Chapter 7 - Hatred
Her blood turned to ice in her veins, and she let out an involuntary shaky breath. Although, she wanted to stay still, her body trembled.
What was he doing here?
His mere presence made the air feel tight. And more than all the surveillance that already existed in the hall, he felt the most dangerous. Her attention was divided and he held the greater portion of it.
"Look away," the woman next to her, said lowly through gritted teeth.
She did. But that didn't stop her heart from racing as quickly as it was. Nor did it stop her throat from tightening with every breath she took in.
She had hoped she would never have to see the Silver Hunter again, not until she could think about her next step, think of the best way to protect her baby, until she could make any sense of what was happening to her.
But fate had never really been on her side, and this had just proved it.
The hall was soon buzzing with surprised murmurs.
"The Grand General is here."
"Impossible."
"It can't be."
"The Grand General?"
That only made Idalia wonder even more why he was here. She stole a glance in his direction and saw that, seated next to him was Theon.
Hot air hit the upper part of her lips.
Had the results come out already?
Was he here as the Silver Hunter to rip her to shreds in front of his entire kind? Knowing that she would have her blood tested soon and the truth would be revealed to them? And her son?
What would happen to her son?
Idalia felt dizzy with worry, her hand itched to rest her knife, her body itched to run. While her entire being was breaking down and rebuilding itself in seconds, Atik babbled on happily.
The bliss of ignorance.
"Name?" The vampire at the desk asked.
"Julie Summers," 'the name rolled off her tongue. A fake identity, backed up by convincing documents of need, is to prove it. She had grandpa Alfred to thank for that.
The ghastly image of his corpse on the kitchen floor flashed in her mind and for a moment, the room spun around her.
It had been for a few seconds but she had definitely wished the vampire's question. He stared up at her expectantly, and with annoyance.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Choice," he said, flatly.
"What?"
His eyes narrowed and he turned to the short wavy-haired woman. "Is she deaf?"
Whatever she had said back, Idalia wasn't paying attention. Instead, she looked down at the documents on the table. Theon's instruction echoed in her head when she saw the options.
Bloodpet.
Worker.
"You will choose worker at the selection." It hadn't made any sense to her then but it did now.
"Worker."
He wrote it down and she moved to the next line. There another vampire took her palm and slit it open. She pressed her tongue against the cut.
Idalia could feel every second move. Her heart was racing so fast, she felt like it would burst out of her chest.
She waited for what the vampire would say.
Then she watched her face twist in disgust.
"Foul," the vampire remarked and Idalia was ushered into the worker section.
A sense of relief washed over her.
It means that the injection to conceal her scent had indeed worked. And though, unfortunate. It meant that her wolf was too weak to even be felt. For now, she was protected by one of the losses she had grieved the most.
She didn't want to be terrified of the test results anymore. Even though her mind told her that if both would have led to the same thing and checked for the same thing, then they would have just done this instead.
She had hardly had a win recently and she would like to hold onto this one.
She pressed a kiss on Arik's head with a smile.
It was over.
For now.
She could feel that itching burn on her skin again. So she looked up. The Silver Hunter had his eyes on her again.
Hatred.
Disgust.
Disdain.
And this time, suspicion.
Idalia couldn't understand why he would look at her that way. But as she looked away from him, something in her brain shifted and whatever had been holding the dam of hatred she had for him, unleashed.
The waters of fury and rage flooded every part of her heart.
There, seated on the podium, was the Silver Hunter who was responsible for the disappearance of half the Sanctuary members.
Their last seen places always smelt of terror and silver.
Idalia's heart hardened as she watched more and more people take the test. As most of those chosen as workers had a gloomy look on their faces, while most of those chosen as bloodpets smiled from ear to ear. The memory of how he had killed the rogue on the train flashed in her mind, and she imagined him doing that to the Sanctuary members. A group of werewolves she had come to love like a family.
Where was he keeping the werewolves?
What was he using them for?
From the corners of her eyes, she watched him leave. The urge to strangle him to get the information from him made her hands quiver. Hatred erupted within her like a volcano, and even while he was long gone, that simmering hatred was all she could feel.
She had to find a way to get rid of him before he would get rid of her and her son.
She had to find the rest of her kind and rescue them.
How? She didn't know.
But she was hellbent on finding out!