Page 19 of Alpha Scorned

“You...you can’t,” I whispered, horrified.

“Yeah, now you get it.” He shook his head, his face an inscrutable cold mask. But his purple eyes showed his fury, his devastation at what was expected of him. “I still have no idea why you would reject such a good and powerful mate, but you did. Now we are trying to pick up the pieces of our brother and put him back together. If you wreck him even more, if I have to end his life, the first person I’m coming after is you.”

How I kept my knees from collapsing, I had no idea. There was no doubt he meant every word of his threat. Besides, the last thing I wanted was to get Owen killed. Shit, I’d completely messed up his life, when all I’d wanted to do was save him from being saddled with an unworthy mate. I lifted my chin, fully aware Owen’s attention was still fixed right on us, and did my best to ignore the pull of him on my soul.

“You won’t have a reason to. I will keep my distance.” My gaze flicked to Owen. His eyes held mine, the flare of his wolf unmistakable before his brows dipped, and he turned to talk to the soundcheck guy. “But I can’t stop him if he decides to seek us out.” I hated that I sounded so hopeful. I wanted Owen to find me, to demand I tell him why I had rejected him, to never leave me. But it was a desperate dream, one I could never have. Stone was right, I was only going to end up hurting us both more.

Stone’s lip curled. “Are you fucking kidding me? He wants to stay as far from you as he can get.”

I hid the pain his words inflicted, and nodded instead. “Then you won’t have cause to hurt him, or come after anyone else.”

Chapter 8

Owen.

Below the stage,a sea of faces watched me. My body hummed with awareness, my wolf scratching beneath my skin at the scent of our mate. Cherries and sweetness. It was all Lina.MyLina. My mouth dried out. I hadn’t been able to block her from my mind no matter what I did. Rawson was right. Fucking, fighting, inflicting pain, none of it worked, and no matter how stupid it was to still want her, I did. My pulse spiked, cognizant that she was less than twenty feet from me, and it took all of my self control to concentrate on my purpose for calling this meeting.

“I hope you can all hear me,” I began. “If there are people missing from this pack meeting, I trust the information I’m about to give you will be passed onto them.” I deliberately ran my eyes over the males closest to the stage. They would be the first to issue a challenge. The weakest of the pack always stayed towards the back, away from the suffocating power of so many strong shifters crammed into a confined space.

Lina was at the front.

My stomach clenched. She had stayed close, even after Stone’s warning. I’d heard his words, and as much as I loved my brother, if he tried to hurt my mate, I'd be the one ripping his heart out, not the other way around.

As I adjusted the mic, the female who’d been with Lina when she arrived guided Devon back to Lina. He clutched his mother’s hand, staring at me with something like awe on his face. I hated that I couldn’t just sweep him into my arms like I always had done. It hurt so fucking much that I could barely breathe. When he attempted to wink at me like I had done him, I couldn’t suppress a wide grin. Gods, he was so damn cute! Despite my confusion over his mother staying so close to me when all I expected was for her to avoid me completely, I winked back.

It hadn’t escaped my notice that Zander had kept a close eye on Devon and Lina while I’d talked with the more powerful alphas of the pack before the address. My interactions had been to ensure those around me could feel my Alpha dominance. It was all a power play. Those guys, and even some of the females, now officially knew Shane was missing, and the challenges would roll in. All those fuckers needed to know what they were getting into when they challenged me.

Devon didn’t call my name again, but he watched every move I made. I’d asked Zander before our plane had even landed, to see if Lina needed any help with her son’s demon side. Zander had confided he’d already planned to offer anyway. The emotion his response had triggered ran deep inside my chest. Despite my treatment of him and our family, he’d still wanted to support the ones I loved. Lina had never spoken of Devon's demon side as far as I was aware, not to me, or anyone else. But Devon had always been volatile with his temper and independence. Ignoring his nature would make it hard on them both in the long run.

My body burned with awareness at Lina’s attention, but I didn’t look at her. Instead I watched the crowd, sizing up my potential enemies. Despite my exploits over the past months, I was lean, mean, and willing to subdue, or even end, any threat to this pack, and by default, my mate.

I shook my head.

Shit, I was still thinking of her as mine. She wasn't, no matter what the Mother Wolf did to make sure our paths crossed. Bonds between soulmates only strengthened with claiming bites and sex, and we’d done neither. I’d only kissed her once, for fuck’s sake. My cock stirred at the memory of her soft mouth against mine, of the whimpers she’d made, of her taste, the way her body moulded to mine…

Godsdamnit! Now wasn’t the time!

I forced my desire away, and continued to address the crowd.

“My name is Owen Brady. I am Beta to your Prime, the King of Shifters. He has sent me here to temporarily act as your Alpha.” I waited for the murmurs to die down. “In case you are not aware, some of your pack brethren have disappeared, which includes Shane himself. My brothers and I have been sent here to discover their fate. I expect your full cooperation for however long this takes.” I allowed my wolf to surface in my eyes and surveyed the faces of those who stood closest. The male who’d taken Devon from my Lina’s arms yesterday was watching me with a narrowed gaze, his own wolf in his eyes. Lucas. That was his name. A mechanic and an alpha. That motherfucker was after my mate and the little boy I loved like a son. Anger burned through my blood and bones, along with a fierce, deep possessiveness that almost choked me. Even if Devon wasn’t mine biologically, I loved that little boy, and I wouldn’t let this fucker have him or my beautiful Lina. I could feel Lucas’s intentions as surely as the blood humming through my veins.

I snarled, uncaring that I was on a stage in front of the whole pack.

Lucas held my gaze, lowering it only at the last second. I wanted to stride over to him and slam my fist right in his face. Instead, I rolled my shoulders and stretched my neck, glaring at him before I lifted my gaze to the crowd. “If you wish to challenge me for Shane’s position, all challenges will be met after this meeting, here in the cave. Only challengers are permitted to remain. This is not a spectacle. But know this, if you decide to challenge me, I will not stop until you submit.” I was aware Rawson watched me, and even from the corner of my eye I saw his arms unfold. I was well aware that I needed to be the controlled Alpha, or both he and Stone would step in. I glanced at Lina again. At least Lucas wasn't right by my mate’s side. “I have no interest, or time, to watch my back for challenges after this meet. This is your one and only chance. If you challenge my brothers or me after tonight, you die.”

A hush rippled through the crowd. Perhaps their reaction was due to the wave of power I sent barrelling through the cave, or perhaps my past reputation preceded me. When I’d been Alpha in the past, I had put down any vicious pricks from the prison who had thought to challenge me, or tried to harm any of my pack. I was as deadly serious now as I had been back then. I needed to find Shane and the other missing wolves, and to do that I needed the pack’s support. If any of the pack disagreed with me being their stand-in Alpha, this was their chance to fight for the position. But after that, watching my back for attacks was not on my agenda.

I snarled and ripped my shirt off over my head, not caring about the females that raised their noses in interest, inhaling my scent. “Does anyone challenge me!?” I roared, hoping that at least one of these dickheads would. I needed a vicious fight, one that would expunge my pent up anger and lust for the woman who couldn’t tear her eyes from my tattooed chest. My gaze locked on hers, ensnaring her, and I smirked. A pretty flush stained her cheeks, and even from where I stood, I could scent her desire.

Lucas lifted his chin and inhaled. Possessiveness clutched at my heart as his eyes widened and a snarl curled his lips. His irises changed, and his attention fixed onto my mate, his footsteps taking him towards her. Fuck! If he could scent her, that meant he was a potential mate for her, too. Not her soulmate, I was her soulmate, and there was only ever one, but there could be other compatible breeding partners. If he and his wolf claimed her before me, then I would lose my bond to her. Over time it would fade completely.

A vicious growl ripped from my throat and without another thought I leapt, landing solidly on the ground right between him and Lina. “Where the fuck are you going?”

His face turned menacing, his wolf glaring at mine. I bared my teeth, adrenaline shooting through my body, along with the power of my wolf. Lucas didn’t back down. Good.

“I’m going to see Selina.” His wolf stared right at me.

“No, you’re fucking not.” I leaned in, my body coiled and ready to pounce. “She’s mine.” I heard Lina gasp from behind me. Publicly claiming her when she had rejected me was beyond stupid; she could humiliate me by doing it again, out here for everyone to see. She could make it clear she thought me too weak to be her soulmate. Such a public rejection would hurt her standing in the pack, but it would also open the floodgates to a mass challenge of my brothers and me. I was a powerful Alpha and fighter, so were Rawson, Lionel, Zander and Stone, but even together we would have to shed a lot of blood to subdue a whole pack if the alphas worked together to end us. Shit! I was a stupid fucker! Were Stone and Rawson right? Was I losing my mind and turning feral with the need to be with my soulmate? I let none of those feelings show in my face, merely cracked the bones in my neck and stepped closer to Lucas. He was a tall and powerful male, and we were almost nose to nose.

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