Page 37 of Bullied By the Alpha Wolf

The guy clearly knew who Kaiden was, more than Eli ever had, and I shook my head, trying to place where I’d seen him.

“If you’re so concerned about it, Leon”—I flicked my attention to Eli, watching him glare and the tension in his neck skyrocket—“why don’t you go deal with your old buddy yourself?!”

I couldn’t hold back the flinch, and then it hit me. Kaiden had mentioned Leon helped Terrance. Fucking hell, was he that Leon? Jet’s deserter and now a rogue mutt?

Kaiden had so much more to be worried about if the wolves who’d attacked Jet’s pack were involved in all this. Struggling, I fought to pull myself down and away from Eli. I had to run, I had to get the fuck out of here and—

A hard punch landed in my sternum. I coughed out all my air, my eyes watering as I sputtered for breath.

“I don’t think so, Kit.” He lowered his face into mine, and all I could do was sob, reeling from the hit. “I’ve got plans for you.”

“The next batch is almost ready, Eli. Just get the fuckers out of here until we can get the shit ready and take them all out.”

Leon’s voice cut through me like a knife, the cold calculation of his plan to murder Kaiden’s pack.

“They’ll be back for their little bitch,” he added, “I’m sure of it.”

Eli made a noise of agreement, and I heard Reggie sigh. The pain was too much, though, and my ability to stay conscious was rapidly fading.

“I hope you enjoyed your time outside these walls, Kit.” I struggled to look up at Eli. “It was the last time you will be.”

His hand clamped down over my mouth, suffocating me. After just a few seconds, the world spun, and everything went black.

Chapter 17 - Kaiden

I knew the only reason I’d fallen asleep that night was because my injuries demanded it. The wolves in Eli’s pack had known we were coming, and they’d used that damn drug to keep us at bay. I’d never seen such ferocity from wolves that weren’t rabid, and the numerous claw marks were a potent reminder of how much more careful we needed to be next time.

Because there would be a next time.

Eli had Kit, and as the morning hit me in the bedroom, my bed felt too damn empty. It had for a while, of course, because I’d shoved her right out the door and made her sleep in a borrowed room. What the hell had I been thinking? I took her there, and now Eli had her again.

"Dammit,” I cursed loudly, throwing the blanket off me and not caring that my muscles protested the sudden movement.

I would heal quickly enough, and something had to be done. I couldn’t leave her there. All this was my fault, and more wolves had been injured and—

Okay, this line of thinking wasn’t getting me anywhere except closer to another involuntary shift. And as much as it pained me to admit, I needed to call in the other alphas. Their messengers, Grayson even, had been incredibly helpful. Still, they weren’t willing to go into Eli’s territory with me without direction from their alphas.

My wolves were recovering from this first attempt, and something told me that we’d need the strength of a descended alpha to contend with Eli's mangy crew of drugged-up shifters.

There were also new recruits among Eli’s pack. I could smell the fresh pack bond on them, and I wondered why and how Eli was shoring up his numbers like that. It couldn’t just have to do with me. There was more going on behind the scenes within the Williams compound, and I didn’t like it.

“He’s planning something. But why now?”

I slammed my fist down on the bed, got up, and walked straight to the bathroom for a two-second shower. I needed to call the alphas together, and I needed to ensure that Sunny had taken care of the injured wolves.

And there’s the goddamn drug to contend with. You need to find a way to counteract it. Maybe…fucking hell, maybe Willow could help?

One of the wolves closest in age to me, Willow, had a scientific mind, and she’d been on standby to do something about this drug if we got more to go on. Maybe she could collect something from the wolves who’d been injured? I was not the chemist here. I had no idea how it worked.

After changing into a fresh set of jeans and a thin black sweater, I rush down the stairs and across the yard to the main house. What I saw when I walked through the front door nearly knocked me on my ass.

The volunteers from last night lay scattered around the room, Sunny tending to them as I stepped into the living area and closed the door behind me.

“Alpha,” she said, turning toward me with a tired smile. “Morning. Before you ask, they’re doing fine. This was just the easiest way for me to keep an eye on all their healing injuries without running around from room to room.”

I relaxed at her words—slightly.

“Thank you, Sunny. Have you seen Willow? I want to bring her into the meeting with the alpha’s men. I’ll need Grayson and Lupe, too, but do you think—”

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