Betrayed by Blood, Claimed by the Alpha
Chapter 52

Chapter 52: Chapter 52

Betrayed by Blood~

Avery had barely taken three steps down the corridor before a hand shot out from the shadows and clamped around her wrist. A startled gasp escaped her lips as she was yanked into a dark room. The door slammed shut, and Avery spun to see Martha, her eyes filled with the same hatred Avery had now come to know.

"What do you think you’re doing?" Avery hissed. She was tired and frustrated as hell, her thoughts were running wild with their names ringing in her head repeatedly. She didn’t want this now.

"Do you have a death wish, girl?" Martha hissed, her voice low. She stepped closer to Avery, her eyebrows cocked up, her intimidating frame forcing Avery to step back until her back pressed against the cold wall. "Did you think for a second that I forget the stunt you pulled back in the woods?" She gritted out, grabbing Avery’s wrist roughly. "What did you tell Alpha Cain? I’m sure you said something to him! What exactly did you tell him, you wretch?" She snapped angrily.

Avery straightened, her ears ringing with each word that left Martha’s lips. "What did I tell him? Why do you want to know? Are you scared? Is that what this is?"

Martha was taken aback, she scoffed in disbelief. "Did you forget what I said, huh?" She spat out, her voice dropped low as she stepped forward in a bid to intimidate Avery even more. "Do you not care about her anymore? It won’t take me anything to have that bitch you share a room with rolling in a ditch with—"

"Is that all you can do, Martha?" Avery asked, cutting the other off, disbelief coating Martha’s eyes.

"I’m done with your bullshit, Martha. I’ve tried to have a proper conversation with you. I even apologized to you when you hurt me. I tried to be your friend, but you’re not worth it. You want to threaten me with Millie, then let’s get into it. I know what you, Kendra, and Lady Williams did, and don’t think for a second that I’ll let it go." Avery spat out.

"What?"

Avery scoffed, she couldn’t believe the audacity of Martha. "Alpha Cain pardoned you and brought you back into the pack, the least you could’ve done was literally not try to kill him. I overheard those men talking about killing him, but you people tried to gaslight me when you did, in fact, send those men to him. How do you live with yourselves like this?"

Martha stared at her blankly for some seconds then scoffed in disbelief. "You have no idea what you’re talking about. You’d do well to keep that pretty little mouth of yours shut before you say something you’ll regret."

"I’m not afraid of you," Avery shot back, surprising even herself. She pushed off the wall, stepping into Martha’s space. "And if you think you can intimidate me into silence, you’re sorely mistaken. Cain knows what happened. It’s only a matter of time before he finds out who’s behind it."

Martha’s nostrils flared, her composure cracking. She grabbed Avery’s arm again, squeezing hard enough to bruise. "Shut the fuck up. We never sent anyone after the alpha. We would never do anything like that." Martha spat out, her heart pounding hard in her chest.

Avery shook her head, "Are you trying to convince me or yourself? It’s only a matter of time until Alpha Cain finds out, and then you can try explaining yourselves. You’d like that better, won’t you?"

Martha’s eye twitched, "Don’t test me, girl," Martha growled. "If I go down, I’ll take you with me. Remember that."

"Go ahead," Avery challenged, her voice like ice. "Because I’ve done nothing wrong. But you? You’ve dug your own grave. And I won’t let you drag me into it." Avery said and jerked her arm free.

Martha glared at Avery for a long moment, her chest heaving with anger. Then, with a frustrated growl, she stormed past Avery and out of the room.

Avery let out a shaky breath, her hands trembling. She said too much, way too much, and now...she shakily ran her hands through her hair, trying to calm her nerves. She stood up for herself, and it felt good.

"We have a problem," Martha announced as she stepped into the room. Her heart pounded harder than ever in her chest.

Carol and Kendra looked up sharply, their expressions quickly shifting to concern.

"What happened?" Carol asked, rising from her seat.

"Avery! Avery is what happened? I’m afraid we are actually screwed, my lady!" Martha said, "Alpha Cain was attacked by assassins, I think, and now Avery thinks we sent them after Alpha Cain!"

Kendra’s face paled, her hands flying to her mouth. "Cain was what?!" She shrieked.

"She what?" Carol snapped then glanced at her daughter. "Focus here! Kendra. He’s obviously fine since we saw him minutes ago." She huffed out, looking back at Martha.

"Avery thinks we sent the assassin to kill him because of what she overheard?" Carol asked, and Martha nodded.

"She’s threatening me, she’s threatening us, My lady. What are we going to do? If Alpha Cain ever finds out we even made a joke like this. Our lives will be-"

"Nothing will happen since we didn’t do anything! We didn’t send any assassin." Carol huffed out, already pacing around.

"Mother, we are in trouble. If Avery opens that big mouth of hers. We are done for." Kendra sank into a chair, her hands shaking. "This is bad. This is really, really bad. What if Cain believes her?"

Carol pinched the bridge of her nose, her mind racing. "He won’t believe her unless she has proof. Does she have any?"

Martha paused, trying to think about it, but nothing came up. "I don’t know, My lady. I can’t say." She replied.

Carol swallowed, walking towards the balcony, her thoughts running wild. She can’t afford to have everything crumble now. Not yet.

"Mother! Say something. What do we do? Avery mustn’t talk."

"Shut the hell up, Kendra, and let me think!" Carol snapped angrily at Kendra. Seconds went by, and she turned, her gaze on Martha.

"Her roommate, the one that stays with her in that room. She should be dealt with, it’ll send a message to Avery to keep her mouth shut until we can figure out what the heck is going on." Carol said, walking towards the desk and pulled it open, taking out some wads of cash and throws it Martha.

"Pay some of the servants or guards, I don’t care, but let her be beaten half to death. I want her body ruined beyond recognition, so much so that Avery will never open her mouth to say a thing."

Martha caught the money, her lips curling into a sinister smile. "Consider it done, My Lady," she said, tucking the cash into her pocket.

"This is reckless," Kendra hissed, standing abruptly. "What if it backfires? What if it makes Avery talk more?"

Carol’s gaze turned icy as she stepped closer to her daughter. "If you have a better idea, Kendra, I’m all ears. But sitting around wringing our hands won’t protect us." Carol spat out.

"Don’t worry, My Lady. I’ll make sure it’s messy enough to scare Avery but clean enough that it doesn’t trace back to us." Martha replied.

"Good," Carol said firmly. "The sooner, the better. I want this handled tonight."

________________________________________

Betrayed by Blood~

"Where do you think you’re going?" The head maid’s voice stopped Avery in her tracks. She slowly turned to see the woman glaring hard at her, her arms crossed over her chest, eyebrows cocked up.

"Umm...I was going to my room," Avery replied.

"Your room? You’ve been missing for half the day! You left the bucket and knives outside, you left the tank full and went for half the day, and now you’re heading to your room? Are you patronizing me, Avery!" The woman snapped angrily.

"No, I Just-"

"No, nothing! Get your legs moving and go do your duties. You’re serving at the feast tonight since you clearly took a break during the day," she spat out.

Avery resisted the urge to stomp her feet around and whine out loud. Not only was she tired, she was weak too after the gruesome day she’s had. All she wants to do is curl up and sleep, but even that wasn’t possible.

"Get moving now! Everyone’s all gathered, and we can’t be short-staffed," the woman barked out.

Avery bit her lip, resisting the urge to argue. The last thing she wanted was to make things worse. She nodded.

"Okay," she muttered, turning on her heel. The maids were already scurrying around in preparation for the feast, and Avery could feel the pressure mounting. She was far from ready for this. Her head felt slightly dizzy, and a warmth spread through her body that she couldn’t quite place, but she chalked it up to the exhaustion from the day’s events.

She took a large tray of buns and made her way towards the grand dining hall. She could already hear the loud voices and laughter coming from the hall.

When Avery stepped inside, her eyes were immediately drawn to the long, grand table, where the entire court had gathered. The King sat at the head of the table, a smile on his face, while Cain sat opposite him at the other end, looking every bit regal in his clothes. In their hands was a golden cup filled with red wine.

The king raised his hand, silencing everyone as he stood up, about to give a speech.

"Today marks the 78th successful hunt we’ve had in the region. Alpha Cain of the Vehiron pack has proven to be worthy of his title as pack alpha and even more as this season’s Emerald. Alpha Cain has not only completed the hunt successfully, he also made it a very hospitable and glorious hunt. For his success in the hunt for this season, Alpha Cain, our loyal protector, will be gifted the one and only Alpha Yuko’s blade," the king announced, and the crowd cheered.

Cain stood up, hands stretched out to receive the sword. Alpha Yuko was one of the founding fathers of the region, a great warrior no other wolf has been able to match up to. He won a total of 150 battles and wars during his lifetime. Not only was he highly respected, but the sword he carried was said to possess a power of its own, one that was passed down through generations of the Alpha lineage.

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