Page 6 of The Alpha Wolf's Pregnant Bride

There's no question about what needs to be done. With Dorian abducted, we are on high alert as Alphas. The need to protect our packs is instinctive, ingrained in us as our birthright. I have to do what I can to rid the land of the threat posed by these mutts. I can't afford any more sleepless nights, and I'm wondering if I will be next.

I push off my chair and head to the liquor cabinet behind my desk, pouring myself a brandy. “Want one?” I ask my Beta-slash-assistant. If it were any other employee, I wouldn't be asking him if he wanted to drink while at work. Luckily for him, he has a free pass because he's my best friend.

Jarrod clears his throat. “No thanks, Cyrus,” he declines, pointing at his watch. “I've just heard that Cassandra Chikara is coming back.”

“Wh-what?!” I exclaim, choking on the sip of my drink when it catches halfway down my throat. A series of coughing and splattering has me keeled over the table; a palm braced on the edge while I fight for composure.

“Geez, Cyrus… Are you alright?”

I clear my throat and straighten up, but I can feel the color draining from my face. “Y-yeah…” I lie. “I'm fine. She's erm—She's coming back?”

Jarrod narrows his eyes at me, nodding without any indication that he believes me. “Her mother died a few days ago.”

I nod absentmindedly, not feeling even an ounce of remorse as I should. All I can think of isher…The ex-member of the Moon Shine Pack.

Snorting disdainfully, I clutch the backrest of my swivel chair and throw a wary look at Jarrod. “Who does she think she is, coming back to Mysthaven?”

“She's Agatha Chikara's only daughter,” Jarrod shrugs nonchalantly. “It would make sense that she comes back to attend her mother's funeral.”

“Huh,” I scoff. The mere mention of her name infuriates me. But knowing that she's coming back? I pray to the Moon Goddess she doesn't cross my path!

It's not like I care to see her after leaving Mysthaven without a word of goodbye. The scoundrel sent her mother to inform the pack of her departure, like the witless mutt she is.

I always knew she wasn't capable of being a real werewolf in our pack. As resentment for her abandoning the pack she was born into rises like bile in my throat, I shake my head.

“The funeral will be taking place on Friday,” Jarrod says matter-of-factly as he types something on his tablet.

“So?” I frown.

He lifts his head, brows furrowing in disbelief. “Agatha was a member of the pack, Cyrus. You'll have to attend and—”

“I will do no such thing!” I fume, nostrils flaring as if I'm breathing fire. “Cassandra Chikara is as dead to me as her dead mother.”

Jarrod gasps as if I'd struck him on the head. “Cyrus, surely you don't mean—”

“If you're so concerned about the Chikaras, you can attend the funeral on my behalf,” I grunt as I lift myself to my feet. I'm way too irritated to stay in the office after hearing abouther.“Clear my schedule for the rest of the day,” I instructed him, pausing at the door. “And make sure that no one welcomes her to town.”

***

Clutching the rigid wheel in my Jeep until my knuckles pale, I'm fuming in the confines of the vehicle parked behind my house.

When the news of Agatha's passing came a few days ago, I never expected Cassandra Chikara to return.

She hasn't been on Moon Shine turf in nine years.

Not that I was counting… I scoff under my breath, brooding resentment fueling my sudden urge to go back to the city and get shit-faced.

I know I shouldn't be riled up like this. Cassandra means nothing to me and nothing to this pack.

If her return weren't because of her mother's funeral, I would have ensured that she wasn't allowed to step foot on Moon Shine territory.

I'm not heartless enough, though the thought of making her suffer is tempting. Grinding my teeth, I get out of my car, and as soon as my feet touch the ground, my airways are hit by a distinct scent of difference.

Honing my Alpha senses to be better equipped in my duties, I'd become trained to the scent belonging to my wolves. Amixture of the Mysthaven soil and the potent scent of wolfiness, the smell of a Moon Shine wolf is unmistakable.

What I smell now is unfamiliar; the soil is untainted by air pollution, and the muskiness of the wolf is not as robust as it should be for a Moon Shine werewolf.

It's tooth-achingly sweet, and my wolf senses are tingling as I'm alerted to the presence of a werewolf who shouldn't be in town.

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