Page 45 of Kidnapped By the Alpha

Alpha Aiden Moonstone stepped out of the trees before us while wolves from the Moonstone and Sparkle Hollow packsfollowed suit. In the time it took me to identify who it was, the Dark Moon Pack was completely surrounded.

My wolves immediately moved to make a circle facing their enemies, ready for my next command. But with the combined forces of the two packs against us, there was little chance that we could win in a fight. We may have been a vicious fighting force, but the numbers didn’t lie. Fifty against one hundred was hardly going to be a fair fight.

“What are you doing here?” I demanded loudly to Aiden. “We have no business with you.”

“You took something from our allies in Sparkle Hollow—right under the nose of my luna, in fact. If you thought we wouldn’t come to get her back, you were mistaken,” Aiden warned.

I pulled April behind me, realizing that she was their intended target. My fears had come to fruition. My impulsive choice to kidnap April was going to be the end of my pack.

“The Moonstone Pack has no interest in this,” I argued. “April Rose is from Sparkle Hollow, and we are nowhere near your territory. Alpha Lex of Sparkle Hollow has already been given a message. If he wishes to speak with me, he is welcome to do so.”

Aiden took a step forward, flanked by a handful of his warriors. “He got your message, and we are here at his request,” Aiden said. “I demand the release of April immediately so that she can return home.”

I released April from my grasp and prepared to shift into wolf form. I would die before I allowed them to take my luna from me.

“Over my dead body,” I growled.

Aiden didn’t appear to be intimidated by my display, regardless of how strong of a warrior he knew me to be. He had always found a way to avoid going head-to-head with me in combat training, knowing that I could easily overpower him. But now he wasn’t scared. Instead, he cocked an eyebrow at me in amusement.

“Oh, really?” he asked. “What about overhisdead body?”

Aiden pointed to a group of wolves to my left. There were four men holding onto ropes, which were tied to a figure standing between them. They shuffled out of the trees, and the moonlight illuminated the face of their captive.

Killian was struggling against the ropes, but I could see that they were cutting into his skin. Aiden had come prepared. My second would not be able to break free of the silver that had been woven into the strands. A gag covered his mouth, and the man behind him was holding a knife to his throat. The sharp blade glinted as it was pressed against his neck, and I saw a single drop of blood trickle down his neck.

“You wouldn’t dare,” I said.

My blood had run cold at the sight of my friend bound and gagged. Until this moment, I hadn’t imagined that Aiden would kill the one person who had been with me through everything. We had fallen out, but I never thought it would come to this.

“After everything the three of us have gone through, you’d end Killian’s life?” I asked. “He has done nothing to you.”

“I’m capable of far worse than killing an enemy wolf in battle,” Aiden replied.

That was all that Killian and I were to him now. Enemies. If he would do this, I knew he would have no qualms aboutordering the deaths of the entire Dark Moon Pack. He would do whatever was required to get me to release April.

At the thought of choosing between my mate and my pack, I began to hyperventilate, as I had done when I struggled with the choice to kidnap Penelope. Before I could come to a decision about what to do, I felt April move beside me. At first, I thought she was coming to stand next to me in solidarity, but she walked until she was halfway between me and Aiden.

“That’s enough,” she said, commanding the attention of the trio of packs. “Let Killian go. I’ll come with you, Aiden, but only if you don’t hurt anyone. Please.”

Aiden looked between April and me, and I could see him trying to figure out how best to get her away from me. I wanted to run toward her and pull her back, but I could hardly breathe. Killian was still trapped by the Sparkle Hollow wolves, and I couldn’t risk further harm coming to him.

Aiden was in no mood to be bartered with. I knew that if any of us made one wrong move, he would order his wolves to attack. That was what he had come here for. Our destruction.

“April will walk toward me,” Aiden said. “When she is by my side, we will retreat. We will leave this one—” he nodded toward Killian “—somewhere you can find him. If any of you attempt to come after us before then, we will kill him. Do you understand?”

If only April would turn around to look at me. I needed to know what her plan was, but she had completely ignored me from the moment we had been surrounded.

I looked into Killian’s eyes, which held only fear. He nodded slightly, and I knew my choice had been made for me.

“Yes,” I said, defeated. “I understand.”

“Order your wolves to stand down,” Aiden commanded.

I wanted to rage and fight against being ordered around, but I had been outmaneuvered. There was nothing else I could do.

“Dark Moon Pack, stand down,” I said flatly, and I knelt down in the grass to show that I wouldn’t follow them.

The pack obeyed and followed suit, sinking down to the ground behind me.

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