The Alpha's Hunt Chapter 48

I walked in the direction of the den where me and Iliana had talked but she wasn't there, so I continued down past the lavish statues of previous rulers.

I made my way into a dark nook that had no lamps or candles.

“We can talk undisturbed here,” 

I turned, nearly twisting my ankle on these stilts I was in and saw Abby with her hands clasped in front of her body.

She clutched a purse that glimmered as much as the dress.

“Why did you run?” I asked her. 

“I saw on your face that you wanted to talk and I assumed whatever you had to say would probably be related to what you saw in the playroom- something that isn't for our guests to hear,” she stepped out from the dark corner and instantly a mask covered her emotions. She looked much more relaxed in the corner, hidden in shadows and undisturbed by the likes of me.

She set one heel in front of the other. Her long modelesque legs were on full display when the slits moved between her legs. Her baby pink nails were flawless and soft against the diamonds on her clutch and the silver jewelry looked like it had been taken from the royal archive.

I stretched my back and tried to hold my own in front of her. Something on her face just changed since the ballroom and I realized more than ever that those smiles and waves and romantic flutters were all just for show. All for the men. 

“I just wanted to make sure that you were okay after…” I didn't know what to add but she knew what I meant.

She sighed and sucked her lip between her teeth.

“I'm almost out of here, I can't afford to make a mistake right now,” she rustled out.

“I-i’m just asking about-“ 

“Don’t. Don’t ask questions. Don't go putting your nose where it doesn't belong and don't think that you can control anything that happens here.” 

My back straightened like a rod from the chill that spread through me. 

“Fine, but I am sorry,” I said and lifted my shoulders to my ears. I didn't mean to offend her but something struck a nerve.

The woman standing in front of me was not the one I’d seen around the palace.

She was strong, fierce with a fire that burned in a blue flame in her eyes. 

Looking over her body I didn't see a bruise or any redness from earlier, she looked fine, as though nothing had happened. That was both the curse and the gift of being a werewolf, we healed from the pain and the wounds and in the end, only the memories were left to haunt us. But nobody saw them on you, they couldn't see your history on your body, it only existed in your mind.

“Do you know what a Bell is, Hazel?” 

Was she questioning my intelligence or did she just think that I was that stupid?

Without waiting for my answer she continued.

“A Bell i a rogue, always a rogue, who has nothing more to lose and everything to gain. We have already been through hell- tortured, deceived, shattered beliefs, and broken to our bones. When we join MarryBell we know what we’re getting ourselves into and it’s not just a form to sign your name on and then you get your room. No. You have to go through training to prove that you’re prepared for whatever you may encounter. Marry wants only the best,” Abby walked closer and smiled proudly. “There is nothing the king can do to me that hasn't already been done,” her smile faltered an inch but she kept her head up. A coolness in her eyes let me know that not only was she telling the truth but she was haunted by it. The ghosts of her past live as constant reminders of the life she led.

“But you looked so broken,” I scratched out.

She lifted her head and shrugged a careless shoulder while staring me dead in the eyes. 

“I looked like whatever he wanted me to look like,”

Abby looked around the hallway and I saw on her face that even if she was used to pain, she was very much afraid of the king finding out that she was talking to me. She turned around to leave but cast one last wary look over her shoulder and we locked eyes. I don't know what she saw but whatever it was spread like wildfire across her face and tinted her cheeks. Her eyes glossed over and her lips pulled down in a shadowed frown.

“That bleeding heart of yours will be the death of you. That’s why I tucked mine away,” 

That sparkle in her eyes reminded me of Mathilda’s. My sister's eyes would sparkle like that when she was afraid, it could be the monsters under her bed or the ones across the border. Mathilda was terrified of the humans and with good reason, they wanted us dead. 

Abby didn't say another word, she turned her head and walked off. Her hips swayed from side to side in her model-like walk and I knew she’d be entering the ballroom as though this conversation never happened.

She would shake hands with important people and pretend to be okay, that was her job, but I didn't believe that she couldn't be hurt. The worst pain isn't always the physical one, sometimes our minds concoct something far more painful than a whip slashing against our skin and it’s a pain we have to relive because it thrives off the fear we carry and it doesn't go away. It’s there every time we close our eyes and it’s different for each person.

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I almost missed the odd smell passing by me. 

“What was that?” Trixy asked with distain.

“I don't know. Do you recognize the smell?”

“No,” 

I followed it down the hallway, it was just here, still lingering in the air and it got stronger the closer I got. 

“Hello?” I called out. Nobody answered which wasn't weird considering it wasn't a werewolf's smell. Did someone let an animal in?

It was sweet and pungent.

It had to be a rabbit or a squirrel, they were the only animals that came close to the smell that was invading the hallway.

I looked around the corners and, in the den, but there was nothing there and I didn't hear the squeaks or taps of their paws. 

It was odd but the palace was big and the door stood open for the guests tonight so something must've gotten past the guards. 

I had to choke the laugh that rippled up at the thought of a rabbit running into the ballroom and getting under the women's dresses or dancing on the table. 

This nice little gathering of Valeria's most important men would turn into a hunt for a fuzzy little creature.

’Get back here, puppet’ 

I closed my eyes and dragged my hands down my dress to dry the sweat.

He can mind link me. That sucks to know. 

I walked back with a heavy head until I reached the entrance. I lifted my head and straightened my back while cursing the blisters on my feet in these forsaken heels.

When I walked in I saw that everyone had created a path in the center of the room. They stood divided into two groups, all of them watching the king and the council members as they stood around the table.

Darian’s dark eyes grabbed me the second I walked in and seeing him from this distance standing next to some of the most powerful werewolves in the world was terrifying. He was bigger, broader, taller, and calmer than any of them. 

The council members had three Dark Guards with them, standing at a safe distance ready to serve their masters. The council members were by no means small or weak, yet they had felt the need for further protection. Darian stood alone, as calm as ever with nobody behind him. 

It made me wonder who the council members were really afraid of. Was it us, the common people? or was it Darian- the Lycan king who could easily kill everyone in here without breaking a sweat?

’Come’