CHAPTER 17

CHAPTER 17

I feel a sense of stark relief on seeing Lucas who bares his teeth at Hunter who has gone still.

I look over them and I see a shocked look on Valerie's face, especially when Lucas wanders over to me, standing next to me and I put a possessive hand on his neck.

I give her a cold smile.

I can tell that she expected me to be broken and desolate, still wanting scraps of Hunter’s affection. I can see the rage in her eyes that despite how I suffered, I'm standing tall and proud, with the most powerful member of the back standing by my side.

Hunter watches us for a few seconds and then he transforms. Lucas follows suit.

“what is this?!" Hunter snarls at Lucas. "You said you had to finished the job.”

Finished the job?

I see no sign of the man I had once loved and I let out aa shuddering breath.

Lucas wraps his arm around my waist and sneers, “I never said anything. You assumed. I decided to make Sarah my mate.”

Hunters face turns pale and Valerie's mouth falls open, “W-What? How could you mate her, Lucas? She’s not - She’s not even a wolf!”

She's unable to hide her anger and I see Hunter look over his shoulder at her but he's too immersed in this new revelation that he doesn't really pay attention to and just looks back at us.

“that bitch is a traitor!” He growls, taking a step forward, menacingly. "You cannot mate somebody out of the pack and you didn't take my permission before mating her!”

Lucas gives him a disgusted look, "I don't have to take your permission for anything. Your power is getting to your head. And I'm only half attached to the back so I can mate with whoever I want.”

I don't understand why Hunter is so angry. If I made it to somebody else, the clause that his father put is useless.

“Your bond is void. She can't be your mate because she’s not a wolf,” He growls.

“She is,” Lucas shrugs. “All these wild wolves would disagree with you. They see her as a wolf.”

I have never seen Hunter look this furious before and he turns his eyes towards me, "What did you do, you little slut?! You lied to him, didn't you? Or were you carrying this whole thing on why you were betrothed to me?!”

Lucas's voice is icy cold, "Call my mate a slut again and I’ll rip out your throat.”

“I am your Alpha!” Hunter roars at him, spittle flying out of his mouth. “You don’t talk to me like that! You’re a traitor as well since you defied my orders!”

Lucas scoffs, “You clearly don't know enough about pack rules to even be an alpha. Defying your orders doesn't make one a traitor. But if you want to go down that route, let's just settle this with the challenge. If that's what you want.”

Hunter goes still and Valerie immediately grabs his arm, whispering urgently, “You can’t!”

She looks at us, her eyes red with tears, “I don't know why you're doing this to us, Sarah. Why are you turning the pack hunter against us? Hunter has always been fair in his rulings.”

“Was it fair to punish me without so much as a trial?” I demand, my voice angry now. “While keeping my father away from me?”

Hunter’s face turns stiff, “You don't know what you're talking about! I was keeping the pack safe! You threatened -“

“You’re so full of shit, Hunter,” I say in a disgusted voice. “It's one thing, coming after me. But going after my mate? I'm not going to stand for that!”

Hunter looks both incredulous and furious at the same time and then his attention snaps towards Lucas.

Valerie touches Hunter’s arm, “I don’t want you to fight.”

I can see her brain working in overdrive if she comes up with another scheme right in front of me and then a bad feeling crawls up my spine when she gives a small smile.

“I think what is done is done,” She looks between us, her voice sweet as always. “Sarah, I think you should return to the pack.”

“Valerie!” Hunter gives her a tight look but she takes his hand, pressing it to her cheek in a loving manner.

“I know she's made mistakes but I just hate for any of us to be unhappy. Even if she's not a proper wolf, she does have a mate. We should just accept her back into the pack.”

She turns around to face me, her eyes sorrowful, “I forgive you, Sarah, for trying to kill me.”

A frustrating anger fills me at her little show but Lucas puts his hand on mms shoulder, preventing me from speaking.

“Since you have a mate, you should come back and have your mating ceremony in the pack,” Valerie adds. “Every mated couple has to go through a ceremony with your entire pack present.”

Lucas’s hand squeezes my shoulder and I see hunter and Valerie exchange a look before Valerie says, “I think you should come back to the pack with us, Sarah. We should organise your mating ceremony.”

“Both of you are insane if you think I’m going to go anywhere with you,” I hiss.

“I'm not letting my mate go back to a den where she is a target all the time. We don’t need a mating ceremony,” Lucas says, icily.

“Valerie is right,” Hunter suddenly says. “She's a part of the pack. She has to come back with us. “

“I’m not,” I say, angrily. “You kicked me out, remember? You told me that I was no longer part of you pack. You muted the Alpha bond and everything. What makes you think that I’m suddenly going to traipse back with you all of a sudden?”

Hunter’s smile is sly and fills me with dread, “Y

ou have no choice because I’m lifting your banishmen

t.”