Betrayed by Blood, Claimed by the Alpha-Chapter 51

Betrayed By Blood~

They walked for what seemed like hours, as the deer seemed determined to stay hidden. Avery’s legs ached, but she didn’t dare make a single sound of complaint. She simply walked right behind Cain as he had instructed her to. Suddenly, Cain paused, his body tensed up, and he held his hand out. Avery halted in her steps too, her eyebrows furrowed as she looked ahead only to see the deer everyone had been searching for right in the middle of the forest.

"Stay right here and don’t make a single sound," Cain whispered, his gaze on the large deer. It looked very different from a normal deer. Its antlers were ten times larger than a normal deer, and its body size was as large, if not larger, than an elephant. Avery’s breath hitched, her eyes widening the more she stared at the deer.

Cain crouched low, his sharp eyes fixed on the deer grazing ahead. Its antlers glinted faintly under the moonlight. He moved silently and deliberately.

Avery stayed back, her body pressed against a tree, watching him. Her heart raced as she observed how effortlessly he moved. She had never seen this side of Cain before, not like this.

In one powerful motion, Cain lunged forward, his claws sinking into the deer’s flank. The creature let out a strangled cry before its neck was snapped with a sickening crack. The sound echoed in the silence of the woods.

Avery flinched, her breath caught in her throat as she watched the animal slump to the ground, lifeless. Cain stood over it, his chest rising and falling heavily, the faint sheen of blood glistening on his hands.

He knelt by the deer, pulling out a blade. His expression was blank, focused, as if he were merely completing a task.

Avery swallowed hard, her mind racing when she saw the blade in his hands. "A-are you going to cut off its head?" She asked quietly. It was the longest she had spoken since this started.

Cain glanced at her with a deadpan expression. "Why would I do that? I can just cut off its antlers," he replied sharply.

Avery nodded, relief coursing through her veins now that she was certain she wouldn’t be seeing him cut the deer’s head off. She took a hesitant step closer, her voice shaky. "You... killed it so quickly," she muttered. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but it wasn’t this. She didn’t think it would be this quick or easy.

Cain didn’t look up. "It’s a clean kill. No suffering," he replied calmly. Avery stared at him, his words echoing in her head. ’No suffering.’ So he went in smoothly so he doesn’t make the deer suffer.

As the horns came free, Cain wiped his hands on his already bloodied shirt and looked around. "Come on, let’s go," he muttered, pushing past the dead animal.

They walked back the same way they came. Five minutes into their walk, they came across it. Avery froze in her steps, her eyes widening when she laid eyes on it. Three bodies lay in a heap in twisted forms.

Her stomach turned as she stepped closer, the metallic scent of blood. She watched as Cain moved towards the bodies and began tying all three together. Her eyes widened dramatically. "W-what are these?" She stammered.

He glanced at her, his eyebrows cocked up. "These are the ones who came after me," he said flatly. "I guess you were right after all." frёewebnoѵēl.com

Avery’s breath hitched at his words, her eyes trailing the three assassins. They were all in black and had masks covering their faces. They had been sent to kill Cain, truly. Carol, Kendra, and Martha actually sent assassins to kill Cain?

"You don’t think..." Her voice faltered, her thoughts darting to Martha, Carol, and Kendra. "You don’t think this was an accident?" She asked.

Cain snorted, hoisting the bodies over his shoulders with ease. "Are you patronizing me? What kind of accident might this be?" He huffed out irritably.

Avery’s chest tightened. She stared at the lifeless bodies as Carol’s words rang in her head again. The woman said the voices were a set-up, but here, Cain was actually attacked. Why would Carol send assassins to kill Cain?

"What are you doing? Do you plan on sleeping here?" Cain’s impatient voice jolted Avery out of her thoughts. She snapped her head up to look at him, only to find him feet away from her. She rushed towards him while apologizing. Cain didn’t spare her a glance and just continued walking, with Avery keeping up behind him.

_______________________________________

The hunt finally came to an end when Cain walked into the clearing where the pack had gathered. The massive antlers of the deer hung from his hands, the sheer size of them enough to draw gasps of awe from the pack members.

The king and queen stood over at the platform, waiting. Cain tossed the antlers onto the platform; it landed meters away from the Alaric’s feet. The king clenched his fists tightly at his sides. He had hoped Matt or even Xander would get the deer, not this arrogant prick.

"It’s done," Cain said curtly. His gaze swept over the wolves that had gathered, daring anyone to challenge his triumph. No one did, of course, and instead, the pack cheered loudly, their voices filling the air.

Cain turned to leave, as the hunt was called off and he won. His gaze flicked around the crowd and settled on Lydia, who stood at the edge of the gathering.

"Take care of it," Cain muttered under his breath as he passed her, his words meant only for her ears.

Lydia nodded subtly, motioning to a few guards to follow her. They discreetly moved toward the area where Cain had left the assassins’ bodies, making sure no one was around to watch.

Cain walked back to his room, his body aching. Avery hesitated, not knowing what to do, but the look Cain threw her made her feet speed up, catching onto him in seconds.

Cain sat shirtless on the edge of his bed, his torso exposed as the pack doctor examined him carefully. Avery stood near the doorway, her arms wrapped around herself as she watched.

The doctor’s expression was grim as he ran his fingers over the faint discoloration near Cain’s ribs. He cleaned the area before wrapping a thick bandage tightly around Cain’s torso.

"You’re lucky it was only a graze. Anything more and it could be a different matter. Bloodroot is one of the deadliest poisons for alphas. A deeper cut and a larger dose could’ve shut your system down entirely."

Cain’s jaw clenched, his eyes dark, his thoughts running back to how smoothly and swiftly the assassins had been. They were good, almost as good as his own warriors, which said a lot. No pack had fighters with skills like Cain’s warriors, so this wasn’t just some random attack. Cain hummed and stood up, walking towards his alcohol cabinet. He took out a bottle of whiskey and poured it for himself just as the doctor shut his suitcase up, ready to leave.

"Do call me if anything else occurs, Alpha. I’ll be on my way now," the doctor said with a bow and walked out of the room.

Lydia stepped in almost immediately, her gaze landing on Avery, who stood by the door, her eyebrows furrowed. She opened her mouth to speak, but Cain cut her off.

"Where are their bodies?" He asked.

"They are in the Rave. I’ve sent for Elysium, and he’ll be here soon," she replied. Avery shuffled slightly, unsure if she should be listening to their conversation. She stepped back quietly, seeing as they were engrossed in their conversation.

"Bloodroot isn’t native to this region. Someone went out of their way to get it here," he muttered as he downed the whiskey he had poured.

Lydia nodded, "It’s rare and extremely difficult to procure. Whoever did this wanted to ensure you wouldn’t survive. They even sent three assassins."

"It’s not the first attempt on my life, and it won’t be the last, but this one..." he shook his head, remembering the piece he ripped off one of the assassins’ bodies before he killed him. Whoever tried to kill him would have an exact one of this, seeing as it was a matching pair.

"What do we do now, Alpha?" Lydia asked, and Cain looked at her.

"Close the borders and do it discreetly. No one should know a thing," he replied, and she nodded, immediately getting to work. Cain was left alone in the room. He downed the rest of the whiskey and took out the piece from his pocket, his eyes on the silver piece. He smirked; this was going to get him whoever sent those assassins.

_______________________________________

Avery walked down the hallway, the doctor’s words echoing in her head again. She knew Cain must have a lot of enemies, but this...she shook her head, trying to drive the thought away. She neared the corner, about to turn when she felt a cold hand clamping tightly around her wrist.

Avery gasped, but before she could cry out, she was yanked into a dark room.