She must have realized it, too, because, with a leap out of the thicket, she landed in front of me. Her dark brown, almost black hair was a mess and made her look more threatening. In her dark brown eyes was that gleam I only saw when she and the pack were on the hunt.
If I didn’t know her, I would have expected a serious threat now.
I took a step toward her. She did not back away. Instead, she did the same until there were only a few inches between us.
“What are you doing here, Emely?” it escaped me.
She knew perfectly well that she wasn’t supposed to be here at this hour. But above all, there was one thing she wasn’t allowed to do in this area: hunting.
“I’ve been watching you,” she growled, looking around cautiously. “You were talking to one of them.”
Her gaze was full of hostility. She seemed almost dangerous with her yellow glowing Senseque eyes.
I wasn’t forbidden to talk to them. And anyway...what business was it of hers? Just because the pack didn’t like it? Screw the pack.
“I can talk to whomever I want. And I won’t be forbidden by you.” My brows narrowed. “How many more times?”
She clenched her teeth.
I was right, and she knew it.
“You really still think that because of this arrangement, you can enjoy any freedom and do whatever you want. But you don’t. They want to control you.”
I sighed. “They don’t want to control us. We chose to live here.”
In fact, I wasn’t saying anything new.
“If your father wasn’t a cop working for the city, they would have chased you guys away long ago. Believe me. They’re just using you. And you’re going to be a problem for them sooner or later.”
Her words hit the mark.
I kept silent because I had to try to control the rising anger inside me. Unrestrained blood noticeably pulsed in my veins, which slowly began to stand out. But I would not turn. Not here. Not after all this time.
Emely must have noticed because her eyes turned yellow. Her expression became more serious.
“My father wants you to join us.”
Now she started again. Of course, Nickolas wanted me to do that.
“And Maverick?” I countered.
“Maverick is not the Alpha. Nobody cares about his take on the whole thing because he has to accept my father’s opinion.”
And that was exactly the problem. I would not submit to some bossy Alpha whom I then had to obey without resistance. It might be that as long as we lived here, we had to abide by the rules of the witches. But it was still better than belonging to a group where one’s own opinion did not count. I didn’t need a manipulative pack. End of discussion.
“My dad already knew why he left,” I murmured.
“Everyone needs a pack, Julian. That’s where you’ll get help if you’re in trouble.”
Her voice sounded calmer now. More insistent. I knew what she was trying to say.
“But I’m not in trouble, and I don’t need you,” I drove at her a little too harshly.
She looked hurt. I hadn’t meant for that to happen. Then again, what did it matter? Maybe, at some point, she’d finally let it go.
Pretty quickly, she managed to hide her emotions again, which was unusual for Emely.
“You’re cocky, Julian. Has anyone ever told you that?”
I was cocky, then. If it kept me from wanting them to keep me around, I was just fine with making them beg until they finally realized they might as well have been talking to a fucking wall.
“And you shut yourself off completely. When was the last time you let anyone get to you?” she added.
My expression darkened, and I clenched my hands into fists.
I didn’t need to let anyone get to me. That was exactly what had made me bleed. If you let other people get close to you, you became controllable, vulnerable... It was probably the pack’s ploy to keep members from suddenly disappearing. I wouldn’t fall for that.
Emely took a deep breath as if it was me who was causing trouble right now.
“If it were up to me, I wouldn’t always ask you. My father just wanted you to know that we always have a place for you.”
“Then tell him I don’t need that place,” I growled, turning around.
I was sick of Nickolas’ offers. If they needed newbies, they should go recruit others. Maybe some wild wolves who roamed the woods and purposely harmed others. That scum needed a pack much more than I did.
“What did she want?”
My father’s voice startled me.
