Page 55 of Claimed By the Alpha

Fuck, this was what he meant by that my father helped him when he lost his own. Oh my god.

“You have to stop, Derek. Think about our parents. They didn’t want this. That’s why they ran away. They never wanted me to be here. Neither did they want you to be here.”

“And yet we are. We can’t escape it. This is our life, and you have to accept it. You will never be with Isaac. You weren’t supposed to be with him. Not in your first life, and not in this one.”

“But I’m his mate, you know that.”

“Tricks,” he shouted. “It’s fake!”

“Derek—”

Fire danced on his skin, filling the room with an orange hue. “Don’t, Joanne. This is happening!”

I couldn’t take this anymore. More and more knowledge was thrown my way, and I couldn’t see the light. Only darkness. It wouldn’t matter how hard I tried, yelled, or screamed. I was being pulled in deeper. In this cobweb, twirling around me until I was left without an escape.

Chapter twenty

Nightmares

Isaac

Dayshadblurredtogether,and we were still no closer to finding an entrance to the Lunar Realm. And with this fear rising inside me, Logan was becoming harder to control, he had his urge to lash out, kill something. A need I thought had disappeared, but now without Joanne by my side it came back, nagging at me from the inside.

Crawling and twisting, searching for a crack to escape while all I heard were Logan’s mumbles—the same he had with that rogue camp.

“They smell funny.”That was all I heard over and over again—making my focus falter.

William and Laila were no use either, they argued more than I could take, and whenever Laila got the chance, she gave me this look I couldn’t decode.

Was it loathing? Hate? Or just raging hormones?

There was one thing I did know. It was hard for me to read her. Her actions showed that she didn’t like Joanne, but her words said something else.

Maybe it was to make me feel better. But it wouldn’t matter anyway, all I needed and wanted was Joanne.

I sighed, dreading I couldn’t feel her as I used to. There were these slight moments, seconds where our bond seemed stronger. Small glimpses of her, the first time it happened, I felt her pain. The agony, her skin scorched away. I screamed, scratched my skin off until it slowly faded, and so did the bond between us until I was left with the same soft flicker.

My mind was filled with scenarios, fearing she was being tortured for information. Only what information I didn’t know.

I also couldn’t figure out why they took Conner. If I remember correctly, he held her back when I moved toward our attackers, but it had to be more than that. Why not take all of them?

And all this combined made me blind, unaware of who lurked in the shadows. Who was trailing behind us.

Hunter wolves.

A branch snapped on my left, and I froze, finally realizing what was happening.

The air around me changed, the wind carrying the scent of all the wolves around us as Logan mumbled.

Hunter wolves never lose their prey, their target. It would be no use to run from them, not that I intended to do so.

“Dale,” I sighed, clicking my tongue as I shook my head.

“Nothing personal, Isaac. We were offered a better deal.” His voice echoed around us, and the snarls followed.

As the scent of fear poured off Laila, she moved closer, protecting my back as William stood before her.

They were both ready to fight and die, but Dale wasn’t here for them. No, he was here to take me out.

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