“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?” HunterStanding 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
Corinne thought things were bad a few days ago, when her family had arrived in Calibur. However, now, she would do anything to return to that time.“Eli, stop making that face!” she heard Juliet mutter from across the dining table, as she elbowed her mate “Corinne already explained what happened. What more do you want?”“I want the head of that son of a bitch who dared to enter my daughter’s room!” Eli growled softly, angry.Swallowing hard, Corinne turned her eyes to where Hunter was sat before her, eating his dinner quietly, though she had no doubt he could hear the Valiant's every word. In fact, his patience and silence with the whole situation had surprised her. All day long, ever since that morning when Gregory had caught t
“So you’re just going to ignore all your responsibilities and abandon the tigers of the pack in exchange for the well-being of a single one?” Gavin asked, coldly “Remember, Eli, that before you were forced to become a father, you were already an Alpha. Furthermore, your mate herself told us that the girl is content among wolves.” He looked at Corinne again, and she had to fight not to give any reaction other than indifference “If the rumors we have heard are true, she considered our former enemies more worthy of her abilities than us, as she strove to improve her reputation among them as she never did in Valiant.”“How dare you talk like that, Gavin?” Declan grunted, and Corinne was relieved that all eyes turned to him and probably no one noticed how she flinched at those words “Corinne brought several victories to us during the time she was respo
“I'm telling you, Dad. This is all a misunderstanding! What would I be interested in stealing Corinne’s letters anyway?” Diego continued to try to justify himself to Eli, with his voice echoing through the empty hallway and making Hunter feel more and more like he wanted to rip his face in half.“Gregory pressed the messenger and he said the letters would be under the floorboards of our old hunting cabin, Diego! Only you have access to that place, now.” The Alpha of the Tigers growled, with a mix of anger and disappointment “How could you do something like that to your sister? She might have thought we had abandoned her...”"Do not exaggerate. Corinne could never doubt her beloved father’s love for her, could she?” Diego seems to want to sound warm, but his gritted teeth make it difficult “Besides, it'
“And so Hunter put himself in the way of receiving the trash bucket in your place?” Declan's eyes widened, as soon as Corinne finished telling him part of the details of her stay there “I don't know what's more strange, whether it's the behavior of this crazy girl or the fact that your husband allowed her to stay for so long. nearby.”“It’s a... Complicated situation.” Corinne bit her lip, not wanting her brother to think badly of Hunter “But, I guarantee you, if he was the kind of man who kept his lover under the same roof as his wife, temporary wife or not, I would never have even formed a friendship with him. Jennifer really was... Just someone he saw as family. And he proved that to me over time, even if it forced him to... Reveal certain things that I know weren't easy for him.”“So…