Chapter 7 - Delilah
I don't take my eyes off the target, the witch who attacked us, even as we trek back to Portland.
Now that she's incapable of using her magic because of the spell I cast on her, and with her hands cuffed behind her back, none of us are in danger. Hunter keeps close watch of her, too, walking beside her as we make our way to Tyler's territory.
I have so many questions, but my intuition tells me that the witch is linked to the dark warlock who's been after us ever since the mutated rogue came for Arianna and Tyler's son. That's why Arianna had that vision of the dark warlock in Oakland, and why we found this witch there, attacking us.
Halfway to Portland, the silence is so thick that it can be cut with a knife; the only sounds around us are our shoes crunching dead leaves on the ground and kicking loose stones.
It's unnerving, and the second Hunter glances at me over his shoulder, I'm spurred into action as if it's a silent instruction.
There was once a time when we worked so well together that a single glance was all it took for us to deliver instructions to each other. I sense that he knows what I want to do, what I need to do, because it's gnawing at me.
I take a few quicker strides to his side, swapping places with him and taking a turn to walk beside the witch. She glances at me nervously, her bottom lip pulsing with a tremor that extends from the fearful look in her eyes.
“Why did you attack us?” I ask flatly, maintaining my composure despite her frightened expression. I know that feeling all too well—being afraid of the unknown.
That's the only thing I can resonate with when I've been afraid of my fate ever since retiring from black ops and going home.
“I didn't…” the woman murmurs before she stumbles on a rock. I catch her and steady her on her feet, when she looks up at me with doe eyes that are full of gratitude. “Thank you.”
I clear my throat, not wanting to believe that she's kind and innocent after being attacked by her magic. Looking forward and keeping my eyes on the path ahead, we continue walking.
“You attacked us in the forest in Oakland. Why?” I ask again, more sternly this time.
“I was defending myself,” she whispers fearfully. “You were hunting me. You followed me out there.”
“How did you know we were hunting you?” I ask skeptically, and the woman hangs her head as if she's ashamed of herself.
“I—I had a vision,” she admits. “I had a vision that I was being hunted, so I ran from my cottage in the woods.”
Realizing that the gentle approach is the only way to get answers out of the woman, I decide to give her something that'll make her feel less ashamed.
“I'm a witch, too, you know?” I chuckle lightly.
“Yeah, that's how you stopped me from defending myself,” the woman adds.
“Aha…but you shouldn't have run. It makes you look guilty.”
“Guilty of what?” she asks with confusion etched on her face.
“We'll see….”
“I—I don't wanna be burned,” she murmurs fearfully, and I touch her arm warmly.
“No one's gonna burn you at the stake, I'll make sure of that.”
“Your friends…are they witches, too?”
I shake my head. “Wolf shifters.”
“I see,” she whispers. “Is that where we're going? A wolf pack?”
“Yes,” I reveal. “But you're gonna have to promise to be honest about everything. They're a feisty bunch, no-nonsense.”
Another bout of fear makes the woman gulp, so I decide to be gentle again.
“What's your name? I'm Delilah.”
“Gwendoline, but you can call me Gwen.”
“Do you have any family, Gwen?” I ask, probing into something subtler, when suddenly, Hunter grabs my arm and holds me back.
Gwen glances over her shoulder but continues walking behind Tyler and Nicholas, with Emily following close behind her.
“What is it now, Hunter?” I grate out through gritted teeth.
“She can't be trusted, Delilah. She attacked us.”
“I know, but I'm trying to get info out of her. If she trusts me, she'll open up, and we might extract the info we need that way.”
“Yeah, you could have fooled me. I know you, Delilah. You trust people too quickly.”
I bat my eyelids at him as that last statement lingers, reminding me of a time when I trusted him, and he broke my trust. As I purse my lips, Hunter continues, “You know what happened to Arianna when she trusted someone she shouldn't have. He turned out to be a mutated rogue, working for the warlock. For all we know, that witch could be doing the same thing,” he argues.
“Toying with your sympathy, while she's working for the enemy.”
“She's just a young girl, Hunter.”
“And until we've questioned her, we don't know if she's innocent. You saw how she attacked us in the woods.”
I hate to admit it, but Hunter has a point, but I can't say that out loud.
My ego won't allow it. Groaning instead, I turn back to the group and continue to follow them, noticing that Hunter doesn't leave my side.
I force my eyes ahead of me, but through my periphery, I sneak a look at the way his thick arm bulges with muscle, sheathed in dark, honey-tanned skin like silk whispering over the prominent veins mapping his arm.
A quick flit to his face makes me lose my breath for a split second, his ruggedly handsome features too stunning to ignore.
I gulp hard when an alarming amount of awareness settles in the pit of my belly, but then my tummy rumbles and I gasp, startled by the sound.
A hand flies to my belly, my inner wolf whimpering in my mind and reminding me that I haven't eaten since before we left Portland. I tuck my bottom lip between my teeth, gnawing on the soft bud. I don't want to be a burden to everyone marching back to Portland.
“Here,” Hunter whispers, and I turn to find him unwrapping the foil of a protein bar. He passes it to me, and though I frown, I take it tentatively.
“You heard that, didn't you?” I murmur before biting into it. It isn't much, but at least it'll keep me energized until we reach Portland.
It's not the first time Hunter has passed me one.
He unwraps one for himself and chuckles lightly. “Hard to miss. I bet the others heard it too, but they're not gonna stop while we have the witch in custody.”
I nod tersely as I take another bite of the bar, watching Hunter from the corner of my eye and recalling the times we shared during black ops. Tonight feels awfully familiar, except I can't forget how he broke my heart.
“This also doesn't count, you know? As an apology, I mean.”
Hunter glances at me. “If you want me to apologize for kidnapping you, I'm sorry. But you wouldn't have been open to the idea if I approached you. You've been avoiding me ever since I got to Portland.”
I hum my listless agreement because he's right, but it seems he doesn't want to address the real elephant in the room.
Neither do I. What's the point of opening up a can of worms that'll just force me to relive the worst night of my life? It's not worth it. There's just too much to deal with right now, and I can't afford the emotional turmoil amid everything that's going on.
“You have a lot on your mind,” Hunter comments. It's not a question, but a statement that he can read on my face.
I hate that even after all this time, he's still able to read me like an open book.
Shaking it off, I steady my expression. “We have a witch to deal with, and whatever the dark lord is planning,” I nimbly dodge the subject about us, our past, or our fake marriage. “That's all I'm thinking about.”
“Right,” Hunter replies, seemingly unconvinced, but he doesn't probe any further, eating the last bite of his bar and chewing in a way that amplifies the dimple on his cheek, and his sharp jawline fit to cut through glass.
No, Delilah, I mentally chide, trying to find my composure in the last leg of our journey back to Portland. Once the rapid river's gushing water fills the silence, relief washes over me as if I've just thrown myself into it.
The undeniable heat I feel in Hunter's presence barely subsides in the face of my hatred for him. I’ll be miserable if this is something I have to deal with for as long as we're in this fake marriage.
I'm groaning again, restless and uncomfortable, but I know this is something I must follow through with because, truthfully, I can't leave my friends behind and become a European princess in the Lycan Kingdom.
Tonight's successful mission proved how invaluable I am to this group, and the satisfaction of the success in capturing the witch is fulfilling in ways that no kingdom can fulfill me. I was born to be a warrior, not a damsel in distress locked away in a castle for a royal's pleasure.
As we enter Portland, Tyler leads us through the shadows, navigating corners to keep us out of view from the Moonshine Pack members. My human bones ache from exhaustion, and Emily seems to share my sentiments as she falls back and waits for me to catch up.
Hunter continues in effortless strides until he joins Tyler and Nicholas near the pack den, hovering over the witch to keep a watchful eye on her.
“I'm tired,” Emily yawns. “And famished. Why don't we let these guys handle the witch and get something to eat from Arianna's place?”
I nod in agreement, feeling my belly rumble with hunger again. The protein bar only filled a tiny corner, but my wolf's quick metabolism burned it off within seconds.
Tyler comes over to discuss the next step in our plans. “We're gonna keep her in the dungeon until she's ready to speak. Do you guys wanna go get some rest?”
Emily nods. “We were thinking of going to your house.”
“Perfect. We'll meet you there when we're done.”
I turn toward Emily, whispering in her ear, “Let's go grab some of our stuff from the guesthouse on our way. I wanna check my phone.”
Emily nods, and we pass by the pack den on our way to the guesthouse, nodding at the guys when we pass. They're tending to the witch, opening the door that leads to the underground dungeon where they'll keep her for the night.
The guesthouses are on our way to Tyler's house, on the outskirts of the main town, where the quiet of the early hours of the morning remains settled over the pack territory.
I steal inside the guesthouse I've been sharing with Emily, grabbing my phone off the charger and groaning when I see the five missed calls from my father, along with a text.
It's only been a few hours, and he's already breathing down my neck as if he sensed that I'd been away. I was only meant to go back to Scarborough in three days, but now it's like Shadow Fang can't function without me.
The moment I click on the screen to open the message, the color drains from my face, my heart sinking when I read the words.
“Prince Damion Hastings has arrived earlier than expected in Scarborough. You are required to return home ASAP.”
I read the text again, as if I couldn’t believe it the first time around, my heart hammering in my chest, the thumping extending to my eardrums and wreaking havoc on my senses.
I knew the day would come when I'd have to face my parents and the prince. But amid all the chaos with this mission we embarked on tonight, I wasn't expecting it on this already full day I've had.
Sulking with pouted lips and stomping my feet like I'm a child throwing a tantrum draws Emily's attention as she enters my bedroom.
“Hey, what's up?” Emily asks gently, placing a hand on my shoulder.
I show her the text, too shaken up to speak about it.
“Right…” Emily huffs firmly, straightening up as she turns to face me. “This is the moment of truth, isn't it? This is the reason you married Hunter.”
“B-But—” I start to protest, my bottom lip trembling. “We barely had time to speak about how we're gonna do this. He's probably not prepared to announce that he's my husband to my parents. And neither am I.”
“You don't have to announce it yet,” Emily suggests, her brows arched. “Just go there and sus the situation, like you do when you're on a mission.”
I nod slowly, thoughtfully, already calculating my next steps.
I hate to admit it, but the only way I'm going to get through this mission is with my partner—the werewolf I'd always been partnered with during our most difficult missions in the black ops squad. We've always worked well together, and tonight proved that when we were out there in the woods.
Narrowing my eyes with focus, I decide to push aside my personal feelings and concentrate on this mission, treating it with caution because that's the only way I'll get through it. Meticulous. Calculated. Hunter is only my partner for this mission, that's all.