Page 55 of Fated to the Enemy Alpha

But Magnus raised it high, a sinister gleam in his eyes. “Finally—the last gift from my late wife will be laid to rest.”

His odious brown stare shot to me as he threw the USB on the floor, crushing it under his foot and grinding it into the concrete. Shards of metal and plastic scattered across the floor as a sinister grin swept over his face. “Your game ends here.”

Magnus’s cruel gaze swept toward my mother and Betty as he nodded to Finn and then to Carson, still holding the door. “Keep them back,” he ordered, “We’ll deal with them after.” Then his stare went to me, a dark shadow falling over me as he came toward me.

“It’s time to clean house, and I’m going to enjoy dealing with you myself, Lina.” The dark promise in his voice had my skin crawling, and my legs instinctively backed up toward the open garage door.

Feeling cornered, my wolf rose up, bristling under my skin as I prepared to shift. She was fierce, but even so, I knew she was likely no match for an alpha. The thought of Magnus’ great grey wolf that I’d once seen in Blackthorn Hall had horror pounding through me, and I thought of the area outside the building. At least outside, I could hope my speed might tire his bulkier wolf, but as I backed up, telling myself that this was my one chance to save my daughter and my mother, instead of finding the door, I hit into someone: a warm, hard chest.

Fuck.

I recoiled, trying to wrestle out of the male shifter’s grip. One of Magnus’s men had somehow snuck up behind me, but their hands came around my wrists, gripping them tight and holding me rigid against them.

Chapter 21

Lina

The scent of the male shifter who held me now filled my awareness: a grounding and heady mix of spice and earthiness, conjuring memories of warmth and want. My heart thundered in recognition.

Stephen.

Heart-stopping relief flooded me as I realized he’d come through for me. Even though I’d told him I didn’t need him, even though I’d refused to tell him anything about my plan, he’d come. For a moment, I remembered Stephen telling me, “I want revenge, Darlin’, but for a long time now, I’ve wanted you even more.” And without realizing it, I stilled in my struggle against him, the wash of his scent settling into my lungs and deep into my bones.

“What are you doing here?” Magnus bellowed, his voice tight with rage that echoed off the concrete walls, reverberating through my bones.

“We chased off the Boden lot and secured the warehouse, Alpha,” Stephen answered coolly, his deep voice steady and resolute as it flowed over me. His grip on my wrists was firm—a mixture of protection and restraint that sent tremors of both comfort and fear through me. I could feel his heartbeat, steady and strong—a stark contrast to the panic igniting my veins. “I saw Lina’s tracker on the move and followed her here.”

Had he seen Betty and my mom? They were in the shadows of the room beyond, their forms barely moving, with Betty tucked tightly into my mom’s chest. My mom’s silvery, bowed head caught the light. He’d seen them, right? He knew the stakes were higher than just our own lives, right?

The longing to tell him that Betty was here washed through me like a tide, but saying anything would break his cover. And that was the only lifeline we had right now. Each beat of my heart quickened as the tension in the air built like a storm, heavy with foreboding.

Magnus’s calculating gaze raked over me. Then, it moved upward, scrutinizing Stephen with a predatory intensity that made me shiver. I felt exposed beneath Magnus’s brown stare, yet even with Stephen’s grip tightening, the mate bond in my chest sang that I was safe.

“Your timing is perfect,” Magnus said, a thin smile curling his lips, dark and chilling. “We’ve caught the culprit behind the Boden attack. Lina Silvermoon is the mastermind behind it all. She’s the owner of Luna Remedies and the one who has cost our company millions.”

Stephen’s fingers bit into my wrists as he pulled me tighter against him, and a cry escaped my lips. I could sense his handsome face twisted with wrath, the muscle ticking dangerously in his jaw. Yet, even as I screamed in pain, I knew he was doing what he must to maintain his cover, to give us both a fighting chance of survival. I struggled to bite back my cry, knowing the conflict raging within him would be excruciating.

“I want you to execute her, Stephen,” Magnus announced, the words chilling as they settled in the air—a sentence that constricted around my chest like a vice.

Deep, visceral fear seized me. I knew Stephen wouldn’t, but his cold voice sounded close to my ear. “Yes, Alpha,” he answered, the flatness of his voice brimming with suppressed rage. The hairs on the back of my arms stood on end, sensing the ominous shift in the atmosphere—the air heavy with impending violence.

Before I could process what was happening, Stephen’s grip loosened just enough for me to feel the devastating weight of the frightful choice he was making. In an instant, he shoved me with violent force to the floor. I crashed against the cold, hard ground, pain exploding in my arm, elbow, and knee as the breath was knocked out of me.

Stephen was shifting, and a fresh wave of panic clawed up my throat as I scrambled onto my hands and knees, my eyes stinging with pain and confusion, trying to blink back the sting of painful tears.

“Lina!” My mom shouted.

“Mommy!” My heart splintered at the sounds of Betty’s sharp and desperate cry, cutting through the chaos, too. The rawness and terror in my daughter’s voice pierced my heart. I wanted to tell her to look away, to keep her safe from this horrible nightmare.

But I had no time. My gaze snapped toward the claws that belonged to Stephen’s massive grey wolf, leaping through the air on powerful limbs toward me.

My heart flew into my throat, instincts screaming that this ferocious beast was about to kill me.

But just as he reached me, Stephen pivoted. With a primal growl reverberating through the air, he lunged for Magnus.

In that instant, the Alpha shifted. Magnus’s bones cracked, flesh morphing into fur as his own wolf leaped to meet Stephen—the clash of alpha against his heir. Magnus’s age was evident in the silver streaks of his coat, yet his form betrayed the power that came with his long-held title—every muscle rippling with raw authority and fury.

The rest of the room erupted into violence simultaneously. Carson, stationed just outside the door where my mother and daughter were held hostage, transformed into his wolf, eyes burning with a fierce intent to protect his alpha. A savage growl rolled from his jaws as he charged toward Stephen, too. But suddenly, the Blackthorns weren’t the only wolves in the space.

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