Page 131 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part Two

“I insist, Mr King. Get dressed.”

There was a pause as the two men stared each other down. She sensed Jackson’s anger begin to rise and tightened her hold on him. There was no point antagonising the Hunter when they didn’t know what he had in mind for them.

Jackson looked at her and raised his hand to wipe blood from her face. She could sense how much he was holding himself back.

“The scent of blood will attract all the animals to you. Unless you want to die here, get your shit together,” the man continued.

There was nothing else they could do. They had to go with them; at least they would be further from the others. Jackson released her and then helped her to her feet. Her knees were too shaky to hold her up, so she swayed and would have fallen if Jackson hadn’t caught her and picked her up. The Hunter shook his head and muttered something about ‘weak women’ under his breath before he turned away from them to address the other hunters. Of course, he had to be a murderer and a sexist pig.

“We’ll rest for the night and head out in the morning,” the Hunter said to his men.

All the strength left her body as Jackson entered the tent and set her down. Her heart pounded when she met his gaze. Was she worried for nothing? Had they done it? Had they saved their little girl?

Jackson let out a breath, and she sensed his relief as he started to look around the tent. Whoever had set it up had left in a hurry because all their supplies were still there. Food that hadn’t been touched, a bag still packed, and sleeping bags rolled up in the corner. Something had spooked them, and she didn’t have to be a genius to figure out what it was.

Jackson looked through the bag and pulled a t-shirt out. It seemed too small to be one of his, but they had to pull this off. He pulled another one out and handed it to her.

“Wipe the blood off. We’ll shower at the hotel,” he said.

She started to do as she was told but froze when more chunks fell from her hair. Amber’s lifeless eyes filled her mind again. The contents of her stomach rose, and she made it out of the tent just in time. Amber would be in her nightmares for years to come. The whole day would. When she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and straightened, the leader of the Hunters was looking directly at her, studying her as if he was trying to figure something out.

Icy fingers danced along her spine. This had to be the danger that was still rattling her nerves. She had given herself away somehow.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

He studied her hair and her face. He looked at everything from the top to the bottom. And that was when she remembered what her mother had told Jackson. Her face was plastered in Hunter bases all over the world. And she was the spitting image of her mother. She hadn’t thought of that.

“Catrina,” she lied. “Catrina Smith.”

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-five, sir,” she lied again.

The man cocked his head to the side.

“Is that your natural hair colour?”

“No, sir. I’m blonde.”

There was no Catrina Smith, at least none that she knew. She prayed the Hunter wouldn’t look her up, or if he did, she hoped she would be long gone by then. If they survived this, there was no way she would wait around Wolfsdale to be hunted again.

The man shook his head and turned back to his comrades. He made a gesture in the air, and all the Hunters started to march toward the city. They were still in formation as if they were still on the hunt.

“Let’s go, King!” the leader barked out.

Jackson stepped out of the tent wearing the small t-shirt. It looked like one of the trendy muscle t-shirts, and somehow he pulled it off. He put the stranger’s bag over his shoulder and took her hand before they started to walk with their enemy. The hounds walked beside them in a single file like their masters. None of them made a sound. It was like the scene out of a horror movie, and yet it was her life.

The whole hike towards the main road, she hoped no one would question why they were still barefoot.

As they stepped out of the forest, she watched many vans and buses pull up along the main road, and the Hunters started piling in.

“Where’s your car?” the leader asked as he came up behind them.

“We came by taxi,” Jackson answered. “I can call one—”

“Get in the van.”

The Hunter walked to one of the vans and held the door open. Without any other choice, she and Jackson followed. As the car started to move, her heart continued to pound. Had they figured out she was the daughter of the woman they had been hunting for years?

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