The Alpha’s Curvy Cinderella - Chapter 120: Chapter 120

Jordan POV
“Explain,” Blaze said between gritted teeth as I held my breath wondering what his Uncle Mike meant by that comment. I placed a hand on my stomach protectively, Lilith growling lowly in my mind. Danger. What danger could I possibly be in now? Stefanie couldn’t possibly pose a threat on her own. Not when I had my wolf to protect me.
His Uncle Mike looked apologetic. “Stefanie has been staying at our place since you made her rogue,” he said “and we took her in, being family and all” he added pointedly.
We ignored the snub. “Get to the point,” Blaze said heatedly, not looking impressed. “What is Stefanie up to now? What has she managed to make you help her with?”
His Aunt Claudia shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She looked at me with sadness and remorse in her eyes. I blinked. She looked genuinely upset. Good. Maybe next time she wouldn’t be so quick to make assumptions about someone she had never even met.
“You have to understand, we thought all sorts of things about you,” she said to me, apologetically, “but that wasn’t the worst of it. The thing is, while Stefanie stayed with us, she found her mate.”
Wasn’t that a good thing? A mate bond was sacred and special. If anything, wouldn’t that make Stefanie less dangerous and more inclined to leave well enough alone, I thought to myself confused. Blaze looked a little surprised as well. I felt happy for Stefanie.
“I take it she was mates with someone from your pack,” he said evenly. I assumed the same thing, to be honest.
Aunt Claudia and Uncle Mike shook their heads in unison. “No,” Uncle Mike said regretfully “she wasn’t. She met him in town. At first, we thought he was merely an ordinary human.”
Blaze’s eyes sharpened. “It’s not unusual for a shifter to be mates with a human but I must confess that had that been the case, I would not have been shocked to discover that Stefanie would have rejected him within minutes of finding him. She has a superiority complex, after all.”
I too, would have thought that Stefanie would find a mere human male, beneath her.
Uncle Mikes’s lips flattened and he looked away, a tic in his jaw. “Yes well, we thought the same but instead she kept him around. It made us nervous. There was something very off about him. He seemed polite enough, on the surface, respectful. But Stefanie was so full of resentment and hatred that it didn’t seem like they gelled together. We took to having them followed, out of curiosity and well, call it instinct. I might not be as young as you, but I still have my own natural instincts and mine were screaming out that this lad was trouble.”
“So, what was he then? A different race? Part vampire perhaps? Or was he just a criminal, plain and simple?” Blaze mused. “Shame really, a mate might have turned Stefanie into a better person.”
His Aunt inhaled sharply. “No, to be honest even those would have been better than the alternative,” she said grimly as I listened intently, horrified as they spoke with genuine worry and concern, their attitude towards me far different now. What alternative? I mean come on, a criminal was pretty bad, wasn’t it?
Blaze looked impatient. “Then what is the problem?” he growled “Because I don’t see it.”
“Don’t you get it yet? Don’t you understand what we are trying to tell you?” Uncle Mike burst out in frustration, running a hand through his dark hair, “Her mate turned out to be a hunter, Blaze, a f*****g hunter” he snapped. “Of all the things, the one thing we despise most, and which despise us just as much, a goddamn hunter.”
I inhaled sharply, my body trembling. Hunters were dangerous people. They grew up, raised to believe shifters were monsters that needed to be killed, trained to fight and hunt us down. It had been a long time since we had, had, any problems with hunters and it seemed ironic that Stefanie’s mate was just as cruel and twisted as she was. Or maybe it wasn’t that surprising after all.
Blaze slammed his hand on the coffee table, splintering it. He swore. “f**k. Of all the f*****g things” he cursed, exasperated. “But what makes you think she would be stupid enough to try and come here?” he demanded.
“Because she has really and truly lost the plot. The entire time she was at ours, she kept spouting off about Jordan and how horrible she was, how manipulative and conniving your mate is, what a b***h she was, and how she was going to make her pay for everything she’d done to her.”
“But I never,” I said lamely and then shut my mouth. There was no point trying to deny it over and over again.
It wouldn’t matter. In Stefanie’s mind, she had twisted the truth to suit herself. It wouldn’t matter anymore what was reality and what wasn’t. All she wanted was revenge and she was determined to get it.
Let the little b***h come. She’ll never even lay a hand on us before I tear her to shreds. Trust me, we’ll be fine.
But if she brings hunters with her Lilith, then what? The entire pack will be in danger, not just us! Think of all the innocent shifters and children that could be harmed. Worry about them, not ourselves!
We can protect our pack. Blaze will protect the pack. We need not fear them. They are merely humans.
We are also heavily pregnant, or have you forgotten about that? Sure, we may be able to shift, but it’s still uncomfortable and we still have to protect our unborn child. We can’t just go running headlong into battle without being cautious.
I know, but we also cannot stand here and be a damn target for her!
We’ll have to increase security around the perimeter, perhaps get some other packs involved, and be on the lookout for her. If she’s on her way, then there’s no telling how many hunters are as well. It would be in everyone’s best interest to keep an eye out.
I like the way you think. Not to mention there are only so many routes she can take to get here. She might know the territory like the back of her hand but so does Blaze and I’m willing to bet he knows some areas she doesn’t.
Good idea. I’ll find out later.
I stopped talking and looked at Blaze. His expression was grim. “You said while she was at yours,” he said to his Aunt and Uncle.
His aunt and uncle looked at each other helplessly. “She was,” Aunt Claudia said in a choked voice “but she left the day before yesterday and didn’t come back. Repeated attempts to get through to her, have been left unanswered and ignored.” s**t. So she could be anywhere. That made me slightly apprehensive and nervous.
“Did you try and find the hunter fellow, her mate? What’s his name?” asked Blaze.
“His name is Baxter and yes we did try to find him again, but he was also missing.”
Not good. Not good at all.
“Then no doubt they have gone on the run together and could be on their way here,” Blaze snarled.
I saw his eyes go cloudy as he mind-linked several of his members. I heard him talk to patrol, to warriors, directing them. He wasn’t taking any chances. Not with my safety and not with the safety of his pack. “we’re sorry for all the trouble we’ve caused” Aunt Claudia apologized, her cheeks flushed as she leaned forward to speak to me “We shouldn’t have judged you without coming to see for ourselves first. It’s just that we’ve known Stefanie our whole lives and she was very dear to us. It still boggles my mind that she was able to manipulate us so easily.”
”
I shook my head. “Please, it’s fine. I understand” I told her quietly “There is no need to apologize. You were being
protective of someone you love and who is family. It is a remarkable trait. I’m only sorry that Stefanie used you as she did.
Aunt Claudia sighed, looking haggard all of a sudden while Blaze’s eyes returned to normal.
“I’ve increased security and informed my warriors to keep an eye out for anything suspicious and to inform me immediately if they see Stefanie coming,” he said with a grimace “All we can do is wait. Maybe she might show some common sense and change her mind, but I highly doubt it.”
Aunt Claudia’s lip trembled. “Blaze, I’m so sorry” she whispered, as her husband rubbed her back, looking remorseful ” What are you going to do if Stefanie comes?” she asked, her eyes swimming with tears.
Blaze looked at them both, his jaw tightening, a look of hopelessness coming over his face. There was no coming back from this. We all knew it.. I felt sick, knowing instinctively what he was going to say, even as he began to say it. “Stefanie knew the deal when I banished her for her conduct before. I told her that if she stepped foot on this territory again, her life was forfeit and I meant it. So, if she comes, she dies, by my own hand” he growled and his relatives fell silent, his Aunt going deathly pale, her body shaking violently.
Neither his aunt nor his uncle spoke against it or argued about it, sensing it would do no good. I kept my lips firmly zipped, my own anger against the girl noticeable on my face. I too, would not be granting her a second chance, which made me feel ill.
Aunt Claudia began to weep, quietly. Uncle Mike was grim-faced. “I think it’s best if we go home,” he told Blaze firmly and Blaze nodded tightly.
“I too think that might be best,” he said, glancing at his Aunt who looked distraught and teary.
Uncle Mike tenderly helped his wife to her feet. She leaned on him heavily, sniffling and sobbing as though her heart had broken. I felt a pang in my chest at how upset she was. I stood up, Blaze doing the same.
“We’ll see you out,” Blaze said calmly, a brooding expression on his face.
I nodded my agreement. We walked them through the door, out onto the grounds, and stopped next to their car, which was conveniently parked in the driveway, close to the pack house. Blaze wrapped his Aunt Claudia in a hug, which shocked and surprised the poor woman. He shook Uncle Mike’s hand. Aunt Claudia turned to me and I tentatively gave her a hug as she burst into a batch of fresh tears, before gingerly shaking Uncle Mike’s strong and calloused hand.
“It was lovely to meet you” Aunt Claudia managed to whisper before Uncle Mike hastily helped her into their car.
He hopped into the driver’s side and then waved as he peeled off, driving away, Aunt Claudia weeping in the passenger
seat.
“Poor woman” I murmured as Blaze sighed, rubbing his chin.
“Considering how she and he treated you, I’m surprised you have any sympathy for her at all,” he said with a raised eyebrow, sounding taken aback and surprised.
“I still have some compassion,” I told him, looking at the forest thoughtfully “She loves your niece and it’s understandable how she would have reacted. Not to mention she’s your sister Blaze and I know this is hard for you. I care about all of you” I said quietly.
“You know, your ability to be so kind and caring is one of the things I love most about you” he breathed, his eyes narrowing as he looked at me.
I smiled. “Well so long as you love me, I can handle anything that life throws at me. This included” I said warmly, embracing him and snuggling in close, my eyes closing as I felt his strong body next to mine.
Just then we both heard a strange twanging sound and the most intense burning feeling tore through my right shoulder as I collapsed to my knees, screaming from the immense pain, Blaze’s head whipped around in panic, while an arrow protruded through my shoulder as I grasped at it, blood trickling down my body as I fought to keep myself conscious. My eyes lifted to Blaze’s as his flattened and he let out a roar of fury, before I fell to the floor, my vision going blurry, my body going weak.