Page 15 of Captive Witch

It isn’t long before a woman approaches us. She’s older, maybe the same age as Madrona, with short black hair that comes to her chin. Unlike Madrona, her features are sharp, determined, and unwelcoming.

“Oh no,” Mila whispers, bringing her gaze down into her glass.

“Gods, you’re here too? Do they just let anyone into this pack?” the woman says, rolling her eyes.

Mila’s shoulders bunch up as she shrinks into herself.

“Can we help you?” Cali snaps, crossing her arms over her chest. “Or do you just enjoy being a bitch for no good reason?”

The woman gives a loud laugh. “No good reason? Is that what she told you?” Glaring at Mila, she continues, “No, she knows why we all hate her, especially now that Ulysses is gone. She wastoo weak to doanythingthe alpha asked of her, which forced the rest of us to suffer and pick up her slack.”

Mila’s head snaps up, shock parting her lips. “Are you kidding? He asked me to do horrible things, like kill some random human or attack someone from another pack, and Ulysses—”

The woman waves her hand in the air, unimpressed. “Whatever, coyote ugly. It doesn’t change—”

Rage clouds my vision, and my arm whips out to slap her across the face. She staggers a few steps to the side, holding her bright red cheek. “Don’t you ever speak to her like that again,” I snarl, my fists balling at my sides. Gideon is beside me in an instant, and I squeeze his hand in mine as he laces our fingers.

“Finally.” The woman straightens herself up, rubbing her cheek. ”Are you the alpha in this pack?” She raises a brow, glancing around and wrinkling her nose, then looks back at Gideon. “Well? Is this how you let them treat new members?”

“Hm?” Gideon lazily brings his gaze to her after sweeping over the backyard. “Was there a serious question in there? I couldn’t hear anything past the obvious stupidity.”

The woman’s mouth parts before her eyes narrow. “I was shocked to see the alpha leave his own meeting, but seeing how you run this pack of fleas, it suddenly makes sense.” She turns to me, her lip curling in disgust. “Seeing what you choose to decorate your arm with makes it even clearer.”

I barely blink before Gideon has his hand around her throat, her brown eyes bulging. She opens and closes her mouth, like a fish gasping for breath. The sounds of the party die off, and my mouth feels like sandpaper as I feel everyone’s eyes on us.

Flexing his fingers on her windpipe, Gideon lifts her in the air, her heels barely grazing the grass at her feet. “Let this be a warning to everyone, thoughmypack knows better than to challenge my patience,” he says, speaking loud enough toaddress the entire crowd. “Before you open your mouth, think twice before you insult my mate because you aredispensable.” He growls out the last word, glaring into the eyes of the woman whose face is beet red, her nails clawing at his hand holding her tight.

She gasps, coughing for breath when he drops her to the ground and stands over her. Putting a hand to her throat, she looks up at Gideon, fear and hatred mixing along her features.

“Get out,” he says, the calm of his voice at war with the rage pulsating off him. He reaches behind his back for me, and I quickly take his hand.

“W-what?” Her eyes widen, looking from him to me.

“I don’t have room for poison in my pack, and I’d bet money that you’re the one leaving those repulsive, childish notes on Mila’s door. Get. Out.”

“But I… I… Where would I go?” She looks around, seemingly searching for the support of her other packmates.

“You can’t just kick her to feral territory,” one guy says, stepping forward from the crowd. His bald head glistens under the almost full moon.

“Feral?” the woman’s head snaps back to us. “You’re making me feral? You can’t be serious! It was just a few letters! You have no idea what she’s done to us.”

Gideon’s jaw ticks, his gray eyes glowing silver as he quirks a brow at the bald man. “I believe as alpha I can do whatever I deem necessary, especially in the name of protecting my pack.”

The man scoffs. “Protecting your pack? You’re just pissed she insulted your bitch.”

A growl rips through Gideon, rumbling from his chest and up through his throat.

I try to clench my fingers around his, to keep him from attacking the man, but it’s useless. He crosses the few yards instantly, towering above the bald man, who I assumed was tallfrom this distance, but next to Gideon, I realize he’s a full head shorter.

Grasping the man’s collar, Gideon lifts him up until he can glare straight into his eyes. “Care to repeat your comment?” he hisses through clenched teeth, slamming the man to the ground before he can respond.

The impact of hitting the cold, hard dirt knocks the wind from the man’s lungs, leaving him sputtering on the ground.

Gideon puts his boot on the man’s throat, glaring down at him. “If you think I told her to leave purely based on her insults to my mate, you’d be correct.However,” he looks up, eyes looking into the faces of each wolf in the crowd, “I don’t tolerate that kind of talk in my pack. Negativity, jealousy, and hatred spread like a toxin, like a tumor. I won’t let that fester and feed here. This ismypack,” his eyes land on me, the corner of his mouth twitching, “and she is my mate. I’ll remove anyone I see as a threat to their happiness.”

He removes his boot from the man’s throat, walking briskly to my side, and I reach up on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. Empathy and protectiveness war within me. Going feral is the worst kind of punishment, something I understand even more now that I have my own wolf, but I won’t let anyone hurt those I love again. “I hope this is okay,” I whisper into his ear before turning to the rest of the pack and ignoring the confusion furrowing his brows. “What are your names?” I look at the woman, bright red fingers marked into the olive skin of her throat, then to the bald man, still laying on the ground, propped up on his elbow.

They exchange a glance before the woman answers me. “Liana.” Her confidence from earlier has seeped away, her eyes locked on the ground by my feet.

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