Page 130 of Cursed Bonds: An Alpha's Destiny

“I’ll give you a ride back,” Abigail said, then turned to me. “How long before the other alphas arrive?”

I glanced at my phone for the time. “Probably a little less than an hour.”

She nodded. “I’ll be back in plenty of time. See you guys in a bit.”

After they drove away, Reese glanced at me. “Do you think the others are going to be okay with the challenge?”

“They better be,” Waylan said, then spat on the ground. “Especially when we tell them everything.”

Tank circled the yard in his wolf form, skirting the edges of the forest, sniffing the ground as he went.

“How long has he been here?” Langston asked, nodding toward the other shifter.

“I think he’s been on duty since yesterday. I tried to get him to go home and switch out, but he refused. Said he wants to make up for what happened during the attack.”

Waylan snorted. “Yeah, sure. I’ve seen him sneaking glances at the sexy witch. That’s why he’s hanging around. He wants another look at her. Dude’s got it bad.”

I cocked an eyebrow at him. “Are you really the one to be making fun of someone for having the hots for one of Kirsten’s friends?”

Abashed, Waylan looked away. “That’s different,” he muttered.

An hour later, there was a crowd in my living room—my council, Kirsten and her friends, Shayna and her mate Dustin, Ivy Shaw, and two other neighboring alphas.

“Can I ask why you’ve called us all here, Jace?” Ivy asked. “I really hope you aren’t going to bitch and moan about the mating party being held in Eren’s pack lands. If you’re mad about it, you should have been on the call.”

“No,” I said, waving my hand in dismissal. “That’s not what this is about. Though, it is about Eren.”

“Let’s hear it,” Hollis Gurney, an alpha I rarely dealt with, said.

“It’s a long story, so settle in,” I said.

“Oh good, do we get snacks for story time?” Noah Carter, the alpha beside Ivy, said. His dark skin was crisscrossed with dozens of tattoos. His pack was small, but he and I had always gotten on well.

Ignoring him, I began my tale. Starting with Kirsten arriving in town, her meeting with Eren, then his stalker behavior. I also told them Kirsten was my fated mate, something they’d already heard through the rumor mill. When I informed them that I’d given Eren a clear warning to stay away from her, but he’d instead followed her to St. Louis, the room grew quiet and the other alphas looked concerned. When I finally got to the part about Kirsten’s kidnapping, the concern turned to outright anger.

“Are you serious?” Ivy gasped.

“Hate to say it surprises me,” Noah said, then shook his head. “But Eren has always been a little off-kilter. What did he want with you?” he asked, glancing at Kirsten.

She cleared her throat and tried her best to keep her eyes up. “Um, I’m pretty sure he wanted to force me to be his mate. To, ugh, to have his child so that his heir would be half witch.”

I clenched my fists, rage and horror coursing through me. My inner wolf shuddered in revulsion, causing a deep, threatening growl to escape my throat. All I could do was imagine what I’d do to Eren once I got hold of that son of a bitch. He’d dare try to take my mate by force? The volatility within me was barely contained at the thought of it. I couldn’t even form words, so I listened as the others spoke while I tried to express my sorrow to Kirsten with nothing more than my eyes.

Hollis grunted. “Son of a bitch. He was gonna force himself on you?”

Kirsten nodded. “He tried, but I made him regret it.”

“I don’t think I need to hear anymore,” Dustin said. “You want to officially challenge Eren? That’s why we’re all here, isn’t it?”

“I do,” I said with a nod, finally finding my voice and shoving the rage boiling within me down deep. “I wanted to inform all of you.”

“There’s nothing that prevents it. I agree,” Ivy said. “And off the record, I hope you fuck his ass up. I’ve never liked that little shit.”

“He’s lost his mind,” Noah added, “if he thinks he can get away with something like this and not answer for it.”

Everyone around the room nodded with approval, and after a quick vote, I was given the blessing to pursue my challenge of Eren.

“Speaking about losing his mind,” I said. “There’s something else we need to talk about. Something that might actually be worse.”

---