Page 58 of Possessive Alpha

Seth crouches beside my head, his weight balanced on his heels. He smiles warmly at me. Too warmly for a man who I suspect knocked me out.

If Seth is here, then his brother, Cody, won’t be far, even if I can’t smell him yet. Then I do. Musk, ginger, and pine clue me in on where I can find the other enforcer Clara and I have spent weeks running from.

I swivel my head to the left.

Standing in the shadows, the way he always liked to do, is Cody, his bright blue eyes glinting at me from across an almost black cave. We must be underground, maybe in one of the mountains in the Dawley National Forest, for it to be this dark. The only source of illumination comes from the embers of a dying fire feet from me.

There’s no sign of Clara, and for that, I am eternally grateful. It means she got away, which is the only thing that matters. My little sister is safe, and with Jackson and the rest of the pack surrounding her, she will stay safe.

“You can’t have her,” I say, turning to face Seth.

His smile widens as he stretches a hand toward my face. I scramble away.

A mistake.

Crack.

My head spins, my stomach churns, and somehow, I will never know how, I keep the contents of my belly right where it is. I push myself into a seated position, my back to the cold, pointed cave wall I nearly knocked myself out on.

Seth remains with his arm out, smiling.

Only when I’ve stopped moving does he resume stretching his hand toward me. Close.

Too close to evade.

I nearly go cross-eyed, watching a hand I know is capable of so much pain and death stretch toward me.

“Don’t,” I whisper, leaning away.

He wraps his hand around my throat.

But he doesn’t squeeze.

Yet.

“Please understand, Martha, we’re here on an errand. The sooner you give us what we want, the sooner we can go on our way and you can return to making eyes at that big alpha,” Seth says.

He was watching me.

Why am I not surprised to learn they triggered Ty’s instincts that something was wrong?

“I’m not giving you my sister,” I say tightly, trying to ignore the hand wrapped around my throat. “So you can go back to?—”

I choke.

My fingers desperately try to pry his away before they can steal all the air from my lungs.

Seth watches me calmly, head cocked, as if he isn’t slowly strangling me.

I’ve run out of air and tiny bright lights dance across my vision when he releases me as suddenly as he choked me.

I cough and splutter and relearn how to breathe.

It takes a while.

He waits, calm and patient as any enforcer.

But I know what will happen in this cave. I know, no matter what they do to me, no matter how much it hurts, I will never give them my sister.

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