Page 50 of Claimed By the Alpha Wolves

“Faye,” Cayson says, his voice soft but serious. “I believe you, but I also have to be honest with you: accusing Kurt will only make things harder for you. Are you sure you want to do that? You don’t have anything to gain and everything to lose.”

Am I sure I want to do that?I almost laugh. I already did that once, and look how it turned out.

“No,” I say, shaking my head. “I don’t want to do anything at all. Back at home, when I tried to get help after my brother’s murder, I was basically laughed away.”

“Fucking Kurt,” Cayson murmurs.

“But we can’t just let him get away with this,” Ezra says, his brows drawing together.

Cayson shoots him a strange look. “But if accusing him is only based on her word, it could–”

“We’ll tell the council, the ultimas,” Ezra says, standing and using an authoritative voice. “It’s the right thing to do.”

“But—” I start. I know I should, but the truth is, I’m scared. I don’t want to.

Cayson looks at Ezra. “They’re not going to believe us. Not with the son of Dexter.”

They won’t believeme, he means.

Ezra’s hands curl into fists. “It’s not our job to determine what the council will do—it’s just our job to tell them what we found and allow them to react accordingly.”

“I don’t know if I can go through this again,” I confess, feeling more tears rolling down my face.

Ezra’s expression gentles. “There’s a difference this time. Last time you were alone, this time you have us.”

“Last time Isawhim kill my brother, but it wasn’t enough,” I tell them, emphasizing each word. “This will just end in Kurt wanting to hurt me even more.”

Ezra kneels back down. “I know this is hard, Faye, but we need to tell the council everything we know, because that girl deserves justice. Someone killed her like an animal. She deserves better than that.”

Miles deserved better than that.

“And Faye,” Cayson says gently. “We can tell the guards to keep an eye on you. We can do what we can to protect you from him.”

I want to tell him that what he’s saying are just words. When I go back home to my cabin in the middle of nowhere by myself, a cabin Kurt knows about, I’ll be the furthest thing from safe. Each and every day I live, I’ll be waiting for the day Kurt comes for me.

But as terrified as I am, I know that Serra does deserve better. And that if there’s any chance to catch my brother’s killer, I have to take it.

Besides, could I live with myself if I just walked away right now?

“Okay,” I tell them softly, wiping away more tears.

Cayson and Ezra wrap me in a warm hug that makes me feel safe. It makes me feel like the world can’t hurt me. But I know it’s a lie. As safe as I feel with these alphas, I won’t always be by their sides. And when I’m not, Kurt will find me. Of that I have no doubt.

TWENTY-ONE

Faye

I’m pacing back and forth in my room, my breath coming in and out so fast that my head is spinning. The truth is, I’m upset. I’m upset that the world is exactly the way I thought it was.

If only I was wrong.

Glancing at my mirror, I wince. I’ve had my hands on my face and neck too much today. The makeup to cover up the bruises from Kurt has rubbed off. I’ll need to ask Addilyn to borrow more. The last thing I want when I’m already feeling so vulnerable is to look broken too.

As broken as I feel.

As I expected, the council, the three ultimas, didnothingto help with the situation with Serra. When I testified that this was exactly the same way Kurt had killed Miles, they said that case was never solved. Like meseeinghim murder my brother was somehow not evidence.

I was told that, unless I had concrete evidence, I shouldn’t be pointing fingers. And especially not at an alpha. When Ezra and Cayson revealed my bruises and what they had witnessed with Kurt, Kurt was made to “apologize for getting too excited near an omega.” He did so, with gritted teeth and eyes filled with rage,and I was reprimanded for stepping away from the games and being a temptation for Kurt.

---