Chapter 55
~ Darcy's POV~
"What the hell were you thinking?" The tone of his voice had me cringing against my own volition. I hadn't seen Dion this livid in ages, something I had been very thankful for up until this point. I took a deep breath before trying to speak only to be cut off by the still furious Dion.
"It doesn't matter what you were thinking. You killed a man we could have extracted information from. Hell, you wanted to extract information from him yourself! But you let your bloodlust get in the way. You hunters are all alike. Impulsive and reckless killers." His words made me think back to what the rogue had said back at the trap.
"But I'm not a hunter anymore. Apparently everyone knows that as well." Dion's eyes darted away for the first time in the argument.
"And I'm sorry about that, but that doesn't give you the right to go killing one of the few leads we had. He had information we could have utilized, but instead of letting the rest of us take a crack at the boy, you killed him. Did you really forget your own strength or was I right in assuming that it was more than that?" I didn't want to answer his question. I didn't want to think about what his question implied. Had I really gotten lost in the moment? Or did I once again want to feel what it was like to take a man's life?
"I don't know," my voice was quiet, the undeniable ring of defeat sounding in my voice. Dion took a step forward, almost as if to comfort me, but then must of thought better of it and stepped back away.
"Well think about it. But not too hard. The time is coming for us to attack Lucie and her pack. We need you at full performance."
"Yes sir!" The response was automatic, a semblance of my hunter days somehow managing to creep up again. I could already tell that sleep wasn't going to be easy tonight.
~Alayah's POV~
Nothing told me that today was going to be any different than the last. The wind didn't feel any different as if lightly blew from the west. The crunch of dead leaves didn't sound any different than the way that it had sounded the day before. But I was about to find out that even though I hadn't noticed the changes occurring around me, someone else had.
"Alayah Shaw," my entire body froze at the sound of my name. I knew that voice. It was the voice of a friend, or so I thought.
"Hey Hayleigh what's-," she silenced me with a scream.
"Don't 'hey Hayleigh' me Alayah. You know you have no right to speak to me that way," she said, her eyes darting from me to some unseen figure behind me.
"Hayleigh let's talk about this...,"
"No, I'm done talking about this! Did you know my mom sent me to the pack shrink? She saw something was wrong with me. My own mother. She never gives me the time of day and yet she even manages to see that something is wrong with me before you do. My so called 'best friend,'" I took a cautionary step back. Something was very wrong about this situation.
"Do you sense the danger? Do you sense the harm I'm about to cause you?" This was not the girl that I grew up with. Something had twisted her, corrupted her. Something had made her this way. But what?
"Tell me what's wrong so I can fix it!" I pleaded, my voice wavering as I tried to manage both my fear and worry at the same time.
"As if there is any time left for you to fix things. We all know the end is coming. Dion and his gang of savages? They will be here within days. Do you suppose they will be disappointed that they have one less pup to kill? It doesn't matter. You're still going to die today." She stepped forward and reached behind a tree, grabbing an object that I hadn't seen before. One that could quite easily be the death of me. A sword.
"Now Hayleigh, think about what you are doing...,"
"I'm doing nothing wrong. I'm ridding the world of another piece of vermin that doesn't deserve to exist. You. You are not loyal. You trade ships the second someone more desirable comes along for you to hang out with. What was I, just someone to pass the time with? Was I really even your friend? Or was that just a lie too?"
"You need to calm down Hayleigh,"
"I agree," Casey stepped forward, his body alight with anger that he undoubtedly felt. One of his pack was turning against one of its own. It was a criminal act. One that could be punishable by banishment... or death.
"Alpha, don't you see what she's done? She's ditched everything to get close to your mate. She's left everyone behind! Don't you find that the least bit suspicious?"
"The only thing I see is someone trying to attack a member of the alpha's inner-circle. Say, Alayah, do you see anything other than that?"
"No sir," I said, my voice incredibly weak as I thought of all the punishments that he could possibly give my old friend.
"What punishment do you recommend, Shaw?"
"Two weeks in confinement in the prison with her therapy continued during that time and for a year afterwards."
"Are you sure that's wise? Her therapy hasn't been working."
"You knew about the therapy?" My voice was sharp and cold. Why hadn't he come to me about this? Did he not think I deserved to know?
"You were helping my mate through a difficult time. You did not need other stresses taking you away from that."
"You're sick, you know that? Only thinking about yourself and your mate. You are the Alpha of this pack and you need to start acting like it! This is not acceptable!" Anger coursed through me, making my whole body come alive with emotion. I felt the need to shift, the desire pulsing through me with every breath that I took.
"You are never to speak to your Alpha that way," he said, the corners of his lips turning up in an almost snarl. This was the Alpha I knew before Lucie had come to our pack. I hated him. Instead of facing the Alpha and dealing with Hayleigh, I turned away and shifted. I ran to the one person who might have a chance of fixing our Alpha. Our Luna. Lucie.
~☾~
I just needed to keep running. Casey's wolf was bigger than mine and I know that he could beat me to Lucie if I slowed down any. My calves burned as I tore through the forest, not paying any attention to my pack mates that were glancing my way. I didn't hear Casey behind mem, but I didn't relent. Soon the forest became more and more familiar and I knew I was zoning in on Dom's house. I was approaching the back of the house at an alarming rate, noticing right away that the back door of the house was flung wide open. I got to the back porch steps and shifted, nearly running inside before I was fully shifted.
"Lucie!" I screamed, panic surging through me. Please just tell me that the attack hadn't happened yet, that Lucie hadn't been the first target. I paused in the back entryway, listening for the sounds of a threat. I heard none so I took a hesitant step forward. Still nothing. With my third step, however, I heard a creek, and then another one. The porch swing. I kept my pace cautious, but still increased my speed to the front door. I opened it slowly, giving enough time for Lucie to flee if she wanted to. Something was up with her. She would have never left the back door open like that otherwise.
"Lucie?" She was sitting in the porch swing like I had suspected, what I hadn't expected was the position I found her in. She had her hands wrapped securely around her legs, her head buried between the two of them. She looked so tiny in this position, so weak, so vulnerable. Something deep inside me stirred, the need to serve. The need to protect. It was there and it was screaming at me to go comfort this woman. So that's exactly what I did.
"Luna, what's wrong,"
"Don't call me that," her reply was swift and crisp. Something truly was upsetting her. I walked up to her and sat down beside her, being careful not to get too close and have her lash out at me. I'd seen people in this state before and it was typically what they did.
"What happened?"
"We got Lexi's brother to talk. Axel. Or Axton Lobdell as he's been calling himself lately. The ZKL. Someone who used to belong to this pack... did something so horrible. It's hard to conceive. It's hard for me to believe that he could just...do everything he did because he was angry about how his sister was treated. I was treated that way. They... they held me captive. Made me witness things and take part of things that I can't bear to think about today. That place broke me in more ways than imaginable. But he did, and he will always be that man. He needs to stay locked up, Layah. Someone like him shouldn't be allowed to leave. Even for the greater good." Her face was stoic. What betrayed her true emotions were the countless tears running down her face. I wasn't the hugging kind of person, but seeing my Luna so defeated... it made me want to wrap my arms around her and protect her. To not let her past catch up with her. I knew it was impossible. Seeing one of my leaders reduced to tears because of the pain that was dealt to her earlier in her life makes you change a lot of things you would and would not do.
"Oh Lucie. I wish I could take away your pain. Someone so strong does not deserve to have gone through that much hurt." She snapped her head at me at my words. Her eyes were wide as she stared at me like I had just told her the sky was green.
"Why do I deserve anything? What have I done that makes me deserve anything more than the next guy," she had no hope. Why didn't she believe in herself? Why didn't she see what we all saw? Did she not see how we all admired her? We didn't care about her past as a huntress. We cared that she served despite the odds. That she didn't give up. That she developed into the astounding leader that she was today. And that was exactly what I told her.
"I don't believe any of that," she said, turning away, the tears still falling down her face.
"How do you not believe in yourself? We all believe in you, even our stupid Alpha who was the reason I rushed over here today."
"What did my idiot mate do this time?"
"Hayleigh was in therapy, okay? And the Alpha knew that it wasn't working for her. He knew that Hayleigh needed someone to help her. Someone she knew and trusted. But instead of telling me he purposely ignored the situation. He let Hayleigh get worse as you got better. That doesn't mean I don't regret helping you, but I could have helped you both. He got upset that I disrespected him and he yelled so I came here to talk to you about it."
"I'll speak to him about it. I have to start getting ready for the mission anyways. Freya is our top priority before the fight commences. I've been hiding out here instead of dealing with my responsibilities. You should come with us." I was stunned by her words. She wanted me to come with them, on a mission, to find Freya. There was nothing I would rather do.
~
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Hey guys! Sorry I've been gone so long! I've been pretty busy. I joined the Army Reserves, got an amazing boyfriend that I love to death, and got caught up in school. Thanks to all that are still reading and I'm sorry that this chapter is shorter than most.
Peace and Chocolate,
~Kali