Page 28 of The Married Alpha And His Arrow: Vol 2

Heath nodded acknowledging Haley was right. He looked resigned really. Heath said, “We both understand leadership, Sophia. The difference is I know who I am as a person, and you do not. You’re so caught up in your father’s need for justice you lost yourself. I’m proud of the Alpha you are to your pack. You’re amazing with them, and no one will say otherwise near me and get away with it. Wolves work with allies though, and you need some help here. There’s no shame in it.”

Sophia opened her mouth and shut it several times. Heath took her hands, “We can’t be together if you don’t know who you are. I’m not Wallace. I won’t use the connection between us to lead you into another relationship without you knowing who you are. You’ve lost yourself to your cause and your quest to honor your father. It’s not that I don’t understand that I do. Trust me. My family was murdered too. I lost myself in that, and in protecting my sister. I had to figure out who I was too, but I did that long ago. You haven’t.”

Sophia shook her head, “It’s not like Wallace. Don’t say that! We are mates, this is different.” Heath said, “We can’t be anything until you find yourself. Find who you are as a leader, and we have A LOT to work through to figure out if and how we want to be together. If Lexi cannot forgive you then…. I can’t. I will not lose her. She’s my little sister.”

Everyone in the room tensed except the Cambridge men. Matt linked me, “Holy fucking shit.” I looked around. Even Dylan looked sad for Sophia. The only ones who didn’t were Aiden, and the Hackura Princes. They agreed with everything Heath was saying. Haley looked both sad and understanding of his position. She glanced at Alpha Eric and I understood her feelings about it.

Sophia whispered, “You’re rejecting me?” Heath quickly disagreed, “No, I’m not rejecting you. I told you on the phone that you matter to me. No matter what happens between us, you always will. I’m willing to wait for you to get your footing and figure out who you are. If you don’t want to do that then we can decide to reject each other. I will always help you no matter what you decide. You will always hold a special place in my heart no matter what decision we reach.” Damn.

Heath reached for her hands, “You’d get another chance to be happy even if it’s not with me. I do want to see if we can make this work, but I think we can both admit we have a lot in our way.” He rubbed her cheek. His eyes were full of longing and resignation. He was preparing for her not to choose him.

I linked Matt, “I mean, didn’t a goddess already kind of choose for them? He’s prepared for her to reject him, but she didn’t have a chance three years ago to prove otherwise.” Matt winced, “Maybe. They could work through it.” Hopefully, they could but there was a lot of hurt here.

Sophia cried, “I can’t give Chase the annulment.” Heath recoiled from her as if she’d slapped him. Haley hissed and flung her across the room. She shouted, “YOU BITCH!” I sat back and realized Haley didn’t just see Lexi as family. She cared for Heath too. Not quite a brother, but maybe a friend. Her eyes were going crazy. Someone needed to explain that.

Beta Alfred Sr. stood. He pleaded, “WAIT! Please! She can’t! They took my wife! They had Junior, but Heath was getting closer to him. Sophia tried to reach him this morning because we found a note that they’d taken Opal too. We have Alfred back, and I’m really grateful, but I can’t let my wife die. She’s the mother of two of my pups.”

Haley asked, “What the fuck is wrong with you people? Have you cut off allies for so long you forgot how to think, Alfred Senior? You led Alpha Sophia astray and you fucking know it. Now, you don’t know your ass from your head. Who knew Heath was getting close to finding Alfred? WHO THE FUCK cares if Sophia and Chase aren’t married?”

Sophia admitted, “We don’t know.” Haley said, “REALLY? You don’t fucking know?! HONESTLY! FUCKING MORONS! ARE YOU SERIOUS? It’s obvious! Someone who’s distracting you wants you to THINK they care about your damn sham of a marriage.” Bolt linked, “I like her.” Most people did, and her anger was understandable. It just wasn’t like her to lose it like this from what I’d seen.

Aiden looked worriedly at her. The Cambridge’s were frowning now too. Haley was exasperated, “Who is trying to overthrow her, Eric?” My eyes widened. Bjourn chuckled, “She is trained very well. We are trained to realize things like this, Alpha Chase.”

Alpha Eric gently replied, “Angel, we are working on that. We believe it’s an illegitimate pup of her father’s. That is who is likely to try and take over.” Sophia argued, “Tyson would NEVER do that!” Alpha Eric assured her, “I didn’t mean Tyson.” Alfred Junior’s jaw dropped. He finally knew who Tyson was. Alpha Senior didn’t look surprised, but he shouldn’t. Tyson looked like Allister.

Sophia stalled then asked, “You think I have more siblings?” I jumped in, “We do. We think that someone poisoned him against your dad. That the whole plan came from that.” Sophia gasped, “You think my sibling killed my dad?” I pointed out, “Think about it Sophia it makes sense.”

Suddenly the air left my lungs and pain hit me like a hot rod. Haley clutched her chest and went to her knees a silent scream trying to escape her lips. Aiden was cursing which worried me. Fairies didn’t do that; Haley was the exception, and I could figure out why. She rebelled against what they tried to mold her into.

My dad linked me, “CHASE!” I couldn’t breathe. No! It wasn’t me that was hurt, it was Lexi. Bolt howled in pain in my head. Alpha Eric was beside Haley trying to talk to her. I forced myself to breathe. I took out my phone and called Lexi.

Heath said my name, “Chase…” I cut him off, “Something is wrong with Lexi.” I called her repeatedly, but she didn’t answer. Haley wheezed out, “I’m going to her office. I’ll be back.” Bjourn argued, “No, you’re not. You can barely stand.” Haley ignored him and popped out.

Aiden said, “This is where google would say ‘the shit has hit the fan.’ Before you get upset she didn’t listen to you, she didn’t even hear a word you said to her. She’s in so much pain she cannot think straight.” He was glaring at Sophia and me. Alpha Eric demanded, “Aiden for ONCE in your life say what you know directly!”

I felt the pack link go crazy in my mind. Matt hissed, “CHASE! We are being attacked!” He ran for the door, but we couldn’t get out. Alpha Eric ordered, “AIDEN, GET US OUT!” Aiden replied, “I can’t. It’s not just Fae magic keeping you in. Megan helped Haley set this up.” Bjourn opened his phone and spoke in Latin.

Matt had tears streaking down his cheeks. He whispered, “It’s Ted. He’s so scared and now he’s telling me he loves me! I can’t lose him!” Isaac ran over and grabbed onto Matt. My dad was growling and pacing.

Heath’s phone rang. He answered, “Hello?” Someone yelled, “LEXI NEEDS HELP! I’M ON MY WAY BUT DAMN SHE’S FAST!” Heath asked, “James?” James answered, “YES, IT'S JAMES! I was watching Lexi’s office. I just wanted to talk to her, but that went sideways. Chase’s pack got attacked and…”

Heath cut him off, “I’m sending people. Make sure she stays safe.” James yelled, “Heath, wait! She got a call….” Heath hung up on him and called his people. Kevin and Kincade were pacing with the rest of us.

Suddenly Isaac howled in agony. Matt and Molly yelled, “DAD!” Isaac growled, “Your mother said Jenna is hurt. My baby is down. WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE!” Matt yelled, “Ted’s coming! He’s got Jenna and Susie!” Seconds later Ted burst into the room with Sally. Derrick was on her. Ted slowly lowered Jenna to the ground from her shoulder.

My dad and I grabbed Susie from Ted. She was crying. Sebastian Kyle stood and walked towards us, as though he was suddenly tethered to us. He asked, “Is she ok?” Susie wiped her tears and stared at him with wonder. What the ever loving shit?! They were both staring at each other.

Luna Emmaline gasped. Alpha Kyle said, “Here we go again. I remember the last time you did that. Is it for the same reason?” She nodded. Huh? Alpha Kyle blew out a breath, “No fucking way.” Dylan countered, “YES WAY! My show was trying to be depressing but it made a sharp turn back to fun.”

My dad and I looked at each other in confusion. I asked, “What are you talking about?” Sebastian turned back around and hugged Susie tightly with a knowing smile on the face. He comforted her, “You’re ok. I’ve got you Susie.” My dad questioned, “Alpha Kyle what the hell is happening?”

Alpha Kyle pleaded, “Emmaline….” Emmaline interjected, “They are mates. Sebastian and Alpha Kyle were there before my wedding and know the signs. So, Sebastian already understood what she was to him because I gasped. Sebastian and Susie are mates.”

My dad and I shrieked, “WHAT?!” My dad growled, “SHE’S SIX YEARS OLD!” Peter Kyle chimed in, “My daughter’s a pup and Alpha Eric’s son, EJ, is her mate. Welcome to the weird club, Alpha Frank.”

Susie tugged on his sleeve saying, “Daddy, please don’t be mad! I do feel drawn to him. Like I just know he’d protect me.” Sebastian agreed, “Always.” Matt touched my shoulder, “Chase….” There was nothing that could follow that.

Before I could say anything, I choked. Pain exploded in my chest. A different kind of pain than before. Susie screamed, “CHASE!” Sebastian held her back. Heath yelled, “CHASE!” My dad was holding me. He ordered, “Breathe, Chase! Come on son, breathe!” I couldn’t though.

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