Chapter Five

Grim POV

 

I stood at the front of the spring pack, watching the fire light up the dead bodies I had killed. Not just dead bodies but the whole pack. The whole spring pack.

 

I continued staring at the fire, the warmth slowly cloaking my body. My mind flashed back to Olivia, the blue-eyed, pale-looking girl I had found in the woods. 

 

For a minute I wondered how it would be to have her by my side, just watching this fire burn. 

 

To normal wolves, this would be terror for them, but to me, it was fun. You know, watching hundreds of people die, with their half-eaten hearts splattered around just because their dumb Alpha decided to be a fool and burn one of my hotels in the human world.

 

I told him he would pay, and he thought I was joking. 

 

Just when I thought I had gotten over Olivia's face, it reappeared again. Gosh, I don't know why her face keeps on appearing in my head. 

 

Like she is a nobody.

 

Suddenly, pain rushed within me—deep, intense pain like someone was dying. Someone I loved. What the hell was happening?

 

I tried calling my mom through the mind link, but it was answered with a chilling silence. Same with my mate.

 

I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling uneasy about this. I hope they are alright.

 

Hunter walked towards me, his clothes soaked with blood, just like mine. But his shoulders were sagged down; he had a crestfallen expression on his face.

 

“What happened?” I asked to walk up.

 

He slowly raised his bloodshot eyes, filled with tears for me. My heart sank immediately. Hunter never ever cried except when something was wrong. We had trained ourselves to have no weakness.

 

“Did something happen to your brother or to your dad? Speak up,” I said, shaking his shoulder.

 

"Alpha sent his men to attack us again,” he said.

 

Fucking bastard, I muttered under my breath. This was the second time he was trying to attack us. The first time he sent some men, who killed my dad, and that happened because I was not around.

 

I made sure to kill half of his pack the following day.

 

“Okay, what did they do this time?” I asked.

 

“They killed most of our palace guards,” he stopped, and a tear rolled down his cheeks.

 

“And what?” I asked.

 

He sucked in deep breath. “They killed Theresa and your mother,” he said. More tears rolled down his cheeks.

“What? Can you hear yourself, hunter? Someone just killed my mom and Theresa,” I asked and scoffed. "Oh, come on, we both know that can't happen,” I said in a light voice, shaking my head.

 

He nodded. “Magna just called us to come back. It is true.”

 

Chills ran through my spine, looking like they had soaked me into a bathtub filled with ice. I slowly dropped my arms from his shoulder and sat on the floor.

 

No, this can't happen. Killian and his men can't kill my mother and my mate. My mother was a powerful witch; that was where my sister got her power from. No one dared her and got away with it. It was a lie. A very big one.

I stared at the fire and watched it burn. I watched the last sort of humanity I had left burn with it.

 

Killian and whoever killed them were going to pay, with blood and pain. I would not make death easy for them.

 

He sat down close to me, watching the fire burn. “I'm so sorry, man,” he said, and squeezed my hand a little bit.

 

I shook my head. “Killian killed my family, Hunter. He had single-handedly whipped my whole family. The only one cared about in this world. He is going to regret it,” I said in a calm, morbid tone.

 

I was called a heart eater for a reason, but this time, I would have made him eat his whole body up before killing him. He would pay dearly.

 

“Yes, he will regret it,” Hunter said in unison. “We would burn his whole pack down. All of them,” he said.

 

"All of them,” I added while watching the fire burn. Cold wind ran around us, freezing the good part of me and leaving only the bad side alive.

 

That night I made a promise to the memories of my loved ones that the crane pack would burn at my record.

 

The next morning came faster than expected. Hunter and I had slept in the spring pack palace, which was now a shadow of itself.

 

The palace that was once filled with servants, guards, and his six wives was left in ruin with blood on them.

 

I gathered their hearts and formed my name with them. Grim so that anyone who passed by would know that I was the one who killed them, and bedtime storytellers would add it to their story, tagging me as the monster. 

 

And that was what I was about to show the world. Monsters don't have any feeling left. They kill on sight.

 

As we drove towards the palace, I reminded myself that I would be met with a sad atmosphere. Everyone would be weeping and looking at me with pity eyes.

 

Those who did not love my mother loved Theresa. Those were the most kindhearted people I had known, and they were gone just like that.

 

The guard opened the gate for us, and we stepped down. My eyes scanned the whole palace that was filled with decoration and music playing inside. Servants were busy carrying food, and the parking lot was filled with people.

 

What the hell is happening? If I can remember clearly, my mother just died; we just lost three royalties. Theresa was a royalty too. So why the hell did it look like they were celebrating?

 

“What is happening here?” I asked one of the guards that came to carry our luggage.

 

“Dean is getting married today, sir,” he said.

 

I narrowed my eyes to a split “He is what?” I asked again.

 

“He is getting married, sir.”

 

I took a step back, and shock ran through my bone marrow. “Does he know?” I asked him.

 

At first he furrowed his eyebrow, seeming confused about what I was asking. His eyes widened with the realisation that I was talking about my mother.

 

"Yes, he does. He said we should carry on. After all, she is not a royalty,” he said.

 

I waved at him to carry on with his duties. “That bloody twat. Does he not know that we don't celebrate whenever a royalty dies?” Hunter asked in a low voice.

 

A chuckle escaped my lips. “He said my mom is not a royalty. She does not matter, right? What about dad? What about Theresa, who was his former best friend? What about me, whom he had given a hundred reasons to kill but still left him? He just washed that away and decided to go on like nothing happened. What a fool to think he would go away with this.”

 

“What are you going to do?” He asked.

 

An eerie smile crept into my lips. “Stop the goddamn wedding,” I said and rushed inside, clicking my gun as I went.

 

“Announcing the presence of the first son of the great Alpha Atlas, the first hybrid in our pack, and the next eligible Alpha,” the host announced.

 

Everyone stood up and bowed to me as I walked towards the aisle, my gun visibly in my hands with Hunter beside me.

 

A glint of fear passed through Dean's eyes. Standing beside him was this slut who offered herself to me when I tried striking an alliance with her brother. Sandra, Killian Sister.

 

I stopped at the front of the altar and gave the couple a death glare that made Sandra tremble and face the crowd.

 

“Go home. The wedding is cancelled,” I said.

 

The members of the pack stood up, bent their heads, and started walking.

 

“Stop!” Deans shouted, and they paused. Of course he is a royalty.

 

“This wedding will continue. I am the heir apparent to the throne. In days I would become your Alpha, you take orders from me, not this illegitimate bastard,” he said.

 

The crowd murmured, wondering who they would obey.

 

I rolled my eyes at this insecure brother of mine. He knew I was stronger, and the only way to make me little was to say I was illegitimate.

 

Without wasting time, I whirled around and pointed at Sandra, shooting her at her stomach with a wolfsbane-filled bullet.

 

Blood rushed down, staining her beautiful white gown. Sorry to the dress, I muttered and turned to them.

 

“So wolves of vale pack, the bride is injured and would likely not be able to walk for the next two weeks. Go home, mourn your dead Alpha while I mourn my mother and mate who passed away last night"

 

The crowd released a loud gasp, and it did not tell me a moment to understand that they did not know about their death. 

 

Dean had decided to hide it from everyone. Fucking coward.

 

“You will pay for this. I promise you Grim." Dean said he was carrying his bloodstained mate away.

 

I glared at him; the only thing saving him was my promise to my dad to make sure I treat him well and take him as a brother.

 

I ordered a maid to clean up the place and strolled towards my room, tired. Take a shower, eat, and then go and consume myself in sorrow as I stare at the two most precious women in my life.

 

I opened my door; a sweet lavender scent filled my nostrils, numbing the pain for a while. My wolf jumped in a strange excitement.

 

My eyes landed on a pale-looking girl putting on a short skirt and no bra, with her hair packed in a bun. She stood at the side of my bed, and another one stood by the side.

 

She looked so familiar—really, really familiar. My eyes widened with the realisation, "Olivia,” I called in a breathless whisper.

 

She swallowed hard. I immediately changed the light from a red one to a white one to clearly see her face.

 

Her eyes filled with tears. “What are you doing here?” I asked.

 

“Magna sent us here,” she said in a trembling voice.

 

I scoffed “So after all the running away from me, you landed in my room. Huh?” I asked as I strolled towards her.

 

Warmth rushed towards my heart as my eyes travelled round her body, stopping at her breast.

 

I sucked in a deep breath as my dick hardened. What the hell is happening to me? Why is my body reacting this way? I was someone with huge self-control. Not every sexy girl turned me on. 

 

So why did I feel such an attraction to her, and somehow I felt the attraction was deeper than just lust?

 

I strolled towards her and raised my hands to caress her face, ignoring the girl beside me. 

 

Sparks ran through my hand as my hand came into contact with her skin. My wolf growled loudly, "Mate,” and with the way she looked at me, I knew she felt it too. We were mates.

 

Bloody hell! What the hell is wrong with this so-called moon goddess? How can she take Theresa in a day and send a lowborn as her replacement?

 

“I'm so sorry,” she whispered in a trembling voice. I raised my eyebrow. What the hell was she apologising for?

 

I opened my mouth to say something only to have a hunter barge into my room, panting heavily.

 

“Know how to respect people’s privacy, man,” I said.

 

“Dean sent them to you,” he said, pointing at them.

 

I furrowed my eyes. What the hell was he talking about?

 

“They are from the vale pack. They were among the people who attacked and killed your mom and Theresa,” he said.

 

My eyes narrowed to a split as I tried to process what he just said. I turned to Olivia and the way she looked pale, tears streaming her eyes as she shook her head. Hunter was right. She actually killed my family members.

 

“Fuck!” I growled loudly, frustration crawling into my skin. 

 

My first instinct was to rip her heart out and make her suffer, but on a second thought, I would watch as she suffered.

 

“Is this true?”

 

She bowed her head as tears welled up her eyes. 

 

He strolled towards her and grabbed her by her hair, making her face me, “Answer me!” I shouted.

"Yes," she said.

I glared at her, tightening my grip on her hair and making her wince in pain. 

 

“I Grim Vale of

 

"Grim, don't do this. You need a mate by your side to make your hold as an Alpha stronger, Hunter said, interrupting me.

 

Anger boiled within me as I turned to look at him. “Can you hear yourself?" She killed Theresa, and you want me to accept her?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. I can't believe he wants me to swallow whatever she did for him. Fuck the Crown.

 

“Look!” he said and pushed before shouting “Stop!” His eyes were staring at Olivia, who was behind me.

 

I turned to meet her, only to find her raising her hand, which had a knife to her.

 

My eyes widened with terror at the realisation that she wanted to kill herself. Fear squeezed my heart at the thought of her dying.

 

I rushed towards her and placed my hands on her stomach. I grabbed the knife, squeezing it tightly. I hissed slightly as Wolfsbane stabbed me with pain.

 

Cold chills ran through my spine at the realisation that she actually wanted to kill herself. 

 

Her eyes slowly opened to meet my lethal eyes; I glared at me for a while before closing the distance between us. Her sweet, toxic breath fanned my face

"Now you listen to me and imprint whatever I say in your head. You don't get to die after all the pain your park caused me. You would only die by my order and mine alone, but be sure that I would treat you so badly that you would wish for death,” I growled.