Page 47 of Betrayed Alpha Mate

I stayed too long in the argument. Emily’s life is in danger, and there shouldn’t be any room for debate. She’s safer here, but she’s too stubborn to see that, her mind clouded with what happened the other night. She won’t make peace with it tonight—I can tell from the soft sounds of sobbing echoing on the other side of the door.

My chest pulls tight, and there’s a part of me that wants to unlock the door and check up on her, pull her into my arms and protect her, kiss her with the valiant promise that I’ll never allow anything to harm her.

Eventually, I drag myself to my feet, pressing a hand against the door in a silent oath that she’ll never accept now, before I head to my own bedroom next to hers.

Of course, sleep is impossible.

The bond won’t let me rest. It hums, pulls, aches as a warning siren lodged deep in my chest. Hours crawl by, and I remain staring at my ceiling until I feel a sharp tug in my chest that prompts me to bolt upright.

Something is wrong. I can feel it in my veins, in my bones, and my inner wolf growls lowly in my mind.

I move silently through the house, checking all the rooms before I slip outside, the cool night air doing nothing to calm the rage simmering under my skin. The moon casts pale light across the yard, illuminating the house in a slight way that allows me to see clearly.

That’s when I see it.

A tall shadow lurks near Emily’s window, lingering in its stillness, hovering above ground. Watching. Observing. Spying on Emily.

My wolf surges forward as I sprint forward, shifting mid-stride, claws tearing into the earth. It takes me only three leaps to get to her window, but by the time I reach the spot, the shadow is gone in curling smoke that disappears in the air above me.

All that remains is the faint scent of dark magic in the air. My wolf nostrils catch it, and I snarl, remembering the battlefield in Montreal when we defeated Morganna. It had the same stench that’s present now.

I shift into human form again, standing there with my chest heaving, fury and fear twisting together in my gut.

What happened outside Emily’s cottage wasn’t a coincidence.

It was a warning.

The dark lord is onto us. As Emily’s powers materialize, the threat catches up. It was bound to happen. We couldn’t hide her forever, our fifth witch. But that only means Emily needs to gain control over her powers and stop letting her hatred for me overshadow everything else. For her own safety.

I don’t tell Emily about the shadow outside her window. I don’t even unlock her bedroom door to check up on her. I can feel her through the bond, breathing, sleeping, even if her heart is all over the place. But that’s enough for me.

Instead, I stand guard outside her window, and when morning rolls around, I reinforce the window outside her bedroom with metal bars that are subtle but strong, anchoring them deep into the frame. I can still smell the stench of black magic outside, and I know two things for certain.

Whatever is coming for her isn’t done.

And I will burn the world down before I let it take her.

Chapter 16 - Emily

“Emily…”

The fine hairs on my nape prickle at attention, my forearms erupting with goosebumps across my flesh. My breath catches, and I look up from the report I’d been filling in, my fingers trembling around the pen.

A sliver of fear shoots through my spine, and I rise to my feet before the feeling of sheer panic can consume me and keep me frozen to the chair. It’s been happening so often for the past two days that I can catch it before it arrests me.

Gulping hard, I step out of the medical bay after excusing myself under the guise of going for lunch. The injured warriors don’t protest and head to the cafeteria for a short break before they need to return for their check-ups. I need to compose myself before I continue, so I grab my basket and head outside to the garden behind the pack clinic.

Perhaps the garden will provide comfort, but my nerves are still jittery even when I inhale the cool, crisp air outside. Not even the scent of lavender or the coolness of Spring can ease my nerves, and if I’m being honest with myself, it’s because I haven’t fully recovered from the other night.

The tampered garden, the scorch marks in the back of the cottage that Beta Dustin discovered when he’d come over, then Sean lifting me and forcefully carrying me back to his house. I should be mad at him. I should be livid. I have every reason to hate Sean even more than I did in the past, especially for locking me in the guest bedroom.

But again, if I’m being honest with myself, I was scared out of my mind that night, and I felt safer in Sean’s house than I did in my cottage. That’s why I haven’t returned to the cottage since, too haunted by what I found outside to leave Sean’s place.

Letting out a shaky breath, I crouch at the lavender bush to pluck some stems for the herbal potions I use to treat the pack members, inhaling longer than usual so the scent can calm me. My eyes close, and that’s when I think that maybe I’ve been too hard on Sean.

I’ve always been a hard-head, so stubborn that I’ve only looked at things through a narrow lens. That’s why I’ve been determined to go against anything he says. I wasn’t always like this. Before the rejection, my thoughts, reactions, and responses were as fluid as a flowing river, and I didn’t have a care in the world.

Perhaps this is what happens when you get hurt. You become so determined to protect yourself from any other force that can hurt you that you develop a skin thick enough to keep everyone out. Even those who are trying to help you.