Chapter 7
"What?" I whispered in astonishment.
"It doesn't matter." He grumbled.
"It does Callum." I felt my heart squeeze. "Who were they?"
He glared at me, "As if you don't know."
"I really don't." I asserted.
"Hunters." He announced.
"Well, that much I figured out." I teased.
"It isn't a joke Everette." He hissed. "My family fought with all the other hunters here twenty years ago. And your dogs murdered them."
"I-"
He cut me off, "So tell me, princess, if you didn't bring me here to kill me then why exactly am I here? Because no matter what, I know what I was brought up to do."
"And what is that?" I fumed as I already knew the answer.
He dropped the remainder of his sandwich on his plate before getting off the barstool and closing the distance between us.
"To kill every last one of you." He enunciated.
"You don't mean that." I tried as my eyes looked at his.
"I do princess, trust me when I say I would." His right hand came up and brushed a few of my stray hairs away from my face. "But... I can't. I don't know what you've done to me but I can't seem to want to hurt you. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't hurt your pack for what they did to my parents."
Without warning, he pulled away from me.
"You're not going to be able to hurt them," I said as I tried to contain my anger and act as if his subtle touch didn't affect me.
"Yeah? Why is that? Because you're going to let them kill me first?" He growled.
"No, because the same way you can't hurt me, I can't hurt you."
His eyes softened a fraction but his words were harsh, "Doesn't matter because I make no promises about hurting your pack and I'm pretty sure they'll fight back, especially your boyfriend."
I felt like punching something.
Maybe his face?
If it wasn't so beautiful, I might actually.
"I told you before that he isn't my boyfriend!" I snapped. "And do you really want to know why you're here?" I didn't wait for an answer as I whispered, "You're here because my ancestors thought it was a good idea to kidnap a human and make them fall in love. So there it is."
His eyes assessed me for a moment, "I don't believe you."
I threw my hands up in frustration, "Of course you don't!"
He rolled his eyes, "I don't believe you because that's a pretty fucked up thing to do. For anyone."
He was right. Our entire situation was messed up and we both weren't getting anywhere with our constant bickering. The only way I could see us both not wanting to kill each other's families is if we both told each other everything.
If I didn't, god knows what danger could come to the pack, my mate or the humans.
"I know." I shrugged. "But you're already here."
"So what? We should fall in love and wait until the time comes around for your dogs to take someone else?" He scoffed in disbelief.
"No." I groaned
"No? So you don't want to make me fall in love with you like some lovesick puppet?" He asked with confusion.
I ran my hand through my hair as I contemplated what to do.
"Tell me about the other hunters, where they are and what they know about us and I'll tell you everything. Everything on why you're here and how this all started." I decided as I took a step closer to him, reached out and grabbed his wrist but he hissed in pain.
I immediately dropped his hand as he clutched it closer to himself and I saw the harsh blisters.
His eyes were hard, "You kidnapped me, princess, so if anyone is giving answers first, it's you."
And I thought I was stubborn?
Should I fight him on it or just tell him?
I took a deep breathe before I relinquished.
It's time to tell him the truth and get his truth after.
I internally scoffed at myself. Of course, the first person I give into would be my mate.
Anyone else? I'd chew their heads off until they tell me everything.
"I'll get some ice for your hands and then I'll tell you everything," I said to him.
He looked up at me with surprise etching his features, "You don't mean that."
I rolled my eyes, "Do you ever believe anything? We've literally been back and forth all day and I don't know about you but I rather solve the problem as quickly as possible instead of waiting around to see who can break first."
I actually procrastinated a lot but alphas shouldn't look lazy. It ruined our rep.
"Will you let me leave after?" He asked with piercing eyes.
I chuckled, "Obviously not."
"Why? I'm not falling in love anytime soon and you don't seem very fond of me either."
"Stockholm syndrome is a thing," I smiled evilly, "Maybe you'll fall in love me and my attic." I saw his horrified expression as I turned to grab a kitchen towel and walked to the refrigerator to put some ice blocks.
I sat next to him at the kitchen counter and took his hands in my own before pressing the ice to his wounds. He tensed up from the initial contact but didn't make a sound.
"I can do it." He said as he was about to remove his hands from my own.
I stopped him, "No, it's my fault you're hurt so I'll take care of it."
"If my people were to see me now." He chuckled without humor, "They'd think you drugged me or something."
"You're close with them aren't you?" I asked as I quickly looked at him to see brief contemplation on his face as if he was debating on whether or not to tell me.
Whatever internal battle he had, he decided to open up a bit.
"They're all I have." He said it with hidden anguish under his hard exterior. It pulled at my heartstrings.
"And how exactly did they get away from Fairbairn?" I slyly asked.
"You're father didn't do a good enough job in wiping us out." Was all he said as his tone had an edge to it and I could tell he was finished talking about the hunters.
"Let me tell you about how this all started." I began.
He eyed my sandwich, "Aren't you going to eat?"
"After," I gave him a small smile but honestly my stomach was in knots. "Centuries ago-"
"I know, the humans infiltrated the land." He said knowingly.
"You know the story?" I asked confused.
He shook his head, "No. I was only told bits and pieces of the beast living far in the woods and the humans settling in Fairbairn. Not much else."
"Well my many many great grandfather, Knox, was the Alpha at the time. The leader of the entire pack. He didn't have a mate but he met one." I looked up at him as I said, "She was human. Her name was Ida and she was the daughter of the lead hunter in Fairbairn."
"Mates? Like us?" He asked with raised eyebrows.
"Yes. He knew that the hunters' mission was to kill all werewolves and he didn't like the idea of there being hunters living so close to us. So he decided to create a war and chase the humans away."
"By killing them of course." He observed bitterly.
"Look it was back then and it's not like your people didn't want to kill my own." I defended my ancestors.
"But they were innocent."
"They were on our land."
His jaw clenched and I could feel the tension in his hands which I was still holding with the ice.
Ice that was practically melted already because of Callum's warm temperature. I removed the soaked towel from his wrist and rest it on the counter as I felt the lost connection from holding his hand.
"Fine, go on."
"When Knox went to Fairbairn to declare war, he saw Ida and from her scent, he knew she was his mate. At the time, it was rare for a werewolf to have a human mate but he knew that she was his. My dad always tells me that it was the Moon Goddess setting everything in place to prevent a war."
"Moon Goddess?" Callum questioned wearily.
"You have your God and we have our Goddess," I explained and he chuckled.
"I'm an atheist Everette."
"You'll come to believe in her, trust me," I smirked because I knew she was watching over us. My parents and I are alive today because of her, no doubt about it. "Anyway back to the story, Ida basically hated Knox at first but she felt an attraction and attachment for him because they were mates, it's natural for her to respond to her soulmate." My eyes flickered to his briefly but he seemed too lost in thought to notice.
"They secretly met up in Fairbairn for a while until her father found out their secret relationship. With her father being the lead hunter, he knew Knox was a werewolf. Ida and Knox couldn't be apart anymore, not even physically, so they ran off to this side of the forest where most of the pack was. Knox decided to let the human stay in Fairbairn since he had his mate and a place for his pack far enough away.
"For the next year they lived here with the pack and Ida became pregnant and had a baby boy. When the child was a month, Ida's father found the pack and lead his hunters here... to kill everyone."
Callum's eyes widen but he remained silent as he let me continue.
"Knox left Ida and their child safe behind while the pack and he went off to fight. But through the connection Ida and Knox have from being mates, they could feel each other's pain-"
"Feel each other's pain? You mean physically?"
"Physically and emotionally, but that only happens when mates are marked." I tried to brush over that topic.
But of course, he had to ask,
"What do you mean by mark?"
My eyes shifted around nervously and if I could dig a hole and jump in it right now... I'd do it.
"Uhhh... you know, when, we... um when we have sex and stuff," I voiced as I cringed at my own awkwardness.
He let out a series of nervous coughs and I could tell he was more weirded out than I was. I mean the man looked like he was about to have a heart attack...
Gee, his loss. I was a sexy beast. Literally. Okay...I'll stop now.
There was a moment of awkward silence so I cleared my throat and went on.
"Yeah so... Ida could feel Knox's pain and couldn't leave him out there alone so she left their baby with the Beta's wife. The beta is the second in command by the way. So she left to go find Knox and help protect the pack as the Luna which is the mother of the pack and the Alpha's mate. When she arrived at the battlefield, there were dead bodies everywhere. Both humans and werewolves. The ground went from lush green grass to a blood-red horror scene.
"Ida saw Knox fighting and ran to him. Knox saw her, but her father didn't and fired a shot. Knox pushed his wolf before her and took the shot. Ida watched as her mate collapsed before her with a bullet lodged in his chest Right near his heart. He shifted back into human form before her, and Ida felt his pain coursed through her as well as the paralyzing feeling of losing her mate. Then the Moon Goddess did something spectacular," I shot him a grin at his disbelieving look, "she blessed Ida with a gift that no one knew about. She manipulated the elements.
"The grass on the ground wrapped around Knox's torso and chest where he was shot as the wind picked up as if a storm was blowing in. Ida placed her hands on Knox's chest and by some miracle, healed her mate and took away his pain. But the pain was too unbearable for her to handle so she was now the one laying on the blood-stained grass with the life being sucked out of her as Knox came back to life.
"As she laid there dying, she proclaimed something. Something that would forever be set in stone. Ida never wanted something like that to happen again, which it did happen again last twenty years but that's beside the point. She knew that either Knox would kill all the humans to avenge her or that her father would eradicate Knox's pack. So she declared that the next Luna of the Blood Moon pack was to be human. That way both sides would have to put aside their anger and misjudgment and learn to cooperate for the sake of the human and werewolf couple. The last thing she wanted was for both groups of people, who she loved dearly, to destroy each other.
"She proposed that twenty years from now, under a lunar eclipse, the humans will allow her son into Fairbairn to find his mate. Ida also wanted us to live separately since she knew the humans and werewolves couldn't coexist peacefully. Knox didn't know what to do so he agreed to her dying wish. He knew that was the last moment he had with her. Ida's last words were 'Take care of our son and remind him that I love him'. And she died in Knox's arms. But her father was enraged and blamed Knox when in reality it was his fault because he brought the war and he tried to kill Knox.
"Thinking that Knox had killed Ida, he shot Knox again but this time it was straight in the heart. Both mates died next to each other all because of a man who couldn't let werewolves exist peacefully. The pack destroyed the hunters after. Piece by piece until none was left." I concluded as I saw his uneasy expression.
"What happened after?"
"The ritual to the beast was invented. The Beta went to Fairbairn and recounted what happened to a group of elders who decided to form the treaty that no human will go into the forest and the werewolves wouldn't cross into human territory."
"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." He muttered.
I rolled my eyes at him, "Well twenty years later, Ida and Knox's son decided to fulfill his mother's dying wish and went out into Fairbairn, on the night of the total lunar eclipse. And he found her, he found his mate. Twenty years after that, his son found his mate in Fairbairn as well and then it all clicked. The Moon Goddess must have fulfilled Ida's wish. So then was born the ritual to the beast. The elders named it that and they were the ones to insist all the girls dress in white."
Callum looked at me as if I grew two heads before he chuckled, "So you expect me to believe that this Goddess made all this happen because of your, how many ever, great grandmother wanted peace?"
I nodded, "Yup, that's about it."
"If the ritual has always been girls since the pack needs a Luna, then why am I here?"
"I don't know okay." I sighed in frustration, "I don't know why the Moon Goddess decided to give me a vagina." Cue awkward cough from the male before me. "All I know is that you're my mate and the Luna of the pack."
"Didn't you say the Luna was the motherly figure of the pack?"
"I mean Máni, you'll be the Máni of the pack." I corrected.
"The what?" He asked in confusion.
"Well the Luna is the Goddess of the moon in ancient roman religion and the male equivalent to her is Máni who is the male personification of the moon in Norse mythology. So you'll be the father figure of the pack." I shrugged in explanation.
"So you brought me here to play house?" He seemed pissed.
"No, it's the Moon Goddess's plan. You're my mate." I said with a 'duh' tone.
"Bullshit." He spat as he rose from his seat.
"Wow there buddy, calm your horses."
"That story and this," he motioned between us, "is all some messed up bullshit. Look, Everette," he said my name with disdain, "I don't know what kind of sex ring you all run here but you're going to regret choosing me when I have the entire military sniffing you out."
I laughed, "I mean you can try but you're not exactly in the position to contact anyone. And it's not a sex ring you dingus," I rose to my feet and stood before him. "Also, while you may be annoying, you're my soulmate, so I wouldn't regret it... much."
I see darkness plague his green eyes, "You'll regret it when the hunters come and destroy your pack."
I grabbed him by his shirt collar as my anger was rising, "Listen here human, if you ever threaten my family or my pack again, I'll-"
"You'll what?" He asked smirk. "You can't hurt me remember."
"I can't hurt you but you don't want to know what I'll do. So sit your ass down and tell me where the other hunters are because I know they aren't in Fairbairn." I pulled him over to his stool and pushed him down.
"And you think because you told me about the ritual that I'll just tell you everything? I thought you were smarter than that." His smirk was still ever-present.
"Fine, don't tell me." I shrugged. "I'll send my pack to sniff them out and when we do find them. Well, you're not going to like what I do to them."
His body tensed, his breathing hitched, his heart speed up and I knew I struck a nerve.
Right where I was aiming.
The way he always mentioned the other hunters, his family, was the one thing that I was sure of that told me he cared about them above everything else.
I could see it in his eyes now, the fear and palpable anger.
He would rather get himself killed than let my pack at his family.
But my threats were empty. Of course, I'll have to find them for the safety of my pack but I wouldn't hurt them unless they hurt us. Unlike Callum who wanted to kill us because of what Jake Cain caused all these years ago.
"You said you wouldn't hurt me." His snarled with his eyes fixed on the floor.
"I never said anything about your family."
His eyes snapped up to my own, "For speaking so highly about being soul mates, you really are quick to hurt the only family I have left after you already took mine."
"Don't act innocent, you're dead set on hurting my family when it was your people who caused the war twenty years ago. They broke the treaty, not the other way around."
"That's not what I was taught."
"Obviously the hunters wouldn't make themselves look like the bad guys." I pointed out.
"So your pack didn't steal over a hundred women from their homes? Your pack didn't hurt an innocent woman before getting rid of her twenty years ago? And as if that wasn't enough, you killed all the humans who came to take the women back. You're mother and grandmother I'm assuming? Are they even alive still?"
My fingers flexed as I tried to control the rage that made me want to slap him into next Sunday.
"We've never hurt any innocent woman so I don't know what you're on about. As for my mother and grandmother, they're perfectly alive and happy being here with their mates."
"But you kidnapped them anyway. Just like you took me."
"You weren't exactly putting up a fight." I countered.
His eyes held malice, "You think I came willingly because I wanted to go with you? I'm sorry to tell you this princess but the only reason I went along with you dogs was for the purpose of finding you and singling you out to bury a silver bullet in any wolf I cross paths with."
I let out a low growl and my feral side wanted to spring free in wolf form but I had to control it before I did something I regret.
"Yet you're the one who couldn't shoot your shot." I retorted. "If you wanted me gone then I would've already been dead."
He remained silent as I watched him carefully.
"You don't actually hate me, Callum, you're just as affected by me as I am with you." I smirked as his eyes narrowed, "You're just angry because of what you think you know happened."
"Trust me, princess, I probably know more than what your parents told you."
I grabbed his skinny black tie and pulled his head closer to my own. "Look here buddy, you're hurt because your family died fighting someone else's war. But just because you're hurt, doesn't mean we're the bad guys."
"My father's dead body begs to differ." He said in a calm tone but the fire in his eyes burned. "And I'll make sure your father pays."
"Yeah? Then go get your gun human, let's see what you got." His jaw clenched because we all know I threw his gun down that stream.
He remained deadly silent so I released his tie, "Now how about I take you on a history trip on what actually happened here last twenty years."
"I'm not going anywhere with you." He scoffed.
"It wasn't really an offer human." I gripped his arm and hauled him to his feet.
"At least let me finish eating." He said to waste time.
"No time," I said pulling him to the door but he stopped.
"Let me take off my jacket at least? I've been sweating buckets in this thing." I suppose he was right. I didn't consider that part.
"Go, you can leave it in my room," I said without thinking.
"Your room?" He asked with wide eyes.
I blanched and started to fumble, "Uhm... no, no. I meant in the guest room. Down the hall, first door on the right."
He gave me an odd look before walking away.
I covered my eyes and try to brush away the embarrassment.
I have no game. None.
I was about to make my mate run for the hills before he's even been here for a full day. Well, technically he has already tried to run.
Walking back to the kitchen, I grabbed my sandwich, wrapped in beeswax wrap before walking back to the living room.
Just I placed my sandwich to my mouth, I smelled him approaching and I swear I nearly fainted right then and there.
No amount of alpha blood could stop me from drooling over the sight of him.
Jacket and tie off. Shirt untucked with the top two buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up to show off his muscular arms. Not to mention I could see dark swirls of a tattoo through his shirt.
Fuck.
"You going to chew, princess." He smirked.
I quickly took a large bite and glared at him. "Shut up," I said with a mouth full of food.
I heard him snicker as I grabbed his arm and pulled him along. Good to see he could still joke around despite our prior argument and threats to each other's families.
"Are you going to run or do I need to tie you again?" I asked as we headed for the staircase.
He gave me a stink eye, "Depends, where are you taking me?"
"To the source of all the information on what happened twenty years ago and the ones who fought against the hunters." I declared.
"Who?"
"My parents," I said with a heavy breath.
A/N
Chapter Update: Saturday
Daily updates are over :( I'll now be posting on Wednesdays and Saturdays!
Sorry I'm late guys. I just don't know how I'm feeling about this chapter :/ It's odd.
No cliffhanger now huh ;) Also brief-ish recap on Knox and Ida. I had to tell it again since this story is a standalone :D
Also I see them theories... some correct, some wrong... I like it :D And Callum seems to be really liked so I love that!
I know I was going to shout out my commenters and voters... but I realized that I may forget someone and no one deserves to be felt left out ðbut just know that I love you all to the moon and back! â¤â¤â¤â¤ And I'm sorry I didn't pull through on my promise :(
Song: SYML - War (thank you anndiananna for the awesome song recommendation! â¤)
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-Shania. ð¾