Page 56 of Fall of the Alpha

But she hadn’t.

The little pills sat in a box in the room she’d been given.

Watching as Malachi pulled Bella against him, Bella’s arms rising to twine about his neck, their lips meeting in a kiss, Carina wondered what she was supposed to feel. As they broke apart, the smile on Bella’s lips made Carina smile.

Happy. As long as her daughter was happy, she was happy.

“May I escort you to the dinner?” A big brute of an Alpha, introduced to her as Darian, offered Carina his arm. She was half his size and twice his age, but something in his eyes gleamed at her when she wrapped her fingers around his arm.

“Thank you,” she said simply, ignoring the little curl of sensation in the base of her belly when her fingers touched him.

The crowd moved around them, parting for them as they walked forward, friendly faces smiling at her, friendly mouths congratulating her. Welcoming her.

No, the territories were nothing like she’d been told they’d be.

In Zone One,a lonely beta male stood on a roof, staring up at the sky, holding a scrap of paper in his hand. His eyes were dry, though his chest burned with emotion.

He had gambled—gambled everything and lost.

All there was left to do now was pick up the pieces.

Perhaps he could still salvage his plans… but no.

Turning his head, he looked toward the gate between his zone and the territories. It was open. Light and noise emanated from the area. The gap had been bridged.

His power was not yet lost.

But he’d lost everything else.

Letting go of the paper, he let the wind carry it away. He no longer wanted to hold it, no longer wanted to look at it.

Did not want to see the single word written on it in his former mate’s elegant script…

No.

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