Free Web NovelChapter 30: Truth Exposed I
"Now, let’s not be hasty," Blaise said with deliberate calm as he held his arms out, purposely positioning his body so that he was in between Damon and I. He interrupted our eye-contact in a bid to diffuse the tension, but that caused his body to bump into Damon’s outstretched arm.
I winced as Damon growled loudly in warning. I learnt from my previous pack that werewolves were always territorial creatures; siblings weren’t exempt.
In fact, spats between werewolf siblings might be worse than spats between hated opponents. Just look at me and Aubrey. She could have given the best warriors in our pack a run for their money when she decided to beat the living daylights out of me in front of our father.
"Damon, put her down before you do something we both regret," Blaise said, his voice a soft murmur, as though he was soothing a wounded animal.
I fought to keep myself conscious as Damon’s fingers tightened minutely around my neck. Even without seeing his face, I knew Damon must have been furious at the implied insult to his rule. Blaise might be his brother, but I wasn’t sure that he wouldn’t be ripped apart for challenging Damon’s authority and questioning his decisions so blatantly.
"It’s none of your business." Damon glared haughtily at his younger brother. "Get out of the way, Blaise. I’ll deal with her."
"I beg to differ, Damon. Harper is my business too, since she is also my fated mate."
Another stunned silence met his pronouncement. The only noise was the weak whimpers that emerged from my throat as I found myself struggling to maintain consciousness.
"You’ll be depriving me of a precious fated mate if you snuff her out now. You wouldn’t do that to me, would you?" Blaise asked with a beseeching tone, sounding less like a capable beta and more like a younger sibling wheedling a favor from his older one.
I wanted to laugh, but I could barely muster out a frail gasp.
My vision was blurring, and my view was filled with Blaise’s dark head of hair as he stared down his brother for my sake.
If I had enough energy, I would tell him to save his effort. There was no way Damon would agree. I was ready to die― I should have died from the moment I met Damon after all. I only lived an extra week due to the Moon Goddess playing a practical joke on my life, saddling me with not one, but two equally dangerous mates.
"If you want her so badly, take her then. I’m done with her." Damon flung me to the ground without warning.
I wheezed as my body landed awkwardly on the wooden floors with a loud thud. The impact, along with the lack of oxygen, caused my head to rattle. Blood filled my mouth as I accidentally bit my own tongue. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
My body instinctively huddled on the floor in a fetal position and I instinctively began to take huge gulping gasps of air.
I was alive. I couldn’t believe it. Disappointment warred with disbelief.
"There there," Blaise murmured as he helped me up. My legs were unsteady, but at least my vision was clearing.
"Thanks, I think," I said to Blaise, my voice high and feeble. I didn’t realize Blaise thought so highly of the concept of fated mates, when his own older brother didn’t seem to give a shit. "Didn’t realize you would care about me."
There was a flash of surprise in his eyes, but it was gone in a blink.
"Don’t thank me," Blaise replied. "What I require aren’t simple words of gratitude."
That sounded more like it. The day someone as calculating as Blaise decided to help me out of the goodness of his heart without asking for anything in return was the day vampires took over Fangborne.
Goddamn it. I had a rough idea of what he wanted from me, but I wasn’t going to cower so easily.
"Simple words of gratitude are all I have at the moment," I retorted dryly.
The ringing in my head had subsided enough that I managed to stand steadily on my own two feet. Thankfully, I had not broken any bones in the fall, but there was a nasty bruise forming on my arm.
"If you want anything more, you’re out of luck. Sorry that your fated mate can’t even scrounge up pocket change for you," I added, wanting to shut down Blaise’s train of thought before he decided he wanted me to pay him back with my body.
A startled laugh escaped Blaise’s mouth. He seemed stunned by my reply. "Normally, people would ask me what I want in return. If they can’t give pocket change, there are other ways of bartering."
His eyes swept down my body, lingering on the curves of my breasts and thighs. I rolled my eyes at the predictability; not even being the beta of such a prestigious pack could stop men from behaving like themselves.
"A normal person wouldn’t have you and your brother as mates," I muttered bitterly, my eyes darting towards Damon who was staring at the both of us with the intensity of a summer sun at noon as we continued to talk in front of him like he didn’t exist.
Oops. Someone as prideful as him would never be able to swallow that down. It was time for me to make myself scarce.
"I better go now, before your brother changes his mind and kills me," I said.
"The bloodstains would ruin the white blouse," Blaise nodded in agreement. "Allow me. I have some proper clothes that you can change into after a nice hot bath." ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
That sounded nice. It was even a little bit hilarious that he had to emphasize that they were proper clothes and not some lacey lingerie. Either way, I was grateful for whatever it was that could get me out of Damon’s sight.
But just as he laid a gentle hand on my arm to lead me out, Damon spoke up, his voice gravelly as though he had screamed himself hoarse.
Strange. I could have sworn he was quiet the entire time.
When we turned back, I could see a muscle twitching in his neck. The veins on his hands had popped out against his skin from the way he clenched his two fists. Damon’s lips were pursed tightly whenever he didn’t speak, and when he did, his eyebrows were furrowed so much that the skin between them wrinkled badly.
He looked over to his third-in-command. "Elijah, bring Harper to her room. Blaise, you stay behind." Then, his eyes settled keenly on me even as he spoke to his brother. "We need to talk."
