Chapter 8
Chapter
Eight
Torin was the mightiest werewolf, given the extra powers of the vampires. He should have been invincible.
A heavy weight sank in my stomach, and I leaned into the door frame to steady myself.
My throat clenched as I imagined horrific scenarios of how the Alpha could have met his downfall, and a chill ran down my spine. I refused to accept that he could be hurt in any way and focused on the men before me.
I had to see Torin.
Alexander’s eyes widened at the sight of me. The other man I didn’t know did a slight bow and looked at the Beta. He nodded toward the door, and the man was gone.
“Take me to the hospital, Alexander,” I demanded.
He stood still, staring at me but not seeing me. His eyes moved side to side.
“Alexander, snap out of it. I want to see Torin,” I said, and his eyes focused.
His gaze fell on something behind me, and when I turned, I faced Veronica.
“You have no business in pack affairs.” She stepped too close.
I tilted my head back to accommodate her height.
“You’re only Torin’s bed warmer.”
“I don’t have time for this,” I said and turned to talk to Alexander. “Let’s go.”
“I hope I’m making the right decision here,” he said, and we started toward the stairwell.
The woman grabbed my hand, and when her fingers squeezed around my wrist, I thought my blood circulation would stop.
Alexander immediately moved in front of Veronica, his hand around her neck.
He slammed her body against the hallway wall with such force that the personal assistant’s eyes went dull and disoriented.
He held her suspended in the air. “You heard the Alpha’s orders to protect Breanna at all costs.”
Alexander released Veronica, and her body slouched to the floor.
“Even if you don’t respect her as your Alpha’s partner and your future Luna, then you have to show her respect as your princess,” he said.
It was strange that Veronica had the audacity to insult me. It was almost as if she didn’t care about the consequences, but why? For some reason, she was exceptionally brave to approach me, raising suspicion in my mind.
The personal assistant rubbed her neck and glared at me and then at Alexander. She made a wheezing sound from her throat. “She’s a human. You’re a fool if you don’t recognize her inferiority.”
I stepped between the two angry werewolves against my better judgment. “Human or not, you’ll have to get used to my presence, Veronica, because I’m not going anywhere.”
The look she gave me froze my blood in my veins.
“You are the Luna only because my Alpha gives you the position, not because you’ve earned it.
” Her gaze darted between Alexander and me.
“What have you done to deserve to be here? You got the title of the first princess by default just because you were born, and now you come here to stake the title of a Luna without working for it because you’re supposed to be Alpha’s mate. All while you’re an unworthy human.”
My chest tightened, and I couldn’t take my next breath. Veronica was correct to think that. I couldn’t dispute her words.
But it wasn’t like I’d asked for Torin to be my mate or for me to be here. I didn’t want to return to the world of supernaturals. I had nowhere else to go, so I had to make it work here and get along with Torin’s pack. I had to earn the title of Luna to stay here.
Veronica was rude, but I didn’t want to resort to fighting or violence or to escalate the situation and gather a crowd around us.
“I’m sorry you feel this way, Veronica. I understand how you feel since you’ve worked for Torin for many years, and I just showed up here out of nowhere. But I’m staying, so I’d like us to get along. For Torin’s sake and the sake of the pack.”
She growled at me, and Alexander stiffened next to me, stepping forward. I extended my arm to stop him from touching Veronica.
“Prepare yourself for his punishment,” Alexander said. “Let’s get in the car, Breanna.”
When we were in the car, I asked, “What will be her punishment?”
I disliked the woman, but I hoped the severity of her punishment wouldn’t be fatal.
“Time in the dungeon with no food for as long as the Alpha deems necessary.”
The Beta was Torin’s right-hand man, so I didn’t hesitate to ask him, “Would the rest of your pack react as Veronica did to the news of me becoming the Luna?”
As the Beta drove through the town streets in the opposite direction of the pack manor, he kept his eyes on the road but grasped the steering wheel in a tight grip.
“Ignore Veronica. The rest of the pack would love you, just like they love Alpha Torin, despite him…being different. Alpha Torin and the Council have no doubt you’d be a great Luna,” he said, keeping his gaze on the road.
“Alpha wants to make the official announcement and celebrate in your honor. I’ve never seen him so alive during all my years of duty to the man.
But I could also see that he is torn. He is afraid he’ll draw unwanted attention to you.
All enemies will circle our territory and try to get to you. ”
So Veronica was the least of my worries.
I let my gaze travel out the window over the small shops and walking people.
“You mean the vampire Queen,” I said, wondering if I should ask Alexander about the history between her and Torin.
“She will be your biggest threat if you stay by Alpha’s side.” He paused. “But Alpha Torin is also concerned with the King’s reaction,” he said and gave me a glance.
If I became the Luna before Dad had any say in it, the King would not object after the fact.
It wasn’t like he could start a war against Torin’s pack since I would be living in it.
Dad would have no choice but to accept my decision to stay here and not go back to the kingdom.
But there was something that could make my plan fail.
Hayden was my other mate, and if Dad found out I had two mates, there was no doubt in my mind who Dad would approve of as my mate.
Hayden had the King’s favor. But if I were to mate Hayden, I would have to return to the kingdom to fulfill my duty as the Queen with Hayden as my King.
Dad would never approve of a half vampire as the next King of the werewolf kingdom.
The kingdom had a uniform agreement that vampires were our number one enemy. All of them. I was taught that as a kid, and all other pups were taught the same.
Dad and the other pack Alphas struggled to fully accept Torin. The Alpha was loyal, and Dad respected him for it. The King also didn’t have a problem letting Torin be around other werewolves, but Torin was off-limits to his human daughter. Too dangerous. Too destructive. Too vampire.
I rubbed my temples while I crossed and uncrossed my legs.
There was no way I would return to where I was bullied and humiliated, to the place where people died because of me. I could start anew in Torin’s pack, even if I was in danger from him and the vampire Queen.
Alexander stopped at the front double doors of the hospital. He picked up his phone from the cup holder.
“This is the emergency entrance, so I’ll catch up with you later. Second floor. Room five.”
I rushed out of the car and sprinted to the staircase. As soon as I’d heard Torin was in the hospital, a bad feeling formed in my stomach. My mouth felt dry and chapped, and my shoulders were so tense that the muscles between my blades ached.
Torin healed faster than any other supernatural, being the unique creature he was. So, it had to be serious for him to be in the hospital.
I found the room and swung the door open to find Torin sitting on a plastic chair beside a man who lay in a roll-out bed. Torin’s eyes widened, and he blinked a few times as if he couldn’t believe I was here.
As I walked close to the Alpha, my gaze fell on his hand holding the other man’s.
Jason.
Tears welled up behind my eyelids as I sat on the other side of the hospital bed. Torin seemed fine, but Jason wasn’t.
The man I almost didn’t recognize attempted to smile at me but instead winced and groaned. I reached for his other hand, careful to avoid the tubes and cables, and grasped it.
“Don’t strain yourself,” I said. “Just rest.”
I didn’t know how severe his condition was, but he didn’t look well.
His skin was grayish and flaky. Dark circles surrounded his lifeless eyes.
His veins were weirdly prominent, popping under his skin.
Every time his chest rose with each breath, he frowned, and his eyebrows furrowed in a painful expression.
Just yesterday Jason was smiling shyly and had gifted me a beautiful painting.
“I wish I could be there for your Luna ceremony,” Jason said, his voice barely audible.
“You will be,” I said, my voice breaking.
The man nodded at Torin, and something passed between them. Torin looked at me with pain in his eyes.
“Jason was patrolling at one of the pack borders. The vampire Queen’s men captured him.
Only him. She likes to play with my warriors, picking them out individually and torturing them.
To show me how superior she is.” Torin let out a heavy sigh as if he bore the weight of the planet on his shoulders.
“She pulled out his fangs and his talons while he was in his wolf form. Then, when he couldn’t take the pain any longer and shifted into his human form, she injected him with a solution of silver. A small amount, but enough to kill him slowly.”
The warrior’s pain would only go away with his last breath. His arms and legs twitched, and he let out a groan. His body functions were leaving him.
“W-will it be over soon?” Jason asked in a strangled voice.
Torin bowed his head, and my tears broke free.
“Is there anyone we can call for you?” I asked.
Wouldn’t his family want to stay with him on his deathbed?
The man opened his mouth, but a gurgling sound came out instead of words, followed by more wheezing from his chest. Torin squeezed his hand harder.