Chapter 13 #2
“Yes,” he answered but he didn’t look pleased about it.
“One of many reasons why I don’t want to kill him, or at least I don’t want him dead at my own hands.
The Gulfs and the Maclays don’t mix well.
I don’t relish the idea of trying to blend our packs together, or trying to rule over a group of wolves that despise me and my family.
But leaving them alive isn’t an option anymore.
They’ve warred with us on and off for centuries and it won’t stop until I make it.
” The furrow in his brow deepened. Despite the werewolves’ love of violence, he didn’t seem to be taking any pleasure in the idea of killing his enemies.
“What if Carson dies at someone else's hands, like you said. What happens then? Say, if I shot him for example, you wouldn’t have to take over his pack?”
“No, his power would pass to his eldest son, Hunter Gulf. He would become the next Alpha. I don’t know if he’s as smart as his father?—”
“But we don’t want you fighting him,” Carrick cut in. “During a battle last year, he took down four of our strongest warriors alone. If it’s a choice, we’d rather our Alpha fight the older wolf than the younger one.”
“Hunter is as strong as you?” I asked Kole.
“He isn’t the reigning Alpha so not yet, but like his father, he’s crueller than me.
That gives him an advantage. He’s also unmated so his wolf is unpredictable like mine, that makes him more dangerous.
Once our bond is sealed and we’re fully mated, my strength will grow and I’ll be stable again.
I’ll be more than a match for either of them. ”
He gave me a long look, as if he was making sure everything he was telling me was sinking in. So much was riding on us. On me. I wasn’t the only one over a barrel here. If he didn’t claim me soon, the Gulfs would wipe him and his family out, that’s if he didn’t lose himself to his wolf first.
“Why didn’t you want to tell me this?”
“Because I didn’t need to give you another reason to hate me. Killing young ones won’t exactly endear me to you.” I doubted anything could endear him to me but I didn’t need to say that.
“This is his doing,” I said, “not yours.” My words were true but the hint at kindness I placed behind them wasn’t. Apparently, my act was good enough to fool Marcus.
“I told you she’d understand.”
“You also told me she’d be mine by now.”
Marcus gave an easy shrug. “Well, I underestimated her stubbornness.”
“We all did,” Carrick said.
“I didn’t.” Kole gave me a dark look that had me stifling a shudder. The look told me that he knew me and that he wouldn’t be easily fooled.
I swallowed, forcing myself not to wither under the strength behind those eyes. “Would Alpha Carson agree to a peace treaty of some kind?”
“I’ve tried,” he said, before tilting his head at me. “You want me to try again?”
I hesitated. Was he really asking for my advice? I was usually very good at reading people but with Kole I struggled. My thoughts muddled when he was near. “I think you should try to prevent a slaughter if you can, but accept its inevitability if you can’t.”
He nodded, appearing lost in thought. This was all working under the assumption that Kole would win. If he didn’t, his entire family would be screwed. As much as I hated it, I would be considered a part of that family now.
“What if he kills you?” I asked. “Would we all be killed too? Or could we just run away?”
“Your mate is tough, he can handle himself.” Carrick gave me a reassuring smile.
“She’s not feeling sentimental about me, Carrick. She’s concerned about her own skin.” He didn’t sound bitter, if anything, my question seemed to amuse him.
“Him killing me wouldn’t spare you, if that’s what you’re thinking.
He’d kill you anyway. My family would never run, it’s not our nature.
They would accept their fate or be outcast by our kind for their cowardice.
If you run, you will be a target for the rest of your life.
The Gulfs would never stop hunting you and there are few beasts as skilled in the hunt as wolves.
They will find you.” And so would I. That was the unspoken promise.
The promise that even if I did manage to escape him, he would never stop hunting for me.
It was a bleak prospect but every prospect I had right now seemed bleak.
“Well, I suppose a quick death at Carson’s hand might be preferable to a public raping and a lifetime of imprisonment at yours.”
Marcus and Carrick stiffened but Kole didn’t even flinch. “Alpha Carson wouldn’t make your death quick. Konnor will. Or Kallum. Whichever member of the Luna Guard is closest to you. It’s their job to spare you that fate.”
Once more, I stared at him in shock. Visions of Konnor shifting and ripping my throat out flashed through my mind. Would he really do that? Immediately, I started plotting how I could take one of the guards down if they tried.
“As Carrick said, Luna, that’s not going to happen.” Marcus gave me a reassuring nod. “Neither of you are dying so you don’t need to be scared.”
“And as I said, she’s not scared. She’s curious.
” Kole looked at me. “She’s fishing.” I couldn’t tell if he was annoyed or excited that I was challenging him on a whole new level beyond just throwing my anger at him.
“All of your questions boil down to this: If Alpha Carson kills me, he’ll kill you next. ”
Not if I get away first.
He narrowed his eyes like he knew exactly what I was thinking.
“You can’t run, Iona. It’s suicide. Why do you think I show you this so easily?
” He gestured at the map. “Because it doesn’t matter.
Because you can’t escape. His pack and ours can scent you from miles away.
If he finds you he will eat you alive, slowly.
Or hand you over to his Luna and watch her kill you.
She’s an evil wolf, you know. The kind our children have nightmares about. Or maybe the land will kill you first.”
He was underestimating me. He had no idea how capable I was of taking care of myself. But once again, his smile told me he knew exactly what I was thinking. So far, the only thing that had frightened me about this conversation was how easily Kole could read me.
“I know you can handle yourself in the wild. But Yellowstone makes the Pacific Crest Trail look like a jaunt down a country lane. Bears, Mountain Lions, Bison, Geysers, starvation, exposure…You’re human, Iona. A stubborn human, yes, but your stubbornness won’t save you out there.”
He was wrong. My stubborn determination to survive against all odds was the only thing that had gotten me out of the care system in one piece.
“Even if you manage to evade us, there are a thousand other ways to die in that two million acres of wilderness. You find yourself lost out there and you will pray one of us finds you first.”
I tilted my chin under the hard stares of the three large men. I felt his threat. I felt their energy backing up every word their Alpha spoke. He tapped the map.