The Alpha's Hunt Chapter 52

Emanuel grabbed her arm and moved her behind him. He took a protective stance in front of her, shielding her from the sinister gaze in Darian's eyes.

I stood between the two males and watched Iliana tremble in fear behind her mate. This was not happening.

I know Iliana, she would never try to hurt anyone- let alone kill a person- why wasn't Elise protecting her? 

And here I was, having promised to protect her no more than an hour ago but feeling unusually useless standing as a shield between one Alpha and one Lycan.

It broke my heart to see her cower behind Emanuel like that. When we were kids she wouldn't even build the pit that we trapped the girls in, she said she didn't want anyone to get hurt so she sat and drank from a juice box while I dug the hole for two hours.

I was the one who covered the hole with leaves and I was the one who told Iliana how and where to run to make sure that they would follow and fall.

We left them there after they fell and it wasn't until the middle of the night that our Alpha sent out a patrol to search for them. They found the girls in the pit within the hour, it wasn't a big search and nobody was particularly worried seeing as their parents could feel that they were close and also their scents lingered along the forest line. But it was a joy to watch the warriors throw down a rope and see the girls climbing up covered in mud and debris from the lake that we had tossed in to make it extra cozy for them. Okay fine, I tossed it in and Iliana wasn't aware of that small detail until she saw the discoloration in their hair from the sea-moss.

The look of disappointment and regret on her face when she saw them made me call the whole thing into question but that conflicted conscience only lasted for about thirty seconds and then I grabbed her shoulders and gave her a good shake. ’You didn't do anything, I did. See this as one of those shows that humans love so much, the one where the people in the background laugh and awe on cue. You can laugh, Iliana, without feeling bad because you had nothing to do with this. It was all me’. God, I even remember the pride in my voice when I said it, relishing in the fact that justice had been served. But what felt even better was the small smile I saw on her face that grew little by little until it covered her like a sun.

“Bring her to me.” Darian's order filled the ballroom and echoed in my ears until it pulled me back from the better place I was in.

“No!” I spun around to see Emanuel fighting off one of the guards. 

Holy fuck, he was fighting the royal guards to keep them away from Iliana. 

In the time it took for me to see him, realize what was happening, and get a grip, Emanuel was lifted by his throat and thrown across the room where he landed against the stone statue which swayed on the pedestal and everyone held their breaths to see if it would fall on him.

Think, Hazel, you have to do something!

Iliana looked around frantically and her eyes darted over the guards before she turned her head and tried to catch a glimpse of Emanuel. He scrambled himself up from the floor and his eyes glowed brightly as a growl rumbled from his chest and reached the ceiling.

“Alpha Emanuel, I suggest you stand back,” Darian called. 

I wasn't sure what good he thought that would do, he just sent our world's most highly trained warriors after Emanuel's mate, of course, he would want to protect her. 

Iliana yelped when two guards grabbed one arm each and they dragged her up the stairs.

My heart was beating so loud I could hear it ringing in my ears.

“No- no, please!” She begged when she was dragged like a rag doll by two men who were twice her size. All of the spectators stood idly by and watched this play out as if it were a show. What was it about people not knowing when it was time to stop smiling? This wasn't the first time I watched people stand around and witness other's pain with hopeful gazes and clapping hands.

The Chalice Ritual was no different. We stood around, bare and weakened just for someone whose relevance was decided by the high lord, to judge us and choose which of us were fit to be prey for the predator.

The room went silent with a single sharp inhale going over everyone's heads when they watched Emanuel leap from the ground and land on one of the guards. The guard's hold on Iliana broke and he stumbled back down the steps but regained his composure in time to catch Emanuel's fist like it were a baseball and his hand was the mitt.

It was so silent around us that everyone could hear the bones being crushed in Emanuel's hand- his jaw clenched, his face turned beet red and a blood vessel popped in his eyes when he held in a scream and refused to stand down.

“Fuck,” I cursed and took one step, about to go down there and do gods-know-what but anything was better than the nothing I was doing right now. 

Before I could take another step, Emanuel connected his fist with the guard's face and his hand was released. It was deformed and unnaturally flattened but released.

The other guard threw Iliana onto the platform and took four steps- four steps and he was down the stairs standing behind Emanuel and kicked into his side. I heard how his rib broke but he didn't cower in pain, he continued fighting them until the white marble was stained with the blood of all three of them but Emanuel’s the most.

How the hell was he holding his own with two trained men from the royal guard? 

It didn't make sense, it shouldn't be possible but yet here he was, living proof that some things in life make you stronger, such as love. I looked at the focus in his eyes and the way that his body moved like in a dance with the most lethal moves, his hands slashed through the air and I listened to the grunts he made when he landed a punch and the groans when pain was inflicted onto him. 

How had I not seen it earlier? It should've been the first thing I noticed when they walked in. It was so obvious to me now. Emanuel was in love with Iliana.

“ENOUGH!” 

Everyone stopped and turned to Darian. Iliana cried out when Darian's hand circled her throat and he lifted her on her toes.

“She is the killer! What are you waiting for, your majesty?” Mr. Light, one of the council members spat.

She wasn't a killer, they had everything wrong.

Nobody was doing anything, everyone was standing so still they might as well have been statues!

But then I saw movement in my peripheral vision, someone walked out with a deep scowl. I turned my face and saw Nora looking pissed, stomping across the floor, pushing her way to the middle where the path had been cleared. She made it past them, her clutch hung on a band around her wrist and her eyes were aflame when she stared daggers up at the podium.

Just when she reached the cleared path a shadow got in her way and put a hand on her arm, gently but firmly keeping her put.

Nora frowned at Abby who refused to let her pass. I could see Abby’s face from here, she wore a deep frown and she looked at Nora with a silent warning in her narrowed eyes.

“Is there a problem?” Darian asked, his eyes playing viciously over Nora and Abby.

“No, sir, no problem.” Abby mused and covered Nora with her body. 

“Enough stalling, kill the girl!” Mr. Light growled. His hands were covered in blood from having tried to help Mr. Asbury.

He wanted justice for the death of his friend and I could understand that but they were all so wrong. There would be no justice by killing an innocent girl and there was no way in hell that I was letting them hurt Iliana.

“She didn’t do it!” I called out and locked eyes with Darian.