Page 41 of Forced By the Alpha

I was at my wit’s end, knowing that she was gone. I was struggling to make up a cohesive plan. I wanted—needed—her to come back, but I also knew that leaving had been her choice. Was I willing to drag her back yet again, only to lock her up and force her not to use magic to break the curse? Was I as heartless as I believed myself to be, or had I learned from my mistakes?

“I’m not sure yet,” I admitted. “We still need her to break the curse, but I don’t have a plan for how to do that yet. I need some time to think.”

“Whatever you need,” Dylan said.

He was about to walk away when Sven and the three wolves I had just dismissed came barreling back to the edge of the cabins. They were in wolf form, and as soon as they reached us, they whirled around and took a defensive position.

“Something’s coming, get the pack. Now!” I said to my second.

He disappeared to rally everyone just as a line of wolves came stalking toward us. I walked to stand in front of the quartet of Forsaken Shadows wolves and stare down our enemies.

“Colson!” I shouted. “You’re on the wrong side of town!”

They stopped twenty yards away and shifted into their human forms just as Dylan reappeared with the bulk of our pack, each of them ready for a fight. We stared at each other for a long moment before Colson finally spoke.

“We heard about the commotion,” he began. “Someone in town said they saw an unmarked van peeling out of the forest after picking up a red-headed woman wearing shackles.”

“What happens in our territory doesn’t concern you,” I replied.

“It does when it impacts the human population we coexist with,” Colson snapped. “You’ve been stirring up trouble since the moment you came to Preston, and we’ve had enough of it. The Crescent Shield is here to challenge you for the right to settle on this land.”

“You think you can make us leave?” I sneered. “You have no clue who you’re dealing with.”

“On the contrary, I’m aware that we’re dealing with an inhuman, evil, disrespectful pack of mobsters who relish in violence and bloodshed,” he retorted.

Growls emanated from my pack behind me. His words had offended them, as he had intended, but he was dangerously close to setting a spark to the ember of their bloodlust. Even now, I could feel the urge to rip flesh from bone and feel the hot trickle of blood on my hands. If we chose to fight today, it would result in the deaths of many—from both packs.

“I don’t want to fight you,” I lied, hoping to make it into the truth. The words left a bitter taste in my mouth, and I felt the pain of ignoring the curse’s urges. Bile rose in my throat as I quashed down my lust for blood.

“Does your pack agree?” Colson asked.

One by one, my wolves transformed into their human selves.

“We follow our alpha,” Dylan said, crossing his arms in front of his chest. I saw him wince as he experienced the pain of the curse as well. None of the others had ever had cause to fight against it before. We had rules to protect ourselves and keep our issue a secret, but the most they had ever done was divert their attention to a preferred target.

“No fighting,” Sven agreed as he became the last of the pack to transform. His knees buckled as he doubled over in pain, but he remained strong.

My heart swelled with pride as I watched each of them fight against their desire to kill. They were willing to follow me, no matter the cost to themselves. It was all an alpha could hope for.

And now it was my job to protect them.

“We haven’t made any trouble for you, or the humans in town,” I reminded Colson. “Our packs are evenly matched. Doyou really want to risk the lives of your people over something so trivial as a rumor?”

Colson glanced to the side and caught eyes with his beta. Now that we were squared up, the Crescent Shield wolves looked much less interested in the kind of fight their alpha was asking for.

“We will continue to monitor your behavior,” Colson warned.

I nodded in acknowledgment as our rivals backed away. The group took a communal sigh of relief as they disappeared over the hill and back into the trees.

I spent the next few hours talking with each wolf about how to channel their bloodlust to alleviate the pain. It wouldn’t erase it, but it made it more manageable. A few members couldn’t settle themselves and were sent off to hunt for small game in the forest. Overall, it was as successful a day as it could have been.

For the first time, I realized that we had all been feeling hopeless. The longer we’d lived under the curse, the easier it had become to give in. If we continued down that path, it was only a matter of time before we completely succumbed to it.

Sienna was the one who had given us something to hold onto: hope. She was the only person from outside the pack who had ever tried to help us. For years, we had scavenged, lied, cheated, and stolen what we needed to survive. With her help, a new possibility had opened up before us. A new life, with real meaning.

***

I hadn’t realized how close we had become during her time here, but every day, I found things that reminded me of her. Each funny moment was tinged with sadness, and I realized I would miss her until the day we were reunited again. Unfortunately, it was starting to look like that might not happen during this lifetime.

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