The Truth

Chapter 5

The Truth

Lilian.

I was surrounded by fifteen bulky warriors of the Alpha King as I was being led towards the pack hall. The warriors were on high alert as they constantly looked around for any form of threat–my mate. I could barely think clearly because everything was happening so fast.

First, the pack attack, then my mate being at the center of it all, and finally being asked to choose between my family's freedom and my mate. Everything was just too much to handle and I felt like my mind would explode at any time.

The Alpha King stomped angrily in front of me, occasionally turning to give me a deep look of contempt.

"It is greatly unfortunate that you are mated to a demon! And I promise that if you don't choose right, I would make your life miserable as he made mine!" The Alpha King spat out ruthlessly, his bloodshot eyes darting to give me a sinister look.

"Your decision timeline has been revoked since you're already consorting with the devil! You will make a decision tonight in front of the entire elders of the werewolf clans!" His voice was hard as he said.

I trembled in fear of the strong aura emanating from him–even if it wasn't close to the strong and dark aura of my mate–but it was still terrifying. It made my legs wobbly as I moved.

Within minutes, I found myself in the pack hall facing everyone whose eyes bore hatred for me. The hall was filled to the brim as I saw new and old faces. A kick landed on the back of my leg and I was forced to kneel down in front of everyone.

"First, it was your family, now it's you. I believe your bloodline should just be wiped off from the face of this earth." I heard a sharp voice whisper to my ears, turning slightly, my eyes met with the cold gaze of the Luna who held her son close to her bosom while giving me a deadly look.

"I asked us all to be here because this woman here..." The Alpha King pointed towards me, "She has been making friends with the very beast that almost caused the extinction of this pack! Having no remorse or respect for this pack! She could have easily rejected him for the lives he has taken, but no, she still invited him in."

As the Alpha King spoke, three of the council elders stepped up and came forward towards me.

"I believe we have all thought the Predator to be myth until now," An elder spoke, though his voice was soft, but it resonated throughout the hall. I guess it was one of the perks of being an elder in the council.

"But he has never been a myth and is an enemy to the werewolves... To all of us. Even as we are unaware of the circumstances that led him to having a mate, we cannot let one of our own be handed over to him, but, she has to make the choice herself." The elder spoke with so much confidence, making sure to make eye contact with the pack members and visitors, and sometimes making eye contact with me.

"What the elder is saying..." My Alpha, Alpha Blackthorn, cut in softly through the mindlink, "...is that Lilian is one of us, no matter what her parents have done. She doesn't deserve to be in the clutches of a devil. As a pack, we protect each other. Even the outcasts need to be protected. Lilian has shown loyalty to this pack for as long as we can remember, so we would not simply toss her aside."

The words of the Alpha sounded foreign in my ears. Was this speech made to please the visitors around, or did he really mean it? Not more than twenty four hours ago did he want me to be carted away if that brought peace to the pack, now he was being all protective?

"I hear you were given a week to make your choice, Lilian, but I say that you should make your choice tonight." The Alpha King continued from where Alpha Blackthorn stopped. "The Predator has amassed a lot of enemies since the beginning of time, and choosing the Predator over a pack will make you hunted for the rest of your life, even by the pack you once called home."

I nearly scoffed at the end of that sentence. Home? I never felt like I was home in this pack! I was basically tortured physically and emotionally every single day, would anyone call that home?

I watched as Alpha Blackthorn eyed me carefully. "If you reject the Predator as your mate, I promise to accept one request from you. Anything you ask for, I will give you."

I could feel the steady beating of my heart as he said those words. He knew what he was playing at. My head started spinning with the thought of seeing my family again.

"My family... Please, forgive them and give them back to me. I would reject my mate. I have never wanted a mate before, I don't want one. I just need my family back to me." The tears spilled out from the corner of my eyes as I whispered the words. "I know they have done a terrible deed, but please forgive them. I promise to do anything you want from me." My chest was heavy as the tears began pouring from my eyes in torrents.

I missed my family. I wanted them back. They were my home. They were everything I could ever ask from in life. I needed them.

From the corner of my teary eyes, I saw the Alpha King's jaw clench. "Is she the daughter of the Hawthorn family that killed your previous Alpha and Luna?" The Alpha King's voice was hard as he turned to fully stare at the Alpha Blackthorn.

My Alpha's lips curled in disdain as he stared at me.

"Unfortunately. But Lilian, that decision is not for me to make. Your family had hurt the people, and it would be the people that decide whether they should be forgiven or not."

I bowed my head very low to the ground and begged as if my life depended on it. "I know an apology will not bring the previous Alpha and Luna back, but please, forgive them. I promise to reject Daemon right away."

"You even know his name." The Alpha King breathed out. "So, what would that be?" He turned to the audience. "Should we forgive them and reunite them? Or we should call off this deal and let her go?""

The people began to murmur within themselves, coming up with something to say, and all I could do was pray to the moon goddess with my shaky heart.

Kpap! Kpap! Kpap!

A strong clap of hands that sounded like thunder could be heard from the entrance of the pack hall, and all eyes turned to the direction of the sound.

I could feel him even before he stepped foot into the pack hall. My body had begun humming and yearning for his. I felt the strongest urge to be protected in his arms.

"The Predator!" Someone from the crowd said with so much fear in his voice.

I could feel the fear that had crawled over every single person's heart. The moment my mate stepped in, the hall was suddenly tense with a strong aura suffocating everyone in it. Even the Alpha King's warriors were shaking in their boots as they failed woefully to aim their weapons at my mate.

I watched as his eyes searched the crowd for me, until he found me. Suddenly, the people around him began choking on air as his expression changed to something really deadly and demonic. His eyes had narrowed and his jaw clenched and unclenched in anger.

"How dare you treat my mate like scum?!" His voice was a low growl that petrified every person in the room–including the Alpha King who stood rooted to the spot as my mate spoke with so much authority in his voice.

My mate took quick steps and in two seconds, he was standing beside me and picking me up gently from the floor. I felt the heat radiating from his body, and somehow, it calmed my raging and pained heart to something duller.

I stared into his eyes and could almost swear I was drowning in those gray globes.

"S-sh-she ha-ha-has t-to choose." Alpha Blackthorn mindlinked shakily as he stood a few centimetres away from us.

“Choose?” My mate let out a mirthless laugh. “Choose between me and her family who are already dead and burnt to ashes by yours truly?”