Speak the truth

I sat in my room, inhaling some herbs to calm my anxiety. Eryx watched me from where he leaned against the wall, his dark gaze sliding over the dress I now wore. It wasn't sheer like a traditional mating gown, but then I hadn't even owned one until yesterday. My mind whirled with how Saint and his men had infiltrated the compound, slipping past the other packs without detection. Either someone here had helped them, or they'd turned some packs around the mountain against us.

"Are you planning to hide out there until he returns for you?" Eryx asked, his voice coming from right behind me. I spun on my heel, stepping back against the railing of the balcony as he smiled coldly. He reached for my hand, pulling the herb stick away from me before holding it to his nose. "Does this shit help?"

"It calms my nerves and helps to hide what I was from my father."

"A treacherous bitch?" he snorted, pulling a drag from it then slowly exhaling it.

I turned my attention back to the pack which had already started celebrating. In the middle of the vast, sprawling courtyard sat the mating tent. Unlike the last one that Saint had ripped apart during the fight, this one had black gauze that would offer a layer of privacy. Inside, candles were lit, and sage was burning.

A shiver rushed down my arm the moment Eryx touched his hand against my skin. I jerked away, staring at him before realizing he was handing me back the smoke. Accepting it, I peered at it silently.

"I don't have fucking rabies, and if I did, you'd have them as soon as he shares you with us."

"You're so sure he will?" I asked cautiously. "A lot has changed since you had us banished," he snorted, watching as I lifted the smoke to my lips. "You should die for what you and your father did to us"

I shivered, refusing to meet his stare. I could feel the hatred in the air. His eyes slid over my profile, and then he grabbed the smoke from my hand, inhaling deeply. Peeking at him, I watched the glowing end slowly move closer to his lips. He flicked it, withdrawing a tin from his pocket to produce another smoke.

"Did daddy know his princess was smoking herbs?" he asked, lighting it before handing it to me. I took a drag, coughing violently when it turned out to be marijuana instead of the soothing herbs I was expecting it to be. Eryx snorted, shaking his head. "Saint is going to hurt you. After he's bored with you, Brae, you will be ours to play with when we want. Do try to let loose a little. No one likes a stuck-up bitch that thinks she's better than everyone else. That will only make us play with you harder, and no one likes broken toys."

Eryx's words made my heart clench, but I didn't think Saint would do that. He hated me, sure, but he'd always respected women. He loved his mother at one time. She'd raised him until she'd been unable to continue doing so, abandoning him here, vanishing into the night without telling him goodbye. She'd left Saint an orphan, and that had forced the pack to place him into the care of the omegas, where he'd met his crew.

"You shouldn't have fucked Saint over. He let you in, and you broke him."

"My father gave me two options—make him hate me or watch him die. My world didn't exist without Saint in it, Eryx. If my father had told me to rip my heart from my chest or watch Saint die, I wouldn't have hesitated. I'd have reached into my chest and pulled it out, still beating. You can think the worst of me and make me the villain, but glass houses hide the ugliest monsters. Careful throwing rocks because once you know the truth, you can't ever go back from knowing it."

"And what would a pampered princess of the pack know about monsters?" Saint's voice caused me to jump.

I didn't turn, choosing to grab the joint from Eryx, ignoring the asshole behind me. What would a spoiled princess know? I wouldn't know that answer. I hadn't felt love since my father killed my mother, not until I'd found out Saint was my mate. I'd worked endlessly to hide what my father had done to me, to hide what happened in the dark, to keep the pack fed. I'd been a child providing for a pack, assisted by many loyal followers who offered the details and suggestions for our daily living to my father as their ideas.

I'd known nothing other than the struggle to provide food, shelter, and everything else a pack needed to live on a mountain range that was impassable for months during winter. This left us rushing through most months, preparing for the roads to close and for us to live off the land. In another month, the snow would hit us, and we'd be stuck on the mountain until the spring thaw came. It was a blessing and a curse. The hunters couldn't reach us, but we couldn't escape the cold.

I felt both pairs of eyes on me as I exhaled slowly. Saint snorted, leaning on my other side to reach over, grabbing the joint from me. Peering over at him, I paused as he held it between his teeth, drawing the smoke into his mouth as it wafted around his face. "You ready to party, Brat? You seem to have started without me," Saint smirked, lifting his eyes over my head to stare at Eryx.

"Don't blame me. Brae was out here smoking some weak-ass shit"

"It wasn't weak. It just wasn't pot, asshole. It was herbs, which suppresses my anxiety and stops the alpha tendencies from being uncontrollable. It's formulated, and we distribute it ourselves. Three people knew I was an alpha until you assholes came back here."

Both men went silent at my words, and then Saint grabbed my waist. He held me over the edge as he sat me down. Eryx watched with a sinister look in his eyes, excited at the idea of Saint tossing me over the edge. I gripped Saint's shoulders, but he quickly shrugged me off. His eyes were angry, and the tic was back hammering in his jaw.

"What else have you and your daddy grown up here?" Saint demanded, his eyes condemning me. “I asked you a fucking question," he snapped, pushing me further over the edge to teeter precariously.