Nate POV
I left my brother with a rabid Wolf unsure if he was truly safe. I would gut Chris, without question, if he hurt my brother. I had to meet back with them in one hour so we had a plan to give our warriors. Right now, I needed to see Hope. It had only been a few hours, but I craved to touch her body again.
As I approached her cell I quickly opened the doors running to her side. She was curled into a ball against the corner sobbing. "Sweetheart, what happened? Did someone hurt you?"
Hope was seething in anger and I was getting filled with rage thinking about someone hurting her.
"Yeah, someone fucking hurt me, but you will pay." Her claws came out as she ripped down my chest, making me go feral on her the second I felt warm blood seep out my chest.
I grabbed her wrist and spun her face to the ground, jamming my knee in her back to hold her still. "You fucking hell hound. There is something seriously wrong with your whole family. You can't just walked around killing everybody." I was enraged, first getting my chest ripped open by Chris, and now by Hope.
"Fuck you, Alpha scum. I'll kill you. You took my brother and I will take everything you love, than your life." Hope wiggled her body trapped under mine until she got a hand free.
She got up and jumped back, positioning herself for battle. She was foolish to lash out at me like that. I was a skilled warrior, if she wanted to kill me, she would have to do it with a calm head, not out of rage.
"Whoa, little warrior, I didn't kill your brother. I promise he is fine. Well, sort of! I'm not sure what my brother is doing to him, but I can assure you he is alive." I put my hands up to show I was not a threat.
Hope kept her defensive stance ready to attack if I made a single move. "I don't believe you. You're a piece of shit Alpha just trying to control me. I will not be yours, not ever." Her voice was cracking as remorse ran through her veins.
I stood there with three claw marks ripped through my chest, yet I was retreating. I should be attacking her for trying to kill me.
"Hope, I'm not trying to control you and you already know you are mine. There's no point in fighting it."
"Fuck you. It is a trick and nothing more. You are using my emotions against me, but I won't fall for it. Kill me or leave, but I swear, if you lay one finger on my body I won't stop until one of us is dead." Her eyes were black and canines fully erected as she spoke her hate to me.
I sighed in defeat. I needed to get to my brother and now I had to shower and change from the blood stained clothes and torn shirt... again.
"You need to calm down and think about what happened. I'm sorry I stormed out of here this morning. I thought my brother was in trouble and ran to help him. I should had come back sooner and explained." I walked slowly towards the door with my hands still in the air. She was feral and I didn't want to hurt her. "I have to go, but I'll be back tonight."
"Don't come back unless you want your death." The hate in her eyes made my chest squeeze painfully. I fucked up, but I will fix this.
"I'll be back tonight and we will talk!" I ordered, letting my aura pour into her. She relaxed a second then quickly stiffened back up. I don't doubt this fierce warrior killed an Alpha before, and she wouldn't hesitate to try and do it again.
I wanted to force her to submit, but feared it would break us. If I wanted her, then I had to let her come around on her own. "Rest Hope. I promise both your brothers are safe." I lowered my head in defeat then walked out.
———
I walked into my brother's study and shook my head. Damien and Chris were sitting across from each other at the table going over strategy like old friends. "I see you two made up, fucking weirdos."
"Of course brother. I told you, nothing to worry about."
"I would worry every second of the day because I promise, I will end you, little Alpha." Chris gave him a glare of hate then returned to the maps.
Damien just chuckled like this was amusing, "See! He is slowly coming around. We will be best friends before you know it."
"Damien you know you completely lost your mind, right?" I chuckled at my brother bringing him into a hug.
"You changed and showered? What were you doing? Or should I ask who were you doing?"
"Please, I wish. I have an unruly inmate that is constantly trying to kill me."
Chris' ears perk up as I spoke. I'm sure he was anxious to find his sister, but I wasn't sure I could let her go yet. Not until I fix things. I can't believe I missed something so important between us that like.
"If you can't handle some little wolf runt I'd be more than happy to help. I always enjoyed torturing the less fortunate." Chris had a sly smile hoping he sounded convincing. I knew what he was looking for though.
I smiled at him not letting his little comments rattle me. "You know, that's not a bad idea. Let's get this Rogue situation handled and then maybe I can give you a tour. We have this one prisoner that is having a hard time submitting to my pack. Seems like something you could relate too."
Chris clenched his jaw at my little jab, but also at the possibility his sister was the one I was referring too. Damien shot me a look not to bring up Hope, then cleared his throat hoping to dissolve the tension in the room.
"Anyways! We got most the routes mapped out. We just need to finalize 24 men to lead each unit. I'm going to separate them into 12 units with a general and lieutenant. I need men we can trust to keep the warriors in-line. I don't want a killing spree in the name of the King."
We worked together for hours then gave our orders to the men that showed up to volunteer. Damien was proud of his pack when nearly every member arrived.
He tried to select ones that had no children at home as they would be away for a few months and didn't want any children to be without their parent for so long.
Chris and I both knew why Damien was selecting the way he did, and we each felt our own pride for him. He found a way to carry out the orders of the King without making it an unnecessary war, or too much heartache on his pack members.
I headed back to the dungeons after we squared away the mission. Elena's Bday was tomorrow, but I needed to not only be close to Hope, I needed to fix the divide we now had between us.
When I appeared in front of her cell she jumped into position to attack, already barring her fangs. I dropped my hand from the keypad and held up my phone. I pressed a button to play a video that showed Chris and Damien addressing his pack. Hope could barely hear any sound, as the door was sealed shut, but she did see me there with fresh claws marks poking out of my shirt and knew it was from today.
She backed away from the door and leaned against the far wall. She wasn't going to give in to me, but she wouldn't attack either.
I sighed in relief then opened the door. "I won't lie to you, Hope. I promised he was fine and he is." I spoke softly, not approaching to closely. I could feel her uneasiness around me and I wanted to wash it away.
"Fine. You didn't kill him. You can go now."
"I'm not leaving Hope and you know why."
"I won't allow you to fuck me ever again. I'd rather die."
I shook my head at her words. "I'm not here to fuck you either, but you know that too. Well, I wouldn't mind if we did that, but it's not the main reason."
"I don't care what you think. You are wrong!"
"I'm not wrong Hope. We are not wrong." I sat on her bed, resting my hands on my knees, watching every muscle in her body. I would sit here for eternity if that's what it took for her trust me, to believe me
