Chapter 239: The Element of Surprise
"Are you alright?" Blaise asked once we were in the car. Once again, I was given the backseat― something I was more thankful for since it allowed me to stretch myself out on the seats to rest after the emotional upheaval of the day.
"I’m fine, I’m just tired after everything," I said shakily; that wasn’t even a lie, my body felt surprisingly weak and rubbery even though I had done nothing more strenuous than insulting Dahlia. Was this an aftereffect of dealing with the oracles?
My mind whirled in shock at the oracle’s warning. Surely they had to be mistaken.
"Harper, are you sure?" Blaise asked, a furrow between his eyes as he turned back to examine me. He gave me a handful of spare tissues. "You don’t look too well― your ears seem like they’re still bleeding."
I dabbed at them cautiously, wincing at the sight of blood on the white tissue. Damon hissed and quickly reversed, starting our long journey home.
"Those women," Damon growled out quietly. "I can’t believe how reckless they were. What were they thinking, trying to enter your mind like that?"
I had a feeling that if we weren’t on their grounds, Damon would have used a lot more impolite words.
"Damon," Blaise said, as the both of us shot Damon a careful look, warning him to keep his mouth shut. It would be nearly suicidal to mention people who could skin you in one blow with any sort of rudeness.
Not to mention, they had been surprisingly kind to me, as far as things went. They answered all my strange requests. Without their help, Damon would have been the one stripped out of his title today, and not Thorton Elrod.
"Right," Damon cleared his throat reluctantly and kept his mouth shut, yet I could spot how his eyes darted from my bloody ears to my pale face.
"Harper, what did they talk to you about?" Blaise asked curiously.
I decided to tell them a bit of the truth.
"They told me that the hunters were working with the vampires."
"Fuck," Both brothers cursed in unison.
"Well, it’s not a surprise, isn’t it?" I asked. Surely they had to have suspected this already.
Vampires and hunters working together wasn’t such a far-fetched idea since they had a common enemy, but the realization that they were out to get me, and not Fangborne, was as chilling as it was confusing.
Why would anyone expend so much effort to get to me out of all people? As far as everyone else knew, I was just a wolfless human raised in a now-defunct werewolf pack with a beta as a fated mate. They didn’t know that Darach wanted me to become Thunderstrike’s beta, and they definitely wouldn’t know about me being Damon’s fated mate as well.
But perhaps they didn’t need to know that much. Simply knowing that I was Blaise’s mate meant that capturing me would give them a lot of leverage to use against Damon and Blaise.
"This just confirms our worst suspicions. If the oracles had deemed it important enough to personally let you know, things must be dire indeed," Blaise explained. "They rarely communicate with werewolves."
"Must be why they picked me then," I said dryly, "Since I’m technically a human and all. I can’t believe Darach wanted me to be Thunderstrike’s beta."
Damon snorted. "That man is delusional after losing his wolf. You’re going to tell him ’no’ when we get back, aren’t you?"
I paused, my mind mulling over Darach’s offer.
Now that I had received the warning from the oracles, leaving Fangborne might actually be the wisest course of action if I wanted Fangborne to remain relatively safe from collateral damage.
But that would put Thunderstrike in the line of fire. It was a mighty pack that I owed nothing to, yet using them like this sat ill with me.
"Harper? You are going to reject his offer, right?" Blaise asked, anxiousness creeping into his voice. I caught sight of their exchanged glances from the rearview mirror.
"You cannot seriously think about accepting his offer!" Damon burst out when I had not answered with a definite yes to rejecting Darach. "How can you go all the way to Thunderstrike? You belong with us!"
"Well, do you have any other person to volunteer for such a task?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. Darach was a friend, even if I couldn’t accept his offer, I wanted to find a good alternative for him― at least until he could stand on his metaphorical feet again. "I doubt you are willing to spare Elijah or Nicole."
"I’m not sparing anyone," Damon snarled, "I won’t even hand Jeeves over to him, let alone you!"
"So I’m an option?" Blaise asked mischievously, and Damon raised his hand to smack his brother without even looking. I snorted.
"Piss off," Damon grumbled. "No one from Fangborne is going over to him. He’ll have to pick someone from his own pack like every other Alpha. If he ends up stabbed in the back, it’s just bad luck."
I scowled. With Damon’s attitude, one would be hard-pressed to think he was remorseful for his past actions.
But before I could open my mouth to argue further, Damon and Blaise’s faces shifted into something more grave. They must have received news from the pack link that I wasn’t privy to.
"What’s happening?" I asked when the silence continued to drag on.
"Fangborne is under attack. The children and elders have evacuated to the safe houses, along with Darach and Nicole," Damon reported with gritted teeth.
"They’re getting attacked now?" My mouth fell open. "But the eclipse is over! What would they have to gain from this?"
"Possibly the element of surprise," Blaise said grimly. "The pack was prepared for an attack during the eclipse. Once the eclipse was over, they would definitely have let down their guard since their wolves have returned."
"They would be celebrating," Damon added, his hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "The festivities would have started."
"But... they should be fine! They have their wolves!" I exclaimed.
"They should be," Damon repeated flatly. "They better be, or I’ll tear them from limb to limb afterward!"
