The Alpha Prince And His Bride
Book 3 The Alpha’s Substitute Bride – Episode 16

Esma’s body completely tensed at my question and I could tell that I’d touched a very sensitive topic. She didn’t turn to look at me when she started to speak again. “I remember that day well, like it only happened yesterday. I asked Hunter to help me with something at home. He decided to ask Maggie to come with him as well but she didn’t want to. Instead she started an argument and told him about how he’s always coming to my rescue whenever I asked and never did the same for her. Which was quite stupid, my brother was there for Maggie more than he’d ever been there for any other person in his life. It seemed to me like she was just looking for something to start an argument over.” She explained as she continued to gaze at the sunset overlooking the garden. Her eyes looked lost, like she was remembering that day as though she was there right now. “Hunter and I were almost finished with everything when he got a mind link from one of his pack members. He was quick to let Hunter know that there was a huge ambush at home and that the people had taken Maggie with them.”

Esma’s hands shook as she continued to relay the story to me. “I’d never seen my brother look so scared in his entire life. He was always this fun and outgoing person who always had a smile on his face and was always willing to help someone in need. All of that changed that day and I blame myself for it even up to this day.” She sighed and tried to refocus on the story. “Anyway, I left home with him and we searched everywhere for Maggie. When we finally got a lead on her whereabouts, it was already too late. We found her on the ground, bleeding and without a heartbeat. Hunter took it pretty badly. He screamed and shouted for hours and wouldn’t leave her side no matter how hard we tried to separate him from her body . . . nothing worked. Hunter couldn’t even be there the day she was buried. He completely destroyed the house when we got back from the funeral. My brother hasn’t been the same since then.”

We were both quiet now. I didn’t know what to take from this story. Why would anyone kill Maggie if Hunter was this loving and friendly person in the past? It didn’t make any sense to me.

“Who were the attackers?” I asked. They had to be someone that knew Hunter well, no one in their right mind would do something so crazy without having a motive behind of it.

Esma sighed. “They were never found. Hunter is still searching for them up to this day. We weren’t there and we couldn’t find anyone to fit the description of the men that had come that day.”

Now that I knew the story of Maggie and Hunter, it didn’t help at all with the pain I felt inside of me. If anything, all of the pain only intensified. Now I knew how deep his love for her truly was and I was beginning to accept the fact that he could never love anyone else as much as he’d loved her.

I felt Esma’s eyes on me and I didn’t try to hide the pain that I felt at hearing her story.

“If I’m being honest with you, I never really liked Maggie for my brother. She always complained and she never looked happy. There were so many things that she was keeping from Hunter and I wouldn’t be surprised if she was the one to bring death to her own doorsteps.”

I glanced at her, surprised by her words. Her grey eyes shone with deep, raw emotion and it was easy to get lost in there because it reminded me so much of Hunter’s. She wasn’t the first person to have something bad to say about Maggie. I was beginning to think that she wasn’t a good person at all. Esma seemed like the nicest person out there, for her to not like someone, something had to be wrong with that person.

“I can see that you care a lot for my brother.” She whispered. “You don’t have to hide it from me. I can also see that he cares for you as well. I know him well; he’ll fight his feelings for you for as long as he can. Please don’t give up on him. He needs someone like you in his life.”

We were interrupted by a small bang and my eyes followed the sound to find a bird picking itself up from the ground before flying away.

I was surprised to see the fear in Esma’s eyes at the sound. It was like she was expecting it to be something other than a bird.

“Is there something that’s bothering you?” I asked. “I’m not trying to be nosy but I have sisters and whenever they’re worried about something they have this look in their eyes that you have in yours right now.”

She looked startled by my question and I didn’t want to make Hunter’s sister uncomfortable. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

She shook her head. “No, I actually would like to speak to you about it. I’ve been keeping a lot from my brother . . . I-I found my mate recently.”

My eyes widened and I wanted to congratulate her but the sadness in her eyes prevented me from doing so. Something must have happened after she found him. Did he reject her or was it something similar like what had happened to Eden?

“Did he do something to you?” I found myself asking.

She wiped at a tear and I could tell that she was falling apart. “I didn’t know who he was or what his family’s background was when I first met him. All I knew was that he was my mate and I was happy to finally have someone by my side, someone that would actually want to be with me.” She started to explain. “I approached him and he knew that I was his the moment his eyes fell on me. But I got a rude awakening when he grabbed my arm and ordered me to leave. He told me that there was no chance for us and that he was rejecting me. It was only then did I recognize the tattoo on his chest . . . I was so stupid to believe that a Blackner would want anything to do with his mate.”

Her words threw me completely off. A BLACKNER?

I knew that my face had to be covered in disbelief. “Your mate is a Blackner?”

She nodded. “I didn’t tell Hunter because I didn’t want to get him involved in my fight. He’s been through enough already and I didn’t want to add to his troubles.”

“I think that this is something that you should tell your brother.”

She shook her head at me. “I know how dangerous the Blackners are. I didn’t want Hunter to get mixed up with all of that. He would do something stupid and I will not let him do that for me.”

Now that she’d pointed out the obvious I had to agree with her as well. If Hunter knew what the Blackners had done to his sister, he would not be able to rest until someone paid for her pain. She was only doing what she thought was best for him. But now that I knew about it, I wasn’t sure how to keep it from him. At the end of the day it was his sister and he should know about what she was going through.

“I can’t believe that your mate turned out to be a Blackner out of everyone.”

She sighed. “Yes, and he rejected me on first sight. Not only did he reject me. I’ve been getting letters recently of men claiming that they were sent by the Blackners. It seems as though he’s planning on sending these men here to get rid of me so as to ensure that we never get together.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The Blackners hated their own mates so badly that they would do something this crazy to ensure that they didn’t get together?

No sooner had she said those words did a door fly open in the house. Esma and I stared at each other in horror. That was definitely no bird this time.

We were in deep trouble