Page 41 of Alpha's Hated Mate

“Whatever is being done about the Scarlets, we want to help,” I say. “I think I should head up a small team to go out there and get them back.”

“Mr. Vaultmore, you are a new Alpha,” the dean warns. “You don’t have the experience—”

“I am trained in tactical and defensive maneuvers—”

“But you are unproven. Listen, I appreciate your desire to be involved, but I would much rather not have more students in the infirmary thanks to impulsive action.”

I take a breath to keep from exploding in anger. “I’m not being impulsive. I am suggesting a plan of action. What are we doing to get them back?”

He’s glaring at me over his wire-rimmed glasses, jaw clenched. “We have security combing the woods as we speak. Things are being done to attend to this matter.”

“Then why are you all meeting about it? What more is there to say if it’s being handled?” I look carefully at the three of them, and Chad stiffens. A cold fear hits me in the chest. “Unless something’s gone wrong. That’s it, isn’t it?”

“We haven’t heard from the security team in a few hours,” Chad says. “It’s a cause for concern, but that doesn’t mean we’ve given up. We’re taking other plans into consideration—”

“Then why not mine? Or is this too much for a ‘Baby Alpha’ to handle?”

Chad’s face darkens, and he says, “Watch it, Vaultmore.”

Saffron’s hand squeezes my arm, but I’m not deterred. If Chad wants to challenge me, I’m ready.

“Aydan,” she says, and it pulls me back. “Let’s just go. Clearly, they don’t want our help.”

“Thank you, Ms. Kamaria,” Dean Fowler says, “for being sensible.”

Jean steps in and adds, “We are doing everything we can for the missing Scarlets, Aydan. You have to trust us.”

I hold my tongue, more for Saffron than them. They’re wrong. Something is happening out there, and we need to act sooner rather than later. The security team going missing is a sure sign of that.

I let Saffron lead me away. As we walk back out into the hallway, all I can think about is the fact that I don’t know what I’ll do if what happened the night of the dinner happens again. I barely handled Saffron’s change before. We might actually kill each other next time. We’re on our own, it seems.

Outside, on the steps of the building, Saffron says, “I think we need to take matters into our own hands.”

Of course, we’re on the same page.

“We can’t do nothing,” she goes on. “Whatever’s going on, it might happen again, and if it does . . . if it does—”

“I hear you. But we can’t go with just the two of us, Saffron. We’re going to need help.”

“Then count me in, too.”

We both look up to see Nadia standing near the door, her hands twisting in front of her nervously. Saffron immediately rolls her eyes.

“Now isn’t a time for jokes,” she says.

“Good. Because I’m not joking.” Nadia lifts her head confidently as she walks up to us. “Aydan is not just my brother. He’s my Alpha. And if he’s launching a mission, I should be at his side.”

As strange as this is, it’s also welcome. Saffron says, “He’s already got somebody at his side, Nadia. Maybe you should sit this one out.”

“Okay,” I step up, putting myself between them. “Saffron, Nadia is a part of my pack. If she’s volunteering to help, then I’m obliged to let her.”

“Thank you,” Nadia says smugly.

“And Saffron isalsopart of this pack now,” I tell Nadia, “so I expect that you will give her the respect her rank deserves while we’re out there.”

Nadia laughs in disbelief at first, but her smile fades when she sees that I’m not laughing as well. “What are you talking about?”

Saffron unbuttons the top button of her shirt and pulls it to one side, revealing the mark I gave her. Nadia’s tan face turns bone white.

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