Page 123 of The Alpha's Unclaimed Mate
“We were nowhere near the trees. The tree line was thirty yards off, easily…I was telling her about the kitchen garden. Two wolves came out of the pines so fast, I barely even had time to register them. The first one was on us before I could shout for help. He went straight for Lillian.”
She stops. Shakes her head.
“I fought him. I got him off her once, but then, he came at me. He was strong, Lucas. Stronger than any wolf I’ve ever sparred with. I had my hands on his throat at one point, but I couldn’t hold on. The second wolf took my legs out from under me. I went down hard, and they dragged us both toward the trees.”
She licks her dry lips. Violet releases her hand to help her take a sip of water. Lydia’s throat moves as she swallows.
“A third shifter was there, giving orders. Must have been their leader. He stayed in human form. Stood in the trees and watched.”
All of a sudden, I cannot feel my hands. A chill climbs up the back of my neck. I am back in the moss with the taste of my own blood in my mouth, the white edge of unconsciousness pulling me down. There is a shape at the edge of the trees. A man. Tall. Wide at the shoulders. Watching me bleed. Not moving. I thought I’d imagined it.
My hand lifts to my mouth. “I saw him.”
Every face in the room turns to me.
“What?” Lucas is on his feet now. “Sienna.”
“The night the rogues had me down. The night I almost died. There was a shape in the trees beyond the fight. I thought I was hallucinating. I thought my brain was firing wrong because I was bleeding out. There was a man. He was just standing there. Watching me.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I forgot until just now. I’m sorry, Lucas. I forgot.”
His arm comes around me before the apology has finished leaving my mouth. He pulls me against his side, and the bond pulses once, hot and furiously, chasing away my fear from the inside out.
Lucas turns his attention back to Lydia. “What exactly did this man say?” he asks her.
“He told the bigger wolf to be careful with Lillian. Said something about her being valuable. Then, he stepped forward into the moonlight to direct the one dragging me. The moonlight caught his arm.”
She lifts her hand and, weakly, traces a line around her own bicep.
“He had a dark cloth tied here. With a symbol stitched into it. Two crossed lines through a circle, with smaller marks around it.”
Darius’s head whips sharply toward Lucas.
All the color drains from Violet’s face.
I feel my own breath stop in my chest. “Lydia,” I say softly. “The Covenant?”
Her eyes meet mine. She nods once.
Darius’s hand goes to his jaw. Violet grips Lydia’s hand again and tightens until I can see the tendons in her wrist. Lucas has not moved from his position between me and the bed. I place my hand on his shoulder, and the bond spikes between us, hard, cold, sharpened to a point.
“There’s something else,” Lydia whispers.
We all wait.
“The bigger wolf, dark gray, almost black at the shoulders. The leader called him by name.”
“What name?” Lucas asks.
Lydia looks at him. “Zion.”
Darius reacts immediately. “Did you say Zion?”
“Yes. I heard it twice. Why? Do you know him?”
“He’s my brother. He tried to kill Violet because she’s a hybrid.” Darius’s voice is grim. “We searched for him, but he escaped. He was a wanted criminal; no pack would have given him refuge. I was sure he was dead.” He shakes his head slowly. “To think, he joined this organization.”
