Chapter 101

Helene.

"W…what did you just say? Who did you just say sent you a message?" I asked, hoping that I was hearing things.

"I don't know what happened but I received a message from an envoy from your pack and according to the message, your father found out that this was where you were hiding and he requested that I send you back to him as soon as possible or else he was going to forcefully come with his men to get you," he explained and just when I thought my heart couldn't drop any lower, it did.

"But how is that even possible? How could he have figured out that this was where I was? There was no way my father could have thought that I escaped to a southern pack successfully which means that the only way he could have found out was if somebody snitched on me but that is also impossible because none of you knew who I was. So, how is this even happening?" I asked, wondering how this day even came about.

There was no way my father could have found out on his own that I was hiding away here because to the best of my knowledge, he doesn't have any sort of relation with packs that are located in the south and there are so many packs here that he couldn't have possibly just figured out that this was my exact location.

"I'd be lying if I said I had any idea how he found out because not many people know that you're here except people that walk in this place and they've all been bound to secrecy. Also, as you said, nobody knew where you were from so they can't have reported to your father which is why I intend to investigate how the information even got to him," Hunter replied but his response wasn't enough for me.

The truth is that if my father has found out that this is where I was, then he's going to do everything that he can to make sure that I am brought back to him, and then the second I step my foot back home, I'm going to get killed.

The mere thought of even going back there made me feel weak and afraid and I couldn't even imagine facing the death penalty simply because I wanted to live my life on my terms.

"Helene! Helene! Helene!" Hunter called out loudly, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"W…what?" I asked, still in a daze cause the only thing I could think about now was how to avoid the terrible fate that awaited me.

"You got lost in your thoughts and I don't like the look on your face right now," he said and I let out a frustrated sigh.

"What other look do you expect to see on my face? You just informed me that the man I dreaded the most is asking for me and even going as far as threatening you guys to get me back and you expect me not to get lost in my thoughts on how to avoid the situation? Do you have any idea what is going to happen to me if I get sent back? Do you think he's going to spare me for escaping in the first place?" I retorted, not bothering to hide my frustration.

Now that I've heard such bad news, I could feel the alcohol kicking in and making my frustrations even more obvious.

"I never said anything about sending you back though," he said and I almost rolled my eyes at him.

"I never said you did but if you weren't thinking about sending me back, you wouldn't have called me out so desperately to question me and you wouldn't have had that sore look that you've had on your face since you and I started this conversation. I don't blame you for considering sending me away since you probably wouldn't want any trouble with my father but now that you've said this to me, I need to figure out a solution for myself and I don't have the energy to pretend to be calm when I'm not," I replied to him.

I didn't wish to sound like I was upset with him but I was disappointed by the fact that he was thinking of sending me back because it was like a confirmation to me that he had no sort of attachment toward me and he would easily send me away without having any trouble.

"I'm going to have to ask you to calm down and listen to me first before jumping to your conclusions. The only reason I had a worried look on my face was because the situation was quite serious especially because the last thing I needed was dealing with a raging Alpha who was willing to fight me to get his daughter back and you can't exactly fault me for being worried about the situation since you understand how things are right now,"

"Regardless of that, I still respected you enough to have this conversation with you because I wanted to know the reason why you didn't want to go back so that I could assert my decision on why I won't let you leave and now I have an explanation to report back to the council of elders so that they can also agree with me or understand my reasons for keeping you here," he explained and I didn't know how to feel.

"So are you trying to tell me that you have no intention of sending me back to my father?" I asked to confirm.

"If I should ever send you back, it's going to be because you decided on your own that you wanted to go back home. What I'm not going to do is force any decision on you because you've been here long enough and we've gotten to know each other long enough and I can't possibly do something like that to you. Besides, you're my mate and I'm obligated to protect you," he replied and something about his response didn't sit well with me.

"Thanks for saying that but next time, try choosing your words a little more carefully so that I don't end up misunderstanding its context," I told him, not wanting to get carried away.

"I know what I said, Helene and I'm not taking anything I said back," he responded, earning a frustrated groan from me.

"As it is, I already have more than enough to worry about and I certainly don't want to start thinking too deeply about what you mean because there's no room for such thoughts in my mind right now. So please, keep such comments to yourself cause I'm pretty sure you know how I feel and you know how that comment is going to affect me," I said to him in a stern tone cause I wasn't in the mood to be teased.

He had an amused smile on his face and I hated him even more for smiling like that because for some reason, it bothered me and I couldn't stop staring. I was starting to regret taking alcohol in the first place especially since I wasn't used to it and you know it was making me want to act out in ways that I shouldn't act out.

"Anyway, now that I've assured you that you're going nowhere, the next thing I'm going to have to tell you is that you may need to keep a low profile for a while just until I'm able to convince everyone else that you don't deserve to be sent back just because of a simple threat. I'm pretty sure the council members will come around but I need to convince Aurora because she desperately doesn't want your father to carry out his threat," he mentioned.

"Can't I talk to her? She might be more understanding if I try to convince her," I suggested.

"You can try, but I'm still going to speak to her first because we need to decide on this as soon as possible so that we can come up with how to prevent a fight from breaking out," he responded and I nodded in understanding.

"I get what you mean," I said and we both stayed quiet for a while with neither one of us knowing what to say.

"I have a question for you Hunter and I want you to give me an honest response. Do you think you can do that?" I spoke up and something at the back of my mind was telling me to shut my mouth up and not say anything but weirdly, I wasn't going to listen to my head because this was a question I desperately wanted an answer to.

"Go right ahead, sweetie," he gave me the go-ahead and I swallowed hard one last time before making up my mind to just ask.

"Have you ever found me attractive as a woman or have I just always looked like a little girl to you?" I gathered the courage to ask and it seemed my question caught him off guard cause he immediately looked back at me like I had just blurted the most ridiculous thing.

"Do you want the very honest answer or the vaguely honest answer?" he asked.

"Be very honest," I replied, preparing my mind for the worst.

"For every time I called you a kid and referred to you as a teenager, I only ever did because I wanted to give myself a reason to stop being attracted to you but guess what, it never worked and I guess you can say that you're the farthest thing from a child to me," he admitted and for the first time in my life, I had butterflies in my stomach.

"I'll blame this on the alcohol," I blurted out and without thinking, I pulled him closer and crashed my lips on his, without giving a damn about what the consequences of my actions would be.