Broken Bond: Claimed by My Ex-Husband's Alpha Billionaire Uncle-Chapter 142: Hostage At Sea (2)

Charlotte’s hands trembled as she watched Julian shoot the boy in the head, like the child’s life meant nothing. Damon immediately reached out and gripped her hand tightly, as if telling her without words that no matter what happened, he would protect her.

"Why...?" Charlotte’s voice cracked as she faced Julian. "Why are you here, Julian? Is this because of me? Do you want to take me with you again?"

Julian tilted his head slightly. "As tempting as that sounds, my dear Charlotte, unfortunately, I’m not here for you." He smiled coldly, then shifted his gaze toward Damon. "We’re here for my dear uncle."

Ronan, who had been standing beside Julian all this time, spoke next. "After you destroyed my lab and my entire pack, did you really think I’d just let you walk free?"

Charlotte ground her teeth when Ronan treated the orphanage he’d built as nothing more than a laboratory.

He went on, "You even kidnapped my wife." Ronan clicked his tongue in irritation. "My life was ruined because of you."

"Kidnapped your wife?" Damon clenched his fists and glared at Ronan. "You abused her and even drove her mad! Instead of ’kidnapping’ her, we actually saved her from you and your disgusting son!"

Ronan spat on the ground, hissing, "Abused her? I only disciplined her because she misbehaved. Why would she tell her son to surrender himself to the Nocturnal Order? As a mother, she should have helped him escape punishment."

Ronan was sick in the head, so no wonder Julian was as crazy as he was. Charlotte suddenly felt a strange sense of relief that she had barely interacted with him in the past.

"Someone like you," Charlotte said sharply, her eyes narrowing, "has done countless horrible things just to gain power. But experimenting on children? Torturing them since they were little? You’re a monster! They’re kids, not lab rats!"

Ronan raised his hand as if to strike her, but Damon placed his hand in front of her, shielding her instantly. His voice dropped into a warning tone. "Alpha Ronan, you’ll be making a grave mistake if you lay a hand on us," he said coldly. "If you think you can walk away after hurting the Alpha and Luna of the Crimson Moon Pack, you’re wrong."

"My wolves will hunt you down," Damon continued, "even if you run to the ends of the world."

Ronan suddenly smiled, laughing as if mocking him. "That’s only if people know I killed you. But what if they don’t? We’re in the middle of the ocean, Damon. Anything can happen out here... even a ship sinking."

The way he spoke to Damon without using his Alpha title was already enough to show that Ronan saw him as nothing more than a pest.

"If you really plan to sink this ship, then why should I even listen to you?" Damon said, slowly getting back on his feet until one of Ronan’s men suddenly threw a brown sack in front of him, stopping him mid-way.

"Mhmm... Mhmm..."

"There’s someone inside!" Charlotte gasped when she saw something moving in the sack. For some reason, the scent coming from it felt oddly familiar.

Damon must’ve noticed it too, because he tore the sack open without hesitation, and found Mona inside. Her wrists and ankles were tied, and her mouth was sealed with duct tape.

"Mom!" Damon quickly pulled her out and untied every rope on her body. "What happened... what happened to you?!"

Mona coughed several times when he ripped the tape off her mouth. Charlotte noticed how pale her face had become, and her eyes had turned a sickly yellow.

"Poison..." Carmen hissed in a hoarse voice. "They poisoned me!"

Ronan clicked his tongue. "Oh, don’t be so dramatic, woman. I’m just returning the favor for what you did to my father," he said casually. "At least I was nice enough to leave the antidote somewhere on this ship."

He lowered his head, glancing at the watch on his wrist. "Good luck finding it within one hour."

BOOM!

Damon immediately wrapped his arms around Mona and Charlotte when a loud explosion erupted from the ship’s lower deck. The entire ship shook violently and started to tilt to one side.

"Or maybe you won’t even need the antidote," Ronan sneered. "Since you’ll all drown anyway."

Damon was about to reach for him, but the ship swayed again, forcing him to use both hands to hold onto his mother and his mate at the same time.

Ronan’s men threw smoke bombs onto the deck. Thick smoke spread everywhere, burning their eyes. Through the haze, Charlotte could faintly see the men wearing gas masks.

"Damon, they’re running away!" she shouted, covering her mouth and nose with her arm.

Damon clicked his tongue in frustration. The situation around them was a mess; the ship was sinking, people were screaming everywhere, and when he heard the sound of small boats speeding away below the cruise ship, he realized Ronan had left them stranded in the middle of the ocean.

"Damn it!" Damon tried to stand, but the smoke had some kind of paralyzing effect. It wasn’t strong enough to knock out werewolves, but the humans around them had already collapsed, some even fell into the sea.

"Damon, calm down." Charlotte pulled him closer to her, pressing her back against the railing. She created a small circle around them, shielding their faces from the thick smoke to prevent it from irritating their eyes or entering their lungs too much.

"There’s no point chasing them now," she said, covering her mouth with a handkerchief. "We need to find another way out. But first, we have to find the antidote and save your mom."

Charlotte took off her cardigan and tied it around Mona’s mouth and nose. Her skin felt ice-cold, and her lips were turning blue.

"Mom, what happened to you?" Damon asked, holding her close so she wouldn’t slip. "Was what Ronan said earlier true?" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

He gritted his teeth, not expecting that his entire vacation and proposal day could be ruined in such a short time.