The Alpha Prince And His Bride
Book 3 The Alpha’s Substitute Bride – Episode 31

~ISABELLA~

“Do you really think Sheila didn’t know that Maggie was alive all along?” Esma asked me.

Hunter and Maggie were having a discussion a little way from us and Sheila had just left after insisting that the both of them announce to all of their friends that she was alive.

I didn’t want to be here when that happened. I couldn’t imagine just standing and watching while everyone congratulated the two of them. It would only make me hurt some more.

“I don’t think so.” I admitted. “I can’t say for sure but something just doesn’t add up. Maggie’s story alone sounds too crazy to be true.”

She nodded. “I was thinking the same. I wish I knew how to get the real truth out from her.”

I sighed. “I don’t know if Hunter would want that.”

Esma reached forward and touched my arm lightly. “Believe me; my brother already has feelings for you. He would see through her lies eventually, right now he’s just in shock and it’s taking him some time to get over it. I can’t blame him. We all thought she was dead.”

“I’m not so sure about that.” I whispered. “Maggie is flawless. Why would Hunter not want her now that she is back?”

Esma’s eyes widened. “Flawless?” She asked. “She’s so far from it. You’re the one that’s actually flawless Isabella. I’m sure everyone has already seen that including my brother.”

I flushed at her words. I wished that was the way that Hunter saw me. My gaze went back to Hunter and Maggie; they weren’t having a happy conversation. I could tell by the way both of their voices were rising every second. I picked up on a little piece of their argument, it sounded like Maggie had ordered some of Hunter’s men to do something for her aunt which in turn left the security of the house at risk.

I knew how much Hunter cared about keeping this house safe . . . It was important to him because he wanted to keep me safe. Now I was sure that he wanted to protect Maggie as well, he wouldn’t want to lose her twice.

I sighed and took this time to study Maggie a little more. It was easier now that she wasn’t looking directly at me like before.

Her hair was up in a tight bun and it was only then did I realize that she wasn’t as flawless as I’d originally thought. There was this small scar on her forehead, near her temple. Her eyes found me looking at her and she narrowed them at me.

I tensed when she started to walk towards us with a mischievous glint in her eyes. I felt a cold chill run down my spine and I could tell that she had something horrible to say before she even opened her mouth.

“Before I came here I heard someone talking about your sister.” She said over her shoulder to Hunter. “Maybe Isabella and Esma can help confirm whether this is true or not.”

Esma and I looked at each other in confusion. What could she have possibly heard and why was she looking at us like this?

“I heard that her mate is a Blackner. Nathan Blackner.”

There was a long silent pause amongst us at her confession. There were so many questions racing through my mind.

How did she know this? There was no way that Maggie had found that out without asking around or doing some digging up.

I gave Esma a shocked look and she returned it back to me. I bit my l*p as I already knew that Hunter was about to go crazy on all of us.

He turned to Esma with his lips pressed together in an unhappy frown. “Is this true?”

Her bottom l*p trembled as she faced him. At this moment I wanted nothing more than to slap Maggie hard across her face. I could see that she was happy to cause Esma any kind of unhappiness. There was this mischievous smile on her face as she waited for the scene to unfold before her eyes.

Why would she do that? She not only made things difficult for Esma but she was putting Hunter’s life in danger as well. This was what we wanted to avoid all along in the first place. We didn’t tell Hunter because we wanted to protect him.

Did Maggie not care about his safety? Did she even think before opening her mouth?

“Brother,” Esma whispered. “I know that I shouldn’t have kept this from you but I didn’t want to put your life in danger or get you mixed up in my struggles. I’m dealing with this on my own.”

Hunter took a step towards her and faced her with his famous penetrating gaze. “Was Nathan responsible for the threat to your life? Are they the ones that almost got Isabella killed?”

Esma trembled and refused to answer his question.

“ANSWER ME!” He roared.

I heard a loud crash outside and everything happened so fast after that. One minute Hunter was shouting for Esma to answer him and the next an unknown body slammed straight into him.

A scream left my mouth as they both started to tackle each other on the ground.

Esma was frozen on her spot and I sprang into action before I could stop myself. I grabbed a chair and slammed it into the person’s back.

It did nothing to him however. The man didn’t even flinch a little! He was no doubt just as strong as Hunter was.

Hunter rolled them over so that he was on top of him strangling his neck. It was only then that I recognized the tattoo on his chest. It took me a moment to figure what it was but when I did a cold sweat formed on my skin.

Oh God, he was a Blackner!

Men in leather jackets walked in right after and pulled Hunter off him. I was so confused by all of this.

Where was Hunter’s entire team? Why weren’t they here as yet? How did these men even get in? Then I remembered that Maggie had sent away most of Hunter’s men.

Was that just a coincidence or was there more to this?

One look at the man on the ground and back at these tall men staring at us and I already knew that they were all Blackners.

Did they come to finish the job? Was Esma’s life in serious danger right now?

“We didn’t come here for a fight Nathan; we came to get your mate out of here and leave.” One of the men said.

The tall blond haired man was Esma’s mate?

“You’re not taking my sister anywhere.” Hunter growled ready to attack again.

“Sister?” The one with greyish eyes asked. They all gave each other confused looks. How could they not know that Hunter was Esma’s brother?

“We got a letter stating that Nathan’s mate was in danger and that she had been kidnapped. We only came to get her out of the mess.”

Hunter growled angrily. “Stop your lies. Those men were sent by your kind to kill my sister. They mistook my wife for her and if I hadn’t gotten to her in time she would not be here today.”

My lips parted at Hunter’s words. He didn’t think twice before calling me his wife. Did he still consider me as his wife? I would love to think that but it could just be a slip of his tongue.

Nathan turned to Esma then and the spark between the two was unmistakable. His gaze was heated as he dragged his eyes over her body.

“Who were those men?” He asked her. “Describe them for me.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you.” Esma shouted without answering his question. “You tried to have me killed. I know that you don’t want me and I’m learning to live with that. I don’t understand why you saw the need to send others to get me killed! I just want to live my life without you in it. You already don’t want me in your life and I’m agreeing to your wishes. Just leave me alone.”

Nathan looked completely taken aback by her words. In fact, he looked like someone that had no idea that he’d sent people to get rid of his mate. Suddenly I didn’t think that he did it; there was something more to this story.

“What do you mean that I sent people to get you killed?”

Esma narrowed her eyes at him. “You should know since you’re the one that did it. Please, I just want to get on with my life. You rejected me at first sight; then let me live my life, please.”

Nathan’s jaw clenched.

His brother reached forward and placed his hand on his shoulder. “She’s safe. That’s all we came here to make sure. Your fiancée is coming today. We need to get back home before she gets there.”

My heart ached when I saw the tears touch Esma’s eyes. I couldn’t imagine what it must have felt for her to hear those words. I saw the way her body started to shake and I began to worry about her well-being. She didn’t look like she was doing too well; the news must have shocked her greatly.

My eyes widened in horror when she fainted in front all of us. Hunter reached forward just in time to catch her.

“Esma.” He whispered as he brought her body closer to his.

Nathan tried to act unbothered but his tightened knuckles and strained neck said otherwise. He wanted to go to her. He was fighting his own instincts and I couldn’t imagine how hard that must have been to fight taking care of your own mate. He was destroying himself without even realizing it!

“We need to leave before those men wake up.”

What did they mean by that?

Hunter looked up at their words. “What did you do to my men?”

“Nothing major, we just shot them with one of our little experiments. They should wake up in the next few minutes.”

“I won’t forget this Blackner.” Hunter growled. “You’ve just been added to my black list. You better watch out.”

They looked unbothered by his threat.

“We will be waiting.”

I felt my body relax a little when they left us alone. I dropped to the ground next to Hunter where Esma was just waking back up.

I rushed into the kitchen for a cup of water and brought it back for Hunter to give to her. I held onto her hand when he placed her onto the couch. Her eyes were sad and distant.

“It’s going to be okay.” I whispered. “We’re all here for you.”

She nodded as tears continued to stream down her face.

I turned around when I saw Hunter rushing out the door. I immediately followed after him, scared that he would go after the Blackners.

I stopped in my tracks when I saw the state of Hunter’s men.

They were all knocked out on the ground. What did they shoot them with? The Blackners were known for their advanced technology but this was simply insane!

Hunter was on his phone next barking out instructions to multiple people. I had no idea what he was planning but it worried me.

Bruce rushed in just then.

“Get some doctors out here. Someone needs to make sure they’re okay. The rest of the pack should be back soon.” He ordered him.

Bruce nodded and sprang into action.

I followed Hunter back into the house where he went straight to Esma.

“I’m not going to sit back and watch those men disrespect you.” Hunter ensured his sister. “I know their biggest enemy. I have a good relationship with those men. I will marry you off. Believe me . . . that will kill Nathan inside when he sees you with him.”

Esma stared at her brother like he’d completely lost it. “I’m not marrying someone that isn’t my mate.”

Hunter glared at her. “In case you haven’t noticed Esma, your mate is out of the picture. He’s a Blackner, they’re grown up from small to hate their mates. He’s moving on with his life while leaving you behind, you need to do the same. I’m your brother; let me do this for you.”

I touched his shoulder, hoping to stop him from making a huge mistake. “Please don’t do this to her Hunter. She deserves to choose who she wants to be with. Don’t force her to marry someone that isn’t her mate.”

He turned to me then with a glare and I gasped at the anger I saw there. It was the first time I’d ever seen him look at me that way and it hurt more than it frightened me.

“Why did you keep this truth from me?” He demanded. “You knew all along, didn’t you?”