Such warm, captivating eyes. He held my stare and I felt my insides begin to melt with his heated gaze.
He was the only one in the room that I felt a connection to. I could feel my heartbeat increase at just the sight of him. He made me feel like I belonged here, he was the only reason that made me want to stay.
He was too far. I needed to be near him, I needed to find out everything that I could about him. I didn’t understand the direction my thoughts had taken out of the blue but I also didn’t care at the moment.
I suddenly found myself walking towards him, I saw the way his body stiffened the moment I started to approach him however. To my horror, he turned and walked away. If I knew any better, I would think that he was running from me.
Oh, God.
This was simply embarrassing!
I turned to Isabella and by the look on her face; she’d obviously just seen everything.
“Who was that man?” I asked her.
Her eyes widened. “His name is James. He’s Austin’s brother.”
James …
I liked that name.
But there was just one bigger question in my mind.
Who was he to me?
***HUnTER***
“Can I get you something else to drink?” the waitress asked with a flirtatious smile.
I nodded as I squeezed my head, paying no attention to her.
Isabella’s words continued to upset my peace of mind. I hadn’t been able to get her tears out of my head. That fact made me feel uneasy.
The last time I’d felt this way about a female …
I shook my head. I didn’t want to think about her, it only brought back the pain I’d tried so hard to bury inside of me.
I’d lost two men today; men that I would have killed on my own hadn’t James already done it. I was not okay with hurting women; I’ve made it clear to my men in the past. Their actions brought shame upon me and I was glad that they were already dealt with.
However, I was not okay with the obvious traitorous behavior of the council. They’d made it clear to me in the past that I would not have any problems with Eden’s mate. They also managed to keep the truth from me, even when I had asked them to explain. from now on, I’ll have to pay closer attention to my relationship with them, they were no longer trusted allies.
My mind replayed the events of the fight, James was strong but I had expected that after learning more about him. I made sure to pay close attention to all of his movements, I had an idea now of how to bring him down in a fight. If Austin’s pack hadn’t showed up when they did, I would have finished what I’d started. But I couldn’t take the risk of losing any more men. This was bound to happen when half of them weren’t even with me. I’d asked them to stay back at home and guard there until I needed them. I didn’t expect a fight to stir up so quickly but I also hadn’t expected James to be my opponent.
That was my first mistake. I underestimated who I would be up against.
Isabella’s pretty features crashed through my thoughts once more without warning and I had to stifle a g***n.
I had to marry Eden before I let that woman get to me. After seeing the way James reacted to seeing Eden hurt, it stirred up memories that I didn’t want to remember. I couldn’t let myself face such pain for a second time. This meant, I would have to bring up the wedding date. It’s the least that the council could offer me after everything they’ve done so far.
It was set.
I would be paying the council another visit…
…….
***JAMES***
“We can’t do this alone,” Austin said. “You can’t do it on your own and even with my help; we still can’t bring down both the council and Hunter at the same time.”
I knew my brother was right. This was the first time that I was up against Hunter’s men and even they were highly skilled. They were no match for me, but when there was more than one attacking at once, that’s where the problem came. But even though I knew all of this, I wasn’t willing to let Eden go. There had to be another way that we weren’t seeing. Walking away from her earlier today was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do and I wasn’t sure how long I could do it for. I was only staying away from her in order to protect her, until I found a way to get her back, a safe way.
After seeing her thrown into the air like that, it was a wakeup call for me. I understood now what Austin had been saying all along. I was acting without thinking of the consequences of my actions. I wanted Eden so badly that I didn’t consider what would happen to the people that I cared about if I didn’t act rationally.
I learnt from my mistake. I knew now that I had to have my plan set and tested before I could take Eden from the council and bring her to me.
I leaned back against the chair. We were in Austin’s room while we tried to figure out the best way to deal with all of this. So far, things weren’t looking so good for us.
“There is one last option neither one of you has looked at.” Lucas said suddenly. from his tensed state, I could tell that he was hesitant to tell us.
Austin and I gave each other confused looks, as far as we knew; we looked at all the possible packs that would be willing to help us. Most of them didn’t want to get involved, in total; we only got three other packs to join us. This, in truth, was not enough to take down the council and Hunter.
“Which other Alpha have we left out?” Austin asked.
Lucas rose up from the chair and pointed at the map on the wall. We usually used it to pinpoint all the different territories around us. He kept moving his fingers until he stopped at a castle, one set in the middle of nowhere.
“The Blackners.” Austin and I said at the same time.
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