Marry to Alpha or Vampire?

Hazel covered her ears, feeling a buzzing sound in her head, and her mind went blank.

“Hazel, are you okay?” Rita roared, sensing something was wrong with Hazel.

“Rita… I… I feel terrible…” Hazel, one hand against the wall, pressed the other to her chest. She struggled to breathe, the pain in her heart was unbearable.

“Hazel, how do you feel?” Rita was anxious; she saw danger closing in. “Surrender your body to me, and I’ll help you.”

Hazel wanted to answer Rita. She wanted to yield control of her body to her. But her thoughts wouldn’t focus, and her mind was clouded.

Hazel felt as if she were trapped in some place.

The man hiding in the shadows, seeing Hazel’s condition, burst into a maniacal laughter. It was just like his dreams!

Carlotta and Viola also noticed Hazel’s condition. They looked deeply concerned.

“Hazel… Hazel…” Carlotta called out to Hazel, but she stood, brows furrowed, against the wall, appearing distressed.

“I don’t know what’s happening,” Viola said. She increased the pace of her attacks, but there were too many people.

She had no idea how these people had infiltrated The Iron Star Pack!

“Concentrate your attacks on Hazel; she’s immobilized,” the man with the voice modulator issued another command.

Hazel huddled in the corner, feeling her heart about to tear apart. She saw more people pouring into the alley, charging towards her. She wanted to stand up and rejoin the fight, but she had no strength left.

“Hazel,” Carlotta shouted. Seeing a man about to strangle Hazel, but she remained motionless.

Carlotta and Viola were blocked by too many people. They couldn’t reach Hazel.

Hazel closed her eyes, sensing that she might die here.

A fragrance wafted into Hazel’s nose, surrounding her. The scent appealed to her senses, and she didn’t mind it.

“Hazel, look at me.”

A man’s voice entered Hazel’s ears. Her thoughts seemed to clear a bit, but the man said nothing else.

She could feel the man entering the battle, and he seemed quite powerful.

Hazel also heard Carlotta and Viola’s voices; they were worried about her.

After a while, the voices grew fainter, the ground tremors lessened, and the pain in her heart seemed to diminish.

“Hazel, it’s me. Can you hear me?” The man shook Hazel’s shoulders, trying to wake her.

Hazel felt that her mind was no longer blank. She could hear Rita’s voice in her mind. Slowly, she opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was the familiar mask.

It was him.

Hawthorne.

The vampire with the unusual eyes.

Hazel had never thought she’d see him again, let alone under these circumstances.

“Darling, how do you feel?” Hawthorne smiled at Hazel.

Hazel shook her head slightly. “Hawthorne, I’m better now. How did you end up here?”

“That’s not important. Can you stand?” Hawthorne asked, helping Hazel to her feet.

Hazel nodded, feeling that the fragrance emanating from Hawthorne had a healing effect. Her strength seemed to return, and the painful tearing sensation in her chest subsided.

Hawthorne held Hazel’s waist, offering her support.

“Darling, feeling better?” Hawthorne chuckled, finding Hazel’s situation rather amusing. Yet, Hazel had just narrowly escaped danger.

Hawthorne looked in a particular direction, his gaze turning dark, as if he was warning the person hiding in the shadows.

He had defied the king’s orders to deploy these shadow guards prematurely. It was all for the sake of dealing with Hazel. The treacherous dog disgusted him, and Hawthorne felt anger simmering inside him. It was simply foolish!

The man with the voice modulator received Hawthorne’s gaze and felt his entire body stiffen. How could it be him?

The man in the shadows remembered this figure under the mask, a prominent figure by the king’s side. But how could he appear here and save Hazel? What was their relationship? The person in the shadows sensed the danger and knew he had disrupted the plan. He glanced at Hazel once more and then left without a word. Hawthorne felt the presence of the treacherous one fading away.

“Thank you, Hawthorne,” Hazel said. If it weren’t for Hawthorne, she might have been in real danger.

She and Hawthorne had only met a few times. The first time was at the bonfire party, with him wearing a mask. The second time, Hazel had intruded into his study, where she discovered Hawthorne’s true identity. And now, Hawthorne had appeared to rescue her.

In response to Hazel’s words, Hawthorne withdrew his gaze, his face returning to its gentle expression.

“Did you forget what I told you?” Hawthorne smiled.

Hazel looked at him with a puzzled expression.

“I told you that you and I are meant to be together,” Hawthorne’s eyes held a hint of emotion. “They’re taken care of. I’ll be on my way.”

Before Hazel could say anything, she saw Hawthorne quickly leaving the street. He seemed determined not to reveal his identity to Carlotta and Viola. Hawthorne moved so swiftly, disappearing into the night, much like when he ran with the wolves. Hazel couldn’t help but wonder what he meant by ‘meant to be together.’

Hazel found herself deep in thought. When Hawthorne appeared by her side, the image of Cyril seemed to fade away. Even everything she had experienced with Cyril appeared less significant. It was a sensation she had never encountered before.

“Hazel.”

Hazel heard Carlotta’s voice and turned to look at Carlotta and Viola. Their faces bore some bloodstains, and they appeared fatigued. In this moment, Hazel had to admit that Cyril’s decision was right. Without the help of Carlotta and Viola, she might have been killed by this group long ago. Even if she could hold out for some time, it was impossible to break free alone.

“Hazel, are you alright?” Carlotta’s expression seemed deeply concerned.

“Carlotta, I’m okay,” Hazel reassured her, grabbing Carlotta’s hand. She had worried her friends.

“Hazel, was that man just now your friend?” Viola’s gaze lingered in the direction Hawthorne had departed, realizing that he wasn’t a werewolf. A non-werewolf man showing up at The Iron Star Pack raised suspicions, especially with all that had been happening recently. Viola’s doubts seemed quite reasonable. Moreover, the man had been wearing a mask, as if he didn’t want anyone to know his identity.

Hazel furrowed her brow, unsure of how to respond.

“We’ve met a few times,” Hazel finally chose to tell the truth.

“Do you think he’s the mastermind?” Viola continued to inquire, needing to get to the bottom of this.

The man had suddenly appeared, moving faster than anyone else, and no one knew where he had come from. He wasn’t a werewolf, but he couldn’t be an ordinary human either. Viola could only think of one possibility: a vampire. But how could Hazel be connected to a vampire?

“Perhaps tonight’s events were a conspiracy by another group, with Hazel as the target,” Carlotta furrowed her brow. She didn’t know how that man had appeared, but she could sense that he didn’t mean Hazel any harm. Without his help, Hazel might have been in real trouble, and she had no idea how to explain that to Alpha.

Tonight, there were too many people involved, and even with their strength, Carlotta and Viola couldn’t handle such a large group of attackers.

“What about the man with the voice modulator?” Hazel felt certain that he must know her. She carefully recalled his words. Regret? What could he possibly be regretting?

“Do you recognize him?” Viola asked.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Hazel shook her head, unable to make sense of tonight’s events. She wasn’t sure who the man with the shifter was, but at this point, besides Putnam and his associates, there didn’t seem to be any new outsiders in the Pack. If someone had to be suspected of launching the attack, Hazel thought it had to be Putnam.

Hazel didn’t consider Hawthorne, because he didn’t seem to be lurking within the Pack. Nobody knew his whereabouts.

“We need to deal with these people first.”

Carlotta crouched down, inspecting the bodies of the werewolves. She used mindlink to communicate with Alpha, conveying that there were too many on the ground for her and Viola to handle. They needed the guard to come and deal with them.

Hazel watched the bodies of the werewolves on the ground, feeling a direct sense of danger for the first time. She didn’t know if these people were sent by Putnam, but she had a gut feeling that there were more manipulative figures behind him. At this moment, Hazel only wanted to see Cyril. Perhaps that would bring her some peace of mind.