Page 11 of Forced By the Alpha

We hadn’t even been gone for long. There had been trouble with a rival pack in the area, but nothing major. The scuffle had barely lasted a few minutes.

Let’s go find her, I sighed. I really wanted a shower, but that would have to wait. First, I needed to deal with my wayward mate.

There was no sign of her anywhere in or around the cabins, so I headed to the mess hall. Clara and Sienna had developed a casual friendship over the past few days. If anyone knew where she had gone, it would be Clara. And if not, there would be plenty of other wolves who might have a lead I could follow.

“Have you seen Sienna?” I asked the she-wolf.

“Not since yesterday,” Clara responded. “But I think she’s been visiting town more often.”

“You lookin’ for your mate?” Sven interjected. “She’s probably at the library. I’ve been tailing her there for the past week.”

“The library?” I echoed. As far as I knew, none of the pack members had utilized the library since we had settled near Preston.

I thanked Sven and jogged toward town, anxious to find her. There was no telling what she was up to. The sooner I found her, the better for everyone.

From the outside, the library looked small and dingy. The brick walls were chipped and cracking. It was in desperate need of some upkeep, and when I walked inside, I saw that the interior wasn’t faring much better.

“Can I help you?” An older woman with bejeweled glasses hanging from a chain around her neck greeted me from the desknear the front door. Her gray hair was frazzled, and she wore a long, dark, thick cardigan over a dark blue pantsuit.

“I’m looking for my… wife,” I said, hesitating over the last word. “Red hair, thin, green eyes?”

“Of course, she’s in the study,” the woman responded, nodding toward the back of the library.

“Thank you,” I replied.

I took quick steps toward the room the librarian had indicated. Now that I had located her, my temper was beginning to flare again. The door to the study room was closed. I opened it abruptly, stepped inside, and shut it firmly behind me.

Sienna was sitting alone at a large table with books and documents scattered across it. She looked up at me with wide eyes as I crossed my arms and glared at her.

“What do you think you’re doing here?” I demanded.

“Researching,” she replied.

“Researching,” I echoed with a scoff. “Please. You’re not going to find anything in this human library.”

“Actually, there’s a lot of information for me to sift through. Muriel has been very helpful.”

“Muriel?” I repeated.

“The librarian,” she explained, closing the book in front of her. “She’s a witch as well.”

“I highly doubt it,” I said sarcastically. Did every woman with glasses feel the need to claim witchcraft to maintain relevance nowadays?

“Whatever,” Sienna said flippantly.

That was my least favorite phrase. The dismissiveness in those three syllables grated on my nerves, and I clenched my teeth together in anger.

“You think I brought you to the Forsaken Shadows pack just so you could read books and waste my time?” I said.

“It’s not a waste of time,” Sienna argued.

“You’re procrastinating,” I continued. “You have your father’s blood and a link to his magic. Everything you need to break the curse is already inside you. So just do it already!”

“You’re wrong,” she countered, slamming a book down on the table. “My father had nothing to do with what happened to you. And even if he did, I don’t have the kind of magic you would need to break a curse. I can make potions and amulets—nothing more.”

“You lie.”

I moved to where she still sat and pulled the armrest abruptly, forcing her chair around so she was facing me. I had heard enough of her lies. It was time for her to tell me the truth about what she was capable of. Perhaps a bigger dose of fear would be the trigger to her honesty.

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