Chapter 80
Faith’s Pov
+25 Points
The silence of the room was heavy, broken only by the sound of my own shallow breathing. I was still hidden away, tucked into the far corner of the upstairs bedroom, leaning against the window frame like the glass was the only thing holding me upright.
Outside, the world looked normal. Marco was running around the backyard of the
packhouse, chasing a ball with a couple of the younger pups. His laughter, faint but clear, was the only thing keeping the terror from consuming me completely.
I watched him, every muscle in my body tense. Let them talk about me. Let them disrespect me, look down on me, or whisper about what a terrible woman I was or am. I could handle being the target. I was used to it. But the second someone came for my son, the second a real threat got close to him, I would turn into something horrifying.
I would never let history repeat itself.
My eyes followed Marco as he stumbled, grabbed the ball, and then looked toward the window, waving. I offered a small, weak smile and waved back.
he was happy and that’s the most important thing to me.
The moment my hand dropped, my phone broke the quiet. I don’t know why the call scared
me before I could even check the caller ID.
The number was private but I didn’t need the caller ID to know who it was. The dread hit me instantly, cold and sharp, settling deep in my belly.
My first thought was to let it ring until it died. I was terrified. Truly terrified. The last time I saw and heard from this monster, things ended very badly. But he had already found me, tracked me here. Ignoring him felt like delaying a catastrophe.
Mate. Call our Mate. Tell him now, my wolf insisted.
No, I snapped back mentally. He won’t believe us. He won’t understand and will reject us. Shut up.
My wolf whined, a sound of absolute despair, but I forced her down. I couldn’t risk telling Astor and watching him push me away again. Not when this man was already trying to come at his pack.
My hand trembled as I finally picked up the phone. I didn’t speak, just held the device to my
ear.
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A slow, sickeningly smooth voice drifted through.
“Faith. I honestly didn’t think you’d answer,” he chuckled, the sound grating. “But you’re learning, aren’t you? What happens when people try to be clever with me.”
+25 Points
My breath hitched. I needed to know. I was scared and a part of me already knew it was him but I wanted to hear it from him.
“Did you kill them?” I asked, my voice barely a cracked whisper. “Did you hurt those people just to send me a message?”
He paused, a calculated silence that was worse than any shout. “I don’t know what you are talking about, darling. I have been very busy, catching up on old times.”
“I know you,” I insisted, finding a sudden surge of angry energy. “I know you that well. You would do something monstrous like that. You would hurt innocent people to teach me a
lesson.”
“If you understand me that well,” he purred, the sound twisting my stomach, “then why are you playing hard to get? You know I will win, Faith. And you know that a lot of people are going to get hurt because of this stubborn little act.”
The words were like stones dropped into cold water, sinking immediately and leaving ripples of terror. He was threatening the pack. He was threatening Astor.
“I want nothing to do with you,” I hissed, pushing the fear aside for just a moment. “Stay away from me. Stay away from my son.”
“Ah, the mother bear comes out,” he mocked. “How sweet. But Faith, the more you act stubborn, the more people will die. You have a choice. Come to me, and the games stops. Stay there, and I will start making creative removals.”
My hand was shaking so badly the phone almost slipped. Creative removals. He meant slaughter. He meant tearing Astor’s world apart, just to get to me. I felt the world tilt. The image of Marco’s smiling face in the yard flashed behind my eyes. I couldn’t breathe.
I couldn’t stand to hear another word. I pressed the end call button with desperate force, cutting the poison off instantly.
I dropped the phone on the thick carpet and stumbled back, collapsing onto the edge of the bed. My head fell into my hands.
What have I done? I brought him here. I brought all my terrifying, bloody problems right to Astor’s doorstep. I endangered every single person in this pack.
‘He won’t stop. He already followed you, Faith. You have to tell Astor. He has to know the truth!‘
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my wolf screamed, thrashing internally.
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‘No‘ I argued back instantly, tears stinging my eyes. I will tell him the truth but now is not the right time.
He held me yesterday like nothing ever happened and that just means that he’s starting to forgive me and I can’t risk it.
My heart was a heavy, dead weight in my chest. I didn’t know what to do next. I was stuck, paralyzed by fear and the certainty that no matter what I did, someone would suffer.
Just then, a wave of noise from the main floor of the packhouse, pulling me violently out of my panic.
It wasn’t just noise, it was shouting. A high–pitched, hysterical torrent of words that I recognized immediately. Alice.
“She needs to go! Why is she still here? She ruined everything! Everything was fine before she showed up!”
My name, shouted with venom, snapped the delicate thread of my fear. The adrenaline that had been pure terror just seconds ago now turned into white–hot fury.
I stood up, my mind suddenly clear. Alice has been testing my patience since I arrived. She could insult me, but she shouldn’t dare scream my name and spew lies when my son was playing just outside the house.
I walked out of the room, my muscles stiff, and descended down the staircase. The commotion was coming from the living room, near the main fireplace.
When I stepped in the conversation stopped abruptly.
Alice was standing in the middle of a small circle of pack members, elders, a few warriors, and some mothers and girls her face red and blotchy.
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She thinks because she’s the mate, she can just ruin my life and walk around like nothing happened? She should be gone!”
All eyes turned to me. The pack members looked unsure, mostly intimidated by Alice’s drama.
I moved forward, slow and deliberate, until I was right in front of her. She was tall, but I felt like I towered over her in that moment.
The mother standing here now didn’t have time for nonsense.
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The first thing I did was deliver a hard, stinging slap across Alice’s cheek.
+25 Points
The crack echoed through the sudden, absolute silence of the living room. Every single person gasped, eyes wide with shock. Alice just stood there, her hand glued to her face, her furious expression replaced by stunned disbelief.
“You will watch your words from now on, Alice,” I said, my voice low and steady, vibrating with barely contained rage. “My little boy is outside. I don’t want him hearing his mother being called names by a woman who thinks she knows everything.”
Alice opened her mouth, ready to scream again, but I didn’t let her.
“I warned you,” I continued, taking a step closer. “I told you that the girl you pushed around is gone. That girl tolerated your nonsense. This mother, standing right here, does not. I don’t care what you think you lost or what you believe you were owed. This pack is mine. The mate is mine.”
I looked around the room, making sure every single person heard me, especially Alice.
“I am very grateful to you, Alice, for taking care of the pack and taking care of my mate while I was away,” I conceded, forcing a tight smile. “You ran things well. But the arrangement is over. I’m back now. And I’m back for everything that’s mine.”
