Page 55 of The Alpha's Forsaken Vow

Punch. Bone crunches and my stomach twists.

Punch. Blood spatters the floor in thick droplets.

Punch. He’s muttering something about me, something about how I’m off-limits, but I’m seeing two of him now, and everything’s going hazy.

Punch. He’s going to kill him. I can feel it. Alaric’s going to lose everything over a man who deserves it, but still.

I reach out blindly, my hand meeting only air.

I force my mouth open, my voice a fragile rasp. “Alaric? Stop.”

It’s barely louder than a whisper, but he hears me.

He stills.

His bloodied hands drop from Julian’s face. His chest rises and falls like he’s just run a marathon. Then his eyes find me, thunderous and full of something I can’t name, and they soften.

He’s next to me in an instant, gathering me into his arms like I’m breakable. Like I matter.

His scent wraps around me, woodsy, wild and safe, and I breathe it in like it’s the only thing keeping me alive.

If he hadn’t shown up, what would Julian have done to me? The part of me that still feels the raw pain of finding out Alarichas another woman refuses to succumb to him, but the other part? The one that’s tired and sick of this night and possibly too dizzy to tell what’s what latches onto him.

“I’ve got you, wild one,” he murmurs, his voice trembling with rage and laced with sincerity. “You’re safe. I’m here.”

The world around me blurs, but the aftermath of what Julian just did, and Alaric’s rage still pulse in my ears like a distant echo.

But it’s Alaric’s arms around me, strong and grounding, that drag me back into my body.

He carries me like I’m the only one who matters.

We don’t say a word as he guides us through the halls, past guests too stunned and too scared of Alaric’s blazing fury to meet our eyes.

He doesn’t stop until we’re behind the locked doors of his room, or what I’m assuming to be his room anyway, his scent wrapping around me like a blanket made of cedar and smoke and something that’s purely him.

Only after the door shuts does the silence stretch between us, so loud and uncomfortable.

“You okay?” he asks, his voice hoarse like it hurt letting those words out of his mouth.

I nod, even though I’m not.

My body feels like it’s made of glass and fire. I sit on the edge of his bed, suddenly so aware of every inch of myself, every inch of this grand room, and every heartbeat that races through me for reasons other than fear.

Like he can sense the turmoil inside of me, he crouches in front of me, hands braced on his knees. There’s blood on his knuckles. It takes a minute to remember we might have left Julian dying by the balcony.

But judging by the shadow in Alaric’s eyes, I don’t think he even gives a fuck if Julian is dead or not.

“I should’ve stopped him sooner,” he murmurs. “I should’ve protected you.”

I reach for his hand without thinking, cradling it in mine. His skin is warm and calloused, and the second our fingers touch, the Mate bond roars back to life.

It sparks across my skin like lightning and everything delicious.

He must feel it too, because his gaze sharpens, his jaw rippling like he’s trying to rein himself in.

But his control is slipping just like mine is, the space between us thinning by the minute.

“Don’t,” I whisper. “Don’t apologize. Just…just be here with me. Please.”

---