“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…
"Are you serious?" Declan laughed, surprising her “I was thinking Hunter was a big son of a bitch, who had rejected you as his mate several times and still dared to act all possessive around you, but... Come on, Cory. You said things have changed a lot since the first time you saw each other, right? What prevents his feelings from changing?”“I'd like to think so, but... Hunter and I have had plenty of moments where he's had the opportunity to tell me he's changed his mind, but... He never did. And, I think it was pretty obvious after that scene with the elders, but he's not the type of man who spares words to express what he's thinking. That's because...” Corinne swallowed hard “I've been wondering if perhaps the best thing for me would be to consider Calibur just a place I can visit from time to time. Living here would be incredible, but at the same time terrible. And I thin
“What did you say?” Hunter growled again, clutching Corinne even tighter against his chest, but Gavin seemed so focused on his own thoughts that he didn't seem to care how threatening those words had been.“We knew from the beginning!” He nodded toward the other elders, who were staring at Corinne with equal revulsion “This whole theater of getting along with the wolves was just a smokescreen to make you let your guard down and think you weren't safe, so she could attack Declan and make it look like someone else did it! How did you have the courage?” he hissed in Corinne's direction “Try to kill your own brother, blood of your blood, and still manage to lie to us in such an absurd way? Did someone else attack the prince? On the third floor, leaving no trace behind? And, coincidentally, you were alone with him, but you didn't hear anything and didn't do anything...?
“Stop right now Colton!” Octavia growled and, suddenly, in the midst of her panic and despair, Corinne had someone in front of her again, protecting her “If you want to touch this girl, you'll have to get past me first!”“And me!” Isabelle spoke and, to Corinne’s surprise, she also stood in front of her, next to Octa “You will not falsely accuse our Luna! Much less touch her!”“If your pack doesn’t protect their own kind, then we do!” Aiden spoke, creating another piece on the wall in front of Corinne “Stay away from our Luna if you don't want to suffer the consequences!”“You stupid tigers! Do you have any idea who they are accusing? This girl waited for days for her family to arrive! How dare they say she would do something s
“What…” Gavin’s eyes widened in disbelief “You… Mated with a wolf?! You despicable piece of shit! You don’t deserve to be called a tigress!”“Because of people like you, I believed it.” Octavia gave a small, stiff smile. “And I spent years refusing to accept my mating bond and rejecting my mate, just to not hear words like that, the same ones I used to hear when I was a lonely orphan. But if you want to tear me apart for defending an innocent person, then you're the ones I should have told to fuck off a long time ago.” She growled, determined, before pulling down the collar of her blouse, revealing the bite mark near her shoulder. “See that? That’s my claim mark and, if you guys can’t handle it, then I offer to gouge out your eyes! After all, you are the only ones who shouldn't be called a tiger! Now stop this shit,
Even after two days, Hunter still felt terribly helpless when he looked at that damn closed door. He could have isolated those stupid old men, helped Eli intimidate the other tigers who had come here to look for the bastards, and prepared his wolves to fight every single member of the Valiant pack who was planning on coming here to try to kill Corinne first, during or after the trial...But he hadn't been able to do the main thing. Prevent her from locking herself in her own room as if she were really guilty.“Corinne...” he knocked on the door gently, before turning the handle “I know what you're going to say, but I brought your dinner and this time you have to eat it. It’s not enough that you decided to isolate yourself in that room.”"I'm not hungry." A murmur answered him and, as in
“What?” her strengthless body between his arms, as she slowly raised her teary eyes towards his “What did you...? Please, if this is your way of saying that you feel obligated to take care of me because we are mates...”"You did not listen to me?" Hunter growled, tilting his face towards hers, as that feeling boiled inside him like never before, finally free, like water destroying a dam “I don't feel obligated to do anything for you, damn it! Everything I'm doing is simply for you, Corinne! I could fight my wolf instincts, but I couldn't fight what you made me feel. Not the damn nature, the lasso, or any other shit! You! Only you!" he admitted “And, hell, I know you deserved a better and more romantic statement, but that was the wolf you conquered and now you won't be able to get rid of me! I love you, Corinne! I love the eyes you are so repulsed by, I love your ability