Chapter 30: The Huntress

“What do you mean?” Garin asked, his head reeling. He walked towards Willow and sat next to her, wrapping his arms around her. He felt her sigh against his chest, her face tucked into his shoulder. She pulled away and looked up at him.
“My grandmother tried to warn me away from you. Someone had taken photos of us and sent them to her,” she began. Garin nodded.
“It was my brothers. They gave my father the same photos. It was right before the festival,” he replied. She bit her lip, feeling the immense pressure that was descending upon them.
“So, they all know then.” She said flatly.
“I don’t think they know that we are still seeing each other. At least my family doesn’t. If they knew, they would be beating down my door. I haven’t heard from them since I left. Aside from Audrey but she hasn’t said anything either,” he replied and rubbed his hands gently on her back.
“I am convinced my grandmother knows. She keeps staring at me when she thinks that I don’t notice.”
“Has she said anything?” he asked. She shook her head.
“Would she if she knew?”
“I would think so. This is…breaking one of the biggest laws of my clan. We aren’t even supposed to be dating humans but a hunter…that is breaking a vow.” Garin placed a finger beneath her chin and kissed her sweetly.
“I won’t let anyone hurt you,” he said, his eyes imploring hers. She wanted to shake the naivete out of him.
“That’s sweet but I think I should be the one saying that to you,” she replied, snarkier than she intended. He rolled his eyes good-naturedly.
“Yeah, yeah. Do you want to talk about your parents? You started to say something about their…deaths,” he asked. She shook her head again.
“No. Not anymore. Let’s just forget it. As long as they don’t know or suspect, we should be fine,” she said and pushed away the alarm signaling deep within her.
“Deal,” he kissed her nose and went to answer the knock at the door. She felt her hackles raise until she smelled the curry. Deflated, she leaned against the counter. She watched Garin pay the delivery driver, as courteous and gregarious as ever. He meant so much to her, it was terrifying. She knew she had signed her own death warrant the second they made love. He didn’t seem to understand that his name was now forever etched next to hers, intertwined in doom.
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Audrey watched the delivery driver deliver the food. She could smell the samosas from here, and her stomach grumbled angrily. She hadn’t eaten before she left and now, she was starving. Garin’s face was lit up as he paid the driver. She couldn’t see Willow, but she knew she was here. Her car was parked neatly beside his.
She was happy for her brother but scared. She could only cover for them for so long. How she longed to run up to the door and beg them to leave. Go as far away as they could. How they thought that the families didn’t suspect anything was beyond her.
She had kept her family complacent saying that the she-wolf was spending her weekends moping around at a family cabin, but they would only believe that for so long. Silas was watching her house. Soon he would notice that she left every weekend, like clockwork. No one was that broken-hearted.
The urge to knock on her brother’s door was overwhelming but she wouldn’t risk it. She didn’t want her family to smell Willow on her. It was bad enough she already had to clean her car after every time she visited Cara. As if on cue, her screen lit up. She was late. She still had another hour to go before reaching her destination.
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“Do you find it strange that Audrey has suddenly taken so vehemently to watching Garin?” Ava asked her husband as they sat drinking before the large fireplace. He didn’t respond from behind his paper.
“Weyland!” she raised her voice, trying to get his attention. His cold eyes peered over the top of the paper.
“Yes?” he asked impatiently.
“Audrey. Her behavior is strange. She has always weaseled her way out of any type of work and now suddenly she is volunteering to watch Garin every weekend. It is out of character,” she said, studying her husband for his reactions. She wanted to know if her suspicions were unfounded.
“Maybe she met someone up at that college of his. Speaking of which, when are the others coming?” he replied tartly.
“Oh, they should be joining us this week. Speaking of which, I’ll need to have Maria get the guestrooms ready. Their parents are coming as well.” She began adding to her ever-increasing to-do list. “If the terms are agreeable, we should be able to have them married before the holidays.”
“Silas will stay here after we leave?” he asked, deferring to his wife for the intricate designs of the societal contracts. She nodded.
“He is best suited for watching them, especially since there will most likely be some issues once we get rid of the woman.” She drank deeply from her martini.
“And the girl,” her husband replied, going back to his paper. She arched a finely tweezed eyebrow towards him.
“Is that wise?” she drawled, hiding the excitement that spiked in her blood.
“Of course, she is a menace and the next alpha. We need to end that bloodline,” he replied coldly. She knew her husband had his reasons for singling out this particular family tree but she…she just wanted to kill for the thrill of it. It had been ages since she had been on a hunt.
Placing her glass down she walked towards the large wolf head above the fireplace and ran her fingers down its ruddy fur. This had been the most beautiful wolf she had ever seen and that’s why she kept this particular head. It was her greatest trophy. And soon the daughter’s head would be mounted beside it.