61

CHAPTER 61

Micheal's POV

"How did you even get to talk with someone who took away your happiness and kidnapped you? You've been standing over there for half an hour exchanging words with your enemy" I couldn't deny the fact that Elena was missing her mate's company hence she decided to mingle with anyone.

"Because I have a plan of making him pay for his crimes" she stuttered wearing a smile on his face

"What did he do?"

" That Ingrate thinks I'm helping him, I would surely make him pay for all the pains that he caused me" she utters, the pause in her words made me a bit uneasy wondering what she wanted to say next.

"Let me tell you a short story "

"Do you hear that?" I asked, turning to face the direction of the voices.

"I hear them too," Orion replied, turning around. "They sound like voices."

"Come on!" I yelled, and we all ran towards the source of the voices. When we reached the clearing, we saw several people sitting around a campfire.

"Dan?" someone called my name, and I turned to see my foster parents approaching with angry expressions.

"Where have you been? We've been looking all over for you," Maria scolded as she stood in front of me.

"Why were you looking for me? I thought I made it clear the last time I was done with this family," I said calmly, trying not to cause a scene, but Maria seemed to ignore my tone.

"You ungrateful brat! While your brother was helping defend the pack, you were off gallivanting with your friends," Maria said, casting a disdainful gaze at all of us.

"Dan, should I take care of her?" Serena asked as an angry look crossed her face. This was the first time she was acting of her own

"No, Serena, it's okay," I said, and she reluctantly stepped back, glaring at Maria.

"Who is she?" Maria asked.

"None of your business, Maria," I replied, taking a deep breath. "Who told you I was gallivanting with my friends when the pack was getting attacked?"

"Talon said he saw you running off with your friends to wherever you guys go," Maria replied.

"I see. And where is your son now?" I asked, trying to control my anger.

"He's over there, tending to the injured like a true leader," Maria said, her tone filled with pride.

"Excuse me," Elena said as she walked over to where Talon was.

"Oh, hi—" Talon began, but before he could finish his sentence, Elena punched him in the nose.

"What the fuck?" Talon groaned, holding his bleeding nose.

"That's for lying," Elena simply said before returning to stand beside me.

"You bitch, why did you hit my son?" Maria screeched, glaring at Elena.

"Because he's a lying cowardly piece of garbage," Elena replied.

"Don't forget deranged," Freya added.

"Or narcissistic idiot," James remarked.

"Or just an asshole," Marcus chimed in.

"Or a self-absorbed psychopath," Orion finished, and I couldn't help but burst out laughing, with the rest of them joining in.

We laughed for minutes before stopping, and everyone around us stared as if we had gone mad.

Our laughter subsided, but the tension in the clearing remained palpable. Maria's face contorted with anger as she stared at us.

"You think this is a joke?" she hissed, narrowing her eyes at all of us.

"Yes Maria, we think it a joke because it's funny how you keep believing your cowardly son's lies," I replied, regaining my composure.

Maria glanced between us, her anger still evident in her eyes. "Talon wouldn't lie to me," she muttered, more to herself than anyone else.

Talon, still clutching his bleeding nose, remained silent, unable to defend himself. The rest of our friends stood with me, a united front against Maria's accusations.

James looked at Maria with frustration, saying, "And to think we cared about finding survivors. Look at how they repay us with false accusations."

"Total waste of time." Freya said, her disgust evident in her tone

"Can we just leave? I don't think we're welcome here." Orion added

Elena tugged at my hand, urging us to go back. But before we could move, Talon held onto her free hand, stopping her.

"Where are you going with them? Your place is by my side as the new leader of the Shadowood pack," Talon said, igniting my anger. How could he say that when Elena's parents' bodies weren't even cold yet?

"If you don't want to lose that arm, I suggest you remove it from her body," Serena warned, pulling Talon's hands off Elena before pushing him back.

"How dare you do that to your Alpha?" Maria screeched.

"He's not my Alpha; Dan is," Serena said as murmurs around us filled the clearing, then they formed a circle around us.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Dan isn't the Alpha," Maria argued.

"I don't think you understand what she's saying, Maria. She didn't call Dan the Alpha; she called him her Alpha, which means he's the Alpha she recognizes." Orion explained

Maria's face reddened with anger as she waited for Orion to finish talking, "That's nonsense. Talon is your Alpha, and you have to do what he says."

"Who here acknowledges Talon as their Alpha?" Marcus asked

In unison, they all responded, "Nope."

"And for the second question" Marcus continued, "who here acknowledges Dan as their Alpha?"

"Dan", they all answered affirmatively.

"But—" Maria attempted to protest.

Freya interrupted her sharply, saying, "Shut up, old lady."

"How—" Maria tried to ask again.

"Hush!" Freya silenced her. "You should learn to keep your mouth shut, old lady. Talking too much might lead you to an early grave."

"Honey, see how this rude girl is talking to me," Maria complained, turning to her husband, who wore an angry expression while glaring at us.

"You kids have no manners," her husband scolded, his gaze unwavering.

"Says the man who bullied a kid for years because he was jealous of his brother," Elena retorted, causing him to snap his attention towards me, his anger palpable.

"You told them about a family secret?" he inquired.

"It's not my family's secret; it's yours, and I tell them everything because they're my real family," I replied defiantly, meeting Maria and her husband's stern glares.

"We will talk about this later," her husband declared before walking away.

"It's like you don't understand what's happening here," I remarked, directing my gaze at both of them. "I'm not returning to that house, Maria. I'm done with your family, so the sooner you grasp that, the better."

"What about your stuff at the house?" Maria inquired.

"You can sell them or something. I can always get new things," I shrugged, taking Elena's hand and planting a kiss on it. "I'll be staying with my mare now. I don't need anything from you."

"There's no way that will ever happen," Talon interjected, finally speaking up. I had thought he'd left.

"And who's going to stop me? You?" I challenged him, watching anger flash across Talon's face.

Talon's anger intensified as he stepped forward, his voice trembling with frustration. "You think you can just walk away from us, from everything, and take my woman with you?" Talon said in a tone I didn't quite recognise. This wasn't him wasn't the Talon I knew, his eyes looked different, his posture looked more menacing than before

Please, let's not do this here. Can't we find a way to work things out?" Maria tried to mediate, her voice a mix of anger and desperation. "

"No, Maria. I've endured enough, and I won't let your family's toxicity poison my life any longer. I deserve better." I said as i turned around to walk away from them

"We're leaving, and you guys aren't going to stop us," Elena said firmly as she held onto my hand. It seemed like our original plan had fallen apart with how today's events had escalated, but we needed to find another way to resolve this issue.

Her husband, after a tense silence, let out a heavy sigh. "Fine, go if that's what you really want. But remember, you're cutting ties with more than just us."

"Who are you to decide that? They are not going anywhere," Talon yelled, causing the clearing to fall into an eerie silence.

"Talon, why are you acting like this? Just let them go; we can't have the pack divided. They will ruin your rule," Maria attempted to reason with him. However, Talon pushed her back, and she fell to the ground.

"Shut up, mother. You have no say here," Talon said, glaring at his parents. "So just go away and let me handle this."

"Talon, how dare you talk to your mother like that in front of all these people?" his father asked, a perplexed expression on his face.

"I said, shut up if you don't want to lose your life too," Talon said, his face contorted with a sinister look.

"What are you talking about? Why are you acting this way?" Maria sobbed as she clung to her husband, both of them staring at Talon in utter confusion.

"Who do you think caused all this mayhem?" Talon asked, his evil grin widening. "I guess the weak act isn't going to cut it anymore. You mutts need a firm hand," he said, turning to glare at Elena.

We didn't need to search for evidence anymore; it seemed like he was going to confess after all. "So, you were the one who betrayed us and brought the werewolf hunters here?" I asked, struggling to restrain my anger.

"Of course, no one in this pack is that smart to have masterminded all this," he said, letting out a menacing laugh. "And I did it all for you, Elena, so we could be together, so no one could stand in the way of our love."

"I don't love you, Talon. You're really sick in the head if you think I would have stayed with you after doing all this, after killing my parents," Elena said, her anger evident in her tone.

"You ungrateful bitch... your parents needed to go; they were not supportive of our love," Talon retorted.

"You're one sick son of a bitch," James remarked, disgust evident in his voice.

"Shut up! You don't get to judge me. I'm your Alpha, your king, your ruler. All you need to do is obey me," Talon asserted.

"Talon, what is going on with you? Why are you talking like this?" Maria inquired, her gaze shifting between her son and her husband, a mixture of confusion and fear in her eyes.

"Woman! Why the hell are you asking him those questions? Your son is a sick motherfucker who committed mass murder because the girl he wanted belonged to someone else," Freya interjected, her anger palpable.

"My son would never do that; he's just confused," Maria said, turning to her husband, who shared the same bewildered and frightened expression. "Right, honey? Talon would never do that?"

"Talon, is this true?" his father asked, and Talon turned to face him.

"She's quite right, Father. I'm responsible for all of this," Talon admitted,

Talon's confession weighed heavily in the air, making everyone in the pack shocked and struggling to understand what he'd done.

Elena, still holding my hand tightly, looked at Talon with sadness and disbelief. She asked with a shaky voice, "Talon, how could you? I didn't want any of this. You ruined everything."

Talon got angry and yelled, "It was the only way! I thought it was the only way we could be together. Can't you see? I'd do anything for you."

Elena's face twisted with disgust and anger as she said, "You make me sick. I would never want to be with you."

I couldn't hide my disgust either and said, "You can't act like what you did was right. You killed innocent people because you were obsessed with my mate. That's really sick."

Talon's evil grin sent shivers down our spines as he threatened, "You all can't judge me. If you don't cooperate, I might as well get rid of you, too." (ELENA'S FLASHBACK)

"That was how he betrayed our pack and walked down here to build a life which I know he can't build" Elena utters as she gulps down a full cup of wine, she was dwindling with her emotions. Someone interrupted our conversation,

"Who says He doesn't have what it takes to build a life out here without a pack?"