His Rejected 'Queen'.

Dreams VS Reality...

"And when your past decides to come back again and you have to face it you realize that it is strongly bonded to your present and future as well. So... Maybe it is a sign..."

~about eight days later, late at night, palace~

Daniel’s pov

~dream~

I don’t know how much time I am walking in the quite dark forest without really knowing where I am going.

I can’t even use my sensitive senses and Devon is too silent but still present in my mind. I have never been in this place again, this is the only thing for sure and the sun is soon going to disappear making even more difficult for me to find my way and get out of the forest.

I have constantly a bad feeling and I do not know why. It is like I am waiting for something, I am afraid but I have no clue what is going to happen. My heart hurts a bit, I am breathing almost normally with lots of efforts and I am sweating like never before.

I think I have the typical signs a very nervous and scared person has but I have no reason to feel like this.

Except if…

No!

She is alright, I am sure, nothing can have happened to her. The last hours I can’t stop thinking of her and I am dying in agony even if I know that she is strong and she can deal with anything.

But can I be 100% sure?

I mean, I am not with her, she is alone, she can’t shift, she is away, she can’t inform us, she is exposed.

Iris…

Today she left for the surviving test and this time she has to be alone for two days deep inside the forest at the mountains. She has the special bracelet and we can see her location but we can’t be sure she is alright until she comes back in more than 24 hours from now.

Please don’t tell me that she is hurt. I will get crazy if anything happens to her…

I can’t stop thinking what I read in her file. This is what is killing me more… She is alone in the forest just like the day her father found her and also like…

Diana was found.

Yes, I am thinking both of them. I don’t know why but after Iris left Diana came in my mind out of nowhere and I am feeling worse than ever for both of them, I feel guilty.

It is the first time I feel close to regret rejecting Diana. I remembered what my parents and friends told me about three weeks ago at the meeting and I read Aiden’s file earlier. I had the need to know what happened to Diana and now I feel responsible for everything. She died because of me, her parents said it clearly, her Alpha said it, she was found dead from rogues some kilometers away from her pack’s territory.

She was…

I don’t even want to remember the description of her body and face, I can’t bare it, it is too much.

Everything because of me, she was hurt and wanted to disappear from embarrassment and pain for what I did. She was sensitive, I read it, I saw it that day in her eyes while she was crying.

Everything is my fault.

And then is Iris…

I already knew her story, I had read it the first day she came and after she left I can’t stop thinking about it.

The word ‘forest’ is what scares me. In a forest Diana was found dead and in a forest Iris was found bearably breathing from her father. Now Iris is in a forest alone and the thoughts are killing me.

What if something happens to her?

The bracelet won’t allow her to shift, it has silver in it and it will kill her if her bones break and she shifts, she has to stay in her human forms until she returns and Landon takes the bracelet off of her wrist.

Shit!

I am an i***t! How the hell did I allow it to happen? I should have stopped it. The other tests’ results were already enough for everyone and mainly Iris that had the best score in everything.

This wasn’t necessary. I feel like I sent her to death.

After Diana she will die because of me as well and…

I can’t lose her. Not her.

Why is she so important to me when I bearably know her?

We haven’t even talked except the day she came and the day I saw her with my mother. She is ignoring me, she is distant, everyone has managed to have even a small chat with me except from her.

It is clear she doesn’t like me and I am hurt and jealous because Landon, Hunter and Aiden are constantly on her side.

I can’t get her out of my mind, the more she ignores me the more I feel something pushing me closer to her and Devon is worse.

Can I be in love?

Damn me and my stupid mind!

I sigh and stop in the middle of a small glade and look around me confused. I don’t think I can find a way to get out of here.

What is…?

“Daniel…”

I freeze breathless and my body paralyzes. I know this voice, I thought I had forgotten her but no… I remember it clearly now. It is the same weak, soft, scared voice I heard for only some seconds and back then I felt disgust but now…

Now I feel…

I do not know what I feel.

“I am here Daniel…” she says again and I gasp not ready to turn and face her.

Devon is suddenly absent, I don’t know where he is but I am sure he can’t bare it.

I can’t do it either, I can’t face her, I have no courage, the guilt isn’t allowing me to dare and turn.

I feel so weak for the first time in my life, my legs feel unable to support me, my heart is not beating and my chest hurts making it impossible for me to breathe. I feel tears in my eyes and close them quickly with the need to sob more intense than ever. I have never cried but now…

“I hope you are happy now Daniel…” she says again and I make the mistake to open my eyes.

I fall on my knees instantly breathless and most terrified than any other time.

“Diana?” I whisper shocked.

She is…

Just the day she was found…

Her long brunette hair is a mess and wet from blood, her face is full of bruises, cuts and some deep wounds that are bleeding. Her neck is covered with scratches, her sternum has bites as they were trying to reach her heart, her clothes are almost gone because they were torn into pieces, her rips must be broken and at her lower stomach she has cuts from silver and the blood is running like rivers.

I am lost until I feel drowning from the luck of oxygen and realize that I have been sobbing.

I fight to breathe but the pain is too much.

I lock my eyes on her dark grey, emotionless eyes and I sob more.

What have I done?

“I hope you are happy Daniel, you should be… You did it, you killed me.”

“I didn’t want to. I couldn’t have imagined it…” I cry out panicked but she doesn’t replies.

She just stares at me deadly in the eyes like a statue with no emotion.

“I am sorry. I…”

“You never cared, stop pretending. You didn’t even ask me if I could take it…” she cuts me off and pauses.

“…You wanted this to happen…” another woman’s voice says and I blink my eyes as next to Diana is…

“Iris?”

She is the same, the same girl I know, she has not even a small cut, she is Iris as I know her but her expression…

It is so cold and distant, her eyes are not shining, they are darker and scary.

“I am sorry, I didn’t want to…” I try to say that I didn’t want Diana dead and if I could turn back the time I would have changed everything but I can’t.

It’s like someone stops me. I can’t speak no matter how hard I am trying.

“Goodbye Daniel…” they both whisper in union and take some steps back disappearing and leaving me alone.

No!

~end of dream~

I wake up panicked screaming.

I look around me panicked breathless and understand that I am in my room alone.

The room is quite dark, the alcohol’s smell is too strong as I had to drink about three bottles of vodka to manage to sleep, the sheets are a mess, the bottles are scattered on the floor and I am still wearing my clothes but they are soaked from the sweat.

It was a nightmare or a sign?

Diana and Iris were together… Does this mean that something is going to happen?

It takes me lots of amends to take a short breath but I can’t stop shaking or feeling helpless. I can’t calm down, as the time passes I feel worse, it’s like I am dying.

Nothing can help me…

“You know… What we need…” Devon whispers in the same state with me and I nod quickly.

Tell me crazy but I instinctually know what he means and the need is coming out naturally. I think I smell it all the time all these days but today I didn’t…

I get up trying not to collapse on the floor and walk to my small, private office from a small corridor at the left of my door and turn on the lights as I get in. I have this office when I want to stay alone and work without the others interrupting me or when it is too late and I want to be right next to my room. I walk behind my desk and kneel down at one big drawer.

I open it and take a bunch of three keys that have the number 12 on them and quickly stand up and walk out of the office and then my room.

I know it is not right but I can’t do otherwise. I need her scent, I am still fighting to breathe and I can’t stop shaking.

I walk in the large, long, dark corridor and after about ten doors I stop and turn on the right one with Iris’ name on it. I sigh nervously and put the big key in the locker with shaking hand. I unlock it timidly and look around me quickly wanting to get sure that no one can see me. I push the door open and get in timidly.

The sweet scent hits my nose and Devon purrs relieved while I smile weakly. I close the door carefully behind me and lock it again because I don’t want anyone to find out I am here.

I turn slowly and look the dark from the night room, it is tidied and cleaned perfectly. The colors must be bright grey and silver as I can see and I smile slightly…

She has the same taste with me, I have read everything, her file had every single detail about her and what she likes and prefers. I am glad the room happened to be in her tastes, well some of them.

I walk to her bed and sit in the middle of its right side.

I am already calmer, I breathe better and I am not shaking that much. Her scent has already helped me and Devon. I bury my face in my hands and close my eyes, I want to forget but I can’t.

This nightmare was so real, so terrifying…

I still feel my heart hurting for Diana and even Iris.

I really believe Diana is…dead… I don’t want this to be true but after this dream I am sure. I am just a heartless bastard that felt nothing and what happened to Aiden once he found out that Diana is dead proves it. He had anger issues for about one year, he was depressed and he was dealing with his duties as a Beta with difficulty.

And he suffered because of me, because I killed his sister, because I am a monster. Diana was not enough, I had to hurt her brother as well, not only her parents and pack.

My mother was right, I am a monster, I can’t even recognize myself.

“She is alive, I believe it Daniel. She can’t be dead…” Devon whispers but I shake my head in disagreement.

“I killed her, she was clear… And even if she is alive she will never let us find her. Even her brother thinks that she is dead.”

“Talk to him, we have nothing to lose. Once he comes back talk to him.” he says encouragingly.

“I do not know… And Iris? What if something has happened to her? She has passed through a lot already, I don’t want her to suffer more.”

“We are falling in love with her… Do you realize it?”

I sigh and open my eyes lifting my head up.

Am I?

It is the first time I am getting crazy about a woman but right now I can’t understand if I feel like this for Iris, Diana or both. I mean, I surely want Iris, I can’t deny it after everything I have been feeling from the moment I met her but now with this dream and Diana…

Seeing her like this caused me a pain I had never imagined I would live in my life and I do not know if it is because she was my mate once or because I instictually loved her but I was fooling myself I didn’t in order to sleep around every night with different women.

I stand up and walk to the small library there is at the studying corner next a window and stop once my gaze falls on an album with photos. It must be purple with sparkles and I take it immediately in my hands.

I know that it is not my place to open it but I need to know more about her, my heart asks me to. It is Iris’ personal moments but I can’t stop myself…

I turn on the light on the desk and open the album. At the first page there is a big photo of her in the arms of a man’s near his 40’s. They look alike, he has to be her father. They are both smiling and she is resting her head on his chest while he has his arms tightly wrapped around her. Her face is shining, she is happy and makes me melt. Down the photo there is an inscription.

‘To my baby girl, the light in my life!’

God!

I turn to the second page and I see a photo of Iris on the lap of a tall blonde man with dark brown eyes that wears a black suit. Iris has her eyes closed and she is very skinny but smiles more than before and the man is kissing her cheek while holding her and she has her hands placed on his.

My heart aches from jealously and pain once more when I read the inscription.

‘I was never scared to love you because you filled every vacancy in my heart. So I will constantly, consistently and continually choose you!’

I can’t continue…

I don’t know who this man is or what he is for her but I can’t look at them…

I close the album and leave it again on the desk right where it was and then close the light. I spot one jacket on a hanger behind the door and walk there quickly. I take it in my hands and go again and sit on the bed. I bring the jacket close to my face and take it scent again.

A weird warmth I have never felt travels all over my body and my skin shudders.

Strawberries and blueberries…

So sweet, special and unique, like her.

This effect she has on me is unexplained, I can’t understand, is she a witch or something?

I bury my face in the soft fabric and purr but the fear that I can lose her even if I don’t have her in reality is killing me, I lost Diana, I can’t lose Iris.

“Just come back Beta… Come back to me, I need to know what is happening with us…”

~next afternoon, somewhere in the forests~

Diana’s (Iris’) pov

I can take it back!

I love nature but right now I am bored till death!

Do not blame me, I mean it and I have to explain why I feel like this.

I have nothing to do, I am done with everything and I can’t walk around a lot because this is my area for now and some kilometers away there are the other fighter’s and we mustn’t meet each other.

I have a fireplace and I just had my dinner which was fish from the river and last day I made a small, short shed and a stratum from dry ferns to sleep and be protected from rain or the cold wind and the moisture.

I have only the clothes I am wearing that are black leggings and a top with long sleeves and also a thin blanket for the night. I also have a bottle for water, a knife and a pot for cooking.

These, nothing more, nothing less and honestly are more than enough for me because anything else I needed is all around me. I made my shed from branches of trees and ferns, my stratum from ferns, I made the fire with the woods and dry grass, I also made a pike from a long, thin branch and with the help of the knife in order to peg fish and catch them and as for rope I used ivies.

So yeah, I am perfect but bored.

I just want this to end and go back to the palace.

Who could have imagined that I would be looking forward to go back there…

Anyway, I miss my brother and friends!

God! I still can’t understand why the asshole had to put us in another surviving test when we have already passed one and we made it. Okay, we were in teams but it is the same now.

The asshole! Has he ever done it to see how it is?

I don’t think so…

He is driving me crazy you know… He is trying to get close to me, Landon said that they had a fight about this. The asshole is mad at Landon because he is almost all the time with me and that’s why Landon lied to him about us in order to keep him away from me as much as possible.

I don’t think that he has a brain in his head, really. He is the biggest i***t I know.

First he rejected me, then he was sleeping with a different slut for the next five years and now he is mad at Landon that spends time with me?

What the hell?

“Maybe he is jealous… What if he likes us?” Destiny asks timidly and I growl in frustration.

“Just stop telling me bullshit! If he wants something from us is first to insult us and second to f**k us once and then throw us away. Maybe the queue can change but I do not care, the result is the same, he wants us to become his brief toy like every other woman.”

“And what about those sluts? He has them for years…” she growls through her teeth and I roll my eyes.

“God! Can you tell me why do I have the feeling that you are jealous of them?”

“Diana they do not deserve MY PLACE!” she roars and I groan in annoyance.

Shit! She is softening…

“Look, stop thinking about it because he rejected us, we accepted it and we lost the ‘place’. No, in fact it was never ours because we never had it. We don’t care about the future Queen because we don’t care about him. He can choose any slut he wants. He has already destroyed our life twice so forget about everything else. We have to concentrate on Aiden, we need only him and our friends.” I say angrily.

“God! Diana you forget Victoria and Jonathan! These two love you. They love you like Diana and Iris as well. They think that we are dead, they are suffering and…”

“Destiny I had enough of this s**t! Focus! You told me to focus some days ago, remember? I love them as well and I am sorry, okay? But I can’t reveal our identity. The asshole will know and we f*****g hate him! He is the reason we lost Grayson and I have to remind you that only he loved us. The only thing the asshole did was killing us.” I scream and she lowers her head defeated.

“I know, I just see that they all need us and… He may really like us. We deserve a chance to love, don’t you think so?”

I close my eyes and stiffen nervously. I don’t know how to answer now…

“Girl, we have love, our family, friends and pack loves us, Aiden loves us, Jayden… Daniel is not for us, get that in your mind, he loves no one. He is just going to hurt us again in the end. We will help with the rogues and we will leave back home. And… If I wanted to find love after Gray I would have tried to find someone like… Anyway, forget about it. Also they do not need a Queen that much and we are not enough. He needs someone else, she has to be better and…”

“We are the best! Did you hear me? You know that no other woman would have managed to do what we did!” she interrupts me roaring.

“But he doesn’t want this kind of woman. He wants just a kind, sweet, caring lady with charm and elegance. We are nothing like this.” I reply and she doesn’t talk.

I feel her pain but I can’t do anything about it. I am sure that deep inside her heart she knows that I am right and agrees with me. She just needs her mate, Devon. She never had a wolf because Gray was a human and I can understand that she needs his love and affection but I can’t forget that Devon left Daniel to reject us. He took a part so I blame him as well.

“Diana can I ask you something else?” she asks me nervously after some seconds.

“Yes?”

“Do you like Hunter?”

I get ready to reply and put her in her place but I smell someone and I jump up like a flash already knowing what he is!

“A hunter!” Destiny roars and I nod.

He is getting closer and the bastard is clever, he is careful not to make any noise. I quickly grab my backpack and open a small pocket in which I had put some small rocks and take some in my hand. I leave the backpack behind the tree trunk and take the pike in my other free hand.

He has a gun, I smell silver and wolfsbane so I can’t just appear in front of him, I can’t even shift with the tracking bracelet with silver inside it. I will break it and free the doze of silver and I will die in some minutes or even seconds.

Damn it!

I put the rocks in a small pocket of my leggings and decide to climb up the tree next to my shed and hide myself in the thick leafage.

Thanks God I am good at climbing so in less than five seconds I am already sitting quite comfortably between some branches and I have full view of the direction from which he is coming.

I take some deep breaths and try to calm down my anger that second by second grows bigger and Destiny is growling outraged.

This is not random… It can’t be a coincidence. No hunter is so stupid to come alone in a forest full of werewolves if he doesn’t know that they can’t shift so we have traitor in the palace!

Just wait until I get back and I will kill the asshole!

“I know you are here… You are done!” he says as he comes out of some bushes.

I do my best not to growl and follow his every move with my eyes patiently. I am already holding one rock in my hand and I am trying to find my target and wait for the right moment. I might don’t have a catapult but I can still do it and then my pike will cause a big, satisfying damage to the hand he is basically holding his gun with.

I observe him stopping right next the fire that is bearably burning and he looks around him nervously.

Well baby, I am glad you feel you are done!

He finally stops moving after some seconds and I find the opportunity I want. I throw the rock with power straight on his eye and he leaves his gun fall on the ground screaming in pain and curls like a ball.

Sorry but I can’t stop here so…

I take the pike with my right hand and throw it on his right arm and bingo!

It gets begged deeply inside his fresh and he screams again.

I jump off of the tree and take the gun quickly without wasting time and kick him in the head with power causing him to fall back. He can’t see or attack me so I get a bit relaxed but I don’t lose time, I have to tie him up.

Fortunately I have ivies close to me and they are more than enough.

I take the ‘rope’ in my left hand and hit him one more time in the stomach with the gun, he screams and I leave the gun next to me kneeling and pulling him to sit up. I pull the pike off of his arm and he cries out in pain but still he doesn’t say a thing.

He is trying to show he is a strong ass or something?

Pathetic!

I start tying him up, first his wrists and then his ankles and when I am done I take a leather bag full of silver bullets and small capsules of wolfsbane with some syringes in another smaller bag.

“You think you are clever, huh?” I ask him shortly and he groans.

I feel my patience leaving me and his scent is not helping me, it’s like it reminds me of something and I am getting frustrated…

I grab him from his hair and pull his head back. He screams in pain and opens his eyes to look at me. I am sure my eyes are almost black because he gasps and I smirk. I guess that Destiny lost her self control completely.

“When I ask you something you will answer me!” I say through my teeth and he groans again.

“You are done, I mean it… Get ready for your end!” he growls smirking and I punch him in the face with mania for some times.

“Shut up you animal!” I scream and when I am ready to kick him a sound of a brunch that breaks sounds from somewhere on my left and I snap my head to this direction.

“Werewolf! Rogue!” Destiny screams and I immediately take the gun in my hands getting ready to forearm it and shoot.

It has capsules of wolfsbane in it. My lucky day! He was just trying to distract me.

“Hurt the hunter!” Destiny says in hurry and I nod smirking.

They have to be team, they surely know each other because he knew he was here.

I stand up slowly and kick him one more time in his head and this time worse than the others because his scream is echoing and in less than a second a big brown wolf jumps from behind some bushes attacking me but no!

I pull the trigger and the bullet with wolfsbane goes straight on his arm and he falls down howling in pain.

Weird… The gun made no noise, it is specifically designed but f**k it for now.

The doze is more than enough, in some seconds he loses his consciousness and shifts back in his human form. I take some deep breathes smelling the air but this time I catch nothing suspicious. It is over!

I take the rope I have left and go quickly to tie him up as well and when I get sure that it is more than enough I take him and throw him on top of the hunter that is almost unconscious now.

I will have to carry them until the palace tomorrow and not sleep at all, not to mention that I have to hang them from the tree to be sure that they won’t cause me any problem.

I have a small watch to know the time I have to go back and I see that in about 12 hours I have to leave to go back so with these two I will need three hours or more and this means that I have to keep the werewolf unconscious for at least 16 hours. Mmm…

I open the bag with wolfsbane and look the milligrams of the doze discreetly without touching them.

With this doze I will have to inject him one more time for sure and even if he wakes up in the end he will be so dizzy and weak that he won’t be able to move even his fingers.

I close the bag carefully and throw it next to my shed.

I sit down on the ground and sigh in frustration. I can’t believe that this had to happen now! I could have died, not that I care or I am afraid but in the thought that this could have happened to Aiden or anyone else I am getting so angry that I want to kill the asshole and his counselors!

They are all useless!

Is it so difficult to get sure that you have no traitor who knows that the fighters are in a forest alone and can’t shift before you let them leave?

“If it was someone else he wouldn’t have made it…” Destiny murmurs in more frustration than me and I groan.

“I hope that we are the only ones that have been attacked and no one else will have problems.” I say nervously and she nods worried.

“Especially Aiden because then I will kill Daniel with my own hands!” I state and she howls in agreement.

“Diana… I think that the hunter’s scent…”

“…Is familiar!” I end her phrase and she growls.

“I agree but I can’t remember a thing. I am confused and too tensed right now. I will try to think about it, do the same, okay?”

She just nods with a serious expression and pulls a bit back in my head. She knows that right now I need some time alone and I believe she needs the same.

The last two weeks have been hell and heaven at the same time and this was the cherry at the top of the cake. I am a mess, I don’t know what I think, feel or want.

There are only two things I am certain about, I feel anger and hatred.

I thought that I had managed to push them out of my life but apparently I was wrong. Daniel woke them up, they were never gone, just sleeping and now I feel awful because they are about to transform me into something I don’t want to be.

I have died so many times and I never became like this but now I am closer than ever… His presence so close is changing me and I am scared. I am trying so hard to act casually, I am fighting not to kill him and his sluts, I accept them to insult me and act like I do not care but deep inside me it drives me crazy.

The nightmares aren’t leaving me. I have them again and they are worse than before. Every night I wake up crying at least once and then I stay awake until the morning. The nightmare is changing every time… First I see Daniel rejecting me, then I see my parents trying to kill me, next comes Gray’s death, later the first time I shifted and almost died and in the end is when I got shot with silver bullet and I almost died again but this one is never clear as I do not remember many things or faces.

God!

Even the fact that I have my brother and friends here doesn’t help me. Daniel is covering everything, I can’t enjoy even a single day.

And I see him trying to approach me, I feel his eyes on me and I am getting angrier! He is a hypocrite!

I just wish I will make it till the end as Iris and I will manage to keep him away from me with Landon’s help or else I am done!

“You won’t know Daniel. I promise that I won’t let you get close and harm me again!”

~next day, almost noon, palace~

Third person’s pov

Daniel with his parents, Betas and Gamma was standing in the middle of the stairs right in front of the palace facing the first fighters that had just gotten back from the test. They were about 50 and within the next 20 minutes about 100 more fighters joined them and only 50 were left.

He was trying to find Iris between the crowd but it was pointless, she wasn’t there and second by second he was getting panicked. He hadn’t slept at all the night before, he was awake from the moment he had woken up from the nightmare with Diana and Iris and he was drinking trying to relax.

Everyone could see that something was wrong with him and especially his friends that knew him very well. Landon was in the same state with him and he was worried about Iris but there was a big difference between them, Landon knew that it was his Queen that was in danger and not Beta Iris.

The thought of his Queen being hurt was making him feel guilty and helpless. He was thinking that he had to tell Daniel, it wasn’t right to keep it as a secret from him but he wanted to respect Diana’s wish for the most he could. He didn’t want to betray her trust and bring the upside down in her life. He didn’t know Daniel’s reaction as well and couldn’t risk it. He would try to protect her on his own, he would do his best to keep her safe…

“Aiden just came!” Elias stated pointing the woods behind the main garden’s entrance and Daniel jumped up worried.

Aiden was not alone…

Some seconds later he appeared with Hunter and Peyton but Hunter was carrying another man’s figures in his arms and he seemed angry.

“A rogue!” Jeremy said and run to them with Daniel and the others close behind him.

The fighters got frustrated and the murmurs soon began. They all wanted to know what had happened but they couldn’t get so close with the King present.

“What happened?” Daniel asked them shortly.

Hunter left the unconscious man fall down followed with a loud noise and sighed. He was shaking, his jaw was clenching and his eyes were almost black. Peyton and Aiden were next to him seeming worried and nervous and after some seconds Hunter finally spoke up.

“Rogue that tried to kill me happened and I hope it was a coincidence and I was the only one that had to deal with something like this!” he said through his teeth and Daniel blinked his eyes surprised.

“Not only you!” another male’s voice said and one more of the fighters called Derek appeared from their left carrying another rogues on his shoulder.

“What the hell?” Landon exclaimed looking everyone around him panicked.

“These rogues are smart! Damn it!” Daniel roared outraged.

He began walking up and down like a lion locked inside a cell growling and cursing. His anger had passed the limits again and Devon was howling like never before.

They had underestimated them!

“We need to go and find the others if they don’t return within the next minutes! Maybe someone have gotten hurt!” Jonathan stated worried and Victoria stiffened nervously ready to cry.

Daniel just nodded continuing walking up and down but some seconds later some more fighters appeared with no rogue with them and his mind got ready to explode seeing that Iris was not between them.

“Could the dream be a sign?” he asked Devon panicked.

“I do not know Daniel. I…” he stopped…

The sweet scent hit his nose again and he froze sighing relieved for some seconds but the other two scents brought him back to reality.

“s**t!” Aiden exclaimed as Iris appeared from the direction that he, Hunter and Peyton had.

They all froze.

Her eyes were black and she was shaking from anger. Her expression was wild and she was walking with confidence dragging an improvised truck with two males’ figures. She walked, passed by everyone and stopped a meter right in front of Daniel with her eyes burning his.

She left the truck fall down and two weak cries sounded.

No one dared to speak, they were all too shocked to even move an inch and Daniel was staring at her breathless with his knees weaker than ever.

Aiden seemed worried and Hunter angry as a real demon but not like Iris that was holding her anger with amends.

Landon was getting pale as he was realizing what had happened and Victoria was crying in Jonathan arms who was staring at the young female’s figure with admiration.

“This…” Iris suddenly spoke up staring at Daniel and pointing the almost naked man that was lying next to her right foot.

“… Is a rogue that tried to attack me! And this…” she continued pointing the other older and fully dressed man.

“… Is a hunter that wanted to shoot me!” she said through her teeth and then took off her back the two leather bags and threw them right in front of Daniel.

“And in these there are silver bullets and wolfsbane!” she explained and raised her right hand to Landon that was now standing next to her speechless.

“Get it off of me because I will surely kill someone! I think I have passed the f*****g, trapping test now!” she growled without her eyes leaving Daniel’s and Landon quickly took out of his pocket one key and with shaking hands unlocked the small locker and took the locating with silver bracelet freeing her wrist.

Iris pulled her hand back and took one threatening step closer to Daniel but eventually stopped. Everyone could see how angry she was and no one could blame her, not even Daniel that was ready to pass out and his fears proved to be right.

He was right, he had sent Iris to death after Diana and the nightmare was a message. Diana wanted to punish and warn him…

“Next time you want to us to have such a stupid test make sure that you have no damn traitor in your palace! Or else get ready for funerals! That was not a f*****g coincidence, they knew everything, they were sure they could make it or else they wouldn’t have been out there with 200 f*****g werewolves!” she screamed after some seconds making everyone’s and most importantly Daniel’s skin shudder.

“Next time you will receive our heads, not us alive!” she whispered through her teeth and took a step back gasping for air.

“Iris, let me help you, okay?” Hunter and Aiden said in union and Landon tried to touch her as she seemed ready to pass out and she was pale and she could hardly control her body but she pulled back and raised her hands to stop them.

Her blank expression paralyzed them, they stopped and couldn’t move as everyone’s eyes were locked on her and she tried to relax but couldn’t.

She had enough, she wanted to stay alone, her ‘mission’ was over.

“And now excuse me but I guess I deserve some time alone before we continue with the whole thing…” she stated and Daniel lowered his head in agreement embarrassed.

She walked away to the palace’s entrance quickly and left everyone silent behind her. They were all still frozen trying to precede everything but it was too much to deal with.

Daniel made the first move and walked behind her but stopped before the stairs in front of the palace and observed her walking up to them and getting away from him.

He cursed himself under his breath and felt his heart breaking in the thought that he could have lost her like…

Diana…

“I will find them Beta… I promise you that no one is ever going to harm you again, no one!”