Free Web NovelChapter 96: Frozen & Ashen Pale
"Bold of you to assume that I’ll let your mouth anywhere near me after you did such a poor job the first time around," Damon said dryly. "There are more ways than one your mouth could be used. I might not care for dipping my dick into soiled trash but the same couldn’t be said for the unmated wolves of the pack."
Lydia’s face blanched at the thought of being used like a public urinal, but she didn’t say anything. All she could do was send death glares at Damon; if looks could kill, he would already be six feet under like she nearly was.
"These men were chosen for me by the Moon Goddess," I retorted calmly, even as my fingers dug crescents into the soft flesh of my palms. Damon and Blaise weren’t shining examples of morality, but they were my mates. "You know there is no denying the mate bond."
"Then maybe that says more about you," Lydia said viciously. "What self-respecting werewolf would have two mates, let alone mates from a pack that commits slaughter regularly? A mate bond built on the deaths of hundreds. Harper Gray, can you sleep peacefully at night knowing this?"
"Shut the fuck up." Blaise had lost the last of his humor, pulling Lydia by her hair. Gold strands fell to the floor in clumps; the silver must be damaging Lydia’s body faster than I thought if her hair was falling out so quickly in such high quantities.
It was a pity. Lydia always had beautiful hair.
Lydia, however, took no heed to Blaise’s warning. She continued to smile bitterly, speaking as though he and Damon weren’t present.
"You were already happily bonding with them even after believing they killed me. Harper Gray, how could you?" she cried out. "You were my friend! Yet, you’ve been fraternizing with the enemy. What did they drug you with? Since when would the mate bond affect a person’s rationality and morality as well?"
"Then you obviously did not pay attention in school," Damon retorted. "Bond before blood. It has always been this way and it always will. Besides," Damon’s lips turned up in a mocking grin, "Since when would a true friend attempt to seduce their friend’s fated mate? And look at you! You tried to get your hands on both of Harper’s mates. Greedy, aren’t you?"
"Stop trying to sow discord between us," Lydia hissed.
"You’re doing plenty of that yourself," Blaise retorted quickly, scoffing. He then turned to Damon. "We don’t have time to waste here with her. Either she speaks about the vampires or we will need to get rid of her."
"Fine by me," Damon said with a shrug. He grabbed Lydia by her hair, tugging at it so that she faced up. "Speak. While we’re still feeling merciful."
"This is what you call merciful?" Lydia said with a laugh. She started to quake, trembling as her laughter echoed through the entire campsite. "Tying me up with silver chains? Keeping me buried to the ground? Threatening to soil my body with unwanted perversions? This is your version of mercy?"
"You’re right," Blaise calmly replied.
I turned to look at him, my blood chilling in my veins when I caught the expression across his face. He was eerily calm, his face devoid of expression as he stared down at Lydia from where he stood. I couldn’t read any expression, and with our bond severed by Damon previously, I couldn’t feel anything from him. Blaise looked just as peaceful as though he was reading the morning paper.
He continued, "Death would be more merciful than this."
Laughter and mockery melted away from Lydia’s face, confusion taking its place. Her eyebrows furrowed together, her eyes quizzical as she stared blankly at Blaise. Then, her face paled for a fraction of a second when she caught sight of Blaise’s fingers.
I followed after her line of sight, but I was a second too late. The moment I noticed what it was that had caused Lydia’s face to turn ashen, Blaise had already moved forward.
His movements were swift, faster than I could even properly register. One moment he was standing a short distance away from Lydia, another she was right by her side. By the time I realized what was happening, Blaise had ripped Lydia’s head right off her body, holding her head by her hair as blood sprayed out from her severed neck.
A scream ripped from my throat as I dropped to the ground, scrambling away. I stared at the stub of a neck that was left of Lydia, then at the head of hers, whose expression was still frozen with wide eyes and parted lips.
"Look what you’ve done," Damon said with a tut. "I just changed!"
"I did what you obviously wanted to do," Blaise said with a roll of his eyes. He flung Lydia’s head over his shoulder as though he was littering some candy wrapper on the street.
"What happened to no blood in the campsite in case the vampires tracked us down?" Damon retorted.
"Didn’t you hear her?" Blaise replied. "The vampires are already on their way. Why does it matter? She was obviously trying to stall for time until they arrived."
Then, Blaise stilled. He slowly turned around to face me as if he had just remembered I was still present, witnessing everything that he had just done. His face blanched immediately, turning as pale as Lydia’s before she was so unceremoniously beheaded before my very eyes.
"Haper, let me explain―"
"You just killed her," I muttered, still staring at Lydia’s headless dead body.
"She was dead either way," Damon responded before Blaise could, rolling his eyes. "Do you think the vampires would really let her off after they’ve sapped her dry of any use?"
"You didn’t have to kill her!" I yelled. "Let her fend for herself against them, then! If she couldn’t survive, that would’ve been enough punishment for her!"
"And if she did?" Damon argued. "If she survived, I would be setting free a source of danger for Fangborne. In case you’ve forgotten, Harper, I am the alpha of this pack. That means that I have a responsibility to my people. I’ve mentioned this before― any potential threat will be eradicated before they take root and fester."
I understood. I really did. But I couldn’t help the tears that had gathered in my eyes as I looked between Damon and Blaise, and then at Lydia’s body and detached head. She was still alive just mere seconds ago― I had just found her again. And as quickly and abruptly we were reunited, we were once more ripped apart. This time, there was no doubt.
Damon had indeed fulfilled his promise to her― if she ever let herself be known to me, she would be six feet under, just like how she should’ve died when Stormclaw was attacked. However, she wasn’t an innocent civilian this time. Damon did what he had to.
So why was it that I was having such a hard time making peace with it despite knowing what she did? It wasn’t just that she worked with the vampires; those words that Lydia had last uttered to me weren’t words a friend would say. fгeewebnovёl.com
"I’m sorry, Harper," Blaise said. "But it must be done."
Before I could say anything, a siren blared through the camp. Blaise and Damon shared a look before their eyebrows furrowed. Their gazes seemed distant and I knew that they must be tapped into the packlink right now.
"What’s going on?" I asked, my voice still shaky.
Damon scoffed, coldly laughing. "At least she wasn’t lying about one thing," he said.
Blaise pursed his lip, his gaze ominous.
"They’re coming."
