Page 6 of Hunt

Silas's jaw clenches, his hands curling into fists at his sides. "It makes sense," he grits out. "The way she fights… the way she handles weapons. It's not just self-defense training."

Dante shakes his head, looking like he might be sick. "So what does this mean? Was this the end game the whole time? Getting us to kill our fathers? What then? How the hell would that benefit the De Lucas at all?"

I wish I had an answer, but my mind is reeling.

Hector starts pacing, his alpha energy rolling off him in waves of barely contained fury. "We have to find her. Get some goddamn answers straight from the lying bitch's mouth."

Silas nods, his golden eyes hard as steel. "And when we do, she'll pay for this betrayal. Omega or not, no one makes fools of the Carbones."

As much as it pains me, I know they're right. We can't let Bella get away with this, no matter how much a part of me stillwants to believe in her innocence. She's played us all for months, and we fell for it like lovesick pups.

CHAPTER 3

BELLA

The airplane issmall and stuffy. I’m the only one on board aside from a pilot, co-pilot and a nervous looking stewardess that flickers her gaze to me once every thirty seconds. Her attention is starting to grate on my nerves.

I can’t completely blame the woman, though, and she’s probably just doing her job. She was probably given strict instructions by the alphas to watch my every move and make sure I want for nothing.

It’s not out of the kindness of their hearts, make no mistake. I’d never be foolish enough to be mistake it for kindness. This is a power move. Every time she refills my wine or asks me if I need anything else, it’s just to placate me—to make me feel like I’m safe again, though I’m anything but.

As my eyes glaze over in exhaustion, all I can think about is that day—when it all went bad. Flashes of memory assault me and haunting, evil-looking animal masks hover in my mind’s eye.

I can see them clearly. I can hear the echoing of gunshots and the slam of bodies as they hit the ground at my feet. I can recall the distinct gleam of the pooling blood in the dirt as the elder alphas bled out.

We’ve discussed it endlessly, and every single time they’ve assured me that it would have happened no matter what, but it doesn’t stop what I feel. It doesn’t mean I don’t realize that I was the cause of the Carbone pack’s downfall.

It keeps me awake sometimes. Times like right now, when I should be fast asleep with my head in the clouds. A part of me craves that oblivion—especially knowing that peace will be short-lived. The moment I step off of this private jet, my life will be in someone else's hands again.

My mind wanders to the men I abandoned. Deep down, I know they will never forgive me for this. After all we've been through together, for me to willingly return to the grasp of Alessio De Luca... It's the ultimate betrayal.

I left in such a hurry that there is no doubt they will see it as a betrayal. And then there's that strange cell phone I was forced to leave behind. Just thinking about it makes my stomach churn with disgust. Alessio must have done something terrible with it, I can feel it in my bones…

Mama is nowhereto be seen when we finally make it to my pack estate in the Hamptons. I expected her to be the one to greet me at the door, but I was only met with betas. A lot of them I recognize from before I left a year ago—big and burly, with mean scowls on their scarred faces. But there are a few new faces—fresh and young, not yet weathered from years in service.

I'm guided through hallways that feel all too familiar, and I despise the sense of being at home that settles into my bones. This shouldn't be a place where I feel comfortable. I should be filled with an overwhelming desire to scream and escape, but instead, I just feel sorrow. I take a moment to glance around and stare blankly at the massive paintings adorning the walls, amazed at how vividly I can recall each one. This has been my home for as long as I can remember, aside from the occasional winters spent at various boarding academies.

The floors are black marble, woven through with gold embellishments, while the walls are a soft cream. Nothing has changed since my youth, and as the guards lead me down a labyrinth of decorated hallways, I have no problem following along easily.

I could navigate this house with my eyes closed. I remember when I was young—before my dads got it in their heads that I was different than Rosa and needed to be sent away, I would wander the house at night, slipping by the guards and outsmarting them every time. I would prowl the house, listening in on pack meetings and dinner parties.

I knew secrets, names, places and times—without ever realizing just how valuable the information would be to someone who knew what to do with it.

My bedroom is the same as it’s always been—filled with memories of brain matter dripping off the chandelier. The door shuts behind me, and I hear thesnikof a lock.

Before I have the chance to settle in and wind down, there’s a quick knock at my door. It opens shortly after, making me grit my teeth in annoyance.What’s the point in knocking if you’re just going to let yourself in regardless?

A man pokes his head though the door, Alpha Liam. Not my birth father, but still one of my mama’s three mates. His hands are just as dirty as Alessio’s, maybe even more so. The things I’veseen this man do inside the walls of this house I'll never be able to scrub from my mind.

He looks me up and down with a sneer. “Come to Alessio’s study,” he grits out. “You have twenty minutes.” With that, he leaves, clicking the door shut again, this time leaving it unlocked.

I’d never been close with any of the alphas who called themselves my fathers. They were all brutes. They were cold and violent, and not the males who should have been my mama’s mates at all. She deserved better than the hand she was dealt.

I listen to the sound of his footsteps as they retreat down the hallway, but I remain sitting on the edge of the bed, wringing my fingers in my lap nervously. Dread courses through me at the prospect of coming face to face with Alessio again after all this time. Even hearing his voice over the phone had sent chills through my body.

Instead of dragging out the inevitable, I make my way through the house on heavy feet, dreading every step I take. I can feel eyes on me as I pass more and more betas. I forgot how many there were. Suddenly, I find myself longing for the solitude of my seaside home. This place feels stiflingly like a prison and these are my wardens.

They don’t say a word to me, but they just stand around in doorways like silent sentinels, as if they’re just waiting for me to make a break for it. Can’t say the thought hasn’t crossed my mind.

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