Chapter 0429

Hannah

The meeting location Alpha David chose was, indeed, neutral territory—far less unsavory than the place where I'd met Jen. My eyes immediately found David, seated at a corner table of the upscale lounge, his security detail encircling him. The sight of him ignited my anger, memories of our parking garage encounter and subsequent humiliation in his prison flooding back.

My hands clenched, and I had to take a deep breath to regain my composure. The taste of bile rose in my throat as I recalled the cold cell, the leering guards, the utter helplessness.

"You okay?" Viona whispered, her hand brushing mine as we entered the lounge.

I nodded tightly, berating myself inwardly. Seeing him in person reawakened those painful memories, and I still felt foolish for letting his Beta and guards take me into custody. How could I have been so careless, so naive? No wonder no one took me seriously as an Alpha.

As if reading my thoughts, Viona squeezed my arm. "Hey. It wasn't your fault, Hannah," she murmured, low enough for only me to hear. "You were only trying to protect Melody. And besides, we should have stopped it." She gestured to herself and my security officers flanking me. "That's on us."

I swallowed, trying to control the lump in my throat. "Well, I still shouldn't have gone with them so easily," I muttered. "But I won't make the same mistake twice. Whatever David wants, we're handling it right here, or he can shove it."

We approached the table, and David stood, a smirk playing on his lips. His eyes raked over me shamelessly, making my skin crawl. "Alpha Hannah, so good of you to join us. I was beginning to think you might not show."

"What do you want, David?" I asked coldly, refusing to sit. I felt the eyes of everyone in the lounge on us, but kept my gaze fixed on him.

David gestured to the chair across the polished table. "Please, have a seat. Can I offer you a drink? The whiskey here is excellent."

"I don't intend to repay you with sexual favors," I sneered, "so I won't allow you to buy one. Let's cut the pleasantries and get to the point, shall we?"

David's smirk faltered, replaced by a flash of annoyance, quickly masked by indifference. "Always so dramatic. This is a business meeting, nothing more. But if you insist on standing, by all means."

"Then let's get to business," I said sharply. "What is this about? Why did you call me here?"

David leaned back, fingers steepled. He seemed to savor the tension. Finally, he extended his hand to his Beta, who placed a tablet in his palm.

"We both have something the other wants," David said, tapping the tablet screen. "I have evidence that will help you put your darling cousin behind bars, and you have land I want to absorb into Darkmoon."

I raised an eyebrow. "Evidence? What kind of evidence?" My heart pounded, but I kept my face impassive. I couldn't let him see how desperate I was for anything that could help me imprison Alvin.

Without a word, David tapped the tablet, and a recording began to play. I recognized Alvin's voice immediately, and what I heard made me shudder.

"The bitch will never sire a little brat of her own," Alvin's voice boomed. "She's such a dumb whore who only cares about being skinny, she'll probably even take enough pills to kill herself before too long…"

Before the recording finished, David stopped it and looked up at me with a self-satisfied smirk. "Your cousin—dearest loved one—frequented the brothels in my pack, as you well know," David clarified, handing the tablet back to his Beta. "But what he didn't know was that this particular brothel is sanctioned by Darkmoon, and thus has security cameras in every room. Which means his grandiose bragging was immediately reported."