Page 9 of Huntress and the Thorn Court
“I’m going to be frank with you, Isabel,” Gideon began, leaning casually against the wall accentuating his appealing form. Perhaps he was doing it on purpose, using his body to entice me or maybe he was unaware how tempting he appeared. “I didn’t request you solely to punish you for Cyrus’s death.”
“But it was part of it,” Trey muttered. Glaring, I wondered why he was here.
Gideon continued ignoring his comrade. “There’s treachery brewing among the pack. Last night was just one example. If you were to die the pack knows it would bring war with the hunters. Not only are you a huntress, but a princess of the Order.”
My anger simmered just beneath the surface. I struggled to push it down while I spoke, but even I could hear it leak into my words. “So you presented an enraged Alpha who was furious over the loss of life—”
“I am furious.”
I ignored him, too angry to acknowledge him. “—Only to seize the opportunity to get me here, to use me so you could riskmylife?” During my spiel I stood and moved across the floor until I was in front of Gideon. “You son of a bitch.” My fist collided with the Alpha’s face before I even registered what I was doing.
Trey charged at me but halted when Gideon raised a hand stopping him. “Leave,” he whispered calmly. Trey hesitated for a moment staring coolly at me but did as his Alpha commanded. “I’ll let that go because I deserved it, but you’ll only get the one freebie, Isabel. The next time you take a swing there will be consequences.”
“You swindled me away from my home and now you have the audacity to make a request of me?”
He stood there silently, watching me seethe until some of the fight left me. “Did you not kill the boy?”
“It was an accident.”
“But it was still your hand that held the gun. Accident or not the boy’s father would have never relented if justice weren’t served. And here you are, justice for the boy’s death. Now I offer you an opportunity to have some freedom, a room, a bed to sleep in, but if you’d prefer the cell, I can return you and allow you to serve your sentence out there.”
God, I didn’t want to go back to that tiny cell but neither did I want to give him the satisfaction.
“They’ll attack again,” he stated causing me to stare up at him. “As long as you’re under this roof, they’ll try to seize the opportunity to start a war. I need the hunter’s support in what’s to come. Help me smoke them out instead of catching them after the act. Jacob’s known associates are being questioned but I don’t see anything coming from it. They’ll be watched, but it’s not enough.”
“You could have just asked my father for help?”
He shook his head. “Not only would I appear weak, but I need the traitors not to know I’m suspicious. They’ll count on us assuming Jacob to be a lone wolf acting on his own accord, but he wasn’t. This goes so much deeper than a low ranking, disgruntled wolf.”
“What have you done that’s got them all in a tizzy?” I wondered. Gideon’s gaze narrowed assessing if he should share this tidbit with me. “How can I help if I don’t know?”
Exhaling heavily, he explained, “I plan on bringing the wolves out in the open.”
I gaped, my mouth falling open. Werewolves were traditionalists. Even now females weren’t allowed as pack Alphas and earned her rank by her mate’s position. Coming out would change everything. The wolves would be forced to modernize how they handled situations. No more death first, ask questions later. It also meant change for the hunters. No wonder he needed our support. As difficult as the change would be, I believed my father would think as I did and support them.
I stood there silently thinking over his proposal. It was generous, but not enough to make me swallow my pride and agree. Suddenly an idea came to mind. I could seize this opportunity just as he had done.
“I’ll help.” I expected him to look relieved, but he knew better. It wasn’t the end to my statement. “But when we find the responsible party you send me home.”
He smirked crookedly. “I can’t do that.”
“Why?” I stated nonchalantly. “You say the real reason for my being here was to help you. I’m agreeing to help. I don’t see the problem.”
“Theproblemis the pack will never support me releasing you too early.”
“Too early,” I held my finger up letting him know I caught those words. “I doubt we’ll discover them tomorrow, but whenever we do, you can say you’re releasing me as a reward for my assistance or something like that.”
Gideon studied me. His lips were pressed as he debated over what I was offering and what he wanted.
“Six months,” he stated.
“What?”
“If wedidfind them tomorrow, I can’t release you earlier than six months. Anything less and I’d appear too weak among the pack.”
“I doubt that. You just can’t feel that I have the upper hand in the bargain.”
He smiled devilishly with a wicked glint in his eyes. “That is true too, but you still win.”
