There were very effective ways to kill a tiger, Hunter was beginning to realize.
For example, he could throw him into the river and let the current swallow him. He could bury it in his garden and use it as fertilizer for the flowers. He could rip off his disgusting hands and stomp on them until they disintegrate, to punish him for daring to lay hands on Corinne, if she belonged to him...
“Gregory’s hostility seems to be reciprocated, I see.” a voice commented, interrupting Hunter's thoughts as he watched, through one of the windows of the second-floor corridors, Corinne and her damn friend outside, in the garden, talking, laughing and touching each other casually as if they didn't have a care in the world... And as if that bastard didn't know she was a married woman and there wasn't a big chance that he would have his head separated from the r
As a temporary Luna, Corinne should have already gotten used to throwing a special banquet for guests. However, even after everything that had happened at the Blue Moon Festival, she felt that only now had she managed to understand the real joy and excitement of being able to prepare something with all her heart, wishing only the best for whoever would sit at the table with her. Well, the Alphas of the wolf-allied packs would have to forgive her, but preparing that for her family was a very different feeling. Smiling to herself, Corinne continued to walk around the already completely set dining table, with the best dishes in the Calibur house, just waiting for the kitchen to finish preparing the main dishes to start dinner. It had been months since she and the Valiants had a meal together, and, Gods, she missed the laughter, the conversations and everything about being close to her family. And, without having any servants to look at her with fear or disgust nearby, or any
“Alpha…” the wolf gasped, looking like he was about to faint, but Corinne didn’t know if it was due to fear or lack of air “I’m… Sorry… Forgive… Me…”“Hunter, please, stop!” Corinne finally managed to free herself from the shock enough to run toward her husband and grab his arm, but her grip on both men's necks remained painfully tight.“Do you think my wife is cruel and dangerous, even when she was silently listening while you talked shit about her?” the corners of his mouth slowly lifted into a smile that would make anyone's blood run cold "I wonder what you'll think of my methods, then..."“I will never disrespect your wife again, Alpha, I swear on my life!” the wolf whimpered, using the last breath of air h
Never in his life Hunter could imagine he would be furious with a wolf from his pack to the point of actually wanting to kill him. But, fuck, he'd never imagined he had idiots like that jerk who had knelt at Corinne's feet in his land. Still feeling his blood boil as he remembered the disgusting and rude words they were spewing at Corinne, while she just remained hidden from their eyes, huddled near the dinner table she was arranging with so much care. How dare they make her feel bad, after everything she had done for them? She almost died to prevent invaders from reaching their territory. She used her magic to stop the tower of grain from crushing many of them, even though she was literally terrified of someone finding out that she had inherited it from her mother. She remained calm and peaceful even though she had every reason in the world to take revenge on him, on Jennifer, on all the tigers in her territory, her older brother, her family... The whole world.
“What?” Hunter questioned, tensely “Are you trying to trick me or…?” “I know what everyone thinks. There's this ridiculous joke, that's been created over the years, that Seraphina and Corinne are capable of using magic on more than just objects, but no one really believes it. The magic in their blood would have to be very strong for that, just like the magic of the ancient wizards who once enslaved our species. But, Seraphina didn't get that far because she was an ordinary sorceress.” Juliet sighed “Everyone expected Eli and I to become mates and that's exactly what happened, until, a few months after he marked me, she showed up. She asked for a meeting with him one night, said she was a nomadic herbalist who wanted to offer her services, and… In the next day, he rejected me.” Hunter could hear the deep pain in her voice, and, now that the prospect of losing Corinne haunted him day and night, he knew perfectly well how she felt. “She controlled his mind?” Hunter
Standing in front of the mirror on her bedroom dresser, Corinne was trying hard to recognize the woman she saw in the reflection, but she couldn't. She should have been elated that her family's arrival would be the last encouragement Hunter needed to reject her once and for all, but... The truth was, she wasn't. And, as much as it was a little pathetic to admit it, it wasn't just because of the mating bond they would never achieve. Any other tiger would never have been able to adapt to a land of wolves, much less consider it a new home, but... Well, Corinne had never been an exemplary tigress, anyway. And, if she had been smarter, she would never have allowed herself to get so attached to Calibur's territory either, but now it was too late. Leaning over the dressing table, with her face hidden between her arms, she unearthed a very old memory from her childhood. One time, she and Gregory were resting near the lake in the countryside, just after they had finished their training for t
“What do you mean by that?” Hunter blinked, more dubious than incredulous, as he really couldn't imagine Corinne actually tearing apart one of the tigers that had already done her harm, as much as they all certainly deserved it. “When... When I was a child...” her hands tightened on him, as if telling him this was causing physical pain “I wasn't used to the type of treatment I started to receive after Seraphina... Died. I was the princess of the pack and received all the attention and pampering you can imagine. It couldn't be any different, since Seraphina made it very clear that she expected me to become her heir and father was..." Corinne bit her lip hard, and Hunter debated whether or not he should tell her that he already knew the whole truth. about Eli being bewitched, but she continued talking before he could make a decision “Forget it. That doesn't matter. The truth is, after Juliet finally became the Alpha's wife as she always should have been and the pack realized that they h
“Well, if they continued, maybe you should have broken their bones too, instead of just dislocating them.” Hunter shrugged, his voice calm, causing her to look back at him in shock. “You don’t have to be gentle with me…” she sniffed “I know how terrible it is to hit children who were weaker than me. In fact, that was what made me accept my father's decision to send me to the countryside without tears or tantrums. I would miss them so much, but I knew it was too late for me. I was seen as a menace to the pack and shouldn't be there anymore, even though the main reason they decided that was that assassination attempt.” “It is terrible for an adult to hit a defenseless child. A single child, being bullied, reacting to the mistreatment of several others seems very reasonable to me.” He stated, with conviction “If I had a daughter, I could even talk to her about h
Corinne hadn't realized how poorly she'd been sleeping lately until she had a night's sleep as good as this one. Tossing and turning between the sheets in that peaceful awakening, she sighed contentedly, surprised at how light she was feeling that morning. It was a joy so pure and warm that, even without her consent, her still sleepy thoughts began to crawl, looking for the reason for that feeling...Oh, of course, Hunter had visited her last night. She had cried, true, but only because he had made her feel welcomed and wanted like never before in her life. Maybe his reasons could just come from gratitude for the things she had done or the friendship they had managed to build, but... For her, it just didn't matter. For the first time, she just wanted to enjoy the feeling of knowing there was somewhere else in the world, other than her home with her family, that would be there to take her when she cried, ju