Page 26 of Bullied By the Alpha Wolf

My hands shook, my palms clammy, as the urge to speak up—to do something for him—pulled at my seams. The wood of the stairs bit into my ass, and despite not having eaten anything, I was pretty damn sure that I was going to throw up all over the damn floor.

Kaiden couldn’t go in there blind. He’d never navigate the maze of halls in the estate. I knew where Eli’s room was. I knew where the others slept, and I’d snuck into and out of the house for walks nearly every day.

“I…”

The two men strategizing just a few feet away looked up at me, Kaiden’s brow low over his eyes.

Kaiden’s beta cocked a brow before moving toward him to continue his rundown of options. They weren’t going to wait for me. If I was going to do this, I needed to do it now.

Shakily, I stood up from the stairs and walked toward Kaiden. It stopped Lupe in his tracks again, and he protectively stood at Kaiden’s side. My heart screamed in my ears as I swallowed hard, stopping right in front of Kaiden and looking up into those night sky eyes.

“I…um…”

Kaiden raised his brows. “What, Kit?”

“I can get you in.”

He cocked his head, not breaking eye contact with me as he folded his arms over his chest. Tension billowed in the room, circling and squeezing down on me like a constrictor snake readying its meal.

“I’m sorry, what?” His tone was already annoyed, and I couldn’t tell if he was just pissed that I thought I had any value here or if Kaiden was getting all “humans can’t do what wolves can” about it.

I met his eyes, resolve strengthening within me as I considered how many wolves I could be saving.

“I can get you inside Eli’s compound. You won’t have to go in blind. It’ll save you time and ensure you don’t just go in on a wild goose chase, and it’s just me. It won’t be like you’re risking a member of your own pack."

Kaiden’s brows furrowed even harder, pinching together as he glared down at me. I watched as his nostrils flared, his chest expanding as he sucked in a hard breath. It was when his jaw worked, the muscles straining as he bit down on his molars, that I knew Kaiden was building up to release his usual verbal assault.

“Kit,” he exhaled, “it’s not safe for a human to go into a wolf’s pack during an assault. It would be irresponsible of me to allow that.”

The words were so measured and calm, but I could still see the tension gripping Kaiden like a vice. Why wasn’t he snapping at me? Not that it really mattered now, did it? He needed my help, and he was going to take it.

“It would be irresponsible of you to neglect at resource when it's at your disposal.” I raised my brows, emphasizing my point. “In fact, you should be accepting all the help you can get. Have you let Jet know about the situation?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Lupe’s jaw drop open. He could catch flies with the damn thing, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t backing down when the safety of young wolves and Kaiden himself was at stake.

Sure, I wasn’t ready to examine that for what it was, but I still wasn’t about to let anything happen to him.

Lupe scoffed as Kaiden glared at him, clearing his throat. “Sorry, Alpha. Still…the human has a point. Jet has offered help, and we could use a bit more than just his information if we’ll be going into the Williams’ compound.”

With a huff, Kaiden turned around and started pacing again. He raked a hand through his hair, and even a few feet away from him, it was like I could smell that char aroma hit his familiar fallen leaf scent.

That was ludicrous, of course. I wasn’t a wolf. I couldn’t smell shit, but I’d been around them long enough to know what happened when they were upset.

“Kit, I…”

But Kaiden’s words drifted away before I could snap at him about being reasonable. From here, from these few feet away, what I could notice—what anyone could, really—was the way Kaiden’s shoulders slumped.

I’d been around the guy a fair amount when I was younger. Hell, we “hung out” nearly as much as Grayson and I, and that was saying something since Gray was my adoptive brother.

Between all the teasing, I’d actually gotten to know Kaiden, and right now, well, it was the first time I’d ever seen him looking so defeated.

When he spun around, he met my eyes, that resolute stoicism back in place.

“Fine. But we will do this right. Lupe,” he turned to his beta, “call Jet. He’s got the cell I gave him. Tell him to send someone for the mission. I know he can’t spare more than that with the twins being so vulnerable.”

Lupe nodded and took off, clearly eager to get this show on the road.

Before I could say anything, Kaiden walked straight up to me, parking himself right before me and leering over me with those dark eyes.

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