Filed To Story: Claimed by the Alpha I Hate Book Read Free
He sat down on the edge of the bed and took another drink. “When you turned yourself into your father’s men, that was the most stressed I’d ever felt. All of this…this is nothing compared to that.”
“Nolan, you can’t mean that. We’ve got witches, vampires, and now werewolves coming for our throats-“
“And none of that means s**t to me.” He rasped, running a hand down the stubble that coated his jaw.
His head sunk a few inches, and only when I placed my hand beneath his chin did he dare look up at me. “I would’ve handed over your entire pack if it meant getting you back, Daisy. You mean that much to me-so much that my own people can’t even compare. I’ll protect them with my last breath, but only if I know you’re safe.’ There was an urgency in his voice that made my throat tighten. I tried hard to cling to my disbelief but failed when I saw the heat in his eyes. “So believe me when I say, I know what stress feels like. Maybe you and Cassidy are right, maybe this is some Alpha thing we haven’t discovered…but if that’s the case, we need to get figuring it out because I’m slipping, and this pack can’t afford a slip.”
The more we talked, and the more Nolan opened up, the more I was able to see his hesitance and indecision. Part of me wondered if I’d still feel the same all-consuming love when Nolan’s guard was let down and his indestructible Alpha persona was removed. It wasn’t surprising that my affection for him reached an even deeper level, and that the bond between us sparkled like freshly spun threads of gold.
He was still an Alpha in my eyes, but even Alpha’s had moments of weakness.
“We’ll figure this out.” I promised him, though I had no clue how we’d achieve such a thing. If the witches couldn’t figure out what was happening with Nolan, who could? An idea popped into my head, and I found myself smiling with just a shred of renewed hope. “Breyona’s parents might be able to help.
I’ll mind-link her tonight and see if she can get in contact with them.”
“Alright, just keep me posted. I’ll be bringing Mason and Clara with us tonight. Having a witch on our side will be helpful, and Mason can keep her in check since she seems to enjoy tormenting him.” Nolan grunted, combing his fingers through his hair, oblivious to the way my eyes tracked the movement.
Seconds away from suggesting a round two, I registered his last-minute decision. The one where he thought bringing Mason and Clara anywhere was a good idea. An odd sensation warmed my stomach and a fleeting thought whispered in my ear, ‘Isn’t this what you wanted?
“You’re bringing them both?” I pondered, ignoring the gut-feeling I was having that told me I somehow caused this spontaneous decision.
“Not only that, but I’m also bringing Brandon too.” He replied, his tone just a tad disgruntled. Taking one last swig of his liquor, he rolled his shoulders and twisted his head to either side until it popped softly.
Seeing the expression on my face, he snorted. “Believe me, it wasn’t my decision. He was lurking on mine and Zeke’s conversation and overheard we were leaving on a mission. I can’t have him spilling the news to everyone in the pack and risk it falling into the hands of whoever our leaks are. Zeke’s babysitting him at the moment, but sooner or later he’ll try to escape him.”
“How is Zeke’s pack doing?” I wondered out loud, standing from the bed and stretching my sore limbs until they groaned in pleasurable pain. With a smirk painted across my lips, I tossed one of Nolan’s shirts over my n***d torso and flopped down on my stomach. “He’s rarely been there since all of this stuff started happening with the witches.”
“His Beta is a good, honorable man. He’s stepped up a lot and has helped him run the pack. I’m sure it helps that the witches aren’t particularly interested in the other nearby packs. Strategically, it makes sense that they’d want to dismantle the strongest pack first. Even Alpha’s look up to the strongest wolf.
With our pack gone, the rest in the country will weaken. I suppose I should thank the witch Cordelia…”
Nolan rumbled, making a sound in the back of his throat that I couldn’t quite place. Whether it be gratefulness or dismay, the gesture surprised me. “She’s been helping Zeke fortify his borders with some of those sigils of hers. From what he’s told me, they’re nothing serious, more like alarm systems incase any witches or vampires slip through.”
“Oh, I hadn’t known. Wouldn’t the same thing help us? At the very least it could give us a heads up on the next m****r.”
“She’s already placed a few around the pack borders. She would’ve done it sooner, but the magic required apparently takes time to build up.” He half shrugged, still seemingly unconvinced. “I’m trying to trust them, but only because you asked it of me.”
As Nolan slid into the driver’s seat of his Audi and revved the engine, a sliver of worry crept into my throat. It twisted around my neck, scratching at my skin like the scales of a serpent before sliding down my esophagus and into the pits of my stomach. It was this feeling that told me what Nolan, Zeke, and the rest of the group they assembled were going to do was a bad idea.
I was going to tell him, even though I knew it wouldn’t change his mind, but another voice more powerful than that of my otherworldly feeling slid into my head. It wasn’t her words, but the tone of fear within them that made me pause.
‘S**t…Daisy, you there? Ugh, stupid a*****e men. Kendrick bailed on me for some curvy redheaded sl-
whatever, the details don’t matter. I’m here with Lars at his camper thing and he’s acting all sketchy and tweakish. I know you said to stay away from him, but I’m freaked out and I need some help…and you’re the only person I know who won’t hold this over my head.
‘You’re telling me that not even twenty-four hours after I left, you’re driving to some creepy guy’s camper in the middle of the forest because Cassidy made the mistake of hanging out with him after you warned her not to?’ Breyona deadpanned. The dry tone of her voice through the mind-link made me clench my hands tighter around the steering wheel.
‘Yep.’ I replied, popping the ‘p’ for emphasis. ‘Even though that’s not why I mind-linked you.’
‘I know, you mind-linked me to ask if my parents could find anything on Alpha’s that the world doesn’t already know, which is unlikely but yeah I’ll ask them.’ She replied with a small huff. ‘Now back to what you’re currently doing, which is driving into certain doom without telling your Alpha of a mate what’s going on.’
‘I’m not driving into certain doom.’ I rolled my eyes, ‘…but yes, that’s what I’m doing and no, Nolan does not know about it. If he did, he’d turn right around and demand he come with me.’
‘Well, since there’s no talking you out of it and Cassidy needs help, you need to take someone with you.’ She insisted, right as always even though I was currently low on available werewolves.
‘Who said they have to be a werewolf?’ Maya mused.
Without needing further clarification, I let out a long sigh and adjusted my route to a certain vampire’s house.
When I strolled through the front door, taking a mental note that it was unlocked, and popped my head into the dimly lit kitchen, it wasn’t Tristan’s lean form I saw standing at the stove, but Holly. It had been so long since I’d seen her that I didn’t even notice the charred grilled cheese sitting on the plate she cradled in her hands. Her pin straight hair was the same silken ebony as mine, though she often wore hers in a long braid that fell over her shoulder.
“Oh. Hello, Daisy.” She said softly, in a voice much higher than my own. Her eyes rested on my face and were unblinking in a way most people found unsettling, but I knew she was simply giving me her undivided attention. There was a wispy quality to her voice that reminded me of wind chimes swaying in a gentle summer breeze. She blinked once and tilted her head. “Something’s wrong, isn’t it? Tristan will be back shortly. He left to get me more cheese. I’ve been trying to cook, but I’m afraid this stove works too well.”
She gestured to the stovetop, which was set on high heat until the burner glowed a bright shade of red.
I glanced down at the square shaped charcoal on her plate and reached over the stovetop to turn the dial down to medium heat.
“Try it again, that should help. Tristan didn’t teach you how to control the heat?” I questioned, watching as she tossed the charred sandwich in the trash and grabbed two more slices of white bead. “As for what’s wrong, a friend is in trouble, but Tristan should be able to help.”
“He breezed through it, but I’m afraid I wasn’t paying much attention. He was in one of his moods, you know. Didn’t quite understand why I wanted to learn to cook to begin with, especially since he can make me anything I want.” She half shrugged, the serene expression on her face unfaltering. “I’m sure he’ll help, but only if it’s you or I who asks.”
“Is he ever not in one of his moods?” I joked but found myself wondering what she meant with that comment. Holly let out a quiet chuckle and began smearing butter along the slices of bread. “I didn’t know you didn’t know how to cook, but I suppose that makes sense.”
“Father primarily fed me blood, but truthfully I prefer human food.” She hummed under her breath, and as she finished the beginning stages of her grilled cheese, she set the butter coated bread down and turned to meet my stare. Her nails drummed across the countertop softly. “There’s something you want to do, but you’re feeling guilty about it. I can’t tell anything else, other than it has to do with magic.”
I opened my mouth, expecting my brain to catch up and formulate a reply, but nothing came out.
Surprise unfurled across my face, lifting my eyebrows, and reddening my cheeks.
“Did you see this in a dream?”
“No, I picked it up just now.” She explained, swiping away the strands of ebony hair that spilled over her slender shoulders. “Ever since beginning therapy, which I should thank you for considering the therapist you chose is quite lovely, it’s been easier to use my magic. The less nightmares I have, the more I seem to pick up while I’m awake.” Unblinking, she hit me with a look that made me wonder what exactly went on in that head of hers. “You can ask me for help, you know. You tried to be close to me once, and I pushed you away. I wasn’t ready for a sister then, but I am now. If it helps, I’m quite good at secrets…”
“You’d be willing to help me?”‘ I couldn’t help the surprise and skepticism that bled into my voice, along with the kernel of hope that she was being truthful. “Even if it meant lying to everyone?”
Nolan’s face flashed in my mind; eyes pitch-black with fury. He’d be more than pissed at me, but I’d risk everything-right down to our bond if it meant keeping him and this pack safe from harm. He needed me, he needed this.
“Your mate is no threat to me, Daisy.” She reassured me with a small half-smile, but it was her knowing tone that struck me as odd. “Now, what kind of magic do you need help with?”
Swallowing back a wave of indecision I said, “…I want to put a protection spell on Nolan.”
It wasn’t surprise that morphed her heart-shaped face and lifted her soft eyebrows but interest.
“I’m in.” She nodded, and while the gesture would’ve seemed normal to some people, I could tell there was an eagerness within it that hadn’t been there before.
“Does tomorrow night work for you? I need the day to gather the supplies and study the spell book I have.” I told her, leaving out the part about Nolan and his whereabouts.
My mate and the group he’d assembled would make it to the borders of the deserted pack by tomorrow night, but only if Alpha Bran and the Vampire’s lurking about didn’t slow them down.
“Just don’t tell Tristan-” I began but was cut off by the front door swinging open, followed by the scent of saltwater and male musk.
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?