But I can tell they don’t believe me. The mysterious friend helping me out of nowhere is a big loophole, and I know it. I glance down at Liam, wondering what to do. He is fiercely growling at other wolves, and about twenty Jade Moon wolves are only waiting to jump at us. How did I get into such a situation!
Peter takes a step and reaches his arm out to grab me. “Okay, that’s enough. Nora, you are coming with us. Tell your friend to go away, or we will attack him, too, if...”
But before he can finish his sentence or even touch me, a huge shadow jumps over him, and we hear bones getting crunched.
I see Peter’s arm hanging under Bobo’s enormous fangs. We hear a scream before I can even realize what justhappened, as I’m still in shock. The Beta’s shoulder is bleeding in an endless flow where his arm was still attached a second ago.
I can barely keep myself from throwing up. Other people start screaming in shock or fear. In front of me, Bobo is standing like a massive barrier between me and the trio. Peter has lost consciousness between us, but the other two have stepped back.
“Looks like you guys are going to need a new Beta,” sighs a voice behind me.
I turn around and see Nathaniel standing there, smiling scarily.
I can’t believe what’s happening. Everyone has gone totally silent, and all eyes are set on Nathaniel. He is walking calmly to us, and it takes me a few seconds to realize a dozen menacing wolves are following him. Among them, I notice a big one, and I realize it’s probably Tonia, as her fur is slightly darker than her brother’s, like she depicted.
Vincent looks even more shocked than I am. He is staring blankly at Nathaniel, his mouth open, looking totally lost. I know this is precisely what he always feared. Provoking a stronger pack. I can remember how stressed out he was about the whole dinner thing. He won’t even look at Peter lying in a bloodbath next to him. He just stares blankly at Nathaniel, trying to understand what’s going on. Amber has gone white as a sheet, and she is shaking from head to toe. No one dares to say a word.
Nathaniel slowly walks up to me, and I’m totally lost on what to say. I feel so bad. About all of this. But he gives me his usual gentle smile.
“Nora, you should have just told us, you know. Now I had to come all the way here and hear all this nonsense.”
“I... I’m sorry, I just...”
But before I can figure out how to explain myself, Nathaniel reaches out his hand to gently caress my hair and shakes his head with a gentle smile.
“It’s okay, princess. You should save it for when you see my brother. He is... not very happy about you sneaking out.”
Oh, my Goddess, Damian knows. He is going to kill me. He must be dead furious now. And right after he finally came to see me, too! Nathaniel turns to Liam, crosses his arms, and sighs. His little brother just avoids his eyes like a kid who knows he is about to get scolded.
“You can’t help yourself, can you, Liam? Not only you skip school, but now you must help Nora run into trouble, too?”
He waits for a second, still looking at his younger sibling, and I realize Liam must be talking back to him. But Nathaniel shakes his head.
“Oh no, don’t even start trying to use our princess as an excuse, Liam. We are going to have a serious discussion once we get back. And yes, little brother, you’re grounded.”
Liam just lets out an annoyed growl, but apparently, he won’t stand up to his brother. The hierarchy is evident between the three of them.
Nathaniel now walks past us and stands next to Bobo, looking straight at Vincent. He is not smiling anymore. As all the Blood Moon Clan wolves are now growling fiercely, the Jade Moon ones have slowly started taking a few steps back. Even though some of them still try to keep growling, too, they clearly are frightened. Nathaniel’s wolves make it very clear who has the upper hand. Tonia walks up to me, standing opposite to Liam. I try to whisper a “sorry,” but she is ignoring me. I guess I’ll have to deal with this once we get back...
“Prin... Princess?” Mumbles Vincent.
He seems to have realized who the black wolf that was accompanying me is by now. He is looking at me as if he’s seeing me for the first time, trying to process everything.
“Well, now I would love to hear an explanation,” says Nathaniel.
“Ex... Explanation? About what?” Stutters Vincent.
“Yes. An explanation to know why you guys hid and mistreated our precious princess.”
Nathaniel’s words are a cold shower for everyone here. Some members of the pack are looking at me with terrified eyes, probably reminiscing about when they last hit me or were rude to me in some manner. And it’s not just two or three people.
“What? We didn’t hide her...”
Suddenly, I remember the dinner night. Liam’s voice asking, “Is that all your girls?” before he and Nathaniel left. That intriguing sentence angered Amber, but back then, I didn’t really think about it twice. But what does it have to do with me? Nathaniel makes it sounds like the Black brothers were... looking for me. But how could that be?
“We asked you if we had met every girl from your clan, and you said we did. You had no one looking anything like Nora at the dinner. So now, let me ask you, how could we possibly have missed her if she was indeed one of your pack members?”
Vincent looks completely lost. He had me locked up in the basement that night. He didn’t think I was worthy of meeting them, and honestly, how could he have imagined such a day would come? The weak, pathetic, hated, and disfigured girl turns out to be the most feared Alpha’s mate. That’s not something Vincent would ever imagine, not even in his worst nightmares. He looks at me, still trying to make a connection, unable to face the truth.
