised one perfect eyebrow, and gave me this arrogant, sneering look. She even tilted her chin at me like she was saying, You? Do you think you deserve to be kidnapped with me?

The next thing I knew, the man dug her phone out of her bag and forced her to unlock it with her fingerprint. He scrolled through her contacts and quickly found Jaxen's number.

He checked their call history for about fifteen seconds, then looked up at Liliana with a smug grin.

"Damn, you really are Jaxen Hale's famous white moonlight. You guys talk this much every day?"

"Boss is smart! Good thing we didn't put all our eggs in that other chick's basket!" his guys immediately sucked up.

He hit the dial. The second the call connected, he ripped the tape off Liliana's mouth, pinched her face toward the phone, and motioned for her to speak.

Liliana clearly knew she'd been kidnapped, but she didn't expect them to call Jaxen directly. She froze for a second, then started shaking. Her voice came out teary and desperate: "Jaxen... I've been kidnapped. Please save me!"

"Liliana, what happened?" Jaxen's voice instantly became tense on the other end.

The man's face lit up with excitement for a split second, then he slapped Liliana hard across the face.

Smack!

The sound was loud and sharp. Jaxen definitely heard it. His voice sharpened: "Who hit you? The kidnapper? Put him on!"

"Jaxen Hale, Alpha of the Iron Claw Pack. Surprise, it's me again!" He pinched Liliana's chin hard with two fingers and sneered. "Your wife's worthless, but your white moonlight should be worth something, right?"

At first, I didn't understand why they kidnapped both of us. But when I heard him still asking Jaxen for money, that bitter sadness in my chest turned into this pathetic little spark of hope.

He had to believe I was really kidnapped this time... Would he come save me now?

"Five hundred million? Send the account." Jaxen said seriously.

"No, no, no! Price just went up. Your white moonlight is worth at least a billion! Not a penny less!" the man grinned crookedly, squeezing harder. Liliana screamed in pain. "You hear that? If you're slow, we might just."

He paused deliberately, voice full of threat, "Fuck her first, then kill her!"

"Don't... don't hurt her. I'll arrange the payment right now." Jaxen's voice finally cracked with panic.

In that moment, every bit of hope I had left was shattered.

He believed we had both been kidnapped, but he still didn't care if I died. He didn't even say "them." In his eyes, there was only Liliana.

"If you lay one finger on her, I'll hunt you down to the ends of the earth and rip you to pieces."

Jaxen's voice went back to calm, even carried that usual cool Alpha arrogance.

My heart felt as though it had been torn apart, pieces scattered everywhere.

Even after three years of marriage, I wasn't even worth one of Liliana's fingers.

We were both kidnapped, but he entirely ignored me. He agreed to pay the ransom only for Liliana.

He only worried about her getting hurt. And me? I was just one big joke.

After the call ended, Draven and his guys started jumping around excitedly and sent the account info right away.

While they waited for the money, Liliana kept acting like the proud rich heiress, bargaining with the three kidnappers. She promised that if they didn't hurt her, not only would Jaxen pay, but the Ashford family would throw in a fat bonus.

Kidnapping was all about money-who says no to more? The man immediately turned around and started blackmailing the Ashfords, too.

Compared to them, I just stayed quiet in the corner.

I was quiet. I was dead inside. My soul felt cold and aching.

Maybe half an hour later, both payments came through.

The man gave his fat guy a look.

The person understood. He picked up a baseball bat that had been waiting nearby, walked behind me, and raised it high over the back of my head.

Fear swallowed me whole. My throat was so dry I could barely speak. I managed only two trembling words:

"... You guys..."

Then came the brutal blow to the back of my head.