Chapter 4
The Intruder
Lilian.
"Lilian Hawthorn!" A hard voice called out from the back and the crowd parted to see who called my name.
Five elder council members stood at the door, and it was only then I realised the severity of my case. The elder who spoke had a grim expression on his face as he took cautious steps towards us.
"Are you a friend or foe to the pack?"
The question had me rooted to the spot as I paused to reflect that question. Of course, I am a friend to the pack as long as my family is still kept captive by the Alpha. No matter how badly treated I was, I didn't want any harm coming to the pack if I could help it.
The crowd parted the more as the five council elders strode forward and stopped a few centimetres from me.
"Again, Lilian, are you a friend or foe to the pack?" His eyes were kinda as he spoke to me.
"A friend…" I quickly rushed out.
"And how long have you known that you were mated to that thing?"
A coil of thick fury rose somewhere deep inside me, and I didn't know when I yelled out at him. "He is not a thing!"
My eyes were filled with rage and disgruntled murmurs when my outburst surfaced, but I did not care.
A hard slap landed on my face, making me more disoriented than I already was.
"Kneel!" The Luna's voice was sharp and commanding as I grudgingly fell to my knees. "How dare you speak to an elder of the council in that manner?"
"Relax, Elena, it's normal. It is normal that she would defend her mate, as we all would do. That is why we are here," the elder was still soft-spoken, his face bore no hint of anger at being disrespected. "As long as the link between them is not severed, she will always be loyal to her mate. Now, Lilian," he turned towards my kneeling figure, "You have a choice to make. Either you reject the Predator as your mate and have the full protection of the pack, or accept him and bond with him as your mate and face the full wrath of all the packs in the world. The choice is yours to make, and you can take your time to do so. We will all reconvene in the pack house in a week's time to hear your decision."
"Wait," I said worriedly as I turned to the Alpha. "What about my family? I want to see them. I…"
"Enough!" The elder's voice was firm this time. "Everything will be laid clear in a week's time. For now, go home, Lilian."
*
I stepped on the porch of the little lonely house I called my home. The insides of my tummy were biting, reminding me that I hadn't had anything to eat since yesterday. Today has been really trying for me.
As I stepped in to unlock the door, the door gave way, opening quite slowly until I came face to face with a huge bulking handsome figure—my mate.
I could feel it stronger this time, the mate pull. I felt the electricity coursing through my veins as those stormy grey eyes pulled me even closer to him.
"Ahem!" He cleared his throat quietly, snapping me out of the different things I was feeling at once.
"I…" I struggled to find what to say to him, but I was at loss for words.
"Come in, Lilian. We need to talk," he said a little coolly which made me shiver.
I unconsciously pulled the rags I wore tightly over my body as I stepped into my house. I was mildly afraid, I mean, mates would not consciously inflict harm on each other. But my mate was a Predator, and he could kill me with two fingers if he felt like it.
"I don't even know your name," I said suddenly as he closed the door behind me.
"Daemon Pierre." Came his short reply. "We cannot be mated, Lilian." Daemon said suddenly as he walked past me into the living room.
His statement threw me off balance and I felt a painful pinch somewhere in my chest. I didn't understand the feeling until I felt the tears begin to well up in the corner of my eyes.
"Why not?" I didn't know why I cared so much about his reason, I mean, I was about to reject him as well.
But I was curious…
I know I'm ugly, weak, pathetic, bony, and all the lowly things one could ever think of, but I still wanted to hear it from his mouth.
"Is it because I'm not beautiful? I'm too skinny? I'm pathetic?"
"What?" A dark twisted frown formed on his really handsome face as he turned to face me. "Who the hell has been filling your head with all that crap about yourself? Let me shut their mouths up for the rest of their lives!"
I could feel his fury rising and the air around me suddenly became so tight that I began to choke for air. His eyes flew open in surprise as he rushed to my side, holding up my face delicately with his pinky finger.
"I'm so sorry, Lilian. I'm so sorry," he became really restless as he pinched the space between his brows in frustration. "We can't be mated because I could kill you one way or the other. Even unconsciously, my mood swings affect the environment and people surrounding me suffocate in it. And for the first time in my life, you're the only person my wolf and I don't want to kill…"
"Wow…" I said, still gasping for breath. "That's a lot of words. You did that? With the air?" I was still reeling in shock at what just happened that I did not register the meaning of his words.
Daemon regarded me slowly before replying. "Yes, my surroundings get affected by my mood. That is my curse. One of my curses, I mean," he gave me an acrid smile.
"Is that the only reason why you don't want me?" My voice was so small as I crammed my neck to stare at him clearly.
He studied me closely for a few seconds, I could see he was battling with a lot of emotions.
"I want you," his voice was really thick as he said that. "I've never wanted anything or anyone like I want you, Lilian. I want—need— you in my life, but I just can't!" He looked frustrated as he was torn between his feelings and trying to calm down so it wouldn't affect me.
I could see all that.
"All because you're scared you're going to hurt me?" I asked again to be sure.
"Yes, Lily."
Lily.
The softness of his voice warmed my insides and I couldn't help but blush at the new nickname.
"I also have a lot of enemies who want me dead, some who have made it their mission to eradicate every last one of my kind. Now, they could easily get to me through you."
"So, I'm literally your weakness?"
"Yeah, something like that."
I chuckled slowly. "I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or be offended."
Daemon gave a sexy light chuckle as well which sent the butterflies in my tummy haywire. "Yeah, I understand that," he said.
I paused for a while to enjoy being in a conversation with someone. It felt really good, even better since it was in the company of my mate.
"You know, I thought you would hate me."
My eyes snapped to him in a frown. "Why would you think that?"
"Well, I killed a lot of your people yesterday. Most of who you lived and who lived you as well."
I scoffed and gave him a grim smile. "I'm kind of the filth of the pack. No one would care if I lived or died. Almost everyone treated me like shit. The only one who didn't is still alive. I felt nothing for them, I just want to get my family back."
"Your family? You're not aware…" his voice suddenly trailed off as his head perked up.
Three flower vases by the window suddenly fell and shattered on the ground, and in the blink of an eye, Daemon had disappeared.
Immediately, there were harsh knocks on my door, and before I could reach out for it, it was uprooted from its hinges.
Before me, in my house that was about to be turned inside out, stood the elusive Alpha King of all the Northern Packs in all his glory.
"Teat this house down and bring him to me!" The Alpha King's voice thundered against my ears, and my weak knees gave out to the ground.
"Come here, Lilian Hawthorn!"