Page 16 of Hunt

“Oh, you think?” I drawl, giving him a look. “Of fucking course there is. Did you see her in there? She was fucking terrified.”

“She looked pretty cozy with her new alpha bodyguard,” Hector mumbles, his eyes narrowed on the reflection of the stars in the dark water of the pool.

“Fuck off, Hector,” Sam spits. “Could you fucking blame her if she was? She was fucking Nic before I even came to the De Luca pack.”

Our eyes collectively snap to Sam. Rage ignites my blood as I let it sink in. “What the hell did you just say?”

Sam crosses his burly arms over his chest. “Nic was here way before any of you assholes. He’s been training under the De Luca alphas since he was a teenager. They have history and shit.”

“So you think they’re still fucking then?” Silas asks through gritted teeth.

“Why do you care? You hate her now, right?” Sam challenges with a sneer.

The tension crackles between us, thick and charged with unspoken accusations. I clench my jaw, trying to tamp down the irrational surge of jealousy and possessiveness that threatens to overwhelm me at the thought of Bella with another alpha. With Nic.

"I don't hate her," Hector finally says, his voice low and rough. He takes a long drag of his cigarette, the ember glowing bright in the darkness. "I could never hate her. No matter what she's done."

"She hasn't done anything wrong," Sam snaps, glaring at him. "She's a victim in all this, same as her sister. The De Lucas are the ones to blame."

Silas scoffs. "Right, because Bella is just a helpless little omega who had no choice but to spread her legs for us and keep her family's dirty secrets. Give me a fucking break."

In a flash, Sam is on him, slamming him up against the side of the pool house with a snarl. "Watch your fucking mouth. You don't know a thing about what she's been through."

Silas laughs harshly, shoving Sam off him. "And you do? Face it, asshole—none of us really know who Belladonna is. Not even you."

The accusation hangs heavy in the air between us. As much as I hate to admit it, Silas has a point. Bella is an enigma, a puzzle we've all been trying to solve since the moment we first laid eyes on her.

But that doesn't change the fact that she needs our help. That she's in danger from her own family, from the twisted empire they've built on the backs of exploited omegas. My resolve hardens like steel.

"It doesn't matter what secrets Bella is keeping," I say firmly, meeting each of their gazes in turn. "What matters is stopping the De Lucas before they can hurt anyone else. Before they can open that sick fucking club and destroy more lives."

Sam nods, his shoulders losing some of their tension. "Dante's right. We need to focus on the mission. Bella...she'll have to wait."

Hector takes one last drag of his cigarette before flicking it into the pool. "So what's the plan then? We can't exactly go charging in guns blazing. The De Lucas are too well-connected, too powerful."

"We go after their weak spots," I say, my mind already turning over possibilities. "Their business fronts, their allies, anyone who might have dirt on them. We squeeze until something breaks."

"And Bella?" Silas asks, his tone carefully neutral. "What do we do about her?"

I hesitate, a dull ache spreading through my chest. As much as it kills me, I know what has to be done. "We leave Bella out of it. For now. She's too close to this, too vulnerable. If her family finds out she's helping us..."

I trail off, not wanting to voice the ugly possibilities. But they all understand. The De Lucas wouldn't hesitate to punish Bella in the worst way imaginable if they discovered her betrayal.

"Agreed," Hector says grimly. "We keep her in the dark, for her own protection. Let her think we've given up on her, that we don't care anymore."

It feels wrong, deceptive in a way that makes my stomach churn. But I know it's necessary. Bella's safety has to come first, even if it means hurting her in the short-term.

“So you really think she’s being forced into this?” Silas asks skeptically, his eyes bouncing between the three of us, “We’re taking a fucking risk believing that.”

Sam nods. “I’d bet my fucking life on it. Besides, I haven’t seen her mother since we got here. The De Luca omega never leaves the mansion. They keep her here like some kind of breakable doll. So where is she?”

I frown, suddenly realizing he has a point. Bellas mom was suspiciously absent, and I don’t know how we hadn’t noticed it before. It makes me wonder if Sam’s right. Are the De Luca alphas using their own omega to get Bella to work for them?

"I don't like it," Silas grumbles, his expression pained.

"You think any of us fucking like it?" I snap, my temper flaring. "I hate this just as much as you do. But we don't have a choice. The De Lucas are closing in and we're running out of time. The omegas in that damn club are running out of time."

Hector just nods, his eyes hard and determined as he throws his own cigarette into the pool. "So we go to ground. We make it seem like we've moved on. Make her think they’ve fucking won. As far as our pretty little omega knows, she’s Carbone enemy number one.”

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