"So, what are we going to do about this?"
Euan and Luca get up and starts shifting so I do the same.
Brent takes off his shirt while I shift, then he hands it to me. All the while, my mates jog back to the car - to get some clothes I suppose. They come back within less than a minute, both of them wearing basketball shorts.
Once they're beside me, they both hold me - our bodies touching so that there's no space in between.
"Honestly, it is a huge problem." Euan sighs, his grip on my waist tightening.
"How is it such a pain in the ass?" I ask, irritated that we still have to fuss about it. "They're gone. All dead. What's more to it?"
I don't like it that they're trying to haunt me and their selves with the dead by thinking too much about it.
"You don't really give or feel any shits about this, do you?!" Carter roars.
I don't like his tone, him snarling at me, and the way he's looking at me like I owe him something.
I give him a low growl. "You can't do anything about it. I can't do anything about it. No one can. Dead equals dead."
"How the fuck can you-"
"Alright you two, stop it." Brent cuts him off.
Carter has his fists clenched at his sides and he's gritting his teeth.
What did I even do to him? I roll my eyes at him before I bury my face on Luca's neck.
"What are we supposed to do with the envoy?" Brent sighs.
I look up at him, confused. "Envoy?"
Luca kisses my head before resting his forehead on it. "The Monarchy has sent a person or, probably, a group to investigate why this pack has stopped reporting to them." He sighs.
"Oh."
The Monarchy and their control issues.
"Well, let's just kill them... or him or her."
"Is your solution to everything killing?!" Carter snaps.
"Got any better ideas, Davis?" I raise my brow at him.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!"
"Mate, calm down." Luca gives my temple a kiss before untangling his self from me. "I need to talk to the two of you." He walks towards Brent and Carter and starts to lead them several meters away from me and Euan.
Why do they need to be far? I roll my eyes. As if I won't hear them.
"Bella mia." Euan caresses my face, bringing my attention to him. "That would just create a bigger problem."
"How will they even know what happened here? Everyone's dead. No witness. No story." I groan as I wrap my arms around his waist.
I'm probably around 5'10" now since I'm not such a midget compared to my mates.
Whoa. I've grown about four fucking inches from since I was sixteen! I was just 5'6" back then. That's pretty awesome since that growth's already like the size of puny, flaccid dicks.
I'm awesome.
But...
Euan's body is more awesome. I think as I casually run my hands over Euan's body.
"Are you listening?"
"Huh?"
"You were not listening." Euan gives me a straight look.
I give him a bashful smile. "Can you repeat what you were saying?"
"I was saying how killing the Monarchy's envoy would just add up to the problem." He sighs. "Nonetheless, I do not exactly know what to do."
He leans down and presses his forehead against mine. "I am greatly torn between doing the right thing and doing what my instinct is telling me." He sighs again, heavier this time.
"You should just follow your instincts." I kiss his lips. "We're lupis. It's our nature to succumb to our feral side." I say while I nip on his lower lip.
"Bella mia-"
"Sh." I blow the air in his mouth before I bite his lip to shut him up.
Euan responds with a low growl.
"Your lyall understands this." I run my hands from his waist, to his abs, up to his neck, and finally clutches them at his hair. "No?" I purr seductively, pulling his hair gently.
Euan looses control and kisses me hungrily. "Yes." He growls in my mouth. "We will never let the Monarchy have you."
Euan starts trailing kisses from my mouth, to my jaw, down to my neck - attacking and comforting my skin with his lips, teeth, and tongue. I moan without restraint as I pull on his hair and arch my body impossibly closer to his.
Yes, get primal with me.
Euan growls seductively. 'I can see your primal thoughts, bella mia.'
I have missed him so much that I just can't get enough of him.
I need more.
Euan is suddenly snatched out of my hold. My legs, which were previously latched around his waist, are now wide open. My mouth too, with my tongue drawn-out. My hands, which were all over his skin just a second ago, are extended - reaching for him and his body.
Did he push me on the ground?
"And I thought I was the one with the lesser amount of self-control!" Luca roars.
For fuck's sake... Luca. I groan loudly.
"Someone's jealous?" I raise a brow at him and run my hands from my breasts down to my legs seductively.
Where is Brent's shirt? Euan ripped it.
Luca's eyes are flashing gold. He growls loudly before he shakes his head. He then bends over to grab my arm and helps me stand up. Well, 'help' might not be the best term to use. He's manhandling me.
"And you think fucking on the ground with two other males around and hundreds of dead bodies close by is a real good thing to do right now?" He growls. "Carter, mate, lend me your shirt."
Carter throws his shirt to Luca within seconds. Luca swiftly discards Brent's shirt - whatever's left of it - and makes me wear Carter's shirt.
All the while, Euan is silent. Most probably, he's having an internal debate with his lyall about what just happened.
'Rational' considerations only make things complicated. I grunt.
Everyone turns silent.
Even Luca is silently seething.
Now, this is awkward.
I'm wondering when the silence would end. I'm the only one feeling awkward though. I can feel all of their auras - Euan is brooding, Luca is still silently grumbling, Brent is deeply perturbed, and Carter is lamenting.
Why the fuck is Carter lamenting?
I roll my eyes at their convoluted states of mind.
"So..." I decide to end this awkward silence once and for all. "What do you guys plan to do about this?"
As if on cue, all of them look at me.
I smile 'innocently'.
All of them either grunt or sigh.
"The envoy would most probably be a werewitch." Euan rubs his temples.
"Either a purus alba or purus nigrum at that too." Luca adds.
"And he or she would most probably capable of necromancy?" Brent throws his head backwards in defeat while rubbing his forehead.
"Most probably." Luca confirms.
Brent groans and buries his face in his hands while Euan and Luca just stand there with clenched fists. Whereas Carter is still lost in his lamentation.
"It will all be fine." I assure them. "They can take me in for investigation. I'll be fine."
They need to stop stressing so much about everything.
Everyone turns silent again.
"Then..."
"The least we could do for now is to burn these bodies. It will be too laborious to bury all of them properly so we better do it the traditional way." I was going to say something to end the silence again but Euan beat me at it.
"I agree with that, brother." Luca sighs. "Then we fix the problem with Belle."
"What problem?" I raise a brow.
Nothing's wrong with me.
"You did a forbidden thing by merging with your lyall. That will inevitably be used against you." Luca's eyes are hard. "We need to separate them again somehow."
"I am completely fine the way I am now." I glare at them.
"Bella mia." Euan walks towards me and caresses my face when he reaches me. "Listen to us."
Luca is instantly behind me. He wraps his arms around my waist and starts kissing my neck.
"Why are you fighting your mates? Do you not want us anymore, love?" He whispers right beside my ear before biting it gently which makes me moan.
My instinct screams only one thing - submit to your mates.
We burn the bodies as a committal rite. We wait until every body is burned to ashes and 'til the fire is extinguished. Euan and Luca created a force field around the perimeter to make sure that the fire will not go out of hand.
To be honest, I don't really care about those dead bodies. They will eventually rot sooner or later anyway. But my mates want to do this, so I don't complain anymore.
Once it's finished, my mates ask me to order Trey to go find us and bring Ashley with him.
I don't like that they care for that bitch. I should be the only one they care about.
But I do what they asked me to do anyway.
Ashley is still out like a corpse. Stupid bitch thought she can just use witchcraft without any side effects.
We ride the car and left Fortis Lupos – or what was once the territory of that boastful pack – setting off to return back to Alcmene territory. Carter's the driver, Brent's on the passenger's seat in front, my mates and I occupy the middle, while Trey and Ashley stay in the back.
Carter is still silently seething. The stress waves coming from him are almost tangible. I block him from my senses and just enjoy being in the arms of my mates.
He can take the world's weight upon himself if he wishes and I won't really care as long as he won't cross me.
***
Upon reaching Alcmene territory, the pack's presence hit Belle fully. She realizes how much she missed the pack.
They proceed to the main pack house and are greeted by the Alpha, Luna, Beta, Gamma, Bianca and Tessa. The Beta and Bianca engulf Belle in body-crushing embraces, mumbling their previous worries and present relief. The Alpha and Luna – who look distressed and crestfallen, respectively – study Trey who's just standing there, void of any emotion or reaction. The Gamma and Tessa question Carter, who's still looking dismayed, but Carter only mutters that Ashley must be taken care of in the pack's hospital.
Once they are in the Alpha's office, the twins discuss what happened to Belle, what she's done, and the possible consequences of her recent actions.
Everyone in the room is stressed after hearing everything. If someone else is to enter the room, the strain in the air would easily be noticed because of its viscosity.
If it's anyone else, maybe, just maybe, it would have been easier to lock her up in the prison. Maybe, just maybe, it would be easy to report everything to the Monarchy and let her deal with the consequences of her actions.
Maybe...
Just maybe.
But it isn't just anyone.
It is Belle.
Bea Mireille Wood.
Their Belle.
She was hurt. Yes. But she had the choice before she did everything she's done.
She chose how she would react.
She chose to dwell in pain.
She chose to feel anger and be driven by it.
She chose to just look the other way and throw her morality.
She chose to be stuck in the past.
She chose to blame.
She chose her paranoia.
She chose her enemies.
She chose her games.
She chose the endless path of revenge.
Now, she can't choose the consequences.
She has her reasons, but it will never excuse her actions.
This is the truth.
In this case, there's no gray or middle ground. It can only be white or black, right or wrong.
They all know they have to do the right thing.
She needs to be set free.
The heaviness in their chests is paining.
Belle can sense their anguish. Her instincts tell her to comfort her mates, family, Alpha and Luna, and her packmates.
"Hey guys, it's okay. I'm fine and dandy right now." She tries to cheer them up. "And about the Monarchy and their shenanigans and whatnot, I'm sure it'll be fine."
No one answers.
Nothing about what happened and the probabilities of what can happen are fine to them. They all know how grievous the consequences will be.
And they all know... Sooner or later – it's a period, not a condition – Belle will sit down to a banquet of consequences.