Page 38 of Huntress and the Thorn Court
“No thanks. Unlike Gideon, I have standards for where I put my dick.”
I lunged for him, but Adam grabbed me before I could make contact. Trey snarled flashing yellow eyes and showing his teeth.
“Enough!” Gideon bellowed so loudly I swear the walls shook. “Isabel is not our enemy, Trey. Why would she make us aware of the betrayal from the hunters if she were?”
“Perhaps to weasel her way further into your good graces. Wolves keep dying around her, another just last night.”
Somehow in the midst of everything I’d forgotten about the wolf that had attacked. It seemed like a lifetime ago.
“Ikilled Howard,” Gideon made clear.
“Only because of her. How do you know she didn’t welcome him into her bed?”
“Because it was MY BED!” Gideon yelled. Quickly taking a deep breath he reined in his temper. “Do you think I’m a stupid man, Trey?”
Trey’s eyes went wide. I could almost see the fear wafting off of him. “Of course not, Alpha.” He was suddenly being formal, even bowed his head for good measure. Gideon’s calm demeanor was even more terrifying than his anger.
“You must think I’m stupid or you’d never second guess my decision on who I bed.”
“It’s not that Alpha, but your relationship with this hunter affects us all. You know how the pack feels about her, how the hunters feel about interspecies relationships, and now your wolf has gone and marked her.”
Marked me?
“Enough!” Gideon bellowed silencing the room. “This topic is not up for discussion and will not be mentioned again, to anyone.” He turned flashing amber eyes at Adam aiming the order at him too. Both wolves bowed their head to their Alpha. “Now everyone out. I need to think.”
The three of us headed to the door. Trey glared at me as he passed. How had he known? I thought I’d been so careful. Was it the wolf Gideon killed that tipped him off? And what the hell had he meant by marking me?
The two wolves cleared the throne room, but I lingered behind in the quiet space. I leaned against the wall, allowing it to support my weight. My head fell back thumping against the sheetrock. Inhaling deeply, I struggled to rein in my emotions. Just when I thought I had them tamed, the door adjacent to me opened and Gideon appeared on the other side. He didn’t seem surprised to find me there. He watched me and I stared at him in return. Then with a tilt of his head, he asked me inside his office.
I had a choice to make. I could go to him and continue whatever was brewing between us or I could refuse which might be the end of things. What he said had hurt. Perhaps he did think less of me because I was a hunter.
Seeing the decision on my face, he nodded and closed the door between us. I wanted to go, but I couldn’t bring myself to forgive what he said. Even if it was just sex, I needed someone who wasn’t regretful about me in anyway. The thought bristled me because I realized the way he felt about me being a hunter was the same way I felt about him being a wolf. It would be so much easier if he wasn’t. Did I have the right to be upset? Regardless, I didn’t know if my pride would allow me to absolve him.
* * *
Things grewdistant between Gideon and I with each passing day. I spoke to him during our meetings but didn’t linger when they were over. Extending an olive branch, Gideon had agreed to give me access to a laptop so I could communicate at will with Eric. Shockingly there was no catch. When I asked about this he reiterated, “How can I claim Trey is wrong about you if I still treat you as an enemy.” It wasn’t meant to give me warm, fuzzy feelings, but it did and that surprised me more than the Internet access.
I fell into a routine. After enjoying breakfast, I contacted Eric. Most mornings he was just getting off patrol when I video chatted. Then I had a meeting in Gideon’s office with Adam and Trey present, where I presented what I learned, if anything.
Once the meeting concluded, I’d grab lunch then head to my training session with the Omegas. My afternoons were free time I spent in the gym, library, or playing on the computer Gideon had allotted me. After dinner, I’d sometimes receive a call from Eric if something had occurred that day.
When the call came in one night, I was so stunned by the contents that I found myself in Gideon’s office along with Trey. Adam had headed out that morning and wasn’t back yet, but what I learned couldn’t wait.
“Reed is attempting to gather a following in secret. He needs enough support that if my father decides to side with you,” I spoke to Gideon, “he’ll be persuaded to refuse or perhaps removed.” That would happen over my dead body. “We need to do something. The werewolf faction isn’t working alone. They have a growing number of hunters supporting them who are too worried about job security to see the bigger picture and if Drake is supporting them too, then they could have the whole vampire community.”
“Why not put coming out on hold for a while?” Trey offered.
“It won’t be enough,” Gideon stated. “We’d be right back here in a few months when we broach the subject again.”
“It’d also make you look weak,” I stated causing two sets of eyes to bore into me. I shrugged. “It’s true. If you go back on your word, the pack might think you weak and then you’ll have a whole new set of problems on your hands.”
“Then what do you propose we do, princess?” Trey spat.
“I think the time has come to involve my father,” I told the wolves. A round of protests echoed through the room. The wolves wanted to keep the hunters out of the situation as long as possible. “He deserves to know what Reed is doing. He might even be able to put a stop to it. I can give the order to Eric—”
“Isabel,” Gideon stated firmly to quiet me. “It’s not happening.”
“Why? It makes sense.”
