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Her eyes widened as her whole body tensed up, and she immediately looked over at Nathan as if he was a reflection of me.
It took everything in me to stop me from reacting to the revelation, but what a fool I’d been five years ago.
My father’s favorite con artist was also fucking my fake mate.
The entirety of it all really made me into a laughingstock. My father shunned me to place his focus on Travis until Lexianne was discovered by me in the mines. His focus briefly moved back to me just so I wouldn’t discover what he was plotting beneath the ground of our pack territory. He made a deal with the Tainted Time Keeper of the sacred lagoon, created a fake bond between Laura and me, encouraged my rejection and sacrifice, and before all that transpired, Travis was fucking Laura and feeding on her.
It made sense as to why Baker was in her memories, but whenever I tried to pry into it, there seemed to be a block that fought against my curiosity. If I’d been really concerned, I would have sought the truth, but I didn’t care about Laura anymore. That part of me was dead and focused on building an empire in the heart of my created valley.
Even if that side was gone, it hurt to once again acknowledge my foolish nature. Everyone made mistakes, but mine led me straight to my demise. If I hadn’t perfected my ability to keep Nathan in his Astra form, everything would have been in vain.
And that would have left Lexianne in the clutches of my father and whatever plans he had for her, which I bet Travis was involved with.
Amber faked a cough before she got up. “That’s in the past, and besides, I promised to return the favor, didn’t I?” she emphasized. “That’s why I’m helping you out here. Do you know what I’m risking? No one leaves the valley and survives. I’m the first, and I gave you crucial information that you’d never be able to acquire otherwise.”
She pointed to Momo, who was still in Nathan’s grasp—and doodling on the back of his left hand.
“That’s her familiar. You can sense hints of that healing magic she carries around the doll. I would have brought that leather jacket she was wearing, but I almost got caught and risked being tortured for eternity. You don’t need to know any more details of my motives, but since I owe Travis and he was going to come to help you to officialize your alliance on paper so your packs can conduct the ceremony, it only made sense to participate.”
“Won’t you die the moment that Alpha of the valley figures out you’re here?” Lauren questioned. “You literally betrayed your pack, but then again, demons are probably not loyal in nature”
“I didn’t think that far ahead,” she declared, and her voice couldn’t hide that slight tremble of fear. “Once they arrive, my role is done. I’m sure then you’ll offer me some sort of protection until I can figure out how to get rid of this bond and live my life as a demon wolf.” She paused to look at Lauren in particular. “Maybe I can go back to my old pack and reclaim my birthright. My sacrifice may have encouraged someone else to take my place. You know there’s been a rise in imposters lately.”
“Oh really?” Lauren gasped in horror like she wasn’t secretly being called out. She looked over to Nathan. “We gotta be careful then, Alpha Nathan. What if this apparent Alpha of the valley that everyone says is your older brother is nothing but an imposter? That would kinda make sense, if you think about it. This man running the streets of Hollow City certainly seems more menacing than your brother from the past.”
“We won’t know until they show up,” Nathan growled. “Why the fuck aren’t they here?”
“They are here,” Travis casually stated like it wasn’t a big deal.
“What?” the rest of them gasped.
“The girl is apparently in the washroom dealing with explosive diarrhea,” he declared with a dreadful look. “Probably a side effect of leaving the valley.”
Nathan and Lauren looked at Amber, and she nervously chuckled before nodding her head swiftly.
“Yes. I forgot all about that madness. There are side effects of leaving the valley for too long. You know, since we died on those lands, our energy is tied there and all. That’s why we need protection and a place to stay that’s warded so we can’t be tracked.”
“Who’s offering you that?” Nathan inquired.
“What?” Amber blinked and looked between Nathan and Lauren. “You guys are.”
“Says who?” Lauren was just as confused. “Neither of us agreed to such.”
“I talked to Alpha Shade,” Amber stressed, which only made Nathan frown.
“Which is me,” Nathan reminded her as if she was stupid.
“No! I mean your father. I spoke to him. He told me that for my cooperation in leading Lexianne Heartwell here, I’d be given protective shelter and he’d even encourage Travis to schedule a consultation with one of the best shifter scientists at the lab to nullify the demon pack bond!” she revealed, which gave away the true reason as to why she was assisting.
Finally got everything I needed. She really played herself.
“My father is still in a coma, Amber.” Nathan got to the point. “He won’t even be here.”
“I don’t know who pulled your leg on that one, but even I know Shade Moon Pack doesn’t even have the latest protective wards to stop demons from walking on their territory. They’re unnecessary for packs that are confident in their ability to defend themselves. Their territory is literally next to the damn valley and they’re not afraid of demons climbing back up from where they fell from to seek revenge. Why would you possibly think they would offer you protection from this Alpha imposter?” Lauren questioned with a baffled look.
I bet deep inside she was laughing her fucking head off at Laura’s stupidness, which left me wondering if what my father had apparently offered her really was true .
Demons are good liars, after all. She could be making it all up in hopes she’d be given safe haven until she really did figure out how to break through the demon bond.
