Chapter 44
He let me go, unwillingly his hand released me and I steadied myself against the bed.
The stake slowly pulled back and exited his throat and Edison fell to his knees. Our eyes locked while the life slowly vanished in his eyes and he landed forward facing on the floor. He was watching me as though part of his soul was still present.
I lifted my head and saw Gabe stand stiff and tall like the trunk of a tree with his fingers wrapped around the stake and his eyes brimming with a wave of untamed anger directed at the dead man by his feet.
He slowly looked up and the energy radiating from him was something entirely different. Trixy was stepping back and lowering her head and I didn’t understand why.
I felt it too, my body was shaking more than before, all from Gabe entering the room and it wasn’t out of fear- it was something else.
He looked at me and holy shit, if looks could kill…I’d be in a much better place now.
“You just couldn’t wait could you,” He snarled.
“This is my fault?” I whispered with disbelief seeping into every word.
He looked me up and down- I don’t know what I expected to happen but it wasn’t him turning around and disappearing out of the room, practically leaving behind his shadow as he went.
I felt the tears pushing up against the back of my eyes and I cursed myself for the position I was in again. I was alone, sitting naked on a bed in a brothel where women were looked at as nothing more than temporary pleasure.
It was too familiar, too close to home, and it killed me that I was still in it. The Hunt was supposed to be a one-time event that would propel you into a future with your Alpha but here I was, still being viewed as nothing more than a meat sack for them to park their meat in.
I fell to my knees on the wooden board and furiously wiped away the tears that fell.
I haven’t felt this weak in a long time.
I grabbed the shreds of my dress and looked to see if it was something I could put back on to cover up but instead, I stared at the two big shreds and felt the tears drop down on my hands resting on my cold knees. My bra was ripped, tossed into the corner of the room and my last resort was the sheet on the bed, the smell of which made me question if maybe I should stay naked.
“We’re safe,” Trixy said.
“No, we’re not, we’re just alive.”
I covered my mouth to silence the sob and felt my stomach clenching painfully while my breath got stuck in my throat.
C
No matter how hard I clenched my fists I couldn’t get my hands to stop shaking.
I was brought back from the black abyss in my mind against my will when a soft hand landed on my shoulder with a light squeeze.
Great, he’s now seen me crying naked on the floor of a brothel.
He grabbed my hand and helped me up. Gabe looked at the floral shreds I held and grabbed them from my hands.
He helped me to the bed and eyes every move he made with great caution. The Gabe who walked in was different from the one who stormed off earlier.
He held something in his hand and flicked it in the air. It took me a while to see that it was a dress- he lifted my arms and held the dress over my head while gently sliding it on me. We didn’t speak, I don’t know what we would’ve said but I was glad that he didn’t try.
The dress was the same mesh fabric as the other girls had on but I wasn’t complaining.
“let’s go,” it was an order, but one I was glad to follow.
1/2
Chapter 44
We walked out into the hallway and I was being led behind him like a sheltered pup.
I couldn’t look up, there was a cloud of shame hanging over me that I didn’t know where it came from. The thought of making eye contact with anyone terrified me and I didn’t want to see the face of a man ever again.
We walked out to the car and it wasn’t until I sat in the backseat that I lifted my gaze and saw Marry standing on the staircase with a content expression on
her face.
Gabe started the engine and tossed something onto the seat next to him. I shifted to pull the dress down, seeing as it barely covered my private bits, and in doing so I caught a glimpse of the wad of cash that Gabe had tossed on the seat. It looked like the exact one that Edison had given to Marry when he paid
for me.
“Where’s Nora?” I asked.
“She’ll be delivered to the palace later tonight.”
Delivered, right.
We drove back to the palace in silence and just before we reached the gates I contemplated opening the door and jumping out, maybe I could make a run for it.
Living as a rogue seemed glorious right about now.
But more than that I missed my sister.
I needed to see her. Everything I had seen happen to young girls and the only face I had in mind was my sisters, I needed to make sure that my future wasn’t hers.
The car stopped and I realized we were there.
It was oddly quiet around the palace grounds and I barely heard sounds when we walked into the palace but when we stepped in through the doors I was not prepared for what I saw.
Darian walked towards us in a perfect calm.
His eyes scanned down my body and I felt more naked under his gaze than I already was in this dress.
“I see you’ve met my brother,” Darian said.
His brother?
“Gabriel, how was your visit to MarryBell?” He asked and slowly looked away from me.
“It was successful, the Bell will arrive later tonight- in perfect time for the ball,”
The guys were occupied with their silent agreements, and I didn’t want to wait around for Darian’s attention to shift back to me.
I looked down at my feet and moved around Gabe to get away from them.
“Do. Not. Move.” Darian’s order locked my feet down and my body went rigid.
The Alpha’s Hunt
