Chapter 249

Chapter 249
Arthur POV 

I grabbed this poor excuse for a wolf by the collar of his shirt and dragged him through the back kitchen door. As soon as we were clear of my beloved's kitchen, I threw him on the ground like the trash he was. He landed with a satisfying thump, making me smile. 

He stayed on his knees, looking at Conrad with pleading eyes. 

"I don't understand my Alpha King. What did I do wrong? I know she is not your mother. She can't be anyone's mother". 

Liam reacted before Conrad could and kicked him in the head, knocking out a tooth before snarling at him. 

"You know exactly who you are, you BASTARD. Mary raised with such care and compassion that I vowed to protect her til her dying day. She cared for your Alpha King for a year and supported him in every way possible when he had no one, so he could reclaim the throne. That's why he calls her mother". 

The colour drained from his face with each word spoken. I knelt down to deliver the final message with chilling calmness. 

"As for me, I am Luna Queen Beta and Duke Crown Regent to the Alpha King. And Mary is my mate. You hurt what is mine. No amount of grovelling is going to save you from this".  

I turned and looked at Conrad, wondering what he wanted to do. I can see his eyes have turned yellow, and after a few seconds, he starts ripping his tie off and removing his shirt. I knew Jace wanted to hunt. 

Conrad stared at the man on the floor before uttering a single word. 

"Run". 

He scrambled off the floor before making his way to the forest. His beer gut bounces, and his arms flail beside him as he attempts to run. We can all tell he is out of breath before reaching the treeline, but that's not going to stop us. 

As soon as he is through the tree, we all shift and take off after him. It's barely a hunt as we catch up with him in mere seconds. He's hollering like an idiot for help, forgetting none will come. He is probably trying to contact Alpha Leroy, but in his panicked state, he can't concentrate. 

We chase him for a good hour, all of us getting bites in. He is drowning in sweat, and his chest is heaving as he struggles to breathe. Blood is dripping from the bite marks as he whimpers. For the last fifteen minutes, he has been crawling, too weak to even summon his wolf. 

Absolutely pathetic. 

We shift back and only put our pants back on. Liam and I grab an arm each as we drag him back through the main door of the pack house to the conference room Alpha Leroy is using. 

Conrad leads us and throws the doors open as Liam and I hurl this useless man on the floor at his Alpha's feet. He curls up in a ball. 

Alpha Leroy shoots up in a panic. "Hector. Conrad, what the hell happened?" 

In a cold, calculating voice, he met Leroy's eyes. 

"He. Hit. Mary". 

Leroy knows her importance to all of us and looks down at that jackass with an exaggerated sigh. "Of all the stupid things you could have done. What do you want me to do, Alpha King?" 

Conrad growls back. "He has an hour to get out of my territory, and he can never come back". 

Leroy nods. "Understood". 

My boys and I turn to leave the room and start tracking. Lewana and Mary's scent is coming from the private living room. 

We walk in and freeze at the sight before us. Lewana is calmly drinking a tea, finally following the advice for less stress, but my Mary looks fragile.

Her head has a small bandage on her forehead, and her right palm is wrapped. Judging from the medical tray in the room, Lewana put some stitches in her and pulled out a glass shard. Her face has started to turn brown from bruises forming, and she can see she is nervously trying to pull her loose sleeves down to hide more bruises on her arms. I try to hold in my growl, but fail. 

Mary looks down at the floor before plastering on a fake smile. 

"I'm OK, boys. Really. Lewana says I will be all better in a few days. Everything is minor. Just going to take me a bit longer than you warriors".

She lets out a nervous chuckle and is clearly downplaying what happened to make us feel better. Not one of us is buying it. 

Liam is the first to move. He sits on the couch next to her and cuddles into her like a child seeking comfort, resting his head on her shoulder while holding her injured hand. 

He speaks softly to her. "We're ordering pizza tonight. I don't want to lift anything until your hand is better". 

She continues with her fake cheery demeanor. "Nonsense. I can still look after my boys". 

Conrad just lifts an eyebrow. "It's been decided, Mum. Pizza tonight. We will work everything else out tomorrow. Arthur, can you take her home so she can rest?" 

I nod, and Mary gets up silently. We walk back to our house in silence until Mary cracks under the pressure. 

"I'm sorry I didn't call you Arthur. I never expected to see him again, and when I saw him, I panicked. Lewana says that's a normal trauma response and that she has them too. Please don't be mad at me". 

I stayed silent. As soon as the front door closed behind us, I spun her round to face me and picked her up by her ass so her legs wrapped around me, and I buried my face in her neck. I started crying. 

She pulled back to look at me. "What's wrong?" 

"You know I carry the guilt of not protecting any woman in my life. All have suffered because I wasn't there in time. Because I could protect them enough. I just don't want to fail you. I felt you panic through the bond and asked Lewana to check on you until I got there. I was worried I put her and the pups in danger while I wasn't there to protect you. I can't fail again".

She just held me as I refused to put her down. We moved to the couch, and I held her as the most precious thing in my life. I gently kissed her head wound and her palm as I gently rubbed her back.