Page 1 of Sovereign Oaths

CHAPTER 1

Emilia

I tiptoed back to bed and put my phone back on the charger before slipping under the sheets next to Alessio. He hadn’t stirred. No one in the house had. I listened for movement or voices.

Nothing.

So far, I was the only one aware of the intruders.

I told Javier to go because I wasn’t willing to give up all the work we’d done. I hadn’t come this far, gotten this close to Alessio, to throw it away in one night.

Whoever was coming would be dealt with. Just not by the guys. Or me.

Which meant Alessio’s guards needed to wake up.

I reached over and shook his tanned shoulder. He didn’t move, so I pressed harder. “Babe?”

“¿Amor?” His brown eyes snapped open, and he sat up, his dark hair mused. “¿Qué pasa?”

He’d never spoken to me in Spanish. Was I supposed to understand? I couldn’t remember if I told him I could or not. He clearly wasn’t in his right mind, and I didn’t have time to play dumb.

“I think I heard something.” I pushed fear into my voice, hoping that would spur him into action.

“Está bien.” He took my hand and kissed my knuckles.

No está bien. ¡Es malo!

“Vuelve a la cama.” He dropped his head to his pillow.

No going back to sleep, amigo!

“Alessio, please. I swear there’s someone or something outside.”

He sighed and sat up. “If there were anything, the guards would have seen it already. If they didn’t raise the alarm, then there is nothing to worry about.”

Unless the guards have already been taken out.

“Could you just ask them to look? It would make me feel better.”

The raw panic in my voice finally made him take me seriously. I sent the guys away, so they weren’t coming to our rescue. If his men didn’t see the intruders, they’d be inside within minutes—if they weren’t already.I wasn’t only worried for my safety at this moment. Against my better judgment, and training, I was also concerned for him. My unwelcomed feelings of attachment to him were a problem to worry about later. I could mule over what they meant and how disloyal I might be to the guys and my Pack when I wasn’t positive we were under attack.

“Sure, amor.” He rolled toward his nightstand, picked up the landline, and pressed a button.

The ringing went unanswered. His brows pulled together as he hung up briefly, then pressed a different number.

“Boss?” a male voice answered.

“Why isn’t the guardhouse answering?”

“I’m not sure.” Muffled grumbling followed his answer, as if he was talking to someone else. “I’m sending someone to check now.”

Alessio pulled on his pajama pants with the phone tucked between his cheek and shoulder. “Run a full visual on the perimeter now.”

“Yes, sir.”

Alessio set the phone down and held out his hand. “Come with me.”

I didn’t hesitate. He led me out of the room and down the hall to a door with a tablet next to it on the wall. He put his hand against the screen, and the system scanned for a few seconds before it changed to a pin pad. He typed in the code, and the door clicked a few times, unlocking, before he slid it open.

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