Still Valerie’s POV
“The only reason you are still breathing is because of the bond we share. Unlike you, I still try to play by the rules. I know it’s a crime if I take the life of another shapeshifter or human. So I’m going to say this only once, and I hope you don’t let me repeat myself. Let my words sink into that thick skull of yours. It’s either you join our team or you fuck off, stick with me or stay the fuck out of my way.” Maverick growled in her face, making her shrink back in fear.
“Enough, Mav!
I meant it when I said you need to play nice. You are scaring her too much, she could run away and go into hiding again. We need her, and you know we can’t afford to linger in this dump for much longer. We need to leave now so we could have a head start. King Gerald will not spare time in tearing us apart. So I need you to stand back, Mav. We don’t have the time to pamper your ego. Let’s just get the hell out of here in one piece, then we can establish our throne and everyone would be put in their respective place.” I advised him, coming to stand between him and Devon.
“I’m sorry, Devon. I never meant to hurt you or make you look weak and stupid. I just wanted to get you to calm down so I could explain to you that we are not your enemies. King Gerald is our mutual enemy, that is why we need to calm down and find a way out of here before his plane lands in this city. We both know that we are not ready to take him down. We need to get everything we need to break the curse. If you cooperate with us and work with us to break this curse, then we would have all the warriors we need to face him on the battlefield and avenge our families and friends, and we can make him pay for everything he has done to hurt every single one of us.
We may not be able to change the last but trust me, we can change our future and break this curse to regain our freedom, I can’t do it without you. Trust me, at the end of this war, when everything is back to normal, you will be allowed to make your own decisions. You can choose to stay back with us and continue in the footsteps of your ancestors, or you can choose to go your way and live your life as it pleases you. But right now, we need you…
No, I need you. I can’t cast such a powerful spell on my own, and I can’t summon the wolf moon alone and I don’t want you to be compelled by the Alpha, I need you to decide to do the right thing. I know how difficult it is for you to watch your family die, trust me, it’s a sight you can never unsee. It plagues me every blessed day, I see it even in my dreams. So I know how difficult it is to move past it. But I need you, Devon, we can’t do it without you.” I let out calmly, trying to reason with her. But she wasn’t ready to let go of her vengeance.
“You are unfit to control such power, you can never take him down because you are a weakling. If you really want to save us all, then you will surrender your power to me and let me get revenge for my family and fight for our people. I have been doing this since I was a child, I know all the spells by heart. You can either depend on your silly revelations to defeat the lycan king, or you can give me your powers and let me handle it myself. The choice is yours.” She hissed out angrily. Maverick was still standing in front of her in his wolf form, and she couldn’t challenge him anymore because their bond has been revived, but she still refused to help us win this war, she wouldn’t even look at my face or his.
“You have no right to say no to my Queen. This is not a request, Devon. It is an order and I expect you to comply immediately or I’ll kill you where you stand!” Maverick threatened her furiously, making her shiver in fear as she looked to me for help. She can act tough and stubborn sometimes, but when he speaks in his Alpha tone, she has no choice but to comply with his instructions.
“No, Mav. We can’t force her to do it, it’s not worth it. I did not cast this spell so we could control her, I only wanted her to submit to you and stop trying to kill us. We can’t force her to comply, that would simply make her more vengeful, and she may end up ruining it for us. I suggest we leave here at once before King Gerald gets here. If she makes up her mind to help, she will know where to find us. But for now, we need to save ourselves first.” I told him. I can tell that she felt a huge relief when he shifted back to his human form and pulled me into his arms. She looked at me strangely, trying to weigh my strength, and in the end, she nodded in appreciation before running the other way, trying to get far away from here before King Gerald arrives with reinforcement. Maverick pulled me the other way, and we both ran quickly to get to his car. But before we could get to his car, we were stopped by Charlotte and her team as they stood in our path, blocking our escape route.
“Don’t bother trying to get away, Bitch!
I’ve called King Gerald already and he is already at the airport, so there is nowhere to run to.” She let out fiercely, pointing a revolver at Maverick and I. Liam and Nolan are with her, they are both holding handguns as well but they weren’t pointing their guns at us. So I’m guessing that they are no longer under Devon’s spell. It’s either the spell I cast on her that set them free of her evil spell, or maybe she set them free just to repay me for speaking up for her when Maverick wanted to compel her. I don’t really know how it happened, but I’m pretty sure that they are free from her spell, and they can now think and act like themselves.
You would think that this would make her think twice about attacking me, right?
But no, Charlotte would never give up her rage and hatred for me. In fact, the first thing she did after Devon set them free is to place a call to King Gerald and renew the contract she had with him. She hates me to the point that nothing I do or say can change her mind. They all looked at us differently, I could tell that the other two are no longer interested in this quest for vengeance. In fact, when Charlotte was threatening us with her gun, he actually threw his aside with gut in his eyes. He keeps looking at me strangely, thinking about all the crazy things he has done to me. So I guessed anyway. Nolan would have done the same thing, but he knows about King Gerald and the deal he has with his parents, so he had no choice but to back his sister up.
“You Coward!
You fucking traitor!
I’ll get you for this, I won’t forgive you!
You seem to forget so easily how you were hurt by her, or are you still in love with her?
Do you still stay awake all night, crying and wishing she would come back to you?
Too bad, Liam!
She has a new lover, and she’ll never leave him for you. Even if she still loves you, the stupid bond won’t let her leave him. And guess what, baby?
When all this is over, I’m getting a divorce, I’m done with you!
I’m fucking done with this sham of a marriage!
You’ll have no one to love you and ill make my father destroy your businesses so you’ll end up a sad and lonely man.” She told him furiously, displaying her rage in public.
“At least I’ll be free from all guilt, and I’ll live a happier life without a fucking Lunatic for a wife!” he responded in a fierce tone before turning to leave.
“Coward!
Traitor!
Fucking bastard!” she cursed repeatedly but she couldn’t turn around to shoot him or run after him because she had her gun pointing in our direction and she chose to focus on Maverick and I instead.
“What do you say, my love?
Should I get rid of her?” Maverick asked me through our link. But I shook my head negatively, and I gave him the same response that I always give him whenever he wants to hurt her,
“No, Mav. She is still my sister. And when the time is right, I’ll take care of her myself. For, now, let us just walk away and leave her to her fate.”
“Really, are you still going to turn the other cheek?
Why are you so weak when it comes to this bitch, is there something else I need to know?” he inquired curiously, while he fixes her a stern gaze, growling furiously. I could tell that he was trying so hard to restrain Hunter from breaking out and tearing her into shreds. I can relate, Malia has been struggling to come out since Maverick let Hunter come out. I know I need to shift, but I can’t do it now because I would be activating my powers and giving my enemies a scent to find me anywhere in this city. My aura is not too visible because I have never shifted. If I do, my aura would be trackable and I will not be able to block our tracks and hide my aura at the same time, I’m not strong enough for that. I could still try and block Maverick’s scent and hide our location, shielding us from the Lycans.
“We grew up together, Mav. To me they are family, and I can’t hurt my family, can I?
Just get their stupid guns so we can leave already. She wasn’t bluffing when she said that King Gerald was in the city already. He is already coming this way, I can feel his presence. We need to leave right now if we ever want to leave this place in one piece.” I told him sternly. His eyes sank inside for a split second, I guess he thought she was joking, but when I mentioned it, he had to shut his other senses, and used his nose and ear to check out King Gerald’s location. When he caught his scent, his eyes went wide in panic, and I could say one word, I found Nolan and Charlotte on the floor, holding their backs in pain. Charlotte reached for her gun, but she couldn’t find it anywhere because Maverick was holding both find in his hand.
“The next time we meet, I’m going to kill you myself, Char. And trust me, this is not a threat it’s a promise.” I told her firmly, smirking evilly when she groaned in anger.
“I’ll be looking forward to our next meeting then, bitch!
Let’s see if you can survive King Gerald’s attack. When you survive it, then we can talk about our freaking meeting, witch!” she called out to me as I walked away quickly. I ignore her and walked away, then I got into Maverick’s car and he sped away as soon as I shut the door. Wait, this is not Maverick’s car, I think he stole a car to hide our identity. A few cars were leaving the garage, and I’m sure that there are people out there who are keeping watch for Maverick and I. He is trying to get away from them, that is why he chose this truck with tinted windows. If only he knows that this car can not keep us safe from the powerful sorcerers that King Gerald is coming with, even the basement is not safe for us…