Caught

Chapter Fifty-five
Hunter’s POV
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The words had fallen from her lips, sharp and cold, like ice cutting into my chest.
Faelen, who I thought I was beginning to understand… trusted even… was a spy. A spy, for the Belladonna Pack.
And she had been playing me this whole time.
I stood there, staring at her, barely able to process the weight of what she’d just confessed.
It felt like the ground had been ripped out from under me. My pulse pounded in my ears, and every breath I took became shallow.
“You’re with Belladonna,” I repeated, my voice low, as if saying it aloud would help me make sense of it. “You’ve been working for them this whole time?”
Her face was pale, her eyes wide with fear, but she didn’t deny it. “Yes,” she whispered, like the truth was too much for even her to bear.
My blood boiled. All the conversations we’d had, all the moments we shared… they had all been lies. And I had been too blind to see it.
I was too caught up in my own growing feelings for her to even consider that she might be deceiving me.
I clenched my fists, rage rushing through me. I wanted to lash out, to break something, to make her feel even a bit of the pain I felt.
“You’ve been spying on us!” My voice cracked, my throat tightening with the weight of the question.
She nodded, slowly, not daring to meet my eyes.
“Why now?” I demanded, taking a step toward her, barely able to contain the anger in my chest. “Why come here and confess now, huh? After everything, after…” I trailed off.
My mind flashed back to the day before, the moment we’d crossed a line we couldn’t come back from.
She swallowed, her eyes rising up to meet mine. “Because I couldn’t keep lying to you,” she whispered, her voice shaking.
“What?” I uttered in confusion.
“Because I care about you, Hunter, and I care about this pack. That’s why I’m telling you about the attack. It’s coming soon, and Belladonna is behind it. I couldn’t let it happen to you.”
My heart twisted in my chest, both confused and angry. I wanted to believe her, to believe that she was doing this because she cared.
But then, how could I? How could I trust anything that came out of her mouth after learning she’d been lying to me from the start?
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” I growled, my voice rising. “You’ve betrayed me. You’ve betrayed us. You’ve made a fool out of me, Faelen.”
Tears gathered in her eyes, but I didn’t care. She could cry all she wanted… it didn’t change the fact that she had played me like a damn puppet.
I turned away from her, running a hand through my hair, trying to think. Trying to figure out what the hell I was supposed to do now.
Every instinct I had told me to throw her in a cell, to make her pay for what she’d done. She was a threat, a traitor, and she couldn’t be trusted.
But there was another part of me that I hated to admit even existed… the part that still cared for her and remembered the way her lips tasted against mine.
That part of me made me hesitate, keeping me from doing what I knew had to be done.
But no. I couldn’t let my feelings cloud my judgment, not again.
“Guards!” I barked, my voice echoing through the room.
Faelen’s eyes widened, her face paling even further. “Hunter, please…”
“Enough.” I cut her off, my tone cold. “You lied to me. You used me. And now you want me to believe that you’re doing this out of some sense of… of care?”
She didn’t answer, but I saw the hurt in her eyes, the way she bit her lip to keep from saying something more.
The guards arrived quickly, stepping into the room with questioning looks.
I didn’t hesitate. “Take her to the dungeons,” I ordered, my gaze locked on hers. “And don’t let her out of your sight.”
The guards moved toward her, grabbing her arms as she stiffened, her breath catching in her throat. “Hunter, please,” she whispered, her voice sounding so desperate. “You have to believe me. I’m trying to help…”
“Help?” I spat, stepping closer, anger burning hot in my chest. “You’re only helping yourself, Faelen. If you cared about us, you wouldn’t have lied from the start.”
She winced as if I’d struck her, but I didn’t let myself feel the guilt that stirred in my gut. I couldn’t.
She was being led out of my office, and for a moment, I thought she would keep pleading with me. But she didn’t.
Faelen just turned her head, casting one last look my way, something like regret flashing in her eyes before the guards disappeared down the hallway with her.
I stood there, my fists clenched so tightly that my knuckles ached.
I should have felt vindicated, like I’d done the right thing by ordering her imprisonment. But all I felt was an emptiness.
I turned back to the window, staring out at the distant view.
The pack trusted me to lead and protect them, and I couldn’t afford to let personal feelings get in the way of that.
Faelen had betrayed me, and no matter what she said or did, I couldn’t let myself be swayed by her again.
But as I stood there, trying to bury the chaos in my chest, one thought kept creeping back into my mind.
What if she was telling the truth?
What if Belladonna really was planning an attack, and Faelen’s warning was the only reason we stood a chance of stopping it?
I shook my head, trying to rid myself of the thought. But deep down, I knew I couldn’t ignore it. Not when so much was at stake.
And as much as I hated to admit it, Faelen wasn’t out of my life yet.
I turned and stormed out of the office, my chest tight with frustration and anger burning in my veins.
I couldn’t stay in there and let her words echo in my mind any longer. Her admission of being a spy… it was more than I could bear.
I had to see this through.
I caught up with the guards, their hands tight on Faelen’s arms as they dragged her through the estate.
Her pleas, soft and desperate, were drowned out by the sound of my own thoughts.
Everyone in the estate had stopped to watch. The servants froze in place, eyes wide with confusion and shock.
I could feel their stares, I could see the questions plastered on their faces. And then I saw Caleb.
He rushed toward me, panic clear in his eyes. “Hunter!” he called, his voice urgent. “What’s going on? Why is Faelen being dragged away like this?”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. I just kept walking, my mind too clouded with anger to say anything that wouldn’t make things worse.
Caleb followed as we went, his footsteps quick behind mine, his confusion clear and thick in the air between us.
When we reached the dungeons, Faelen’s sobs grew louder. The guards shoved her into a barred cell, and she stumbled to the ground, her body hitting the cold stone floor with a thud.
Her hair, that beautiful red cascade, fell around her face as she lifted her tear soaked eyes to mine.
“Hunter, please,” she cried, her voice trembling with fear. “I’m sorry. I had to tell you. I had to warn you about the attack.”
I stared at her, fists clenched at my sides, trying to contain the storm of emotions rushing through me.
Her words felt like poison, and the sight of her, broken and pleading, only made everything worse.
The guards locked the cell, their movements quick and efficient, and then stepped aside. I took a step forward, my heart pounding in my chest.
I didn’t know what I was going to say, or how to confront the rage inside me. Just then, Caleb burst into the room, his face pale and his eyes wide with shock.
“Hunter, what the hell is going on?” he demanded, his gaze shifting between me and Faelen inside the cell. “Why is she down here? What’s happened?”
I didn’t even look at him. My eyes stayed locked on Faelen as she knelt on the floor, her hands gripping the iron bars of the cell.
“Ask her,” I then spat, my voice sounding cold. “Turns out she’s not as innocent as you’ve thought all this time.”
Caleb’s confusion deepened, and he took a hesitant step toward Faelen. “Faelen?” he whispered, his voice shaky. “What does he mean?”
Faelen’s sobs filled the air, and she looked at him with tearful eyes, but said nothing. Of course she couldn’t.
The weight of her lies and deception hung heavily in her throat.
I turned away from them both, my body tense with anger I couldn’t shake.
“Keep watch on her,” I ordered the guards. “Day and night. Don’t let her out of your sight.”
Without another word, I stormed out of the dungeons, leaving Caleb behind there, his eyes still wide with shock and disbelief.
That moment, I didn’t care if he understood or not. All I could focus on was the pain of betrayal I felt in my chest.