Filed To Story: Claimed by the Alpha I Hate Book Read Free
I scanned the witches I managed to capture. There had been a few that managed to escape with the help of the others, but it didn’t matter. The point of this was to end the fight, to stop the senseless killing. We had six witches that would now occupy the prison cells. They had information, I was sure of it, but I couldn’t justify torturing it out of them.
“I thought using my magic was supposed to get easier.” I grumbled. “It feels like it’s getting harder.”
“You’ve been using it a lot lately.” Nolan frowned.
“I’m going to have to keep using it. I’ve got a town of Vampire’s to protect, remember?” I chuckled weakly, “Tell Cordelia we’re going to need more Hemlock…lots of it.”
Even though my body felt like it weighed a ton, there was still work to do. Once the Hemlock was delivered, we administered doses to the witches and brought them to their own holding cells in different parts of the underground prison.
The witches hadn’t even made it inside the building, which would’ve been comforting if we knew that was all their numbers. No way would they send every last one of them to rescue another witch, even if she was an elemental.
When we went down to the level that housed Tessa’s cell, we found a few warriors still lingering in the halls. Nolan dispatched them and gave them orders to watch over the other witches, and one by one they scattered.
Before we even opened the door to the observation room, I could hear Zeke’s voice inside.
“The witches retreated.” Was all he said.
Tessa’s voice came out as a whisper.” How many are dead?”
This question, Nolan answered. He walked briskly, wrenching open the cell door and glowering down at
Tessa with an intensity that made her flinch.
“How many are dead? Are you referring to the witches I have to burn or the werewolves whose families
I have to return them to?” He asked coldly.
Even Zeke knew not to intervene, and stepped off to the side to watch Tessa, his expression utterly blank.
“Those witches have family too, you know.” Tessa replied bitterly.
Nolan’s laugh was dry and brittle.
“That’s comforting considering some of those witches were children. I don’t know about you or your Blood Witch, but I would never send children to fight my battles.” He snarled.
The sheer venom in his voice made the hairs along my arms lift. A hot wave of pride rolled through me because this vicious, ruthless Alpha was mine.
“We don’t have the luxury of picking and choosing who fights for us.” Tessa spat.” My people have been hunted for centuries by the humans and not a single Vampire or Werewolf stepped in to help.”
“So, because the Vampire’s and Werewolves of the past failed your people, that gives you a right to kill them all?” Zeke scoffed, then shook his head. He stared at Tessa with such disappointment my heart spasmed.” What did I do to get paired with someone like you?” 2
Without another word or glance in her direction, Zeke left.
“My numbers are not infinite by any means, but I stand by my word. No child on my lands, Vampire or
Werewolf, will ever step foot on a battle ground.” Nolan said coolly. “I noticed your sister wasn’t with the others. That means she was most likely attacking the safe haven. Care to explain why she wasn’t here to rescue you herself?”
Tessa pursed her lips. “Ember’s power makes her valuable. She’d do anything to rescue me, but she can’t risk herself getting captured in the process.”
Nolan crouched down low so that he and Tessa were facetoface.
“Your leader places value on people based on what they can do for her and how well they serve her.
It’s why she’ll fail in the end. There isn’t a single man, woman, or child on my lands that I wouldn’t risk my life for, because all life is valuable. Even yours, no matter how badly you choose to waste it.”
We left that day for the safe haven, not bothering to pack or say goodbye to our families.
It didn’t matter that I was on the verge of passing out, not when the place we promised would remain safe had been attacked. There was no more time to wait. I needed to use my magic to protect them, and I needed to do it now.
Nolan gave me enough of his blood to keep me standing up right. The only pit stop we made before peeling out of town was to pick up Tristan and Giovanni. Now that the sun was finally setting, they could safely leave the house.
I cried out with relief when Giovanni passed two blood bags into my hands and quickly tore into them. It wasn’t nearly enough, but it would have to be.
We were just under a mile away and already I could tell something had happened. Smoke lingered in the air, crisp and heavy like someone had started a very large bonfire. Even coasting down the main road, the gouges in the forest were visible. Trees were knocked down and bushes trampled into the dirt. It looked like a pack of very large beasts had charged through at full force.
I wasn’t at all prepared for what I saw when we arrived.
There wasn’t a single part of me that thought the safe haven would survive an attack without any damage, but beyond all reasonable belief, I had clung to the hope that the damage would be minimal.
We rolled down the main road intersecting the town slowly, giving me plenty of time to scour every single shred of damage the witches had done.
From the number of houses that had scorch marks licking up the sides, it was clear Ember had been here.
So many of them were crumbling, halfway torn down with families hiding inside, clinging to the shadows as the last hints of sunlight faded.
It grew worse as we neared the center, so much worse.
Bodies were lined in neat rows, covered in white sheets stained grey with ash. There weren’t many, perhaps only a dozen, but it didn’t matter. Those twelve carried the same weight as a hundred as a thousand, would.
The sidewalks and street were streaked with black marks, kissed by Ember’s flame as she pillaged the town. Cars were turned over, some halfway crumpled and smoking. The stench of burnt motor oil hung in the air, mixing with the scent of death.
Tristan cursed, and Giovanni made a sound of agreement.
“Fuck, my mother and father are here.”
I craned my head to stare at him in the back seat. If we weren’t surrounded by so much carnage and death, I might’ve laughed at how absurd he looked crammed in the backseat with Giovanni.
“Is that a bad thing?” I asked. Giovanni snorted. “If you think Tristan is unpleasant, wait until you meet his mother.”
I glanced at Tristan, waiting for him to snap or explode on Giovanni, but instead he actually nodded in agreement.
There was nothing to say that would ease their discomfort. In truth, I wasn’t too worried about Tristan’s family or what opinions his mother would have. Seeing what happened here with my own eyes, it outweighed everything else.
Nolan’s hand grazed my own, his fingers sliding in between mine. I glanced away from the carnage and into his eyes, not realizing how close I was to plummeting until I felt his presence glide down the mate-bond and into my troubled mind.
‘It doesn’t matter how many times they destroy this place. We will rebuild.’ He promised, his eyes severe and set in stone.
More than anything, I wanted it to be enough, but it wasn’t.
I stepped out of the car, barely noticing it had come to a stop. The slam of car doors. was quiet in comparison to everything else, drowned out by the weight of the stares falling on our faces.
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?