Chapter 12

SIENNA The birthday preparations were annoying as hell. Yet there was no one else near to do them. Mum and Dad went on a journey around the world with Aria and Lex since they wanted to spend more time with their grandchildren and neither I nor Kieran had any available for them here. Whoops. None of them decided to come this year since Kier announced that he was not going to celebrate anyway. And I kind of felt home alone… So, to cheer me up, I came up with this birthday plan to have some fun. And threw together everything that Kieran hated. So, now it would be not a get-together with his closest friends by fire but a big black-tie event where he would have to greet all the Alphas and big shots he hated so much. And his numerous exes. While I would get to watch it and laugh. Originally, it was supposed to be my revenge for him calling Kahlan a douche. And yes, now I saw his point and even admitted that he was right. But all invitations were already sent and it still seemed like fun. So, I decided to think of it as my revenge for something that he would do in future. I would just have to write it off when it happens. If I didn’t forget of course. Unfortunately, witches always were very forgetful. But there was one thing that excited me the most about this evening. And no, it wasn’t the fact that I would be able to confront Aaron the traitor. It was something else… or someone else… I was sitting on my windowsill in Hunter’s t-shirt when I felt his presence. I didn’t even know how and why I could tell, I just could. My windows were facing a huge clearing that we used for training and different events. Behind it was the pack’s forest. And in that forest I saw a pair of golden eyes gleaming in the darkness. Sometimes they were golden and sometimes they were red. But each time I knew that it was Hunter. It was shocking that he could get so deep into the pack territory but no one seemed to notice a thing. It was weird. But he was always right on time. The first night he came after I challenged him near the Coven. I was sitting at the very same place, reading and… well, plotting my very complicated revenge plan, when I felt his gaze on me. And I made sure that this huge t-shirt of his fell off my shoulder so that he could see it. It made him run away and it was so cute! Adorable even! He came back every evening since and I had little tricks for him every time. But today I wanted more. So, when I felt his gaze, I looked at him for a while, making sure that he stayed right where I wanted him. And then I stood up with my back towards the window and slowly pulled the t-shirt off, stretching my hand and dropping it to the floor. Then turned and looked into the night through my shoulder, taunting him. I was contemplating what to do next and if maybe that was enough when a loud howl emerged from the woods. And a nervous chuckle escaped me. But then at once dozens and dozens of wolves reacted and I panicked, running to my phone and calling Kieran. They were probably the warriors who felt Hunter's presence! “Kier!” I yelled, “Call all of them off! Now! It’s… well, a guest of mine!” “Sienna!” my Alpha King brother growled, “What kind of games are you playing?!” “No games, I promise!” I mumbled, “It’s just… Well… He came here because I asked him.” Another growl and I could just imagine my sibling running his hand over his face. “Fine! But next time you need my permission first! Got it?!” he asked. “Got it!” I lied. ~ *** ~ I had too many dresses to choose from and I really did not get why I couldn’t do exactly that. I was wasting too much time preparing today. As if… As if… As if what exactly?! At this point, I even annoyed myself! But I had to think logically. I had to throw away everything pastel and/or innocently looking. I needed to be visible. So that left me with bolder colours. And after about another hour I finally settled on a gorgeous evening gown from Zuhair Murad in wine red. I put it on and, looking at the mirror, admired how it was artfully draped and decorated with sparkling cascades of beads and sequins, splashes of luminous dust, and delicately shiny patterns that brought life to the firm corset with a deep v cut and added fluidity to the off the shoulder dress. It was a masterpiece worthy of a queen. I brushed my hair into an elegant updo with a few invisible pins inside, making all my locks fall to one side. I did not want to be over the top today so decided against jewellery and only left my black diamond S-earring, adding a few extra ruby studs. I went easy on the make-up this time, keeping it as natural looking as possible. And then I exhaled. What was wrong with me? It was shocking how nervous I was today! So nervous that I didn’t even notice how late I was. I gracefully went down the stairs, hoping to see the one man I really wanted to be present today. But although the grand hall of our mansion was buzzing with people, I never found him. And had to hide my disappointment behind a smile. People were greeting me and I slowly found my way to Kieran, who shot daggers at me. He really hated it, didn’t he? “You are so getting payback for this!” he muttered as I gave him a fake kiss on the cheek. “What are you talking about?” I snorted, “I threw you the best party ever!” He clenched his lips and in a second he was already talking to someone else. And that was how it was going to be the whole night today. I decided to find myself a drink when someone strode just in front of me. “Oh, Sienna,” Kahlan smirked and I felt a slight chill run down my spine. Back at the Coven, he thought I was defeated and did not expect an attack. But now he had a few days to prepare for this. “We didn’t notice you here.” Harmony brushed her palm over his black and purple suit, demonstrating her diamond ring. “And you are here alone?” my ex-friend glared at me as if she was a winner of the Olympics, no less. “Does it matter?” I chuckled, “You have what you wanted, right? Why do you even bother checking? It’s not like we are friends.” “I knew that you wouldn’t be able to get over yourself if I was finally first at something! Some friend you are,” she sneered at me. “First?” I let out a laugh, “I am sorry, what did you win here exactly? You lost a good friend, got a questionable boyfriend and…” “Fiancé,” she corrected me with pride, “We are getting married.” “That’s probably for the best,” I snorted, “You two are definitely worthy of each other!” I hated to admit it but they were getting to me. The indifference with which Kahlan looked at me was hurting me on the inside. I still spent a few years of my life with that man… We had plans… Or so I thought… And Harmony… We shared everything. I was closer to her than I was to Aria when we were growing up! I lost two most important people in my life in one day. They both betrayed me and now they tried to hurt me more. How sad was it that I didn't know then at all? “And where is your amazing date?” the girl fluttered her fake eyelashes. I always hated those. “You see, Harm,” I rolled my eyes, “That’s the difference between you and me. I don’t need a date to have value in the world. I am fine on my own.” She flinched but then an ugly smile spread over her pretty face that I wanted to burn off with my fire element at the moment. “In other words, no one wanted you at the party that you threw!” she started to laugh loudly, clearly attracting attention to us. I already opened my mouth to say something snarky in return when I heard a loud growl. “How dare you to speak this way to my MATE?!” I turned with some kind of silly hope in my heart but it died down fast when I saw Alpha Rowan with clenched fists and glowing golden eyes. He looked good in his expensive black suit and moved in our direction, showing off his bare canines. “What does he mean?!” Kahlan looked at me as if he was demanding a reply from a cheating girlfriend. And for a moment I was even tempted to go with it and pretend that it was true simply to hurt him. Yet Rowan was not leaving this mate thing go and in the end, it could end up badly for me. We needed to clear the air. “It’s just a misunderstanding,” I started to explain when the Alpha grabbed me and pulled me into his arms as if he wanted to protect me from everyone. Did he forget that it was my house in the first place? No one could bully me here! “No one speaks to my Sienna like that!” the werewolf growled again. “And you are?” Kahlan raised his eyebrow at him. “Alpha of the Silver Crescent pack,” Rowan’s hand slid to my waist and he still kept me in place by his side. I did not like it too much but neither did I want to make an ugly scene. “The Head of the Black Rose Coven,” the warlock stretched his hand and Rowan took it and squeezed it hard. So hard that I heard the sound of the bones cracking and Kahlan whimpering. I had to give it to him, he took it like a man. And when the wolf let go of him, just nodded and quickly left. Harmony run after him not even getting what was going on. “You didn’t need to do that,” I sighed and tried to get myself out of his grasp, but it seemed like the man was made of stone. “I know,” he chuckled, “But it’s an instinct for a werewolf to protect his…” “I am not your mate,” I repeated, noticing that everyone was looking at us. There were zero chances that they did not hear his bold claim. This was how rumours start… “Sienna,” I suddenly felt his palm brushing over my cheek, “I understand how confusing this must be for you… And I am ready to wait. Just don’t push me away, give me a chance to show you…” “I am not confused!” I insisted, trying to distance myself unsuccessfully, “We are not mates! Now, would you let go of me already?!” “Sienna, just one dance and…”, he only pulled me closer and now I felt that I would have bruises on my arms tomorrow. I knew how to heal them fast of course, but it was beside the point! This was it! I would just set him on fire and get rid of him once and for all. The sparks were already on my fingers when I heard the loudest growl that made the walls shudder at its power… Everyone looked in the direction of it and stepped away, making me see… Hunter.