Page 116 of Challenged Mate
I looked at my father. I’d seen the magic fly through him as well. He patted his stomach with both hands, but nothing was amiss. He, too, was unharmed.
“The blood vow is made,” Hugh declared. His icy gaze landed on me. “Now, you shall uphold your end of the bargain.”
I stepped closer to the ward separating us, but I moved no further. “Release Hunter to my father. Then, I will join you.”
His answering scowl was fierce, but he snapped his fingers above his head. Stanley stepped out from behind the trees, dragging a bound, disoriented Hunter with him.
Behind me, Chase, Kayla, and Axel growled.
Asher, once again, moved to stand by my side.
My eyes drank in my former future beta. He was disheveled—more so than he’d been in the weird magical conversation Hugh had dragged me into. If I had to guess, I’d say Hunter recently put up a fight. His face featured a fresh bruise, and his arms and legs were covered with dirt—as if he’d rolled around on the forest floor.
But what caught my attention the most was the odd, glowing red aura circling his head.
“What is that?” I gestured to Hunter’s head as Stanley halted beside the sorcerer.
Hugh didn’t even glance at Hunter to see what I was talking about. He already knew. “A thought scrambler,” he answered. “Your friend proved quite crafty in trying to escape. I didn’t wish to hurt him, so he needed to be subdued in another way.”
My nostrils flared. “Remove it.”
“Done.”
Hugh didn’t so much as raise a finger or utter a syllable. The red light simply vanished.
I watched as Hunter came back to himself. I saw the moment he recognized me. His eyes widened with fear. “B-blair,” his voice cracked. “W-what—”
“Untie him,” my father commanded, interrupting Hunter. The strength of his alpha voice traveled over me. “Now.”
Stanley looked to Hugh—like a faithful servant awaiting orders.
The action sent Chase over the edge. “You’ve always been an asshole,” he sneered at his brother. “But I never painted you as a traitor.”
Stanley’s gaze narrowed, but he didn’t speak.
I waited for Hugh to give the order for Stanley to release Hunter, but the sorcerer seemed content to watch the drama unfolding before him.
“What? Nothing to say for yourself, you piece of shit?” Chase taunted. He stomped forward until he stood less than three feet from his brother. Only the ward kept him from moving further. “What did Graystone promise you to betray us—to risk the lives of your innocent pack members?”
A flicker of guilt traveled across Stanley’s face, but the evidence of his remorse disappeared quickly.
Careful to keep a tight grip on Hunter, Stanley finally replied, “Our pack has been isolated for too long. Wolfstan wants to ally with the other packs, but they areweak.” He sneered derisively. “To be strong, we need to ally with the covens. We need to strengthen the magic in our bloodlines, not dilute them with weaker shifters.”
“You speak of your shifter pack members like they are beneath you,” Asher joined the discussion.
Heightened hatred sparked Stanley’s next words as he turned to his alpha. “It isyou, Asher, who relishes the fact our family members are the only half-blooded sorcerers in the pack.Youare the strongest, and you want nothing more than to keep the rest of us under your thumb.
“While you mate a powerful half-sorceress, the rest of us will have to be content to mate fellow pack members with diluted blood lines or debase ourselves and mate someone from another pack.”
The vehemence with which Stanley spoke about other shifters bewildered me.
I wasn’t the only one.
“What are you talking about, Stanley?” Kayla asked sharply. “Debase yourself? What lies have you let this sorcerer whisper into your ear? This isn’t you.”
Stanley stared at his cousin over his brother’s shoulder. “This is me, Cousin. For too long, I’ve sat on the sidelines while our numbers dwindle and our pack’s needs press on our throats.”
“What do you think Asher was doing in the freaking Alpha Games?” she yelled. “He was trying meet our pack’s needs.”
