“Don’t waste your time James, she won’t appreciate it. Just look how she treats Andrew,” Hunter said coming into the living room and James clenched his jaw so tightly his muscles complained and he could see Lily start to shake from the anger but she breathed like he had told her and stomped out of the room.
“I warned the alpha not to take her in,” Hunter started and James wanted to tell the man to shut the hell up, but he kept quiet. “But of course, my brother is a charitable soul and didn’t think she was anything like her parents,” Hunter went on and James decided to pump him for information instead of pummel him.
“How were her parents, and why did the alpha take her in?” he asked anger in his voice but Hunter misunderstood it to be against Lily and not himself.
“I know it doesn’t make much sense does it. Her parents moved to the house next door when she was about four, I was still enforcer for Andrew at the time. At first they seemed okay, for humans that is, but it didn’t take long for them to show their true colors. The mother was a complete slut, more than once she tried to get Andrew or I to sleep with her while the father chased Sandy and Lisa, my mate, around.
“As if that wasn’t enough, they had wild parties several times a week. This is where I believe Andrew made his mistake, he allowed that brat to stay here when she snuck out at night. To excuse her mischievous behavior she actually claimed that some of the party guests tried to break in her room and mess with her,” Hunter explained and laughed when he reached the end and James felt so shocked that he didn’t know what to say.
“Of course Andrew just kept letting the girl come over whenever she wanted, and as you can imagine it didn’t take her long to find out what we were. Andrew said we could trust her, but I knew better. So a couple of the enforcers and I gave her a nice little warning of what would happen if she ever told anyone. For an alpha, my brother is far too soft for some things. I was glad to hear though when you were found he had kicked the little bitch out of the house,” Hunter continued and James felt as if he had just been punched in the stomach.
“She was kicked out while I stayed here?” he asked. Was that the reason she hated him on sight. He felt a wave of guilt wash over him if he had known he wouldn’t have let the alpha do that.
“Yes she was but knowing my brother he can’t stay stern for long and as soon as you left he invited her back in. Then when her parents disappeared, leaving her behind, I told him to turn her over to the humans. The brat came from bad blood and would only give him more problems, but he didn’t listen. She isn’t like them, he said. She is only an innocent girl in need of a good home! Innocent my ass, she was always flirting with Tony when Andrew wasn’t looking,” Hunter went on with a look of absolute disgust on his face.
“I just thank God Tony went and got himself a good werewolf woman. I swear that girl is nothing but trouble! Just look at the mess she caused now,” Hunter exclaimed and James only barley suppressed a growl.
“Excuse me, I just remembered I have something I have to do,” James snapped harshly walking out the room. If he was around Hunter Roberts anymore he would have to rip him to pieces. James had only known Lily around a month and he knew enough about her to know that she wasn’t the woman that Hunter was painting her out to be, in fact, he understood her a lot more than now.
James tried to talk Lily a couple of times, but she just yelled at him from behind the closed door of her bedroom to go away. He’d give her some space, but he would make her realize that she could trust him, even if it killed him which knowing Lily it might just come to that. He got out of the shower running his hand through his dark wet hair getting dressed when someone knocked on the door.
“You can come in, what’s up?” he called and Tony came in the bathroom.
“My uncle is looking for you,” he told him and James frowned.
“Does he want something important or just another pathetic flattery attempt to get me to do what he wants,” James snapped grabbing his shirt and Tony laughed.
“I don’t know he was just asking for you… what the hell is that?” Tony asked looking at his chest and James looked down to see the bite mark.
“It’s nothing,” he replied, turning away from Tony.
“If that’s nothing then I will donate myself as a blood donor to the vamps,” Tony said with a smug smile. James glanced at the bite through the mirror, it had started to heal but not as fast as he expected. James started to suspect that it was not healing because it fell under the same category of a mate’s mark women had. It sounded strange, but he liked being marked by Lily.
“So who is she?” Tony insisted. “You’re sneakier than I thought, I haven’t seen you with any women since you got here,” he joked.
“Maybe because it is none of your business,” James told him lightly with a grin as he pulled on the shirt and Tony actually looked a little hurt.
“Come off it, I’m your best friend man and as the future alpha everything is my business,” he shot and James laughed.
“Boy, you just love throwing that out there don’t you… future alpha?” James replied then turned to his friend. “I can’t tell you who Tony, she’d kill me if she found out.”
“No way,” Tony said gawking at him. “You… and…. Lily?” he asked with his jaw hanging open and James couldn’t help but laugh, realizing that mentioning the threat upon his life had given the “who” away.
“Don’t let her know you know or I swear I am good as dead,” James told him with a smile.
“How the hell did that happen? I thought she hated you?” Tony asked and James shrugged.
“I don’t know, it just sort of happened… and she hates me,” he replied and Tony smiled and had him a hard slap on the back.
“Only you’d managed something like that James. Guess that makes us brothers now,” he mused and James smiled at his best friend. “But you do know it’s the males that are supposed to mark the women? Never figured you to be henpecked,” he teased and James narrowed his eyes at him with a growl.
“Don’t be an idiot; of course I know who marks who! I am not now nor will I ever be henpecked,” James shot back and Tony gave him an exaggerated nod with a disbelieving look. “I marked her, but she keeps it hidden!”