Page 41 of Rathgar

My Alpha.

He leaps down from the trees and lands like a cat, his eyes still shining with murderous rage, fixed on Kovarx himself. I don’t know whether to scream or cry or call out to him. I can’t run to him. Not yet. Kovarx is still in the way.

“You’re quicker than I thought, I’ll give you that.” Kovarx spits on the ground, lip curling. “But you’re too late. I intend to take your woman with me as a replacement for the one you stole. And the others? The compound’s set to self-destruct any minute now.”

My heart jumps into my throat as I remember the looming countdown. Oh god! What if Lara and Iris and Isabella couldn’t get out in time?

“Too late,” Rathgar says. “We’ve already evacuated them.”

A breath whooshes out of me. There’s that, at least. But there’s still the matter of my life on the line. And the life of my baby.

“You think you’re so smart. So noble.” Kovarx sneers at Rathgar, even as he’s advancing on him. “You act like your way is the only way — you’re just trying to oppress those who are different from you!”

With a growl that shakes the whole forest, Rathgar closes the distance between him and Kovarx, grabbing the alien around the throat with his wide hand and lifting him up into the air. Kovarx gags and struggles, clawing at Rathgar’s hand, but he’s too weak to make a difference.

“There’s one very different thing about you and I,” Rathgar snarls, looking right into his eyes. “And let this be the last thing you remember before you die: I do not use living souls as bargaining chips. I, and all the people under Soren’s banner, seek to unify, not to isolate. And if you can’t feel one ounce of regret, one iota of sorrow, well…there’s only one solution. I tried to be merciful, but I’ve let this go too long.”

I watch in horror, transfixed by the quarrel in front of me. This is a side of Rathgar that I have never seen before. I have heard stories, sure, and I always knew that the Aesirheim Alphas were practically genetically engineered killing machines, but seeing it so up close and personal like this…

Was it terrifying? Yes. But I would be lying if I said that some part of his steadfast determination and raw presence didn’t make me hot in all the wrong ways.

“Y-you bastard.” Kovarx squeaks out from his near-crushed windpipe.

“Shut. The fuck. Up.” And with that, he drops Kovarx unceremoniously, letting him fall right onto the exposed blade of his sword. There’s a gurgled cry as the bloody blade pierces through his body and comes out the other end, and then nothing.

Silence.

PROPOSAL

RATHGAR

It was over. Finally over.

I look at Kovarx’s limp, bloody form on the forest floor. He didn’t even deserve that quick of a death — I had intended to draw it out, make it hurt — but Janie was standing there, staring at me in horror.

Oh gods, Janie…

She probably thinks I’m a monster. She probably thinks that all that time I spent trying to be a good man and a good mate was wasted, if I can still spill blood so savagely.

The two parts of my life dance and intertwine, each vying for dominance. But as the two strands work their way together into a tighter bond, I realize that I don’t have to give up one for the other.

My heart’s pounding a mile a minute. Adrenaline and bloodlust still roars in my ears and pricks at my skin. The combined triumph of defeating Kovarx at last with finally rescuing Janie has me feeling a whole different kind of lust.

I step toward her, tentatively, still covered in blood. I know she doesn’t want to see me like this, but…

Wait, she’s throwing herself at me? Soft, human arms wrap themselves around my body and her head’s pressed against my chest, the soft curls of her hair tickling my skin. Her body shakes with sobs and she clings on to me so tightly, afraid to let go.

“They’ve got—“ she sobs between hiccups. “Lara and Iris, and Isabella too, we have to…” She points back in the direction of the compound. Right on cue, the building detonates, sending a fireball of debris and ash outward in all directions. Janie makes a broken wail. Her knees buckle, but I’m there to hold her up.

She didn’t think…

“Janie!” I say with a bit more force than I intend. “It’s all right. Soren and the other guys got them out of there. They’ll be waiting on the ship for us right now.”

She sniffs, looking up at me through tear streaked eyes. “Are you sure? What if they didn’t get far enough away in time?”

“I’m sure.”

“But what if…” Her chest heaves and her breaths come in quick succession. Must be the panic and stress catching up with her. I don’t know much about emotions and even less about human emotions, but this can’t be good for the baby. Soren and the gang are probably still busy, but…

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