Page 32 of My Possessive Alpha

Still, we braced ourselves for the inevitable.

With a newfound instinct—one that silently vowed to protect my bond with Sebastian and the potential life growing inside me, I refused to give up without a fight. Instead, that tension moved through me, and I was unwilling to go anywhere that involved Jack or his betas.

Will laughed darkly as he approached, not caring about my refusal or our attempts to protect ourselves. “Two against three. I think I like our odds.”

In the blink of an eye, the farthest shifter went down with a sudden cry, and Sebastian was on him, grabbing his throat before throwing him back, eyes training on Will next. Roman followed in, growling as he took on the third shifter. He used his burly strength to clip his jaw with a fist.

I watched them through a daze, surprised by Sebastian’s speed yet relieved to see him. Even though Will was preoccupied with Sebastian’s advancement, fists clenched, Zoe still held me back with a guarding arm against me, ensuring I wasn’t caught in the middle.

Tensions tightened around us as Sebastian’s domineering strength took over. With a solid punch square to his face, Will staggered back, caught off-guard. The loose sand beneath his feet made it harder for him to maintain his retreating steps as blood poured from his nose, looking up at Sebastian in disbelief.

I found myself silently cheering for Sebastian, feeling safer in his presence as he cut the space between him and Will. He growled as he bent down and picked him up by his neck, making him sputter for air.

“I’ll let you live this once,” Sebastian seethed as anger emanated from his body, focusing all his fury on the beta in his grasp. “So you can tell your alpha he’s a dead man if he comes back here. He can’t have what’s already mine.”

A shiver moved through me at his declaration, fully aware of and witnessing his willingness to ensure our bond was safe and guarded from anyone who dared to try and break it. While I already knew of his commitment, witnessing it with my own eyes was something completely different.

With a final growl, Sebastian threw Will back, letting him hit the sand hard as his other two buddies scrambled to their feet, struggling to get away. Roman let the other go, shoving him so they could relay the message back to Jack.

The moment they were gone, my relief was immediate, yet a kernel of fear lingered within me still—panic, knowing that things were escalating.

Everything seemed to be going so well, and I was looking forward to my developing future with Sebastian, but I couldn’t shake that dread from growing within me.

As I had feared, Jack wasn’t prepared to give up. Even if I was Sebastian’s mate, he was still determined to get me back.

Chapter 19 - Sebastian

My blood felt like it was on fire with fury as I stood on the front porch with Zoe and Roman. I was forced to accept the fact that Jack had been lurking around my territory, and there was no ignoring the threat right in front of me anymore.

Looking over at Roman, I tried to temper that anger as best as I could. “Go tell the others to be on the lookout for any other wolves they aren’t familiar with. Everyone is to ensure Lydia’s safety.”

Roman nodded once, already turning by the time I met Zoe’s startled gaze. “Go with him, please. Make sure the message gets around. I’ll make sure Lydia’s all right.”

Without arguing, Zoe looked at me with understanding. Her gaze lingered on me for a moment longer, as if prepared to say something, only to turn away and follow my order.

Left alone on the porch with anger pulsing within me, I knew I had to restrain it. I couldn’t show Lydia the extent of my wrath—not after she had endured enough already. I needed to be the calm in her life, even when I felt the opposite.

Pulling in a deep, reassuring breath, I forced that tumultuous emotion down and walked through the door.

Aware that she wasn’t downstairs, I went to the second floor and sensed Lydia in the bedroom. Her fear and concern were a tangled mess as I felt it from the hallway, and I knew it wouldn’t be easy for her to forget.

Quietly, I stepped into the bedroom to find her sitting on the side of the bed, dressed in more comfortable clothes instead of her bathing suit. She looked visibly shaken still, and my heart immediately longed to reach out for her.

Approaching her, I made sure I was completely composed before I sat on the bed beside her and placed a gentle hand on her forearm. At the contact, she closed her eyes and relaxed. Even if the guilt of letting her out of my sight ate away at me, seeing how my touch could put her at ease was a balm to my worry.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there sooner,” I said, keeping my voice calm and steady so as not to disturb her further. “I didn’t think they’d be bold enough to move in during the day like that. Are you alright?”

Lydia exhaled softly, allowing herself to completely decompress in the safety of the house. “I’ll be fine, I’m just still trying to process what happened.”

Nodding my understanding, I reached for her hand and felt reassured as her fingers easily intertwined with mine. “What did that beta say to you?”

“Just that Jack was expecting me to return with them, and he won’t give up until he has me back,” she murmured, looking distraught about the idea. “But I don’t want that, and I never will.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t let that happen,” I said, words laced with my promise.

“It just seems so out of the blue…why show up now and make these demands?”

Sighing, aware that I didn’t need to hide it anymore, I glanced at her with slight remorse. “Roman detected them along our borders a while ago. I didn’t tell you at the time so that you could focus on adjusting instead of worrying about what was going on; plus, I didn’t have concrete evidence it was him at the time,” I explained to her, hoping she didn’t mind me withholding it from her. “But now I know it really was him and his betas. Now we’ll be better prepared if they show up again.”

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