Chapter 7
Revenge
Lilian.
There was a pin drop silence in the pack hall as people looked at me in shock.
I know they expected me to choose my mate and watch them suffer because they made me suffer as well, but I had another agenda in mind.
I saw as my mate gave me a look that broke my heart to pieces as I chose the pack over him.
"Daemon, I..." I was at a loss for words, I didn't know what I could say to him.
"Take care of yourself." He whispered softly to me as he turned away.
The pain in my chest did not subside as I watched his back to me when he took long strides out of the pack hall. His movements were stiff, and his back was tense. And somehow, I knew he was holding himself back from letting any form of emotion show as it would hurt people around.
"You made a good choice, Lilian." The Alpha King said to me in his crouched position. "He will not hurt you or anyone in this pack as long as you have rejected him."
A disdainful scoff escaped my mouth as I looked down on the Alpha King. "When I said I chose the pack, I didn't say I rejected my mate. I hope you know the difference between that."
I turned towards Alpha Blackthorn who faced away from me, avoiding my eyes. I wanted to scream, to shout, to cry about the loss of my family...
But I was really weak... I was starving. I had no strength left in me, but I knew I had to get out of this suffocating pack hall as the majority of the people stared at me with their guilt-ridden faces.
I wobbled down the stairs of the podium, holding on to the wall for support, then, Hailey came to my side.
"Hey." She said to me softly.
I could only give her a small smile as a reply.
"Why did you choose the pack, Lilian? After everything they have done to you?" There was a bitter expression on her face as she said those words.
"I am only saving their lives." I said as slowly as possible. "There is something I also need to find out about my family. The stories just don't add up." I sighed as I kept on walking, avoiding any form of interaction with people who wanted to apologize to me.
A frown formed on Hailey's rough and patchy face.
"What do you mean by you were saving their lives? From what? From who? If I was in that position, Lilian, I swear every single person would pay for what they have done to us."
"I know."
She paused. "Do you think my parents are also alive? Or have they met the same fate as your family?" There were tears welling up at the corner of her eyes.
"We will have to find out, won't we? I have an inkling that they are still alive." I gave her a small optimistic smile.
"Are you headed home? Can I come with you? I know the pack members will at least cut us some slack after all these..."
"My house is doorless." I said with a slight chuckle as I kicked a rubble off my path, supported by Hailey, we found ourselves in the clearing of the training grounds.
*
"You are Daemon's mate, right? The noble woman who chose the pack that has treated her wrongly over her mate." I heard a mocking voice behind us.
Turning in shock, we jumped at the sight of the male that was behind us. Under the moonlight, his face was torn and he seemed to have one ear missing.
"W-wh-who are you?" Hailey stuttered in fear as the male moved menacingly towards us.
"Just someone who will be acquainted with you very soon, in a short period of time." He said simply as he moved even closer. "I only want to tell you one thing, Lilian. You just made the worst mistake of your life by choosing the pack."
"What do you mean?" I did not understand what he was going on about.
He shrugged simply and gave a terrible smile with his shredded face. "What I'm saying is that you are not safe from the attacks that would soon commence on your life. Not unless you reject the Predator as your mate, only then will you be safe."
"But I made my decision. I chose the pack and not him!"
"You didn't make any choice, Lilian." The man said harshly, as if he could see through my web of lies. "You only bought yourself some time before going to be with your mate. Don't think that no one has seen the loophole in what you just did tonight."
I felt my heart drop to my stomach as he said that. I needed to buy myself time, I also needed to be protected while doing so.
"Watch your back, Lilian. The Predator has so many enemies, even creatures of the night and witches want him dead. The Predator has spent his life tearing down the mates of werewolves and vampires, now, he has a mate."
And with that, he disappeared.
Hailey gulped in fear at the speed at which the man disappeared. "He is a..."
"A vampire..." I completed the sentence for her. It was only then I could feel myself slowly easing from a tension I didn't know I had.
"Why are you doing this, Lilian? If what he says is true, then, only your mate has the power to protect you. You can still have all the answers you want even if you choose your mate over the pack."
I shook my head at her. She didn't understand.
"I had to, Hailey. He would have destroyed every single person in the pack. Every. Single. Person." I tried so hard to emphasize, but she still stared at me with confusion etched on her face.
"Why would he do that when he already has you? You're the reason he showed up in the pack hall this evening."
I shook my head again. I had seen it in his eyes when they turned pitch black. He was ready to kill anything that stood in his way, just for hurting me.
"He would have destroyed everyone in the pack because the majority of the people here are the reason why we are like this. He would have killed you too, Hailey." I gave her an empathetic smile.
"Why? I mean, I'm your best friend."
"I don't think Daemon will know the difference when he is in that form."
"Oh." She said softly in understanding.
"And I chose the pack because as long as I am here, and I haven't rejected him, he will protect the pack just to protect me."
"Too bad, I'm sure we can protect ourselves from him no matter what." There was a sinister voice behind us which sent shivers of fear down my spine.
Why was this happening to me? I turned slowly to watch the shadows that emerged from the trees.
In the blink of an eye, Hailey and I were surrounded by a bunch of men who had different forms of weapons in their hands.
"Your mate destroyed my mate, and just destroyed my reputation in front of all my people. And as long as we have you in our grasp, and you haven't rejected him yet, it would be so easy for us to inflict the pain he has inflicted on us all..." The voice came again, and out of the shadows, the man stepped out with thick silver chains in hand.
The Alpha King.