Blood moon

Chapter 90. Capable

Andrea felt scared. The woman who was cooking for her had tried to attack her while she was eating. The werewolves had given their lives to protect her, but that had been terrifying and left her feeling very concerned. Now, looking at the sweet man, Hunter, being a complete savage, he seemed like a completely different person.

—Stop, Hunter— announced Andrea.

Andrea Smith was in a desperate situation. Pregnant and in danger, she lay in her room, feeling the world crumbling around her. The Halland family cook, a seemingly kind woman, had tried to murder her. The Hallands were a pack of werewolves sworn to protect her, but something had gone terribly wrong.

Hunter, the man Andrea loved who belonged to that family, arrived in her room just in time to stop the cook from harming her. Despite his quick intervention, Andrea's father-in-law, an older but brave man, had been injured in the process. He had been cut on a couple of occasions, but had fought with all his might to protect Andrea.

Now, Hunter was close to Andrea, but his appearance was frightening. He seemed to have transformed into a savage, his eyes glowing with a ferocity that made Andrea fear for her life. Andrea, for her part, felt caught in the middle of a storm of emotions and danger. The life she had known so far had become completely chaotic, and the truth behind the cook's betrayal remained a mystery she needed to solve.

The younger werewolf felt a little afraid.

—I'm sorry— he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, Hunter said.

Hunter felt caught in an internal dilemma. As the leader of the Halland pack, he knew he had to make important decisions and keep his cool in times of crisis. At that moment, however, his inner wolf was raging with fury, eager for revenge and blood. He felt as if he could kill anyone around him in an instant.

He looked at his father, whose bleeding wounds were a vivid reminder of how close they had come to losing Andrea. Despite his aggressive appearance, Hunter felt deeply concerned for everyone in the room. He wanted to do the right thing, to be the leader the pack expected, but it seemed his inner wolf was being overwhelmingly dominant at the moment.

With a superhuman effort, Hunter managed to contain his killer instinct. He inhaled deeply, trying to regain control of himself. He knew that revenge would solve nothing and that he had to find a way to protect his family without resorting to blind violence.

Hunter's internal struggle continued as he tried to balance the ferocity of his wolf with the responsibility of leading his pack. The situation was complicated and dangerous, and he had to find a solution that didn't put Andrea or his own humanity at risk.

—I'm sorry Andrea, I had no intention of hurting you— the words struggled to get out of his throat, in fact he had great difficulty expressing himself, as if the words had been stolen from his mouth.

—Harold Halland knew what it was like to be there, it was because of his wolf, he had too much strength, the animal part was literally eating away at the rational part, he was surprised how well he mastered those passionate emotions, because he could still speak, the problem was that he felt very threatened, making his instincts tend to take over.

Hunter was having trouble accepting that the situation was getting the better of him, he took as deep a breath as his lungs would allow. His eyes were still red, but the way his chest was rising had lessened, it had certainly gone down, he was calming down, he looked for a place on the floor so he could sit down, he needed to be calm.

Andrea felt lost, a little dizziness invaded her body, when she staggered, Harold held her tightly. Now he felt sorry for the poor woman trapped in a world she didn't know, that boy she was carrying gave her some powers over the hate she had, the taste or some of the strength, but nothing against a real wolf.

—Let's get you to another room, you must be feeling a bit dizzy— Harold was taking the situation in hand. He needed to make some sense of what just happened, so he took her to Hunter's room so she could rest, as soon as he laid her on the bed she clung to his arm.

—If people are dying, you'll need Hunter, don't let him get hurt— she was surprised by the woman's words, showing the strength she could have inside her.

—He'll be fine— her father-in-law said, trying to comfort her.

—No, he will be. The death of those men marked him, even if he doesn't want to admit it, so please don't try to tell me that he can't get hurt— the woman's eyes said everything she wanted to say in words.

—You're right— he commented in solidarity, glad that he had such a sweet woman by his side.

Then as if things had turned out for the best, more than he thought they would, he turned away from her to go into the room where his youngest son looked upset, then proceeded to slap him hard.

—You're a f*****g werewolf, you're an alpha and you'll do whatever it takes to keep us safe, even if those chungos tell you otherwise, now get your skinny ass off the ground, because you'll have men to kill— Harold had given his son a slap of reality, because he wanted more than anything to make him happy.

Hunter seemed speechless.

—Dad, I...— The man's voice still sounded broken.

—Shut up you i***t, now go downstairs with your brother, because if men are dying all the help is needed, do you think that only your girl suffered? do you think that other women are not doing it now? behave like a man— those words, it was something very strong, it made everything change inside him.

Hunter, with his eyes lowered and his fist clenched, listened in silence, taking responsibility for his actions. He knew he had made an unforgivable mistake, one that had left his beloved wife, Andrea, on the brink of death. The betrayal of the cook, who had tried to kill Andrea, had driven him to the brink of irrational violence.

The image of Harley, his faithful companion, leading the treacherous cook into the cellar was still fresh in his mind. Now, Hunter had a duty to perform as the leader of the pack. He had to confront the traitor, get information on who was behind the assassination attempt and avenge the death of his compatriots.

With determination in his eyes, Hunter nodded at his father's words and turned away. He made his way towards the door that led to the basement, his footsteps echoing on the wooden floor, marking his commitment to do whatever it took to protect his own and find answers. The path into the darkness of the cellar stretched out before him, a testament to his leadership and his determination to bring justice for those who had fallen.

-Harley was talking out loud trying to find his brother.

Harley was down in the basement staring at the woman, who had refused to speak, only emitting the pitiful sounds of pain because both her shoulders were broken, I put the shackles on her where possible, I didn't want her to get off easy, Hunter's voice, the woman seemed to be frightened, she began to tremble.

—That's my brother.

—I know— she replied arrogantly, but you could feel the fear in her voice.

—As soon as he arrives, you know he'll sell for you— that made the woman a little sad —You know he won't have any consideration for you, and I don't think the dismemberment is the worst of the situation, maybe he'll go after your whole family and do whatever it takes to get them to tell him the truth.

—What if they have nothing to say?

—You know how it will end, he'll kill them to make an example, his worst mistake is believing that Hunter doesn't have the strength to do what is needed, because my brother is one of the strongest werewolves anyone has ever met— then a growl began to sound louder in the hallway, as if it were coming closer.

—No, he will.

—Do you think what he did to you was a coincidence? He's capable of doing whatever he wants— Hunter could hear Harley's voice, across the corridor, he was happy to be by his side, he loved how well they could get along now and how much he trusted him, at least someone thought he could be a right leader.

He wanted to do the right thing so he could prove that whatever ends he was given were for a reason. He was an alpha, one with red eyes, as powerful as any they could buy, yet they still thought he didn't have what it took to lead them, when he saw the bodies in the room he had been frustrated, and now he was even more frustrated.

-I'm glad to hear you're okay, okay enough to believe you have a choice," then she walked through the door, making everyone gasp, you could feel the power in the room.

The woman held her breath.

Hunter's claws transformed into talons, he proceeded to dig them into her stomach with great force, causing her to bleed internally. The pain was strong enough to make him bleed from his mouth, the girl's eyes opened and she didn't understand what she saw in his eyes, but she knew it was something completely different.

—I...— Hunter leaned close to her ear.

—If I turn my claws in your belly now, I will do it so fast that you will see your guts in the air, you will be able to see it outside your body— it was then that she understood the danger she was in by being exposed to the reality between both werewolves, she should have finished quickly and left, but she didn't do it.