The Alpha's Hunt Chapter 167

“Your mother gave you a potion in a needle to stun your abilities?” Gabe was fighting back a growl as he walked in.

Darian stood still in the back, equally as angry as his brother but when his eyes landed on me they softened and he smiled as he pushed off from the wall and walked over.

Kiera nodded her head and her pearl-white teeth glimmered when Gabe tossed her playfully in the air and sat her down on his knee when he took her place on the couch.

“Hi, sweetheart,” Darian squatted in front of her. 

“Do you know why she did that?” He said through a smile while he petted the head of her bunny.

Kiera liked it when you showed her stuffed animal love. She was a caring soul, that much was known, but she was also powerful, immensely considering how much of it she already exhibited, and I couldn’t wait to see her reach her full potential.

“Mommy said; boys are strong, and girls are kind- she said that I would scare them. Are you scared, daddy?” 

The sound of his teeth grinding together stung in my ears but he forced his features to remain soft- it was something he’d worked on and he was getting quite skilled at it. 

“I’m terrified,” he winked. “No, baby girl, I’m not scared of you, but your powers are a gift- your strength and, one day, your Lycan, it’s all an amazing gift,” he said. 

“You’ll grow to understand them and love them. And for the record, the best girls are strong and kind,” I said. 

Kiera turned her head and looked at my belly. 

“I’m going to play with them when they come out of you,” 

I pinched my lips to quiet the laughter, the blood drained from Gabe’s face and Darian squeezed his eyes shut and winced up at me with flushed cheeks. 

“Yes, love, yes you will! You will be the best big sister ever,” I grabbed her hand and turned to Mathilda. “And you’ll be the greatest aunt in the world. As for me, I’ll work better on the big sister business,” 

Mathilda slumped down on the armrest and my fingers pressed together from her light squeeze.

“You don’t need any work, we’re in this together now,”

That’s true, we were, just the two of us. My eyes fell into a dark shadow of memories and grief.

“About that,” Darian rose and his arms hung by his sides. 

“Arrangerats have been made for your parent's funeral, everything has been taken care of,” he paused for a beat. “If you want, I thought we could have it here, in the cemetery. That way, you’ll always have them close,” 

His voice cracked and there was a sinking dimness in his eyes. 

Mathilda and I shared a look- we had to say goodbye, that was inevitable, but with everything that had happened I had managed to keep a cool head. Now I had to face reality, they were gone, and they weren’t coming back. My mother wouldn’t rock the baby to sleep singing my favorite lullaby, my father wouldn’t chase the triplets around the palace or play hide and seek like he did with us when we were little.

We had many disagreements, my parents and I, our values were worlds apart but I was half of both of them, and two large pieces of me were gone and I wouldn’t get them back. 

We nodded our heads and I walked out with Darian while the others sat back. 

***

The next day, you could hardly tell that there had been a war outside at all. Everything and everyone had been cleared away, the blood was cleaned and the trampled grass was wet after the rain pour we’d had during the night. Frowns, sadness, and cries were what remained, the pain of everything that had happened was the only reminder we had- that and the nightmares.

But I liked the nightmares, I never wanted to forget.

There were many things about our world that I needed to change before the babies came. In my mind I had a checklist with many dots that needed to be crossed off, my children would have options, strength, and courage to do whatever the hell they wanted to. I needed to make sure that no life would ever be pre-decided based on their gender. Having a girl terrified me, which is why I needed to get going.

I headed inside to talk to Darian but when I walked into his office, he held a letter in his hands as he sat by the desk.

The door slowly closed behind me. 

“It’s for you,” he said.

The note had my name on it but when I turned it around and saw the sender, the anger that now lived on my sleeves bubbled on top of my skin.

It was from Iliana.

I locked eyes with Darian and he dragged his tongue over his teeth.

Might as well open it and see what the bitch had to say.

“What’d she write?” He asked when I quietly scanned it and finished with a scoff. 

“Dearest, Hazel. First of all, let me say how sorry I am for everything, it shouldn’t have gone down like that. Word around the packs in Valeria is that you and the King are happy now, that you’re staying with him. I guess that makes you Queen. If you don’t mind, I would love to see you again, maybe we could have lunch at the palace and I could stay over for a few days. Things with Emanuel are tense… blah, blah, blah…how about a girl's weekend? Love, Iliana,” Darian pressed his lips into a thin line and scowled.

“What do you want to do?” He asked.

I held the letter up and ripped it into three pieces.

“If she ever sets foot in this pack without a formal invitation signed by the both of us, I will kill her,” that was a promise from the deepest, darkest parts of my heart. Believe me, I’d act on it too. 

“Your word is my command,” he rose from the chair and walked around the desk. 

“I wanted to talk to you about some things,” I put my hands on his chest. 

“Yes, my love?” 

“It’s more of a checklist of things that need to get done before the babies are born. Number one on that list is abolishing the Hunt.” I waited to see his reaction but he stayed quiet and gazed into my eyes with adoration. 

“Second on the list is that I want to introduce new laws that prohibit Alpha’s from requiting only male warriors.”

“All the packs in Valeria?” His brows shot up to his hairline. 

“All of them.” 

He drew a deep breath and bowed his head. 

“I also want to implement stricter laws regarding abuse- both physical and mental,”

“Such as?” 

“More severe punishments for rape and assault. To believe the victim over the predator, Valeria isn’t for women, Darian, it’s for men and I will not birth my children into a society where one will be seen as superior to the other.” 

He was silent. I didn’t need his help or his approval, this was a courtesy talk, when I became Queen I would have control- I could make the changes myself. His eyes flickered when the wheels in his mind started spinning.

“Write everything down, point by point, I’ll call the Council this afternoon and tomorrow I’ll make sure that every Alpha in Valeria has the new legislation in hand,”