Page 7 of The Alpha Wolf's Pregnant Bride

With the looming threat of the rogues, I can't be too careful, so I send out a mind link to border patrol to check the perimeter of Mysthaven for any sign of trespassing.

When a stray wind passes my face, I follow the smell like a trail of breadcrumbs that leads me toward the town center. The streets are mostly empty, save for a few youths returning from school. They bow their heads in the distance as I pass, but I remain oblivious, especially when my border patrol reports that there hasn't been any sighting of a trespasser.

Strange, I think as I follow the scent that leads me past the library, then the local pack clinic. It's only when I turn the corner that I spot a coated figure with long, raven black hair cascading down its back, lurking in front of the town mortuary. My feet speed up, crossing the road in a march to find out who it is.

“Who are you?” I utilize the gallant tone of my Alpha wolf to ask the question as I reach the front of the mortuary. I don't recognize her from behind, and since I'm able to detect every one of my pack members without a shadow of a doubt, this one has me frowning.

The shoulders of the woman slouch inside her coat, and she slowly turns. That's when my breath catches, my heartmomentarily stopping when I realize, with dread, that this is the she-wolf I thought I'd never see again.

“Cassandra?!” I exclaim in shock when she lifts her dark, dragon-shaped eyes and meets my eyes, knocking the wind out of my soul.

“Cyrus…” she whispers timidly, sounding equally surprised as she stares at me and gulps.

I take a step forward, narrowing my eyes at her to intently inspect every curve and contour of her face.

She's so… different.

Gone are the braces to straighten her teeth and the buccal fat underneath her cheekbones that used to give her face a rounder shape. Now, with defined cheekbones and a prominent jawline, her features are sharp and distinct, matching the sharpness of her eyes, which stare at me in disbelief.

“It's really you…” I murmur, unable to control my mind from drifting off into a space of the past I'd walked away from when she left the pack nine years ago.

All she does in response is bat her eyelids at me, long lashes fluttering like an eagle's wings, ready for take-off. The exhale I let out is one of awe, marveling at how strikingly different she is.

The last time I saw her, she was just a curious-eyed young woman. Even back then, she was the cause of my stomach flutters and disoriented thoughts that seemed to emerge once again.

I hate this feeling, but I can't help it. I can't help but stare at her creamy white skin, which is as perfect as marble.

It takes every ounce of strength to speak the words hanging on the tip of my tongue.

“You're back after all these years…” I comment, the words serving as a reminder to snap out of my daze and remember that what she did was unforgivable.

Leaving the pack, leaving Mysthaven without saying goodbye to me, the future Alpha of this pack…

I hate what she did. She has no right to affect me like this, no power over me that's stronger than my authority as the Alpha.

“My mother…” she reminds me, and she blinks as if reeling from her own daze. The corners of her eyes turn sharper just as she straightens her shoulders and tilts her chin. “I'm back for my mother's funeral.”

“It took your mother's death to bring you back, huh?” I ask, completely snapped out of my daze and level-headed now.

Cassandra narrows her eyes. “There's nothing else that would have brought me back,” she snaps, her firm tone infuriating me and setting my pulse alight.

Just who does she think she is, waltzing back into town as if nine years of her absence didn't pass?

I rake my eyes over her from head to toe as if searching for something to get back at her for. Doesn't she know how vile her departure was?

She's lucky I'm not heartless!

“I see you finally took my advice and lost a few pounds,” I remarked crudely.

She scoffs, not nearly as fazed by my words as I expected her to be.

“If you're here to comment on my weight,Alpha…” the title sounds bitter on her tongue. “... Then I suggest you leave right now.”

“You're gonna tell me, the Alpha, what to do?”

Cassandra takes a bold step forward, crossing her arms over her chest. “What are you gonna do about it, huh? Kick me out of town? Out of Rosethorn Valley?”

My jaw widens slowly as shock washes over me. She'd never retorted so bluntly at me in the past. Right now, I brush aside that tiny bit of compassion I had left for her and open my mouth to tell her that I have a good mind to do exactly that and kick her out of town.

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