Page 27

Azura

I leave the lift, and he is nowhere in sight, but that isn’t going to deter me. I follow his scent, my eyes blazing as the image of Jackie’s bruises flashes in my mind. I look around, sniffing the air and following my nose around the side of the apartment before breaking into a jog, just in time to see him disappear behind another building. I look back at the streetlights and wonder where he is going.

“Emmet!” I shout as I rush to catch up. I turn the corner and see him about to enter the dark building, but he stops when I call him.

“Azura?” He looks surprised to see me. “Didn’t you leave?” I guess he really didn’t see me upstairs.

“Oh, I came back,” I reply, walking over to him. And I’m fucking glad I did. His eyes narrow as if suddenly suspicious of why I am here, his expression darkens, and he looks me over.

“Why are you following me?”

Because I was right there when you stormed out of your apartment, right before I saw the marks on Jackie’s neck,” I reply, looking him square in the eye.

“Look here, I don’t know what the fuck you want, but what I do is none of your goddamned business. Stay out of this. Remember you and your kind are not fucking welcome here,” he spits.

“My kind? We are all fucking werewolves, you dumb dick. We are fucking one, and even if it wasn’t, there shouldn’t be fucking discrimination.” Okay, Azura, you are going off-topic.

“You know… I checked, and there’s only one fucking Azura, and she’s a Westwood. I wonder if Leo even realised or was he so busy with work he didn’t even know who he was helping.”

“Oh, whatever, that shit won’t work. Leo knows I’m a Westwood. This isn’t about who I am, but what you fucking did. Do Leo or Marcel know that the Delta is an abuser?” I shout, my anger rising at his lack of care. He scoffs stepping closer to me threateningly.

“Only thing is, it’s your word against mine and Jackie’s. Trust me, she won’t rat me out… so you think Leo will ever listen to an Elit-”

I punch him across his irritating-as-fuck face, cutting him off. His eyes flash menacingly as he cups his jaw, glaring at me with pure hatred.

“I don’t care who listens and who doesn’t, but if you think you can just abuse your mate and get away with -”

He raises his hand, but before he can even grab or do whatever the fuck he planned to do, I knock his hand away.

“Then you’re wrong,” I finish, “and I am not Jackie, who will fucking sit by and allow you to touch me.”

“What you going to do, run to your big brother?” Emmet growls mockingly.

“No, I’ll just break your fucking arms myself,” I hiss as he grabs hold of my arm, shoving me against the wall, but I’m ready. I kick him on the shin and try to push him back, but he is fucking strong. So am I.

He swears as he manages to grab hold of my arm, twisting it behind my back, and is about to do the very fucking same move that Leo had almost done on me. I raise my feet, jamming them against the wall. Jarring pain rushes through my legs before I use all my force and push back while, at the same time, slamming my head back against Emmet’s nose as hard as I can before I flip up and over behind him and kick him square in the centre of his back. Bet that hurt like a bitch in heat.

He swears as he stumbles, spinning around and recovering pretty fast.

“You may be the Delta of an impressive pack, but I’m the daughter of two of the best Alphas out there. You are no match for me.”

“Daughter, yeah, right. We all know you aren’t their real daughter,” he scoffs, wiping blood from his nose. He did not just go there.

“Blood alone doesn’t make you family. I don’t care who conceived me, I am their daughter. Take it back,” I threaten quietly. He smirks, realising he has hit a nerve.

“Then stay the fuck out of my business bitch!”

It takes my fucking all not to do worse. Jackie said not to tell the Alpha… Marcel is Alpha, not Leo… right?

“The moment you hurt her, you made it my business. I don’t know what the hell this pack is, or their rules, but I don’t believe that Alpha Marcel would allow abuse here.”

I turn ready to storm off when he is suddenly behind me, grabbing my hair and twisting me around to face him. I hiss at the pain in my head, reaching out and digging my claws into his face in defence. He lets out a blinding roar, slamming me with full force into the far wall, but I don’t let go, digging my claws further into his face and pulling him with me.

Yup, here are two facts. I’m a psychotic bitch, and he may need stitches considering I just ripped his face up, but I sure as fuck don’t care.

His fist connects with my jaw, and I am forced to let go of him, my head snapping sideways. Something cricks, and I bite my lip, fighting back a groan of pain as I elbow him in the neck just as he shoves me to the ground. I land on my ass, bringing my legs up and shieling my stomach, just in time to block his vicious kick. Is he aiming to hurt but not to make me bleed? If he is… then he is smart but not fucking smart enough. When he aims another kick, I block with my arm, his boot scraping the skin and I feel something crack.

He is attacking blindly. Clearly, he isn’t used to being hit back. I knock his feet out from under him, making him fall to the ground. Bastard. I take the chance, jumping on top of him as I straddle him, grabbing his shirt in my fist, ready to punch him.

“Oi! What’s going on?” We both turn sharply to see none other than Emmet’s older brother, Eric. He looks between us, worry and confusion on his face as he runs and pulls me off Emmet. He looks us over, clearly unsure what to make of it, frowning deeply.

I’m sure Emmet looks worse off... I had dug my nails into his cheeks, and I had messed it up bad, not to mention the bloody nose.

“What on earth is this?” Eric growls again. Gone is the cute teddy bear. Shame, I liked him better happy, but I guess we can all become psychos when we need to.

“She attacked me out of nowhere,” Emmet growls.

“Oh?” I challenge.

“You’re in our pack, if I were you I’d be fucking careful,” he hisses.

“Is that a threat? Because I know how to make those, too,” I spit back. Oh, I want to fucking rip his damn eyes out. Eric swears as he pushes Emmet back trying to diffuse the situation. He then turns to me.

“Leo isn’t here, Azura. He doesn’t allow people into this pack as it is… you’re his guest and doing something like -”

“I’m not his goddamn guest, and I will attack someone if they fuck-”

“Leo will kick you out if you cause trouble,” Emmet snaps, ripping his shirt off and wiping his bloody face. Even though he is pretty lean, he is well-built. Well, the kicks are proof of that…

“Oh? Even if he knows the truth? Then how about we take this to Alpha Marcel?” I challenge. His eyes flash, and he clenches his fist.

“He just got back from his trip. Let’s not make things harder for him,” he says, and Eric frowns, nodding.

“Hmm. Sure,” I say, gripping my forearm and rolling my wrist.

“You both need to go get seen over… damn, Emmet, you’re literally going to need to get that glued,” Eric mutters, poking a bit of skin that is actually hanging. I sure did a number on him, but he fucking deserved it. I examine my nails.

“Oh, look, I think I have bits of skin under my nails. Do you want it back?” I ask, blinking innocently as I flick whatever crap of his was under my nails at him. His eyes flash murderously, but he says nothing, simply shaking his head.

“I guess this is what the Elite think. That they can just walk into any pack and do whatever the fuck they want…” he mutters quietly. I don’t bother replying. I have no idea what he may be telling Eric through the link, but this isn’t over.

“I’m going back to my apartment,” I state when we round the building.

“You may need to be seen, Azura,” Eric says, although he no longer sounds so friendly.

“No, I don’t. It’s a few bruises, they’ll heal,” I reply coldly.

“Me too. I’m going to return home. Jackie can fix this up.” His cold eyes meet mine, and I feel my anger rise at just the mention of Jackie.

“Alright… I will be mentioning this to Alpha Leo,” Eric states, looking between the two of us.

“Sure, so will I,” I reply as Eric continues to lead us inside the building as if he doesn’t trust us alone. Well, heck, neither do I.

“Like he’d take the word of an Elite princess over his best friend,” Emmet mutters.

“I truly pity him for having such a best friend, then,” I reply as we enter the lift.

Those words of his sting but I wonder if Leo would take my word or his. It is something that I am unable to push away. Like, why should I care if he doesn’t believe me? Sure, I will make sure Jackie’s issue is made known to at least one person who can help her. Eric may not believe me, and if Leo who technically isn’t the Alpha yet doesn’t believe me, then I will break my promise to Jackie and tell Marcel. But I know the reason I want to see if Leo will believe me or not is personal… almost like a test. A test for what? I have no idea.

“Right, the both of you, go to your own apartments. Now,” Eric orders, sounding like that annoying older brother.

“Sure, or we can go see if Jackie will just have a quick check over of me, too. What do you think, Eric, would that be okay?” I ask innocently, giving him the best innocent expression that I can put on despite feeling completely pissed off. The brothers exchange looks, but Emmet shakes his head.

“No,” he says coldly.

“Why not?” I ask, sauntering over to their door. Sorry, Jackie, you kept my trust, but I won’t be doing the same.

“Eric, I’m trying to be calm. As Delta, I’m commanding you to get her to her apartment, she’s not entering mine.”

“Emmet, it won’t take long for Jackie to have a look at her.”

“Maybe he’s simply just scared that someone will see why this entire fight even began,” I remark, ringing Jackie’s door.

“What do you mean?” Eric asks sharply.

“Want to tell him, or shall I?” I challenge Emmet. He just looks confused as he raises an eyebrow.

“You attack me after looking down on our pack, and mock the fact that Leo isn’t Alpha. What do you mean?” He asks just as the door opens to reveal Jackie.

She is wearing a different top now that covers her neck, but apart from that, she looks absolutely fine, with slightly heavier makeup on than before, covering the bruise on her face entirely. My stomach sinks at the smile on her face realising she is going to play along. She is going to hide Emmet’s truth, just the way Indigo hid Fred’s. I swallow, looking at her intently as her smile fades, looking between me and Emmet.

“Oh my… Emmet…” She rushes to his side, touching his face gingerly.

“I’m okay, doll, it’s nothing,” he says.

Say it, Azura. Eric is standing there, and I realise I need to. Even if no one believes me, I’d speak the truth.

“You hurt Jackie. I saw the marks. Jackie… you don’t need to deal with this,” I say, looking between the three. She exchanges looks with the men before turning to me with a look of confusion on her face.

“I have no idea what you mean, Azura. You must have misunderstood… Emmet left in anger because the TV wasn’t working.” She gives me a small smile and shakes her head. Eric sighs as he looks at me in disappointment.

“I’m sorry, Azura, you seemed like a nice girl… I didn’t think you’d try to cause issues like this. Maybe they’re right… good night, guys.” He walks off, and I feel awful as I turn to Jackie, who is guiding Emmet inside.

“Good night, Azura,” she says, and that’s when I see it, the tiny glimmer of guilt in her eyes before she shuts the door in my face.