Page 43 of Fall of the Alpha

Sometimes, it helped to think of him by his name rather than the moniker he’d been given when he’d defeated the old Warlord and taken over his territory. It made him feel like less of a force of nature and more like any other male… but then Paldon wouldlook at him again, and his stomach would quake, his instincts screaming at him torun,despite the blockers…

The Wolf was the most dangerous of the Alphas, and even the blockers couldn’t completely stymy his effect.

“Sit.” The Wolf waved his hand as he sat down.

Carina sat down automatically, pulling Paldon with her. He gritted his teeth. He might have tried to stay standing a little longer, just to prove he could, if not for that.

“Paldon.” The Wolf’s green gaze flicked over to Carina again. “Carina.”

Was it Paldon’s imagination, or had the Wolf’s voice actually softened, just a touch? Perhaps he could use that, but he also had to put on a show of strength. The Wolf needed to know that just because he had Bella, he couldn’t push them around. Paldon was responsible for more than his own daughter; he was also responsible for the entirety of Zone One.

He couldn’t forget that.

Bella

Watching her parents sit down across from Malachi on the vid screen, Bella chewed on her thumbnail. A gentle hand reached over, taking her wrist and pulling her nail away from her mouth. She shot Alek a sheepish look. He slid his fingers through hers, giving her something to hold on to.

It hurt seeing her parents like this. Seeing the pain on her mother’s face. Her mother looked as if she was about to burst into tears at any moment. Throughout Bella’s life, her mother had always been the greater presence. Though Bella knew her father cared, it was always done from a careful distance.Knowing it was for her own protection had only helped the feeling of rejection so much.

Even now, she could see that her father was stoic, while her mother was on the verge of devastation.

“Can we see Bella?” her mother asked before her father could speak.

On the vid screen, it was hard to see details, but Bella was sure he clenched his jaw in annoyance. She could almost see the muscle in his jaw ticking, the way it did when he was frustrated and holding it back.

“Likely very soon,” Malachi said, making Bella’s chest clench. He’d promised she’d be able to see her parents. “Though some of that depends on you.”

Another hand came down on her shoulder, and she knew without looking that it belonged to Cora, who was standing behind where she and Alek were seated.

“It’s a negotiating tactic,” Cora murmured. “If you want to see them, he’ll make sure you get to see them.”

“He’d better,” Bella muttered under her breath, causing Alek to look at her askance. But then Alek didn’t know that the Wolf had asked her to be his queen. Bella didn’t intend to sit quietly while the Alpha male made every decision without her.

She’d agreed not to be in the room when her parents first met with him, only because she understood he was worried about her safety. But she’d insisted on watching the vid screen so she could hear what was being said. She wondered…

“She is watching.” Malachi pointed behind him at where the camera was located, answering her unspoken question of whether or not he would tell them that she could see them. “And she can hear everything that’s said here.”

Her father stiffened. If she hadn’t been watching him so closely, she might not have noticed it.

Bella hated doubting her father, but she couldn’t help but wonder if he would prefer she wasn’t listening. That way, he could say whatever he wanted. Knowing that she could hear him put an extra burden on him.

But it was only fair.

They’d be talking about her, after all.

“Is she okay?” her mother asked at the same time her father spoke.

“What is it you want?” Frowning, her father glanced over at her mother, reaching out to put his hand atop hers as though to tell her to quiet. Her mother didn’t look back at him; she was staring too hard at Malachi.

“Bella is unharmed,” Malachi said, answering her mother first—and she didn’t think she was imagining her father’s annoyance at the order. She supposed it was the truth. Though, on that first day in his territory, she might have argued the point with him. “And I want a number of things. A revised treaty. Alphas and Omegas allowed into Zone One, instead of one-way traffic. An ambassador in Zone One. Grigori’s head on a plate.”

Next to Bella, Alek jerked in his seat the same way her father did. Now, it was her turn to squeeze his hand. He pressed his lips together, not looking at her. Not looking at Cora when she reached over to put a comforting hand on his shoulder as well.

The more they’d learned about Grigori, the more Bella could understand why Malachi would ask for such a thing… but the male was still Alek’s father. She couldn’t imagine how he was feeling right now.

“Grigori’s head, you can have,” her father said with a snort. “I should have never listened to him in the first place. He’s brought me nothing but trouble since he came to Zone One.”

“I think you mean since you traded his information for a life in Zone One,” Malachi replied, his gravelly voice sending a shiver down her spine. “You took what he offered willingly, thenyou armed him in hopes he would assassinate me. Instead, he killed the Omega who would have been my mate. Do not deny it.”

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