Her Mortal Mate

Chapter Forty Seven: Anxious

Hans

She didn't know.

She only suspected.

If she would have had any incriminating evidence, she would have already outed us.

For the moment, we had the upper hand.

It was annoying how that little b***h had found her way into the good graces of Lucien Knight. He was an infamous hunter. A notorious leader. A renowned councilor. And, on top of it all, he was rich.

Somehow, she had wiggled her way into the wolf's home and heart despite all of her flaws. It angered me how her fortune and luck had soared while mine had plummeted. She was manipulative by nature, she had to have manipulated the hunter into taking her into his home and treating her like a daughter.

That was the only explanation I had.

If for some reason she and her pack survived tonight, I would make Chance go before the moderator and stake his claim. It would be nearly impossible to refute such an accusation based on what she was.

At least she couldn't make any more little devils like her. I'd at least fixed that problem. I was starting to regret not killing her when I'd had the chance. Her mother--the spineless and soft creature she was--had begged me for Jadea's life. She'd even made a promise, a blood oath to serve me in any way I needed in order to spare her beloved daughter's life.

Even though she had saved Jadea, I knew she still regretted not being able to save Benji's life as well.

I grumbled to myself, frustrated over my weakness at that time in my life.

Though, it wasn't just my weakness I was frustrated with. Both of my prized boys--Harley and Ryland--had failed me. They had botched the one chance we had to capture her and use her to our advantage. They hadn't been able to kill the defenseless children. The mistakes they'd made when they captured Adam ultimately led to his rescue. While Harley tried to pin every one of the failings on everyone else, I punished both him and Ryland. I'd sent both of them to do a job and they hadn't been able to get their heads far enough out of their asses to do it properly.

But, what probably angered me the most was seeing that weakling of a human perched protected in Jadea's reserved box.

I was so glad I'd cast Jadea out of my pack. Her taste in mates spoke volumes.

Damn it, she was my blood! She was my daughter! It made me sick knowing she would stoop to such lows to take such a weak being as a mate! If she had to take a human, why couldn't it have been a soldier? Someone worthy?

With any luck, they would all be killed tonight. With any luck, Chance would win by default when Jadea was pronounced dead.

And, if by some miracle they survived what was coming, Ryland, Harley and several of my other packs were waiting at each entrance into the underground city. If Jadea and any of her Knight Necromancers survived, if that i***t of a mate survived, they would be slain the instant they escaped the city.

I watched impassively while the formalities for the opening of the debate began.

At least Chance had done his part, despite being a complete and utter disappointment himself. Honestly, I couldn't say who I was disgusted with more: Chance or Jadea.

Once the debate was underway, the true chaos would begin.

I had just started to calm down, thinking of all the blood, fear and death that would soon come raining down on all of their unsuspecting heads, when the announcer's voice told us to stand for the moderator. It was odd, that such an act of respect would be given to a simple moderator. My gut knotted when it was announced The Phoenix would be the moderator.

This couldn't be a coincidence!

How had she known!?

F**k! It was too late to call off the attack. We would just have to press on and pray she would perish with the rest of the underground city...

Adam

I shifted anxiously.

No one had said anything to me about Jadea's father being here. The rather tall, smartly dressed handsome man who'd approached us with the silver hair, close shaved beard and piercing honey colored eyes introduced himself to me as Lucien, Jadea's adoptive father.

I about died, because this was not how I imagined meeting him. At least not with a pair of fake faux wolf ears on. I'd at least made the best impression I could by standing, taking his hand in a firm shake and refusing to flinch when his rightful warning to take care of his daughter was spoken in a way that promised a slow, torturous death if I ever hurt her. Hell, he hadn't even said what would happen! There had been no verbal threat. But, it had been there in his underlying tone all the same.

At least the rest of her pack had seemed surprised to see him too, which meant this wasn’t planned.

There wasn't much time for talking, seeing as the formalities of the debate started.

Jadea was called out first and the breath was nearly stolen from my lungs at the sight of her.

Sure, I'd seen her get dressed this morning. Sure, I knew how drop dead gorgeous she was. Nonetheless, that didn't stop me from appreciating her beauty. And while she stood there, proud and tall, looking every bit like the warrior princess she was I knew deep down she was falling to pieces due to her nerves. She was fairly drowning due to them. I could feel her nervousness seeping into my mind as she tried to chain it all behind a well placed wall. Even though I knew she could handle herself, even though I knew she had distanced herself despite what we had talked about only days prior, I couldn't summon up one ounce of anger towards her. There was no disappointment.

She had technically stayed connected with me, which was how I'd felt her unease in the first place. Now that I knew there were different levels of openness with one's mind, I would have to re-evaluate and adjust my terms with her when all of this was said and done.

As she moved to stand behind her podium, I decided to reach out to her and sooth her mind once more. Even though it was such a small and simple act, I could tell how much it helped her calm down. She wasn't used to sharing her mind openly, I understood that. I had seen the way she'd only opened her mind to her packmates for brief moments, and even then most often she didn't open up fully to them. She saw herself as their alpha. She didn't necessarily view her relationship as a one way street--with her only taking care of them--because that wasn't how lasting relationships were built, but what she did open up to them about was limited.

The only exception being Garret, though he could control his mind reading gifts if he so desired.

Jadea was selfless and self preserving. She walked a fine line between her and her packmates and I had to give it to her because she had become damn good at it too. However, it was past time to open up completely and trust another entirely with her past. I had every confidence in myself that I could be the one she told her deepest and darkest secrets to. I knew I could handle all of them. I knew I could be there for her like she had been there for me. I would help her work through her past, her traumas--

"All rise for The Phoenix," the announcer addressed the crowd, his voice piercing through my thoughts.

"Oh, you're going to like this!" Briar exclaimed in my ear as she leaned in from behind me. "And the best part is we have the best seats to see all of it!" she fairly squealed.

"Who is the Phoenix?" I asked.

"Constance is The Phoenix," Garret replied. He tried to go into detail but the roar of the crowd drowned him out.

My gaze was pulled to the entrance at the very back of the room as two demons soared through the large doors. They looked almost identical. The black hair, the build, the horns. The color of their wings was the only obvious difference I could see. They had to be related. As I peered closer, I recognized one of them as being Constance's mate, Gabriel. Both he, and the other demon took up positions on either side of the stage's stairs where the moderator would ascend, their bodies facing outward towards the crowd.

Seconds later, a different and yet more stunning immortal walked through the entrance.

She was a sight to behold. She was fierce. She was beautiful. It was... "Constance?" I asked unsure, looking to Garret for an explanation. This woman looked like a demon too, with wings that faded from white at the base to blond, light browns, darker browns and then to black at the tips. Horns curled out of her forehead like a big horned sheep's. The dress she wore looked unreal. It was strapless and started out white at the top, fading to grey, then black and had a red flair at the bottom. Golden rope was intricately tied around the bodice as a very long sword was buckled at her waist.

"Yes, that is Constance, The Phoenix," Garret nodded.

Behind her, I saw Nikolai and a darker figure slip in and stand guard at the entrance.

Each one of them, of her guard, were decked out in black leather armor. Weapons strapped to their hips and backs.

They all were a daunting sight.

Beside me, Garret shifted and I noticed the frown marring his face. What had he caught onto? Who's mind had he zeroed in and listened in on?

Suddenly, his piercing gaze moved to Jadea and I felt her mind suddenly become charged with chatter from her packmates. I tried my best to include myself, but the barrier she'd put into place around her conscious thought made it impossible. As that was going on, everyone started to settle back into their seats. Right as Constance turned around on the stage and was going to address the room to officially start the debate, all hell broke loose.