Chapter Twenty-four
Hunter’s POV
As the sun illuminated the sky the next morning, I turned in my sheets, but then stood up and walked straight into the bathroom.
I didn’t know how to shake the uneasy thoughts that had plagued me all night. I stared at my reflection in the mirror, my jaw clenched so tightly I could hear my teeth grinding together.
The image staring back at me was a mess, a man who had spent the entire night tossing and turning, unable to get a moment’s rest.
Dark circles revealed beneath my eyes, and my hair was disheveled from running my hands through it over and over again.
I could still feel the ghost of Faelen’s lips on mine, the memory burning itself into my mind. No matter how much I tried to shake it off, it wouldn’t leave me.
I hated it… hated her for making me feel this way, for dragging me into this mess feelings. But more than anything, I hated myself.
How had I let it get this far? I should have put her in her place the moment she leaned in. I should have turned away, pushed her back, done something to show her that she was beneath me.
But I hadn’t. Instead, I had let it happen… hell, I had kissed her back!
I slammed my fist against the sink, the force sending half of the ceramic crashing to the floor of the bathroom. “Shit!” I let out, seeing the mess I’d made.
The rage inside me burned hot, I didn’t mean to break the sink, I guess I used too much force than I’d intended, fueled by the frustration and anger I felt for myself.
What the hell was wrong with me? How had I allowed myself to lose control like that? Faelen was a servant, nothing more, and I was the Alpha.
I was supposed to be stronger, better than this. But the truth was, I wasn’t. Not when it came to her apparently.
No matter how much I wanted to deny it, the fact remained that I had responded to her kiss, and worse, I had wanted it.
For that brief moment, I had been as weak as she was.
My reflection mocked me, the lines of my face twisted with frustration. I was caught between two conflicting sides of myself.
One part of me wanted nothing more than to punish her, to make her pay for daring to kiss me, to show her who was really in control.
But the other part… the one I hated, scolded me for even thinking of punishing her when I was just as guilty.
I cursed under my breath, pacing the length of the bathroom, as if the movement would somehow shake off the thoughts haunting me.
I paused in front of the mirror again, staring at myself as if I might find the answers there. But all I saw was someone who had been brought to his knees by a mere servant girl.
“Damn it, Hunter,” I let out frustratingly, quite disgusted with myself.
But… I didn’t want to admit any of it, but there was no point in lying to myself… a great part of me had been curious about her, about what it would be like to have her.
And now that I knew… now that I had tasted her, I hated that I wanted more. It gnawed at me, taunting me with images of her sensuous lips, the softness of that thick hair I’d held behind her neck.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the front door that jolted me from my thoughts. Quickly, I splashed water on my face from a second sink, then left the bathroom to go see who it was.
When I opened the door, I don’t know why, but I was surprised to find Caleb standing there. The last time we’d seen each other was when he stood here in my room defending Faelen.
Yesterday, I had been mad at him for defending her, but the thought of that now suddenly spurred something in me… something resembling jealousy.
I shook it off as fast as it had come, and then sighed, a smirk appearing on my face. “Hey there, Caleb. What’s it now? Come to give me another of your lectures about being a better man?” I sneered.
Caleb’s tone was light, almost mocking I’d say if I didn’t know him well. “Actually, Hunter, I’m here to apologize.” He said, his faze firmly fixed on me.
I raised a brow, surprised as much as confused by his words.
He stepped forward a bit and shifted his gaze nervously. “I came to apologize about my attitude yesterday. I overstepped. I shouldn’t have interfered with how you handle Faelen, or anyone” he admitted.
My smirk faded slightly, and for a moment, I assessed him, weighing his words with the expression on his face to see if this was a joke or some form of mockery from him this morning.
The silence stretched between us, and I could feel the tension building slowly. Then Caleb broke the ice again, “Faelen is just a servant, just like me, and everyone else in this pack. You’re the Alpha.”
Another stretch of silence hung in the air, as Caleb searched my eyes as he waited for my response, perhaps feeling the weight of his apology.
Then, abruptly, I burst into laughter, the force of it sending me back into the room. It was a deep, obviously mocking laugh that rang through the room and empty hallway outside.
Caleb seemed clearly taken aback by my sudden reaction, unsure of what had triggered it. He frowned, trying to understand what was so funny as he let himself into the room.
“What’s so amusing?” he asked, his voice low as if he was trying to keep it down.
My laughter didn’t end. I wiped a tear from my eye, still chuckling. “Oh, you should’ve seen your face, Caleb. It was priceless.”
Caleb stood in front of me, clearly puzzled, as I continued to laugh. “I’m serious, Hunter. I’m here to apologize.” He said, his face turning sour.
I finally managed to compose myself, though a mischievous glint remained on my face. “Oh, forget about it, Caleb. It’s not worth dwelling on. In fact, let’s go have drinks. I definitely need to take my mind a lot.”
Caleb hesitated a little, glancing at his watch. “Um… It’s a bit early for drinks, don’t you think?”
I waved off his concern, already pulling on my coat. “Come on, bro. It’ll do us both good. You surely need to relax your shoulders, obviously.” I said, scanning him briefly to hint at his uptightness.
Despite Caleb’s reservations, he followed me out the room and estate eventually, as I led the way towards a bar nearby, forgetting briefly the drama with Faelen and how it haunted me.
Later, after a few drinks at the bar, Caleb and I decided to check out the gold site. We both mounted our horses and headed into the forest, the day’s early relaxation quickly replaced by the seriousness of the situation.
The forest grew denser as we rode deeper, the rhythmic thumping of hooves on the grass-lain floor of the woods the only sound audible, until we reached the clearing of the gold activities.
We were lost in a discussion as we approached the site, when Caleb suddenly looked beyond as gasped in shock. I followed his gaze, and it was then that I saw the scene of the site.
The ground was scattered with bodies… blood patched all over the ground, five men just lay there, lifeless and sprawled across.
My heart sank as I took in the scenery, shock immediately taking over my expression. We both dismounted from our horses and approached the bodies, the sight growing cold and gloomy with each step.
“What the hell…” Caleb muttered, his voice low and filled with shock too.
I knelt by one of the bodies, examining it. “These were men stationed here to guard the site. They were murdered… overnight.” I said.
Caleb’s face darkened, shock and something else flashing in his eyes. “I don’t want to draw any conclusions, but… are you thinking what I’m thinking?” he said, turning to me.
I didn’t need to draw any conclusions, I knew exactly who were responsible for this. “It has to be the Steeprock pack. They warned us they wouldn’t tolerate the activities here right? Well, I guess this was their way of sending a clearer message.”
The realization hit hard. The Steeprock pack had always been known for their ruthless retaliation. This was their answer to our gold mining. My anger boiled over, and I clenched my fists.
“I told you this would happen, Hunter,” Caleb said, trying to stay calm despite the gravity of the situation. “I warned you that pushing them would lead to this.”
I shot him a furious glare. “You think I care about warnings right now? They’ve crossed a line. They’ve killed our men. I’m going to end their pack and crush their bastard Alpha!”
Caleb sighed, heading my words. “We need to be smart about this, Hunter. Acting on anger won’t help us. We need a plan, and we need to make sure we’re not just walking into a trap.” He said, trying to reason with me.
Typical.
My rage was palpable, and I didn’t seem to care for any strategy at that moment . “I’m not going to sit around while they mock us, Caleb. We’re going to hit them hard and fast. I’ll show them what happens when they cross me.”
After a little bickering about how to respond to the situation, we got on our horses and rode back to the pack in a tense silence, both of us consumed by the events we’d just witnessed.
When we arrived, we went straight to Hunter’s office. Inside, we picked up where we left off. It quickly became clear that our approaches were completely far apart.
I slammed my fist on the table, my eyes burning with rage. “We need to strike now! We have the element of surprise, and if we wait, they’ll only prepare for us. If they haven’t already.”
I watched as Caleb leaned against the desk, trying to stay calm. “Hunter, this isn’t just about revenge. We need to think about the long-term consequences as well. Attacking them without a solid proof they actually did this could end badly for us.”
My face twisted in utter frustration of Caleb’s words, my raging thoughts unable to read any sense into what he was saying that moment.
“So, you’re saying we should just sit back and do nothing while they laugh at us? Show weakness?” I questioned him, more out of anger than reason.
“I’m not suggesting we show weakness, Hunter,” he countered. “I’m saying we should use our strength wisely. A calculated attack will be more effective than an impulsive one.”
I paced back and forth, my temper barely contained, my mind a storm of thoughts about how the Steeprock pack had disrespected us, and how much I wanted to make them pay.