Page 4 of Betrayed Alpha Mate

In the meantime, have Emily’s feet gone cold? Is this how she distances herself from danger?

If there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that Emily is no coward. She’s stared danger in the face before, and I don’t doubt that she’d do it all again. Apart from Delilah, Emily was the only other she-wolf to join our squad back then as the dedicated medic and healer for the team, but unlike Delilah, she had no prior combat training and still had no fear of the unknown.

So, what’s going on with her now?

“I’ll catch up with ya later, Dustin,” I tell the beta, patting him on the shoulder before walking off toward the pack clinic. He bids me goodbye and returns to his patrol duty, leaving me to my thoughts and my insistent inner wolf again.

Ignoring what it’s trying to whisper like the devil on my shoulder, I keep my focus on the shadowy silhouette of myself walking beside me toward the clinic, wondering if I’m still carrying the dark omen from the past.

Is that how Emily sees me? A big, bulky guy with a mop of unruly dark curls, a charming smile weaponized for manipulation—only in life-or-death situations—and a pair of ocean-blue eyes, which again, I only use to charm my way out of sticky situations.

Does that make me evil?

Or is what I did in the past just completely unforgivable?

It’s no reason for her not to be part of this fight against the dark lord when she’s fought so closely with us all this time.

If anything, it’s Emily’s behavior that’s out of the ordinary, shady, even, for her not to attend the meeting today—a crucial meeting that traced Merlin Grimes to Swan's Island. We’re on the brink of taking down the warlock, and Emily chooses today of all days to stay back.

The scent of cinnamon hits me like a breadcrumb trail leading to the other side of her office door, a gentle note of sweetness like roses, making me pause outside just as I’m about to reach for the handle. I cock my head to the side like a curious cat, spotting her swirling a vial of murky liquid in front of her face. Inside, powder glitters like gold dust, mixing with pink glowing leaves.

I become mesmerized by another scent—a fainter one—evident behind the spicy notes, and almost missable if not for my wolf’s heightened senses. It’s a scent that reminds me of home, a scent that’s always with me even when I’m not in Stowe.

Jasmine….

Emily brings the vial up to her lips, and something inside me snaps.

It’s not unusual for Emily Hudson, the resident healer of Silverfang, to mix herbal medicines to cure ailments among werewolves. It’s not even out of the ordinary for her to be testing the efficacy of her mixtures on herself.

Emily even went as far as developing a scent-masking serum that allows us to hide our wolf scents and successfully infiltrate areas and situations without being sniffed out. I’ve seen her with my own eyes throughout the years, measuring, mixing, and brewing herbs and spices to make medicine.

So why does tonight feel so different?

I burst into her office, eyes like accusatory daggers thrown her way as she looks up at me and gasps.

Something overtakes me—that shadowy figure I saw outside, or my inner wolf with its intrusive thoughts—and before she can let out her breath, I grab the vial of medicinal herbs and spices with one hand, grabbing her wrist with the other.

“Sean?!” she exclaims, her bold, sapphire-blue eyes locking with mine and freezing me on the spot.

Suddenly, I’m transported through a tunnel of brilliant blue light as if I’d just walked through a portal in Emily’s eyes. I can’t say a word, can’t move my body, and I can’t even feel it, but at the end of this tunnel, I stop, only for the white light to turn into a canvas on which a memory is painted in my vision.

It’s Emily, kneeling beside my mother’s rocking chair, feeding her a spoonful of porridge while my mother is hooked to an IV drip. I’m walking into the room, and that’s when Emily turns, her eyes lighting up with a sincere, radiant smile on her face. A halo of luminescent gold encircles her head, her long, blonde hair flowing down mid-back like gentle waves on a Sunday morning.

My heart stops, and I’m enchanted, captivated by her fierce blue eyes, and swept off my feet as if her presence overpowers me. I pause in the doorway, only to take in the sight before me, beholding an angel before my eyes.

Angel…

The word echoes in my mind as I’m jolted back to reality by the electric pulses coursing through my arm where I’m holding her wrist. Those sapphire crystal eyes glare at me with livid force, but I feel my lips curling into a smile in response to her mere presence.

“What the hell has gotten into you?!” Emily demands, getting to her feet, her wrist still pinned in the vice grip of my stronger hand. Our arms are linked across the table, her eyes like icy shards piercing through my soul relentlessly, but I feel a wave of unexplainable admiration wash over me.

My head tilts to one side as if to get a clearer picture of her face, that same realization from five years ago striking me now despite everything that’s happened and changed over the years.

Her skin is creamy white, flawless, and radiant, her eyes glowing like gems, the golden hue of her blonde hair like a crown of ethereal royalty.

A goddess.

An angel.