“What the hell, man?” Robin yells. He attempts to push Gregory, but Gregory barely budges from where he stands.
“Don’t even bother, if I were you,” Gregory warns Robin, giving off a side-glance look. Gregory’s hazel eyes then narrow at me. “Let’s go.” He pulls me toward him, not letting go until we get outside.
“Isabela!” I hear the familiar voice of Nina come running after me. “Where are you taking her?” she asks Gregory.
“Back to my house for some… alone time.” He smirks, completely charming her. I feel my face scrunch up in disgust.
“I’ll be back before you know it,” I reassure her blushing face. Gregory keeps my hand in his and walks away from the crowd that is starting to form. “What the fuck are you doing?” I press on and attempt to release his hand from mine. He doesn’t answer and instead leads me to his black Mercedes Benz and ushers me inside.
“You told me you had something important to tell me and I find you grinding on some scrawny punk like there’s no tomorrow!” he barks as he starts the car.
“Huh? Didn’t I ask you to come meet me earlier? And when you didn’t respond to any of my messages, I thought, oh, maybe you’re busy.” I glare at his side profile.
His jaw tightens at my response. “And so, you decide to what, fuck someone else while waiting for me?” My jaw slacks at his hostile tone.
“What I do in my personal and private life does not concern you. We work together, we’re not actually in a relationship,” I spit out. I look out the window and see that we’re slowly traveling to a nearby city. “Where the hell are you taking me anyway?” I ask after I’ve calmed down.
“To my knowledge, working together doesn’t necessarily mean closing yourself off from your partner,” Gregory says through gritted teeth, completely ignoring my question.
What the hell is his deal? I scrutinize him up and down and stay quiet for the rest of the car ride.
“We’re almost there,” he utters a bit softly after a couple of minutes.
“Where?” I deadpan.
“To my house. I gathered everyone in my pack that’s why I’m late. You’re meeting them tonight.” He shrugs.
“I’m what?” I ask incredulously.Is he feeding me to them? I’m completely unprepared!I pat around for my phone but quickly realize I forgot it back in Nina’s bedroom.Goddammit.
“Don’t worry. They know the entire situation. Also, I know you’ve met a couple of my members. Make sure you say hello to them.” He chuckles slightly.
“That’s not funny. I think I broke someone’s nose that one time in the woods.” I flashback to a couple of days ago, shuddering at the thought of seeingthemagain.
“It’s a little funny to me.” He smiles at me and I can’t help but return the gesture.
“I found more evidence of that night,” I start and he sneaks a glance my way, “the uprisings, I mean.” I shake my head and look out the window. “I’m not entirely sure of this yet, but I think I was there. Lately, I’ve been having these weird flashbacks and dreams. As if I can see them all play out in my mind, how people started turning and killing each other. How everything was engulfed in flames and how blood splattered everywhere.” Gregory stares ahead at the road before us. “I don’t know what to do with myself. I know I said I didn’t know anything about the uprisings before, but you have to believe me. At the time, I really didn’t. Now, though, I don’t think I’m as innocent as I made myself out to be. And for that,” I face the road too, “I’m sorry.”
“Why are you bringing this up again now?” he replies after a while.
“I just feel a little overwhelmed, you know? I was perfectly living happily, well pretending, to be the dutiful princess to my grandmother until my eighteenth birthday. After that, I really planned on running away with my sisters. But now, it feels like there’s a lot more at stake. I feel responsible, somehow. I’ve been blinded by privilege and status that I turned away from the truth.”
“And what is that truth you speak of?” he asks gently.
“That we’re the villains in your history. We always have been, and I think we always will be unless I do something about it.” I feel him stare at me but I keep my eyes ahead, unwavering in my resolve not to break down in front of him.
“Okay,” he starts and reaches out to pat my hand. “Well, I hope you like public speaking. Because I’m going to have you repeat that speech again in front of my entire pack.” He grins and I slap his hand away.
“You know, I thought we were having a serious moment just now. But you had to go and ruin it, didn’t you?” I roll my eyes and fight the urge to smile.
The rest of the car ride is silent, but I sense no tension in the air.I guess he’s alright when he’s not trying to kill me,I tell myself. The car comes to a halt in front of a mansion right on the outskirts of the city.
I open the door and step into freshly cut grass. Instantly, I feel immense pressure coming from behind me. I turn and forty or so people are staring at me, tense and ready to pounce at any given moment. I fight the urge to pounce too and make sure not to make any unnecessary movements.Isabela, relax. It’s going to be fine,I think as I inhale sharply.
A warm hand settles itself on the small of my back and leads me forward. “Everyone,” Gregory’s intimidating stature immediately settles down the crowd, “this is Isabela, the youngest princess of the Raging Demons pack.” His hand doesn’t leave my back as he looks at me as if urging me to greet the strangers before me.
“Pleased to meet you,” I say shakily.
A man steps forward, blonde-haired and blue-eyed. There’s a cut on his nose bridge and I cringe, remembering what I did a couple of days ago. He looks at me up and down and leans in closer. Gregory holds my waist in place. “We’ll never trust a bitch like you.” The wounded man smirks.