Page 42 of The Alpha's Forced Rejected Mate

I hugged him loosely. “I’m sorry, Cliff. I’m so sorry. You better not do that fight in the morning, or else Sydney won’t have a father.”

“You better save your tears for Bill. I’m not backing down from that fight now that I know I have family here.”

My head shot up.

“That’s right. I’m not leaving,” he assured, “and I’m not leaving you two high and dry. Nobody is getting left behind here.” He stood up, wiped his face, and hauled me to my feet. “Now, get to digging, Robyn. We have a pack—and a daughter—to save.”

Energy renewed, we dove back into the crates, pulling out pottery, glassware, and maps, among other things. Within another ten minutes, we located a leather-bound book with runes scribbled over the cover. Without my phone, I couldn’t take pictures and look up the symbols on the internet.

I squinted at the etchings. “My guess is protection.”

“They’re not very well done. It’s like kid magic or something.”

“How would you know?”

He grinned. “Because my sister is a witch.” He scratched his head. “Actually, she would know this better than anybody. Let me send her a picture.”

When he pulled out his phone, he growled at the screen.

“No bars.” He put his phone away. “I guess we’ll see what’s inside.”

He unwound the leather string from the binding and popped open the cover, revealing illegible scribbles done in black ink. So many of the words had been scrawled faster than the ink was allowed to dry, smudging much of the lettering. I could barely read anything. Even Cliff was confounded by the finding.

After several pages, we landed on some sketches—and these were much easier to discern. Because they looked a lot like Moe, Larry, and Curly. Bill had a sketch in there as well, with multiple symbols pointing to various parts of his body. Though the letters were printed legibly, they were in another language.

One bold word at the bottom right corner caught my eye.

I frowned at it. “Sostreth.”

A cold breeze slithered over the back of my neck. I yelped as I slapped the area, flipping around to check the basement. Footsteps rattled above our heads. They were heading to the basement door.

I turned to Cliff. “We don’t have much time. Give me the book.”

“Let me read a few more pages.”

I swatted his hands and snatched the book away. “Get back in the cage—quick!”

Heart racing, skin flushing, I fumbled with the lock, struggling to put it back in its place as Moe came thundering down the stairs. Somehow, I managed to fit the lock in place and tuck the journal under my robe. I knelt next to the cage with my hands in my lap, glaring at Moe, who strolled up to us.

He hiked a thumb over his shoulder. “Time’s up, Princess.”

With genuine reluctance, I rose from the ground and waved tentatively to Cliff. He wore a faint grin, one that spoke of his plans.

I just hoped he knew what he was doing.

Chapter 13 - Cliff

A wave of nausea clashed with my inner strength as I waltzed up the basement steps with Moe behind me and Larry ahead of me. Curly was waiting for the three of us in the living room, and he promptly went to the front door once we arrived. Out in the windy Bangor morning, I felt the mist of attention coming from the neighboring windows.

Just because I couldn’t see anyone watching didn’t mean there wasn’t anyone watching.

Things around here were worse than I thought if the neighbors were too scared to leave their houses for an Alpha challenge. The air shifted when I stepped into the street. Ahead, I saw the smaller crowd that had gathered, the early attendees who wanted a front-row seat, along with Bill’s staunch supporters. Whether they were all possessed wasn’t obvious yet. But the truth would reveal itself with time.

Bill came first. Everything and everyone else would fall into place after that.

My thoughts flurried together like a tornado and then settled as I combed through the facts we had discovered last night. Robyn and I found a demonic journal. Though we couldn’t understand all of it, we could discern the drawings, and those drawings had given us bold words that I hoped I could pronounce properly once the fight got to a good stopping point.

Moe pushed my shoulder. “Come on, hero.Walk.”

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