“Yes.” I did not lower my head, my voice is as cold as steel.
Before I could react more, Hestia lunged towards me in a last desperate attempt to sway my decision.
Instinctively, I moved to protect myself. In that moment of chaos, my wolf took control. I found myself choking her in front of the entire crowd, her feet suspended a few meters from the floor, including the Chancellor who watched each heartbeat of the events that unfold with keen interest.
Time seemed to slow as my grip tightened. Before any serious harm could be done, my Beta, Caleb, and a few other pack members intervened, pulling Hestia away from me. Her eyes were wide with shock and disbelief. I forced myself not to grin. I know that the path before us would be difficult to traverse. That is why I will do anything just so she will stop bothering me and pleading with me to accept our mating bond.
With Hestia safely restrained, I took a step back. My wave of emotions slowly retreated to the shore. My wolf howled within me, urging me to claim what was supposedly mine. It’s a natural reaction to a mating bond. My heart ached for the pain I had caused. This was not the kind of Alpha I aspired to be. I never intended to hurt any woman. Even though with Cassidy in my life, even when she tamed the beast in me, I still despise the thought of a mating bond—for it is the one that killed my beloved mother. My father rejected and killed my mother just so he cannot honor their mating bond and remain with his woman, Brandon’s mother.
As the dust of the arena settled, I turned to look at Cassidy, who now stood at a distance. Her eyes were filled with concern and compassion. Despite the chaos, her presence brought me a sense of calm and clarity. I knew that I had to make things right, not just for myself but for the sake of our pack. And for Cassidy and me.
“Alpha Zarion— Zarion, you're my one and only mate!” Hestia shouted at the top of her lungs, but her husband's men were already gripping onto her. I looked away and sauntered towards Cassidy as if nothing happened.
“Are you alright?” I reached out to touch her arm but she brushed it away.
“No, I'm just—tired…” she whispered, her eyes showing the visible discomfort and weariness. She is indeed tired.
“I'm sorry about that.”
“It's alright. She's crazy. Even if she did not know about our mating bond yet.”
I nodded in agreement. Then, I beckoned her to my arms. This time, she accepted me and plastered a smile in her face. Though it was forced, I’m still glad she found comfort in my nearness. “Come. Let’s go home.”
***
We arrived at our packhouse an hour later, and I made sure Cassidy could rest.
I mind-linked my Betas, Caleb and Achilles, to come back to my office, summoning them to discuss something urgent—not just about Hestia but also about the Chancellor’s decision if his favor will not be on our side.
“What is it, Alpha?” asked Caleb as soon as he shut the door to my library.
“Kidnap that crazy woman. The embarrassment she caused Cassidy and me and all of the Volatile Hounds Pack is unbearable. It is not something to be forgotten easily with a wave of one’s hand.”
“I’m glad you came to your senses, Alpha.”
“But what about Alpha Brandon?” It was Achilles’ turn to ask me as I scoured the journals that bastard Enzo left. I didn’t know a devil like him could still bother to record his day–to-day happenings.
“Brandon will no longer care about her so I’m sure the security surrounding Hestia will be a piece of cake.”
They both nodded as they strapped silver daggers and packed some silver-tipped arrows in their bags.
“Mind-link me if you already have her chained. Make sure she’s unaware of where she’s being taken. Knock her unconscious if possible.” I turned to face him, yielding my stone-hard expression. “And make sure not to make any mistake, especially since she's my brother's wife.”
“Got that, Alpha,” Caleb and Achilles muttered.
Hours passed by since my two Betas went out. And when Caleb mind-linked me that they already captured her, I grinned and made sure Cassidy was sleeping soundly before I shifted into my wolf form, following Achilles' scent.
They had taken her to a cave not far from the Volatile Hounds Pack’s fortress and locked her in a cell. The prison used to cage wild bears and boars which were a delicacy for us until now. Hestia’s silver chains did indeed make her unable to move freely, looking up to me with widening eyes when she saw who was before her. Only the silver bars come between my claws and her throat. “What do you think you're doing? You can't do this to your mate!”
“I can and I will.” My smile, a snake’s smile, made its way to my handsome face. “It's payback time.” My devilish grin was unmistakable. I knew exactly what she had done and planned to do to Cassidy a day before the duel, and I am ready to crush her into pieces for it. She had manipulated and threatened Cassidy to gain power and control over our pack—my pack, and that was something where a simple uttering of sorry can never undo.
“You think you're so high above all of us, as mighty as the most powerful Alpha…” she spat, her face contorted with rage. “You’re nothing but only an Alpha by name!”
“I am an Alpha—the Alpha. I will protect my pack and my beloved at all costs.” My wolf's eyes locked onto hers. A predator deliciously staring at the prey. “You will face the consequences of your actions in no time, Hestia.”
“What's the purpose of your Cassidy if I am your mate?”
“Damn it! You're still insisting yourself on me?” I shrieked, no longer able to contain this fuming anger from within. “You never give up, do you?” I shook my head from side to side. “You really are a fucking pathetic weak bitch.” I spat at her face. With that, her eyes filled with rage and hurt sent enjoyment deep in my soul. Finally, I am able to slap right in her face the things she just used to do to me a year ago and to Cassidy months ago.
I turned away a heartbeat, forcing the chained Hestia to leave her cell.
As I led the way through the dimly lit underground passage, Caleb and Achilles trailing behind me, a sinister grin bloomed across my lips.
Hestia kept her eyes locked on the ground, a defiant glint still shimmering in her gaze despite her predicament. The cell I was taking her to was not just any ordinary cell: it was the domain of the Rogues, a cavernous hideout where they wasted their time, deep within the heart of the Misty Forest.
The air in the cave was thick with an earthy scent, and the distant echoes of dripping water reverberated through the stone walls. Moss clung to the rough-hewn walls, and the occasional chirping of unseen insects filled the silence. It was a place of primal beauty, untouched by the outside world, yet marred by the presence of those ravenous Rogues who called it home.
Stopping before the rusted iron bars of the cell, I turned to face her. The flickering torchlight cast dancing shadows on the walls, creating an eerie ambiance around us.
“Since you’re so cunning and ruthless and brave…” My voice lowered to a conspiratorial whisper as I leaned in closer, our faces mere inches apart as if I was going to give a traitor’s kiss. “I bet you can manage to escape,” I taunted, a smirk tugging at the corners of my lips.
Hestia's eyes flashed with a mix of anger and determination as she glared back at me. “I'll find a way out of here. And when I do, I'll make you regret ever crossing paths with me—even ignoring the fact that you’re my mate,” she growled, her voice laced with venom.
“You should probably start ignoring me as your mate. Sort of a practice to you end,” I mocked. Achilles and Caleb laughed behind my back.
Mirroring their amusement, I stepped back, giving her space to ponder her fate. “Go on, then. But consider this as a warning: do not fucking touch my Cassidy ever again. Do you understand? If you pull any funny stunt at her again…” I leaned to the iron bars, flashing my teeth before her eyes. “I'm going to give you a rough, brutal, slow and painful death. Mark my words.”
I stepped back and nodded at my Betas. Achilles commanded one of the male Rogues, one he slept with last night, to go tell his fellow Rogues that they have a new pet in their lair.
Well, they might have even considered her as their meal for the next few rough winter nights.