Chapter six

“Hunter?” I call out, my voice broken. When his features appear before me, he gestures for the guards to leave before he moves closer.

I quickly check his head for the wound, but I find none. It's as if he hadn't been injured at all, but I vividly recall Damon harming him.

I frown as confusion and disbelief wash over me. “How–how come? What's going on?” I inquire, my voice trembling with uncertainty.

“I can explain. But first, you have to eat. You look so fucking skinny.” Hunter says to me, bringing out a bowl of rice that I noticed before.

“No. Explain to me first. How come you are still alive?” I ask anxiously again.

My intuition screams that the Black Pack Alpha and Hunter might be behind all of this, but I can't bring myself to accept it. The idea that Hunter could betray me feels unfathomable. He always looks at me with so much tenderness and gentleness in his eyes. That means he did love me, right?

“Okay, what happened was that—” Hunter begins to explain but is suddenly interrupted by loud footsteps.

“Are you surprised to see your lover, Princess?” Alpha Damon's chilling voice echoes in my ears, sending shivers down my spine.

I glare at him as he approaches, memories of his abuse and harassment vivid in my mind from when he dragged me to the dungeon.

Inhaling sharply, I lift my head as he stands before me. His aura is chilling to the bone, and his indifference as he stares at me clutches at my soul.

“Why?” I ask, my voice tiny and broken, my eyes reflecting the pain and suffering he has made me endure. “You could have thrown me into any cell. Why tie me to a Silver pole for days!”

“Because you are a shameless woman!” he retorts with venom, his words dripping with disdain.

“It's not my fault, I didn't know he wasn't my mate!”

“That’s a fucking excuse! How dare you? How dare you seduce my Beta?”

“Damon!” I raise my voice, a horrible shriek escaping me. “Please. You've already hurt me enough. Please don't break my heart anymore,” I find myself pleading and begging him despite the pain he's made me experience.

As I speak, Hunter's face twists into a frown, but he conceals his emotions, mindful of Alpha Damon’s presence.

“Feed her, so she'll gain some flesh on her shameful body,” he sneers, his words dripping with disdain and cruelty.

As he speaks, my attention is captivated by the alluring mate scent emanating from him. It overwhelms me, reminding me of the painful truth that he, not Hunter, is my destined mate.

“I’m sorry, please forgive me, I was confused for a moment. I am your mate, you can't treat me poorly like this,”

Alpha Damon chuckles after my words, slowly advancing toward me. His penetrating gaze reflects a seething hatred. “Did you think about the fact that you are my mate when you spread your disgusting legs for Hunter? Did you think for once about how your act of infidelity will affect my prestige and honor in the whole Pack?”

“Anyway, I already have a mate, and she is not you.” His words cut through the air with a cruel sharpness and he glares hard at me before he exits the cell.

Tears stream down my face, robbing me of speech and strength. At this moment, I can't sense any mate scent coming from Hunter anymore. The only fragrance I perceive is the arousing one from Alpha Damon, making me realize they must have done something to confuse me, to make him assume Hunter was my mate on my first day here when he clearly wasn't.

They must have used a secret method to confuse me. This could explain why Alpha Damon didn't come to see me after I somehow arrived at his mansion.

It seems they orchestrated everything for me to fall into the current situation.

“Did they plan the abduction too?” I wonder, my mind racing for answers.

With these thoughts in my head, I raise my head up to look at Hunter who has a stoic expression on his face.

“Why did you betray me? Why did you make me believe that you are my mate!” I yell at him.

I can't believe I am imprisoned by my own mate because of him. Or had they really schemed this together?

“Lana…” Hunter’s voice resonates in my mind, carrying echoes of agony and sympathy. But, how can he truly understand the pain when I am the one enduring the suffering?

“Don't call my name. You are a disappointment to me. I hate you! I hate you more than I hate Alpha. I hate all of you,” I cry out at him at the top of my voice as tears flow down my face, catching me off guard. I can't help but despise myself for crying.

I don't want to cry! I don't want to cry and look weak in front of him or the Black Pack Alpha ever again! I don't want to appear weak and vulnerable to them again.

Tears fall uncontrollably from my eyes as I meet his gaze, struggling to contain my emotions. “I sought your help to escape this torment, but you abandoned me. You deceived me with false intimacy, only for us to be caught in the act by your Alpha. How could you betray me like that?”

Hunter entered my life like sunlight, the mate scent I perceived around him was so potent. Its fragrance is like the smell of wood and masculinity. Naively, I fell for him, believing he was my mate and would help me escape, only to discover I was used and betrayed by him.

As I reflect on the shared moments, disbelief sets in. It's hard to understand that Hunter twisted our connection into a heart-wrenching joke. It wasn't just a semblance of a setup; it was a meticulously crafted trap, a dangerous pit orchestrated by him and the Black Pack Alpha.

“Everything is not what you think it is.” Hunter's attempt to explain meets my menacing glare, and I follow it with a cynical laugh that echoes through the cold cell.

My laughter fades and I confront Hunter. “I was gullible, naive, and stupid to believe you were my mate.” The pain resonates in my words, and I continue as my mind paints the startling bloodied scene in my head. “ I witnessed your 'death,' Hunter. When Damon struck you with that big rod, and you bled, it felt like my soul was ripped away. I thought I'd die with you lying there, lifeless. It felt like my heart tore apart, thinking it was my fault, and I was unable to save you as I watched you take your last breath.

Despite the pain coursing through me, I find myself unable to cease talking. “Amidst Alpha Damon's torture, you were all I could think of—your cold body, bleeding head, and the slow exhale of your last breath. Your fading eyes haunted me every night when I closed them. And now, you're here, unscathed. You faked it all, Hunter! Both of you treated me like a fool, exploiting my innocence!” The words spill from my mouth without restraint.

“Lana, I apologize for—”

I interrupt him with a short laugh, glaring at him with complete hatred and resentment in my eyes. “You wish to apologize? What exactly would you be apologizing for, Hunter? For making me think you were my mate and opening my heart to you? Or for pretending that you were dead and making me feel guilty for your death? Or, wait, would you apologize for me being tied to a silver Pole after I was caught attempting to make love with you?”

Hunter's eyes darken in response to my last words but I remain indifferent to his emotions. His feelings for me are inconsequential. I need him to grasp the depth of my pain, to understand the trust, love, and dependence he shattered.

“Lana, I swore to you that I truly didn't know it would all turn out like this,” he claims, standing before me and meeting my gaze.

Does he still believe I'm the same Lana from a few days ago, gullible and naive? Does he think a few words can make me believe this chaos is coincidental, not a planned scheme by him and the Black Pack Alpha?

“Spare me that talk, Hunter. I know and believe you were aware this would happen from the beginning. I know it was planned, schemed by you and Alpha Damon, to have me caught and treated like a criminal. No need to pretend you're a good person anymore, Hunter. Your mask has fallen, revealing how despicable and horrible you are. I see now, you're no better than the Black Pack Alpha. It would have been better for me to be betrayed by him, not you!” I shriek at him, my hands clenching the chains with a loud clang matching my voice's intensity.

“If you want to apologize, then tell me, Hunter. Tell me how I ended up in that room? What happens whenever I lose consciousness after eating the food brought by the maids? Is your Alpha involved in this too?” I inquire with a shaky and unstable voice.