Louisa's POV
Lucas looked at me for a while without saying anything.
I could see the flaming anger in his eyes, but suddenly, it was dimmed and replaced by something much more vicious.
"You can ride with Lucian and we'll pick up the warlock before hunting, but you will have to promise that you'll be a good girl today. You have to be obedient and do whatever I ask you to do," he said.
I didn't say a word and lowered my head, trying to put on the hunting boots.
He bent down and helped me to tie up the boots.
Then, his hands moved all the way up to my waist and held me in his arms.
"I'm talking to you, little she-wolf. I need you to make a promise now," He lifted me up and forced my legs to wrap around his waist.
"OK. I promise," I whispered. "Now put me down. I can walk on my own."
"I know you can. But I don't want to put you down," he said with a mischievous smile on his face and walked out of the tent.
I turned my head away from his chest in disgust and saw Josephine standing in front of the stable.
She had already changed into a white hunting suit.
Her plump body seemed to be about to rip the tight suit. All the buttons in front of her chest were about to be pushed open by her giant breasts.
She didn't look happy when she saw Lucas holding me, so she raised her eyebrows and said, "Alpha Lucas, I thought you were about to take me with you for the hunting trip. You know how I enjoy riding horses."
Lucas looked at her and said, "Go back to your tent. You're not coming with us today."
"What?!" Josephine looked angry and said, "Alpha Lucas, if I may, my brother is fighting for you at the west front, but you're holding some random whore in your arms and going on a hunting trip without me. I don't think my brother will want to hear about this..."
Josephine suddenly stopped talking and glared behind me.
I turned back and saw Beta Lucian walking out of the stable with two giant black horses.
I recognized one of them was the one we were on the other day when he took me back from my father's mansion.
"Miss Josephine," he said calmly. "Don't try to speak on your brother's behalf and don't ever try to use him to threaten Alpha Lucas."
Josephine's face turned red and white at the same time. She was so furious that she couldn't even speak a word.
Alpha Lucas ignored Josephine, passed me to Lucian, and got on his horse.
Lucian lifted me up and placed me on the saddle of his horse. Then, he got on as well, wrapping his arms around my waist while holding the rein.
Josephine didn't want to give up, so she approached Lucas' horse and said, "But Alpha Lucas..."
The aggressive scent of fragrance coming from her must have made Lucas' horse very nervous. It lifted both of its front hooves up in the air, splashing some dirt and mud from the ground.
The muddy drips were swashed everywhere.
Josephine didn't manage to dodge, so she was covered in mud all over, from head to toe.
Her brand new hunting suit was soiled and she couldn't have been more embarrassed.
She kept staring at me ferociously. If she could kill me by staring, she must have already killed me a thousand times in her mind.
Alpha Lucas tapped his horse's neck, stroking its long black mane.
"Torrent, calm down, old chap," he said.
Torrent neighed, snorted, and swaggered out of the yard.
Beta Lucian whispered next to my ear, "Do you understand what Torrent has just said, she-wolf?"
"I do. But I don't curse," I whispered.
Beta Lucian chuckled and followed Lucas to get out of the yard.
I turned my head back and saw arrays of White Walkers soldiers marching behind us. Some of them were carrying banners with emblems. Some of them were carrying spears and shields.
It looked like they were about to march into a war or something.
"Beta Lucian..." I said.
"Lucian will be enough, Miss She-wolf." He interrupted me.
"OK, Lucian, is this necessary for a hunting trip? " I frowned and looked up at Beta Lucian.
Lucian didn't look at me and replied, "A hunting trip is a diplomatic mission, for which nothing is too extravagant. And yes, it is necessary, because sometimes people just disappear during hunting trips."
I felt worried and asked, "But... If it's dangerous, why don't we just stay at home and...?"
"Life is dangerous, but we still want to survive, don't we?" Lucian replied in his signature nonchalant voice as if he was talking about today's weather.
"I also want to survive." I lowered my head and whispered.
Lucian asked, "Really? I thought you were suicidal when you argued and defied Lucas. You do know that he used to kill people for less offensive reasons."
"Are you going to kill me?" I asked.
"You heard our conversation this morning, didn't you? When you were outside of Lucas' tent." Lucian asked.
"I knew Lucas wanted me dead, but I had never thought you would agree to kill me," I said.
"I've already told you, I'm always on Lucas' side. I will never ever betray him," he said.
"But it was you who suggested that Finn hang out with me. You voted for me. You had hope in me. You want to see me succeed and qualify to be Lucas' mate..."
"But you failed the task completely," Lucian said.
I murmured, "I'm getting stronger. I'm working very hard..."
"To kill him. Yes, I know about that," Lucian said.
I argued, "He tortured and killed Darren's brother! He kept torturing Darren and..."
"Has Lucas ever lied to you, even once?" Lucian asked me.
"No," I replied. Lucian had always been very honest and he had never tried to disguise his hatred and disgust against me.
Lucian continued, "And that warlock lied to you for the first time he saw you. He pretended to be Uma. Do you remember that?"
"Yes, but he was just carrying out an order..."
"Nobody asked him to do so. He offered to do that in order to get Lucas' trust and attention. He then went further by inventing a stupid story about Finn being Uma's husband. He tried to persuade you to get his imprint from Lucas, so he could kill you and free himself. That's a sick lie, an absurd lie, and a lethal lie. Three lies in a row. So here's my question - Why do you rather believe a pathological liar rather than your own mate?"
I was stunned and left absolutely speechless.
Lucian continued, "Just because that warlock exposed his vulnerability in front of you by telling you his made-up pathetic stories and crying his heart out against your shoulder? What Lucas has been through is ten times worse than the invented story of the warlock. And you don't even bother to know the past of your own mate before rejecting him in your mind. Arrogant and ignorant, you are convinced that he's guilty before hearing his side of the story. Miss She-wolf, you've always been a fair-minded free-spirited little wolf. You treat everybody equally and you want to save every creature around you, be it a weasel, a salamander, or a vampire. But how about Lucas? Just because he's your mate and everyone hates him, you can take him for granted? Isn't he a creature as well? He's strong and powerful, grumpy and cruel, I know, but it doesn't mean that he doesn't need to be saved. Has this come across your brilliant mind even once?"