Page 10 of Alpha's Runaway Mate

My eyes widened slightly at his nerve. “My, my, Kaine, how big did that ego of yours get over the years? Or does being Alpha now make you think that you can demand answers to everything?”

He grunted, shrugging his shoulders. “I’m just worried about you, Lyra.”

I rolled my eyes. “Nineteen-year-old me would have fallen for that crap. God, I was so naive.”

Kaine didn’t appear to be moved by anything as I was saying because he remained on the spot, his broad frame filling the space between me and the door, making it clear that I wasn’t going anywhere.

“Kaine—”

“Just tell me where you’re going, Lyra. Why do you have to be so goddamn stubborn? His voice rose, cutting off my next words.

I sighed, palming my face in frustration. This wasn’t the time to argue. I had spent too much time doing that already. Now I had to leave right this minute.

“I have to leave Crescent Valley. My presence is a danger to the entire pack. I imagine they don’t like me much after I abandoned the pack, but it is not my wish to see them killed.”

“Killed? By who?”

“The same people who poisoned me.”

“They’re still out there?”

“No,” I said flatly. “I took care of them.”

“Then you’re safe,” he said. “You’re safe here, Lyra. This is your home.”

I shook my head in refutation. “Not anymore, Kaine. I don’t have a home. And they’ll make sure of that when they realize the ones sent for me aren’t coming back…because they’re dead.”

Another wave of silence fell upon us. And I could tell from the way one Kaine’s eyebrow perked up that he was confused. “What are you talking about, Lyra?”

I exhaled sharply. “You want to know where I’m going? The truth is that I don’t know, Kaine. All I know is that I need to find a witch because the longer I stay unprotected, the more dangerous it becomes for anyone around me, including the pack.

“Lyra—”

“Kaine, you’re not listening to me. We’re wasting too much time. I need to get out of here now. So please, get out of my way!” I snapped.

That still wasn’t enough to move him. The confusion on Kaine’s face was apparent, but I wasn’t about to relive the eight months of hell I spent as a prisoner of the Blackwood pack by telling him the reason why I was being hunted. He might want answers but I owed him nothing, so I wasn’t giving him one. And if he continued to refuse to let me leave, he left me no choice but to force my way out, even if that meant hurting him. I had never bested him in our sparring sessions before, but I fancied my chances now.

I steeled myself, mentally preparing to strike, when Kaine spoke. “You can only try, Lyra,” he said with a lopsided smile like he’d read my thoughts. “But if you need a witch, I know one.”

******

I slept with one eye open, praying desperately to the Moon Goddess that the Blackwoods hadn’t tracked me to my latest hiding place. I hadn’t prayed to the Moon Goddess in a while—how could I? Not after she had set me up by mating me with a man who rejected and humiliated me. I thought she was cynical, twisted, and cruel. I still did. But desperate times called for desperate prayers.

I watched Leo like a hawk. He slept soundly, a smile curling up his lips. He looked peaceful, unlike the boy who struggled to fit in in our old neighborhood. I’d known Leo had a hard time fitting in at school, not only because he always came back feeling sorry for himself, but also because I’d caught one of his classmates bullying him. I’d done the motherly thing and simply scolded him. But once Leo turned away, I grabbed the boy by the collar, bared my fangs, and warned him never to touch my boy again. That was the last I heard of any bullying, but it still hadn’t been enough to make him feel like he belonged.

Now, barely twenty fours in the Ironclaw pack, Leo seemed like he’d finally found his place. A bittersweet smile tugged at my lips as I brushed hair from his face. He had found his home. He had even met his father. And as much as it pained me, I knew I had to take him away from all of this. It was for the best.

I begged for the morning to come, and finally, it did. Leo was up early, excited, as Kaine had promised to take him back to the pack’s institute today after he’d been so sad to leave yesterday. With other pressing matters to handle today, it seemed like the perfect arrangement.

Kaine returned about thirty minutes after dropping off Leo. The frown plastered on my face deepened when I caught his scent a few blocks away from the front lawn of the packhouse where I sat, waiting for him.

“I’m sorry I’m late, Lyra,” he apologized, halting in front of me, his tone casual. “I um, I had to take care of some things.”

My brows furrowed at him. There was something vague about the way he said, “take care of some things”, that told me he didn’t want me knowing what they were.

Without a second thought, I stood, storming away in the opposite direction. “You’re not taking this very seriously, Kaine.”

“It’s hard to take it seriously when you’ve not exactly told me why I should.” He didn’t attempt to follow me. He remained on the spot, eyes twinkling with mirth as I walked away.

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