Page 32 of Claimed By the Alpha

He lunged at Finlay, claws out. Ready to fight, but before he could even come close, the scent of ashes sharpened again, the fiery red glow rushing toward his hands and fire danced on his skin.

Holy shit.

Fire! His hands were on fire. What the actual fuck!

Conner took the moment and rushed us out of the building, without daring to look back, but the sounds said enough.

Growls, snarls and cries slowly vanished in the distance. Conner and I didn’t stop running until we were out of sight, hiding from whatever Finlay was.

“What the hell was that?!” Conner’s words were the same as my thoughts.

“I have no idea,” I whispered, sweat trickled down my body, my heart pounding in my chest, and I waited for the fear to rise.

However, it didn’t come.

Yes, I was stunned when I saw it, but that was it. I wasn’t scared of being burned, maybe I was putting too much faith in people I couldn’t trust.

Maybe I would get burned and hurt in the end, but it wasn’t stopping me. No, it was driving me further, desperate to know more.

Because I couldn’t shake this feeling, the fairytale filling my mind.

Fire and ice.

I knew Isaac’s powers, the icy smoke that layered on his skin and now seeing Finlay’s fire, it made me wonder if this was what Shaffer meant.

Isaac and I were never meant to be together. Maybe he had someone else waiting for him. A fire. Because I wasn’t it, I didn’t possess anything. I was a mere human.

“Why are you hiding from me, little bird?” Isaac’s voice echoed inside my mind. A shiver moved down my spine, feeling him closing the distance between us.

I wasn’t going to lie to him, but I didn’t want him to stop me either.

“Don’t tell him,” I whispered to Conner. His brows knitted together but before he could ask me anything, Logan appeared from the shadows.

His strides were slow and calculated, like the predator he was. His eyes fixed on his prey—me.

Conner gave me a quick nod and left me alone with my mate.

Logan’s eyes were filled with a hunger only I could satisfy. A need I felt, but I knew I shouldn’t have. Not until I told him what happened.

“I have to tell you something,” I started, and the playfulness in his blue gaze changed. He sniffed the air and a menacing growl rumbled in his chest.

I expected him to shift back, but he remained in control. A small flicker showed Isaac beneath the surface, and I wondered if Logan kept him back.

“The pack that lives here is mine, or at least my family was part of it. I don’t know exactly how, but they did something to me and that is the reason you can’t mark me. They say I don’t belong to you, that I have no choice in the matter.”

I sighed and slowly slumped to the ground. The fallen leaves cracked under me, and I welcomed the cold ground. Every word Shaffer spoke raged through me, doubt and confusion came next and even though I had some answers, more questions waited.

Was I closer to the truth? I thought so, but why was it so damn hard?

The sound of bones rearranging made me peek up, Logan’s body morphing into Isaac’s.

A smile curled on my lips, one that quickly faltered when I saw the anger in his eyes.

“Don’t you trust me enough?”

“What?! Of course, I do!” Shocked by his words, I rose to my feet. Hating that he felt this way.

“Then why don’t you tell me everything?”

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