Chapter 18 #2
“We need to find the Hunters and eliminate them before they can do more harm to us.”
Matthew nods in agreement with his packmate, reclining back in the seat. “I’ve heard rumors of a stronghold that they’ve been living in—”
“Wait. Wait. Wait.” Emery waves his hands in the air to garner his father’s attention. “You want to attack a Hunter stronghold? Isn’t that where their…families are kept?”
His brows furrow.
The twins’ father is usually jovial and full of life, but just now, his expression clouds with a darkness I’ve never seen before.
“We didn’t start the war, Emery. We’re only finishing it,” he says gravely.
“But there could be children there—”
“Children who will grow up to be Hunters,” interjects Ted, speaking for the first time.
An uneasy feeling skates down my spine.
I don’t like the sound of this. At all. Something about this entire situation isn’t adding up. What was the Hunters’ end game? Just to kill as many of us as they can? I know they made elusive comments about Izzy, but this entire thing couldn’t possibly be about her, could it?
Thousands of questions flood my mind, and I begin to sort them into careful boxes in my head, filing them away so they may provide some coherence once I have all the missing pieces.
“And what about Kain?” Ashton begins to tap his fingers against the table, the tick almost eerily similar to his father’s. “How did the Hunters manage to involve a wolf shifter?”
“Some shifters despise what they are,” Gregor confesses softly, his gaze glued to a water stain on the table. “It’s possible the Hunters corrupted Kain. Made him think that there’s a demon inside of him.”
Reid’s scowl deepens. “I don’t think that’s it—”
Gregor slams his fist down on the table, causing it to shake. He levels Reid with a penetrating glare that causes the hairs on the back of my neck to stand at attention, despite not being at the receiving end of it.
“I don’t care what you think.” Each word he speaks is curt and concise, a slash of a whip lacerating skin. “You’re not a member of the Council yet.”
Fierce indignation ripples across Ashton’s face before he carefully masks it, adopting an inscrutable expression once more. “That may be, but we are being trained. We deserve to have input.”
“The kid’s right, Greg,” Kyle interjects, causing Gregor’s head to jerk in his direction.
“You’re not a member of the Council either,” Gregor snaps, a vein pulsating in his temple. “None of you are.”
He focuses on Kyle and Silas, then Hale and Gerry, before finally turning his piercing gaze onto me and my father. I notice that he skips over Travan, as if he’s too afraid to stare directly into the unhinged man’s eyes.
“We’re a part of this too.” Gerry’s voice is practically a growl. “Get your head out of your ass for one second, Gregor.”
Gregor takes a deep breath, his muscles shuddering, before he lowers his head. All I can hear is the sound of his ragged gasps.
And I realize…
He’s not thinking rationally. This attack no doubt reminded him of the loss of his mate and pack.
What is it that my mother always used to say?
Men will often see things how they appear, instead of how they truly are.
Instead of how they truly are…
The wheels in my head begin to turn.
“I think you guys should go,” Matthew says, his voice significantly calmer than it was moments ago. He flashes his sons an apologetic smile. “Find your mate. We can discuss things later.”
I confidently raise my hand in the air but speak before they can call upon me. This isn’t a classroom, and I’m not a five-year-old student desperate to impress the teacher.
“If I may, I have a theory—”
“Desiree.” My father’s stern voice causes my cheeks to heat with something akin to embarrassment. “Now isn’t the time.”
I push my shoulders back, heft my chin in the air, and continue on, ignoring him. “I was thinking about the attacks, and I wonder—”
“We understand your concerns, sweetheart,” Matthew says with a kind smile. “But we’ll take it over from here.”
For the love of God.
“But if you’ll just listen—”
“Desiree, I think it’s time you left,” my father says, his tone disapproving.
My right eye begins to twitch.
Without a word, I stand and smooth my hands down the sides of my pleated skirt. Then I turn and stomp out of the room, allowing the door to slam shut behind me.
Stupid, narcissistic, sexist assholes.
They don’t want to listen to my theory? Fine.
I’ll just have to prove it to them.
Then, when I save the day, they can kiss my polished Jimmy Choos in forgiveness.
But for now, I have more important things to focus on.
I fish my phone out of my clutch and scroll until I find Mimi’s number. After the attack, I ran into her and Emilia and was immensely grateful to see they were unharmed. Thank fuck. I have very few friends in the world, and I refuse to lose those I have.
The phone rings twice before Mimi picks up, her voice breathless and pitched with panic. “Desiree? What’s going on? Where are you? Did something happen?”
“Are you with Emilia?” I ask, glancing down at my fingers.
The nail on my pointer is slightly chipped, the polish splintering. I’ll need to get a manicure ASAP.
“She’s here. What’s up?”
“How do you guys feel about going on a little…field trip with me?” A smirk dances across my lips as I finally lower my hand back to my side, resigned with the fact that one nail will be a patchwork of ugliness.
“That sounded ominous.”
“Well, it is ominous,” I confess with a shrug. “But I have a theory, and I need help to prove it.”
There’s a beat of silence, and then Mimi tentatively asks, “And that theory is…?”
“All in good time, my friend. All in good time.”
I probably sound like a stereotypical villain in a Disney movie, but fuck it. The less Mimi and Emilia know right off the bat, the better. Plausible deniability and all that.
“I guess we’re in?” Mimi phrases it as a question.
“Perfect. I’ll call you when I have more details.” With that, I hang up and slide the phone back into my purse.
Now for stage two of my plan…
It’s time for me to get captured by the Hunters.