Free Web NovelChapter 176: A Perfect Revenge I
"I find that hard to believe," Milo said genially, but his eyes were significantly frostier when he met Darach’s own. "Wouldn’t Thunderstrike be the first option for aid? There’s no reason for this issue to even reach Hornstead’s borders. In fact, Fangborne ought to have its own supply lines, to begin with. What has Damon Valentine done now?"
"Vampires and hunters have infiltrated the human town we get our supplies from," I confessed. "We were nearly killed when we paid the town a visit. We can’t trust any human towns now, so we decided to look further for help. We approached Thunderstrike first, but..."
"Thunderstrike’s price is too high to pay," Blaise explained, smoothly continuing from where I left off.
"Alpha Thorton wants his daughter to marry my brother, Damon Valentine, in exchange for supplies. Despite the pack’s issues, my brother is unwilling because he only wants to marry his fated mate. Thunderstrike has threatened us with a food blockage if we do not proceed with this marriage. You are our only choice."
Milo’s hands clenched into fists. Thankfully, he wasn’t holding any apples because if he had, his hands would have been drenched in apple pulp from how hard his hands were clenching.
"Is he displeased with Dahlia in any way?" Milo demanded. "Damon Valentine has some nerve rejecting my mate after she had rejected me for him. Has he even found his mate in order to act so high and mighty? If he’s an alpha, then he should do his duty to the pack."
"What?" I blinked in confusion.
This was not how I expected Milo to react. I expected him to feel vindicated. Smug. A certain sense of glee at Dahlia getting the fated comeuppance she deserved after she humiliated him in front of everyone. Yet Milo was almost protective of her?
Oh dear. Perhaps we got this wrong. I shot Darach with a panicked glance from the corner of my eye. He looked similarly surprised at this turn of events.
"Dahlia is a perfectly fine young woman who would make an exemplary Luna for any pack," Milo continued. "Hornstead might be too peaceful, too rural a pack for her, but she would be a good fit for a more martial pack like Fangborne."
"Damon Valentine should do at least this much for his people, after all the time he spent ordering them to invade other packs. He’s fine with them committing murder on his behalf, but he wouldn’t marry an attractive, skilled woman for them?"
Milo ticked off his fingers one by one. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
"Eventooth, Sablemaw, Shadowpelt, Stormclaw, Ironclaw. Damon Valentine has decimated at least five packs that I know of," Milo said evenly, looking at Darach. "Maybe your sister will join in his next crusade. It might offer her more excitement than anything Hornstead has to offer."
My mouth fell open as I watched Milo count out the packs that Damon had destroyed, acerbically insulting Damon’s character.
Suddenly, I realized that Damon’s reputation among the wider werewolf community was rock bottom. He was feared, but most of them saw him as nothing more than a warmongering alpha obsessed with invading other packs. They had no idea that these packs were secretly colluding with vampires to harm fellow wolves!
Before I could open my mouth to argue or clear Damon’s name, Blaise interrupted me, wrapping a hand around my thigh to calm me down.
"Unfortunately, unlike Dahlia, my brother is very insistent on honoring the bond given to him by the Moon Goddess," Blaise said pointedly, purposely highlighting the difference between the both of them. "He will only make his fated mate Fangborne’s Luna. Even if Dahlia marries him, she will not be treated with any respect or affection. Darach is here because he cannot bear to see such a fate befall his sister."
"You’re not making a good case for yourself," Milo said, crossing his arms. "I don’t care about Dahlia’s happiness or misery. In fact, her marrying Damon would be better, since it gets her even further away from me. I wish her all the happiness she deserves."
"She should be miserable!" a new voice chimed in. It belonged to a woman.
Everyone whirled around to see two new figures at the doorway. Darach immediately sprung to attention, and we followed his lead. Since they entered the house, they must be Milo’s parents, Hornstead’s current Alpha and Luna.
Strange, how none of us managed to detect their presence. Blaise seemed surprised at his own lapse in judgment. freewebnøvel.coɱ
"Mom, Dad, you’re back already? You should have said," Milo said with a frown.
"If we did, you would have ended this illuminating conversation with us none the wiser," Milo’s mother said.
Milo had inherited his soft blond locks from her, but she had her hair tied in a long fishtail braid at the back, decorated with a red ribbon. She wore an apron over a simple shirt and jeans. To the untrained eye, she simply looked like a matronly farmhand, but there was no denying the strength in her back and thighs.
If she punched me, I would certainly fly.
Meanwhile, Milo’s father had clearly given him his green eyes. His hair and beard were the same shade of burnished red of fallen autumn leaves. He was dressed similarly to his wife, and in his arms was a big basket of potatoes that he set on the table.
"Burke, Cassidy, what took you so long?" Elder Olive complained.
Burke, Milo’s father, merely sighed. "Dad, you wouldn’t need to wait if you had simply let us know in advance that you were planning to visit. Or if you simply did not move out of our pack compound," Burke stressed, especially emphasizing the last part.
His father merely pretended to dig his ears.
"You can always move back here," Cassidy, Milo’s mother, added. "There is always a home for you, and we miss you! Why do you insist on staying in that settlement when there’s nothing there?"
"Well, I like it there, so I’m not moving," Elder Olive declared stubbornly. "I have old friends to play card games with, and I want a change of scenery. Besides, it led to serendipitous meetings! Look at the guests I brought home! They’re offering the perfect revenge for Milo! This is what we’ve been praying for all this while!"
