Rescued By The Beta

Chapter 08

CLAIRE

Vengeance, revenge, you name it, that’s all I wanted and I’m going to get it one way or the other. I want every single one of them, who torture, hurt me in any shape of form dead and if that includes anyone they care about, so be it.

In order to make certain that things don't escalate between Jet and Hunter, Trisha had begged Jet to leave the room and check up on Freya due to my statement telling him to worry about his mate instead.

“First of all Claire—”

I interrupted her. “It’s Flaire, I know the name sounds kind of similar but come on, there’s a clear F and C sound.”

She made a face at me, telling me she wasn’t impressed by the Alphabetical lecture. “Here’s the thing Flaire, we don’t understand what you are talking about. It’s neither Claire or Flaire, you can’t be both.”

Casting a look at Hunter, I stepped towards him but Trisha blocked me with her body, preventing me from getting any close to him.

“You know what? If it makes you feel any better you can address me as Claire, I really don’t care though. If we are done here, I’d like to go back talking to Alpha Jet about needing his help to defeat the council.”

Camille scoffed, which happens to be the second reaction I have gotten from her since she came into the room. “You want to go after the council? You don’t even know who they are.”

“Another reason why I need the help of an Alpha. If anyone could help me figure it out, it’s him.”

Hunter abruptly stood up to address Trisha. “Could you give us a moment please? I need to have a word with Claire.”

Trisha hesitated, casting a look in my direction, it's clear to everyone that she doesn’t trust me. Fortunately for me, I don’t need her trust. Without her abilities, she’s utterly useless and harmless.

“Don’t let her get too close.” She warned, before half-dragging Camille out of the room with her, despite the fact that she wanted to stay.

Once they were gone, silence descended upon the room for a few seconds, he didn’t say anything, just regard me the same way Jet was staring at me earlier. Did he ask everyone to step out of the room so he could stay with me? Hopefully not because that would be creepy and uncomfortable.

“Who are you? I watched you for weeks at the institute before ever making myself known to you. I know you are Claire, I sense it, I feel it. You’re my f*****g mate, why are you denying it.”

Rolling my eyes, I shrugged out of his hold. “I told you to address me as Claire if that makes me more accepting of you. I’m Claire, I just prefer to be called Flaire, that hasn’t changed anything about me.”

“What?” He sneered, pain evidence in the tone of his voice. “The Claire who woke up in my arms is nothing like the one standing in front of me! Why are you acting differently? Not to mention you have been avoiding me ever since you became Flaire or whatever.”

“Is this what this is about? I just escaped from a facility where I have been tortured for weeks and you’re more worried about the fact that I wouldn’t let you close to me? I don’t know Hunter, maybe the thought of you touching me repulsed me!”

By the time I concluded my statement, I was panting with anger and he looked shaken. Seconds ticked by and the only sound that could be heard were wolves howling in the distance. I turned my back on him, hoping he would leave me alone.

“What…?” he stammered. “I…talk to me.”

“I’m and apparently none of you are listening to me. I need Alpha Jet’s help to locate the council as well as Gianna…”

He cut me off, a flicker of guilt settling in his dark eyes. “Perhaps Jet is right, you’re not Claire. You might not say much then but back at the facility I could read your thoughts and sense them. You were conflicted about ratting me out to Gianna to protect her or protecting your only means of escape. How did you go from that to wanting her dead?”

My eyes widened slightly, I could not have made a guess that he was reading my thoughts and sensing my emotions. “That’s an invasion of privacy, you have no right!” I sneered, glaring at him.

“You were in danger!” He growled back at me. “I didn’t give a f**k about what was right or wrong! May your privacy be bloody damn! The goal was to rescue you out of that hell hole alive.”

“And I thank you for it Hunter, don’t for a second think I’m ungrateful toward your kind gesture but right now I do not need nor want a mate.” I declared, folding my arms across my chest as I awaited his response.

His eyes narrowed to a slit, giving the illusion of a predator and observing its prey before pouncing in it. I didn’t think it was possible for someone's eyes to narrow that much until now, which I find quite impressive.

Catching me by surprise, he grabbed my shoulders in an iron grip, shaking me as if he expected something to drop out of me. After several attempts to get out of his grip, he only lessened his hold when I stopped struggling.

“Who are you?” He demanded, his voice dangerously low like he’s one second away from finishing what Alpha Jet threatened to start.

Smiling at him, I reached up to touch his chest, where his heart beat strongly. “Who does your heart say I am?”

He glanced down at my hand, his face settling into a frown. “f**k!” He cussed, letting go of my shoulders to run all his fingers through his hair, something he does whenever he is stressed or frustrated.

“Which is why I’m urging you to listen to your heart above all. Just because I’m Flaire does not mean I’m not Claire. If you are done interrogating me, I’d like to go back to discussing ways to bring the council to their demise.”

“Prove it.” He looked at me, clenching his jaw. “Prove to me that you’re Claire and I will stop Jet from ripping you in half.”

“And if I don’t?” I pushed, pausing when he tilted his head in response. “You’re bluffing, you know how I know? Because I know you Hunter. It doesn’t matter if I end up being Claire or not but as long as I’m in this body, wearing this face, you’re powerless when it comes to me.”

He didn’t like that, I could tell by the filthy death stare he was sending me.

“Looks don't kill Hunter…” I remarked, resisting the urge to laugh.

“I never said anything about killing you, I said I would stop Jet. If I can’t do it…trust me he’s more than capable of taking you out without hesitation."

“Like he did Morgana?” I sneered, recalling the death of my best friend. “How could any of you be okay with that? Morgana was one of our oldest friends and he killed her for that human!”

Puzzled by my statement, his frown deepened causing me to regret why I had let my anger out of control like that. Turning my back against him, I cleared my throat, searching for a distracting subject.

“Oh right, you said to prove to you that I’m Claire…correct?” I circled him, letting my fingers wander over his chest.

Trisha warned him not to let me get close and I was curious to know how she would react if she saw us now. I knew he wasn’t going to listen to them because if anyone knew me better than anyone, it was him.

“Your name is Hunter Moon-Shadow from the Shadow Realm Pack, your parents died in the hands of the council and I found you in a ditch, wounded and unable to speak. Lady Muna brought in a doctor to examine you and you were diagnosed with selective mutism, a condition that continued into your teen years.” I paused, standing in front of him.

“Jet beat you up when he found out you were my soul mate. You trained for years to be his Beta because you felt like you owed his family so much. You didn’t get along with your age group especially in school and that isolated you from them which brought us even closer together…”

“Jet took on the role of an Alpha and parent, it was also the same year we have the unfortunate fate of meeting Sophie, the witch who lied and spelled Jet into believing she was his mate. Shall I go on? About her Betrayal? Or shall I go into details about the death of Alpha Jordan and Luna Muna?”

“Stop.” He replied forcefully. “This doesn’t prove anything.”

“Really? How come I know details of some events in our lives that even Jet’s mate doesn’t know? Because I was there, I lived through it.”

Reaching for his hand, I clasped them together with my own. “Just because I’m Flaire does not change the fact that I’m Claire. Claire is me, I’m her but it would please me if you address me as Flaire instead.”

Withdrawing his hand, he took a step back. “Why do you prefer to be called Flaire?”

Taking a deep breath, I reached into my mind, finding it blank. “I don’t know…”