CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 16
Valerie immediately stopped in her tracks and she makes a sobbing sound, "why are you acting like this? I know a lot has happened but I'm so happy to see you."
As if I’ll buy that crap.
“How are you still alive?” Hunter demands, his voice cold.
I always wondered how I would feel when I see him face-to-face but aside from disgust, I feel nothing.
“That's hardly any of your business,” I narrow my eyes.
My wolves surround me and one of them begins to howl, a call for battle and I place my hand on his neck, calming him.
Lucas is already on his way. I can sense his anger and worry.
He might not know what's going on but he’s not going to take any chances.
Valerie frowns as she sees my interaction with the wolves, and her voice is hesitant and wary, “those are wild wolves. How are you controlling them?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" I say, scathingly. “Maybe the wolfsbane you gave me had some other side effects.”
Hunter growls, “Enough of your ugly lies-“
“Oh, shut up, Hunter,” I snap in disgust and he goes still at my rude behaviour.
Of course he would be surprised. I once used to worship the ground he walked on. He probably expected me to grovel at his feet again.
“I know you were in on it. The two of you played a very clever game.”
Hunter’s brow knits together and he shares a look with Valerie and he sounds angry now, "you are a traitor. You think I’ll listen to you. Tell me the truth. How did you survive and how are you controlling the wolves?”
Valerie clings onto his arm, her voice sweet and worried, “please don't make this harder for yourself, Sarah. I don't know why you're still accusing me of this.”
I suddenly feel a strong pressure through the Alpha bond and I feel my knees bending. Hunter is staring at me, a cold but smug expression on his face and I realize what he's trying to do. He's trying to get me to submit and as soon as it hits me, a cold wave of fury wraps round me. Some of it is mine but a majority of it is from Lucas’s end who’s figured out what's happening.
I then feel a strong surge of dominance pouring through my mating bond. It’s overtaking my body and suppresses the alpha bond, forcing me to remain standing still. I no longer feel the urge to submit.
When I smile at Hunter, condescendingly, his face goes still in shock.
“What are you doing?” He hisses and Valerie blinks in confusion, glancing between us.
“A little hypocritical of you, don't you think?” I murmur, my tone scornfully as I meet Hunter’s infuriated gaze. “Using your Alpha bond on me when you kicked me out of the park. You can't have your cake and eat it too.”
His handsome face turns red with anger and I feel a surge of satisfaction, “You should have severed that's Alpha bond the minute you kicked me out of the pack. I wondered why you didn't get it later occurred to me that you wanted the silence of the still existing bond to torture me into madness while I ran.”
Valerie shoots a quick look towards Hunter as if shocked and I continue, "What? Did he tell you that he severed the bond? Is that why you're surprised? Or is it because you just found out that he can be just as cruel as you?”
I don't know where this confidence is coming from and I can see that it shocks the two of them to see me standing tall and firm. While I had never been particularly weak, I have always been a pitiable thing, begging for Hunter’s attention while Valerie always got it. It's like a curtain has been removed from my eyes and I can finally see the past for what it was.
I feel Hunter try again to force me to submit but Lucas counters it, easily.
“You can no longer control me with that,” I give him a cool look.
I see Hunter’s eyes glow as he prepares to shift and my eyes narrow. Valerie puts her hand on his shoulder, stopping him, and saying to me, “You need to tell us what is going on, Sarah. Why are you being so hostile towards us?”
I just smile, trying to resist the urge to put my hands around her neck, “well, I don't know. Maybe it's because both of my best friends brought it to kick me out of the pack and get me killed. And if that wasn't enough, you also decided to poison me with wolfsbane. How is that for a reason?”
Hunter snarls, “it seems that you're not going to tell us the truth. You're not going to turn me against Valerie with all your lies. And I'm never going to accept you as my mate!”
The bond between me and Lucas throbs, “You're being a little arrogant there. I don't want you. And I think the two of you deserve each other. I loved you because I thought you were a good alpha and a good person. I have no place in my heart for a hypocrite who puts his own needs above the back.”
Hunter’s face tightens, “How dare you!”
“Just go away,” I give them a dismissive look. I want them to leave even when I know they're not going to.
“Tell us how you’re controlling the wolves,” Valerie insists.
When I don’t reply, Hunter snarls, “Enough of this! There are other ways of making you talk!”
I see him transform and the wolves around me, bare their teeth, ready to attack. My hands shake but I refuse to let it show.
I'm scared and just as Hunter takes a step towards me, a russet colored wolf bursts into the clearing, standing between me and him.