Filed To Story: Destined Bond with My Forbidden Alpha Novel (Alpha Alexander & Selene)
“Doesn’t that just prove the mate bond was driving him?” Alexander asked. “He thought she was dead, but she wasn’t. The bond persisted, so he saw her in those women and killed them when they weren’t her.”
“Yes,” Alice nodded. “But you are ignoring the part where he killed those women.”
“I just mean that it was the bond driving him, so it is possible that he doesn’t have that same drive anymore.”
“You don’t understand what I’m saying,” Alice sighed and took a deep breath. “He killed those women because they weren’t Bell. Because he could.”
Bell let out a shaky breath.
“She’s saying… that he couldn’t kill me because of the bond. It forced him to care in some way about my life. So, he killed the ones that looked like me. And now… without the bond….”
“As messed up as it is, the obsession he felt for Bell kept his darker impulses reined in. Focused entirely in one direction, but one that kept him confined.” Alice said.
“So now…” Alexander whispered.
“Now, he’s free,” Alice sighed. “No longer caged.”
The room was silent, each processing the information in their own way. It was Axel that broke the silence.
“Tell them what he sent you,” he said quietly.
Selene looked at her brother. She could see a rage that boiled beneath the surface.
Alice handed the note to Alexander. He read it and then gave it to Selene. She read the message, feeling a chill down her spine.
“What is the deal between you two?” she asked.
Alice swallowed. She glanced at Axel. She could see that he wanted to know even more than Selene did.
She took a deep breath.
“I’ve known him in some way or another since before I became a wolf,” Alice said. “He was my first playmate. I didn’t know that for a long time. Holden started the Bitter Night before giving me my wolf.”
Axel sat down beside her and put his hand on her back.
“From what I remember, after he attacked Axel, he really became interested in me. I didn’t scream or cry. He tore at my flesh, broke my bones. But I was just grateful that Axel had gotten away.”
Alice swallowed.
“I’m not sure what the relationship between him and Holden was exactly; they hated each other, but they had some kind of arrangement between them since early on. So, he came around the lab a lot. He helped them train me in pain management.”
Axel took a deep breath and turned away.
“He used to sleep in my cell when they would reset me. I’m not sure why Holden allowed it at the time. Maybe he didn’t realize how Roman saw me until it was too late. In Roman’s own words, he mourned me. Every time.”
Alice touched Axel’s leg. He looked at her and pressed his forehead to hers, a comforting gesture for both of them.
“When he met Bell, he told me about her. Those memories I only saw recently. He told me about finding his mate. About trying to understand how he could feel what he felt. It was painful to him.”
“He loves you….” Bell whispered.
Alice swallowed and then took a deep breath.
“In some twisted way… that seems to be the case.”
“Anyway, that box… the note. It’s his version of a love letter,” Alice sighed, turning the computer to face the others. “He sent me the security footage of him giving Holden a dose of Bitter Night and then instructing him to blow himself up.”
Bell turned her eyes down, but Selene, Alexander, and Galen all watched in horror as the scene played out.
After taking a moment, Selene looked at Alice.
“What about you?” she asked. “Have you never felt anything… for him?”
Axel growled.
“Hush,” Alice whispered, petting him gently. “The question is reasonable.”
Axel sighed and rested his chin on her shoulder.
Alice turned to Selene.
“I felt plenty for him– disgust, anger, resentment, fear. But no, I never had romantic feelings for him. Friendship, maybe, when we were children and I was alone. But the only memory that stayed with me was the sense of danger around him.”
“I’m sorry,” Selene said.
Alice smiled.
“You shouldn’t apologize for things that are not your fault.”
Selene smiled.
“What does this mean for Bell?” Galen asked. “Roman is still alive, and you say he wants to kill her now. So, what are we supposed to do.”
“That’s simple,” Alice replied. “Bell needs to return to Winter.”
“You can’t be serious!” Galen growled.
“I am,” Alice replied.
“It’s too dangerous to send her back!”
“Alice is right,” Selene said.
All eyes turned to her.
“We can double the guard on the convoy,” Alexander offered.
“Alice and I will be joining the convoy as well,” Axel said.
“Perfect,” Selene said. “You can’t tell me that you think Axel won’t be able to keep Bell safe.”
“It would be safer for them to stay here,” Galen stated angrily.
“No, it wouldn’t,” Alice replied. “Winter has a boundary on Roman. Summer does not.”
“We don’t even know if it still works,” Galen answered. “If their bond was severed, how do we know that the boundary is still in play?”
“It still works,” Selene replied.
“How do you know?” Galen asked.
Selene thought for a moment. She wasn’t entirely sure how she knew with such certainty either.
“The boundary was made by an oath to the Goddess from Axel. The oath is still held, so the boundary is still held.”
“No, it’s not”
“Galen,” Bell said softly, touching his chin. “I’m going back.”
Galen clenched his jaw and turned away from her.
Bell looked around the room.
“Can you give us a minute?” she asked.
Without another word, the room emptied.
“We agreed,” she began, touching his cheek gently. “We each have our role to fill. Mine is in Winter.”
“That was before,” Galen replied softly as he leaned into her hand.
“Nothing has changed,” she smiled.
“How can you say that?” Galen asked.
“Because it’s true,” she said. “I felt the bond sever. I felt him die. You told me he died. But I never really believed it. Deep down, to me, this day… was inevitable.”
Galen looked at her in disbelief.
“Look at me, Galen,” she smiled. “I’m smiling, I’m talking. I can breathe.”
“Ok…”
“I am trying to tell you that I’m alright,” she said. “Roman is a monster from my past. Yes, he is alive, and he is real, and he wants me dead. But I’m not afraid of him anymore. Because he isn’t in here anymore.”
Bell touched her head and then her heart.
“I have been paralyzed by my fear of him for so many years. And now… I’m not,” she laughed. “I know he’s dangerous, I’m not an idiot, but I’m not scared anymore.”
Galen swallowed and looked at the smile on her face. He looked into her eyes for even the slightest trace of deception. She always hid her concerns, but this time, she meant it.
“I know he will come for me, but I am surrounded by some of the strongest and most powerful wolves around, and that dumbass just keeps pissing them off,” she laughed. “So, I’m not scared.”
Galen couldn’t stop the slight grin.
Bell leaned forward and kissed him tenderly.
“I love you, Galen. I can say this to you because of the strength that you give me every day. I am going back to Winter. I will do my part to protect innocent people in this war. You are going to stay here, and you will do your part to defend us all.”
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?