Chapter 113 - She’s seriously scary

HADRIAN

Carter and Ben guide the other two men out of the house. With Dex gone, I can conclude that game night is over. The commotion gives me a good excuse to leave. The worry in my chest nags and only amplifies with every minute that passes.

I move out the door behind the other men. I wait until they’re out of sight and follow Emma’s scent to the house next door.

The front door swings open before I reach it. The light coming from the house illuminates Alex as she steps in the doorway.

She has one hand on her back and the other perched on the doorframe. She’s smiling, but it seems misplaced. I step closer and the scent of silver hits me. It makes me halt for a second to find its origin.

Her smile turns into a grimace and she swings her hand. My eyes catch the glint of the silver blade coming my way. I jump back, but the sharp end of the blade slices along my torso.

It creates a long cut along my chest as it tears through the fabric of my shirt. Not deep enough to kill me, but the silver burns my skin and makes me stumble back.

“Something wrong, Your Highness?”

The burn of silver is so agonizing that it brings me to my knees. Blood soaks the remnants of my shirt. The skin blisters and peels beneath the red stream. “You know,” I say in an exasperated breath.

Her white knuckles clutch the dagger in her hand. “That you’re a disgusting monster?”

Alex is one of the most skilled fighters in the group. I’ve seen her spar with the others and I know she could defeat me in my current state. I’m wolfless and injured. Alex knows it too and I use it to my advantage. I don’t get up when I know I can.

Alex walks towards me. “Honestly, you’re a weak excuse of a werewolf.”

When she is close enough I kick my leg out and hook it around her ankles. It’s enough to make her stumble. I grab her wrist that’s holding the dagger and pull her to the ground. I spin her arm behind her back.

Alex lies flat on the ground and bucks her whole body to get me to let go. “Get your filthy hands off me.” Her voice is shrill and fear is loud.

She lets go of the dagger and it drops to the ground. I let her go and Alex immediately crawls back to create a distance. I notice tears glistening in the light and the red veins in her eyes. She is pale white as if she encountered a ghost.

The tough-as-nails woman I normally see is replaced by a frightened girl. Her lips tremble and her tear-stained eyes don’t leave mine. She’s scared of what’s in front of her. *Me.*

I hold up my hands to show that I have no intention of hurting her. “Alex.”

“Stay away from me.” Alex crawls back further and she makes a run for it.

I push myself from the ground, but the silver burn is severely draining my energy. I ignore the black spots clouding my vision.

A loud shattering sound of glass crashing to the floor blasts from the house.

“Ouch.” Emma’s familiar voice comes through and the cry of pain pierces straight to my bones.

“Are you okay?” Lucas asks her as I move inside the house.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Her voice is strained and I know that she’s holding back.

“Can you reach it?” Kelsey asks.

“No,” Emma answers.

“Maybe I can,” Lucas says. Other things fall to the ground and he sneezes. “Stupid flowers.”

The first thing I see is blood on her skin and clothes. The second thing is the spill of water, wildflowers and thousands of shards on the floor.

The third thing is the fact that Emma, Lucas and Kelsey are sitting on the floor and are tied to each other.

Their hands are tied to their back and Lucas reaches for a broken shard. “Damnit.”

Emma is trying to look over her shoulder towards her brother. “What happened?”

“I cut myself,” Lucas complains and sneezes again.

“Hadrian…” Emma gasps when she spots me. Her eyes turn wide when she takes me in.

The scent of blood mixes with the floral scent of the flowers. The blood is mostly mine, but a smaller amount comes from Lucas and Emma. That last realization makes my blood run cold.

“What happened?” I growl and sink to the floor next to her. I place my hand over her head and check for injuries. There is blood on her neck and chest, but I don’t spot any wounds.

“Alex found out that you’re a werewolf and she lost it,” Kelsey calls and there’s no fear in her voice. Her back is turned to me and she tries to twist her head in an unnatural position.

“You don’t seem surprised.”

“Oh, I already knew,” Kelsey reveals. “I mean, I kind of suspected when you started to give all those broody ‘I will kill you if you touch her again’ looks.” She shuffles on the floor.

I try to break the rope with my hands, but the strain tears at the wound on my chest.

“But you also weren’t as quiet as you thought you were the other night.” Kelsey continues as if not tied by her friend and confronted with a werewolf.

I use one of the shards to cut through the ropes and free Emma, Lucas and Kelsey.

“I’m sorry, little mate.” I check on Emma again, but all the wounds she had seemed to have already healed. The blood on her throat is covering nothing but flawless skin.

“I shouldn’t have lost control.” I press a kiss on her forehead and swallow the need to hunt Alex down for hurting my mate.

“I know you didn’t mean to.”

Kelsey looks between Emma and Lucas with confusion. “If you're her brother, shouldn’t you heal too?”

Lucas has a cut in his palm and blood flows profusely. “Apparently not.”

I shake my head. “Every wolf is different, even the ones sharing the same blood.”

Emma places her hands on my chest. The burn dims until it's barely noticeable. I wrap my arms around her back and kiss her nose. “Thank you, little mate.”

Emma blushes at my gratitude and I kiss the flush on her cheek. Her hands are soothing as she shares her energy with me. I can feel the skin knitting together. Satisfaction rumbles in my chest as I look deep into her captivating blue eyes.

Lucas dramatically clears his throat. I tear my gaze from Emma and find Lucas coughing and tapping his chest. Kelsey has a little smirk that makes me straighten and turn Emma to hide the growing situation in my jeans.

“How did she even get to all three of you?”

Lucas falls down on the sofa and his face is slightly drained of blood. “She’s seriously scary, dude.”

Kelsey puckers her lips and fire burns in her eyes. “Don’t you dare spill any blood on the sofa.” She pulls at his arm and drags him towards the kitchen.

“Where is she now?” Emma asks.

“She ran away.” I sit down on one of the dining chairs and take off the remnants of my shirt. I take Emma with me and move her to sit on one thigh.

“This is a problem.” Emma places her hand back on my chest.

“I’ll find her before anyone else finds out.”

“And then what? Do you think that she’s just going to let this go?” Her lips press in a thin line and the stress is straining between her eyebrows. “This is Alex we’re talking about.”

“We’ll find a way.” I move her hair over her shoulder and smooth the ripple between her brows with my thumb.

“What about Carter?” Her fingers are tense on my chest as if she’s willing her ability outward. Her fingers are now covered in my blood.

I caress her hand to calm her down. “Don’t worry, he’s not saying anything.”

Carter seemed to have genuine fear in his eyes. I don’t think he dares to face any backlash.

Emma moves her hands over the cut on my chest until it completely closes. Her gaze is pensive and hopeful. “Do you think that if things would have been different, I would be your fated mate?” Her words are barely a whisper as if afraid of what the answer might be.

"You already are." I understand her insecurity, even if it seems ridiculous to me. I can see our connection in her eyes. I can see it in the different shades of blue and the hint of silver. She cannot recognize what this is. The fact is that she probably never will.

“No matter what, you're my mate.”