Chapter 20
Paxton’s POV
I ran as fast as my legs could go up the drive, but I didn't want to phase into my wolf. I don't have another set of clothes with me, so I don't want to rip them apart. I honestly thought that I would be catching them quicker than we did. I didn't know we would be encountering such difficulties. I may still be young, but my lack of recent training reminded me that I could not hold up this speed. There was a blur on both sides of me, and the next thing I knew, my legs were knocked out from under me. I tumbled head-to-toe twice before I rolled to a stop. The breath had been knocked out of me, and I was stunned. I hurt everywhere as I was running full tilt when they stopped me. I looked up to see the vampire standing there with another vampire who looked very similar to him.
Why in the world would they allow bloodsuckers to live here for the Goddess's sake? The only good vampire was a dead vampire, in my opinion. Better yet, how are they both standing out here in broad daylight as if it doesn’t even bother them? They each grabbed me under an arm and dragged me back to the gate. The two SUVs had pulled in and were currently parked next to the guard's shack at the gate. A few men had exited the SUVs and walked over to speak to Jaxon. I stared at them as I was dragged past them and back out the gate before being dropped on the ground like I was trash.
“Ms. Sharp, you may enter. I will take you to the hospital to speak with the ladies.” One of the men from earlier, one of Jaxon's Beta's, told her.
As Michela walked through the gate, she asked, “Is one of the women in the hospital? What happened? Was she hurt here?”
“No, she wasn't hurt here. She was already hurt pretty badly when she arrived. One of the men you arrived here with had hurt her while she was still in the Kamaria pack. It was one of the reasons that they ran,” Jaxon replied to her. The assistant gave a small smile, but we could all tell that she was concerned by what he told her. I had told her that they ran over a misunderstanding.
I wanted to reply, but the wind was still knocked out of me. I linked Rex and Clay to speak up. I was not going to allow Jaxon to twist it back onto us. She may have been hurt, but it was because she was involved in a crime. At a bare minimum, Cara must be returned to us to pay for her crimes against Clay. Plus, one of us needed to be represented in there to reply to any false allegations that the girls might have. I knew they would say a lot about us to the Council representative. One of us needed to be there for rebuttal. Thankfully, Rex recited my thoughts back to the Council Representative. I finally got a short breath in my lungs right before I thought I would pass out.
Jaxon smiled at me and said, “No, I am sorry, but none of you will be allowed into my pack. This is not a courtroom. There is no need for an argument to happen here. She is here to get the facts for the Council to look at. I cannot trust any of you inside Black Adder, so I will not allow you to enter my pack. I won’t allow you to hurt any of my pack members or the women who arrived here yesterday. It is my job to protect them, and I will. No matter what other crap you try to pull, Paxton,” I heard Jaxon state before he gave a scoff.
The Council Member got into the SUV with the Beta, and they drove off. It was silent for a few minutes, but before I could stand up from the ground, someone literally jumped over the gate. It was a ten-foot-high gate, but it wasn’t a wolf. We would have to be very strong, and in our wolf form, to be able to do that. I already knew it was the vampire who was hung up on Cara that jumped over.
“I cannot believe how ignorant you were to return here, Clay. Did you think that I would let you off with a warning after what you did to Cara? You almost killed her. I am here to give you the punishment you deserve for hurting her,” he announced to Clay.
“What are you talking about? I only grabbed her leg after she broke into my home. I was in the right to defend myself. She will be punished for attempting to rob me once we return to Kamaria,” Clay said as he stepped back away from the vampire.
“I am sure that is the story you told to your Alpha. I bet he doesn’t know that you lied to him, either. You can’t lie to me, Clay. I know exactly what you had been planning to do to Cara. I think your boss needs to know just what a disgusting piece of shit he has working for him. How can he ever trust you again? You know he is obsessed with Cara. Do you think that he will allow you to escape punishment over this? Once he finds out, I am willing to bet he will deal with you when you get back home,” the vampire continued.
Wait, what the hell is he talking about? Is that parasite trying to say that Clay tried to do something to Cara? No, I don’t believe it, that isn’t possible. He knew how much I liked her. He would never try to force himself on her. I wished I could get those words out. This leech is full of shit and just trying to cause a rift between us. I know that I can trust Clay. He is my Beta, for Goddess's sake.
I cannot catch my breath to tell the parasite that I will never believe a word he says. I have known Clay for a long time. I can’t see him doing that to Cara or me. It is impossible. I could only lay there and watch what was about to happen. The vampire's nails grow out to become weapons of their own at his will. They look sharper than my wolf's claws, and I start to get concerned. I wasn’t worried about what they would do earlier, but I am now. The Council representative is no longer here. I can tell that they had waited for her to leave to do this.
The vampire then started cutting Clay. He was moving so fast you couldn’t keep up with when the injuries were happening. Rex stepped forward to intercede on Clay’s behalf when a second vampire, just as large as the one dealing with Clay, jumped in front of him. He didn’t lay a hand on Rex. He just held a hand out and said, “He won’t kill him. He is just teaching him a lesson. Clay needs to know not to touch other people's mates again.”
The first vampire was still going and using both hands to make Clay suffer. Clay has been sliced open at least a hundred times. He is bleeding pretty badly on his arms, chest, and back. The vampire is showing no sign of slowing down or stopping. He moves easily around Clay as he tries to punch the vampire to get him to stop. I finally got my breath back and managed to get out, “Stop! That is enough.”
My voice wasn't loud, but to my surprise, the vampire actually stopped and stepped back away from Clay. We watch as the vampire grins and walks over to use Clay’s shirt to wipe his bloody hands off. He then stood there like he was waiting for any of us to say something to him. Clay has to hold onto the side of the SUV to hold himself up. We are all now very aware that if he wanted to kill any of us, he could have.
I can sense the anger coming off of him; it is more than outrage at Cara being hurt. He has a thing for her but doesn’t need to get too attached. She will be coming home with me. I decided to inform him that he needs to face facts. Cara would never be with him. She will soon be leaving here, and I can assure him that she will never be coming back.
“I promise you that I will be looking into what happened when we get back home. If Clay did something wrong to Cara, I will ensure he gets punished for it. I have not been told that he had. The girls just left without saying anything to anyone. If he is responsible for them leaving the pack, I will make sure that he is properly punished for it. I can’t fix what I didn’t know was broken,” I told him, trying to keep the peace.
“Oh, you knew it was broken. You just weren’t aware that your friend here would be willing to cross, you too. You can keep your head buried in the ground. You don’t have to punish him. That was less than what he deserved for almost killing Cara. She is alive because we knew she was coming, and we were prepared for her to go to the hospital within minutes of her arrival. I went easy on your Beta. You will find out just how easy I went on him if you three decide to come here again. I won’t be playing around anymore. I will make very sure that you all learn what happens when you cross me,” the vampire told us with a confident smirk.
“We won’t be coming back. Once the council representative brings the girls out, we will then leave. We will never return to Black Adder. I can assure you of that,” I told him. I was telling the truth. I didn’t want to go to war; my parents and Lisa would lose their shit if it came to that. I was just here to get Cara. I refuse to return without her. If I can get Brenna and Luna, too, that is fine. But it was always Cara that I was after.
“Oh, you’ll be back, Paxton. I know that for a fact because the women will not be leaving with you today. So, I already know that you will be coming back. You weren’t smart enough to just let it go. You weren’t smart enough to keep your chosen mate from playing you. You let her lie right to your face. You lost that bet because your chosen mate had only left Cara alone because she was scared of Brenna and Luna. Not because you made her your chosen. I would have hoped you would have learned something today, but I already know you didn’t. You are only here because you lust after Cara. Don’t come back. I can promise you that there is nothing for you here. We will never let them return to your Goddess-forsaken pack,” he told me coldly.
“You can’t tell me what to do. You don’t have any involvement in this. So you need to see your way out of it. That Council Representative already knows what she is here to do. She is here to bring my pack members back out here to me. She will do as she was told to do,” I told them. They think they are so fucking smart, but I won this battle.