Chapter 175
A gust of wind blew past me and the hairs on my neck stood like spikes. I lowered the note and slowly turned to face Darian who was leaving no room
between us.
“What does it say?” He asked.
To give him the gratification would be nice of me, it would be easy, he would read it and he would feel bad about being a dick.
Unfortunately, he has used up all of his tokens for niceties with me.
I shrugged a shoulder and pulled my hand back when he tried to reach for it.
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” I boasted.
“Tell me what it said,” he ordered.
“Apologize for being a dick,” two can play this game.
“What?” His brows furrowed like the word was foreign to his ears.
Had he ever had to apologize to anyone in his life? Anyone but me I mean, I really did wonder.
His face twisted in uncharted expressions and I could tell that he felt out of place in the position he had, the one where I held the power and he needed to step down.
Was this what it tasted like to have a man twice my size at my mercy, knowing I had something he wanted?
Suddenly I was watching the great Lycan King, the destroyer of man- bringer of death and destruction, shrink before my very eyes.
Something sinister sparked to life inside of me, watching him stand in recollection of the things he had done and knowing that I wielded the power. I finally held it in my hands.
And I didn’t want to let it go.
His eyes shifted in worry and sadness, a glimmering joy to behold if I’m being honest.
“I was more worried than I’ve ever been in my entire fucking life. When I mind linked you I couldn’t breathe because I thought something had happened to you- it was the only thing on my mind, to know that you were safe. Then I heard your voice crying out and my worry…it morphed into anger- it shouldn’t have. I never meant to imply that they weren’t safe with you,” that’s true, those were Gabe’s words and I was watching him behind Darian, slowly and surely beating himself up. And I rejoiced.
“I’m sorry for how I acted. That was the wrong way to handle the situation. I’m sorry,” he repeated calmly.
Calm. It was weird and a little uncomfortable but appreciated.
“Good,” I closed the distance between us and tilted my head back to look him in his eyes.
“Now you make sure to never, ever, speak to me like that again,” my voice was low, commanding, a foreign sound in my ears.
But oh man did I love hearing it. It swallowed me whole, the feeling of being in control and the sound of authority in my voice.
Not to mention the view in front of me- like a statue of a god slowly breaking and revealing a mundane man beneath. Not to be fooled, there was still a beast very much awake inside of him, but as long as he is chained around me, I could live with that.
Darian cupped my cheek and leaned down, he stopped just before his mouth reached mine and waited for a sign. I parted my lips and released a breath that he gratefully swallowed and pressed his lips on mine.
“May I please read what the note said?” He whispered huskily against my lips.
1/3
Chapter 175
“Yes,” I breathed, “but you’re going to hate it,”
Darian leaned back. That same familiar darkness swirled in his eyes because he knew what I had in my hand, or at least who’d sent it.
He took it and read it. His eyes slowly wandered over the paper but with each word he read they narrowed further and a crease formed between his eyebrows. Darian’s face twisted in anger and a growl rumbled from his chest. The paper was scrunched up to a ball in his fist and his chest expanded when he drew a deep breath.
That poor piece of paper never stood a chance.
My skin burned in a heated pleasure when Darian’s fingers dug into my hip like he was afraid I’d disappear and then I saw Gabe walking closer with his shoulders and chin down.
“Hazel, I’m-”
“No need, you and I shouldn’t talk for a while,” I cut him off. Darian searched my face and Gabe blinked thrice.
The step he fell back on was not nearly enough for the distance I wanted to create between the two of us.
Gabe questioned my concerns for my sister’s safety. He of all people shouldn’t even have had those words on his tongue to be spoken at all. I was beginning to realize who I needed to be now, and a forgiving and nice, naive little girl was not it.
I’ve had a pit in my stomach for months, unsure of what caused it and why I felt at odds with myself constantly. One day I was forgiving Darian and another I wanted to throw a brick on his head or bail and run for the mountains. I’d grown to depend on Gabe for safety in this palace, he had my back but it always fell short of Darian’s order. I couldn’t be dependent on anyone anymore and I couldn’t sit around passively and wait for them to see me as an equal- I had to build my place in this pack, in Valeria, and in the palace.
Starting now, with them, they needed to know that they’re no longer the only ones in charge and we either do this together or I do it alone. Whatever it may be.
I lifted my head and rolled back my shoulders.
“Elise, get the girls something to eat please, and then take them to the lake. Bring four Guards as added protection,”
Darian shook his head.
“It’s not safe for them to leave the palace,” he said.
“That’s not your call to make. Zade is here for us, you actually, and that’s what he wants us to focus on. As long as we do, the girls are safe,”
He was still unsure.
“Don’t you have faith in your men?” I asked. “Because if you don’t then maybe we should find people who are better suited for the job,”
I knew he still had a tongue but he seemed to have forgotten how to use it.
Darian looked over his shoulder and cast Gabe a quick glance of utter confusion.
“I have faith in my men but I don’t trust them with the safety of my daughter and your sister,” he said.
“Then I’ll trust them enough for the both of us. The girls will be fine because Zade will be too preoccupied focusing on us. We are going to play his game, Darian.” A smile curled on my lips. “Are you ready to play with me again?” I didn’t recognize my own voice or the strength that was gushing through me and filling my marrow to the brim. Sparks shot out in my fingertips and I felt more earthbound than I had in…well ever.
2/3
The Alpha’s Hunt
