Page 21 of Cruel Alpha Beast
“We’ll walk you out,” Danielle says.
And so, we leave the cozy house and find ourselves being gawked at yet again. I now think I understand what Lacey must have gone through while growing up in the valley. My stomach twists and turns with guilt, but I keep my mouth shut. The last thing I need to do is attract more attention in enemy territory.
“We aren’t going to make life harder for you two, are we?” Lacey whispers to Monroe as we walk past a glowering Violet.
“Yours and Shea’s safety is far more important to me than wondering if people are mad at us,” Monroe replies.
“Yeah, but you can’t really defend yourself,” Lacey adds.
“You don’t have powers either, and you lasted eighteen years in the valley,” Monroe points out. “I’ll be fine. And even if I didn’t have Danielle to protect me, Penelopelovesme.”
I chew on the inside of my lip. I don’t want to pry, but it seems like this witch might be in the same boat as Lacey. Being a part of a community, but lacking its most defining feature. Lacey can’t shift. And Monroe can’t do magic.
No wonder my question about spells and potions was given such an icy reception.
Finally, we breach the treeline. I half-expect Danielle and Monroe to stop right there, but they walk with us down the path. I find myself traveling by myself, and when I turn over my shoulder, I see the twins flanking Lacey, continuing to whisper to each other so I can’t hear what they’re saying.
I set my jaw, worrying that I’ve ruined Lacey and Shea’s reputation in the coven. Although it seems like the only problem was my presence. Still, I can’t bear to let Lacey out of my sight. The witches will simply have to accept me for all that I am.
As we get closer to the path Lacey and I strode through less than an hour earlier, I see two unexpected shapes up ahead. A few steps closer, I realize that they’re two large wolves. And after another few steps, I know exactly who they are.
I could recognize Ellis’s copper coat and Jasper’s dark blonde fur anywhere. They shift back into their human forms, Ellis standing tall and Jasper holding onto his hips.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, hearing the three sets of footsteps coming to a stop behind me.
“I think the more important question is, what are you doing, walking around the forest withwitches?” Ellis asks poisonously.
“And what’s the problem with that?” Danielle cuts in unexpectedly.
“You didn’t do any mind-control on him, did you?” Ellis steps forward. “Because I’ll rip out your throat with my fangs.”
“Oh, what a surprise. A wolf who can’t solve any problems without violence.” Danielle scoffs. “Go scratch your fleas.”
“Who do you think you’re talking to?” Ellis growls. “I’m an alpha—”
“Enough,” I seethe, pressing a hand into Ellis’s chest as he prepares to blow past me. I turn over to Danielle and throw her a look, too. “We’re not going to solveanythingif all we do is throw insults and threats toward each other.”
I catch Lacey’s glistening eyes as she hooks her arm around Danielle’s. For a moment, I think I can see that she’s thankful that I’ve stepped in like this. I give her a tight-lipped smile and turn back to Ellis, who’s reluctantly backing away from my hand.
“To answer your initial question,” Jasper pipes up, “we came looking for you after you didn’t show up. We were supposed to have a meeting this morning, remember?”
“Shit,” I sigh. “Right, I’m sorry, guys. I must have forgotten, with everything that happened yesterday.”
“Well, we sort of figured you might have gottencarried awaywith your new wife,” Jasper says, gesturing to Lacey behind me. “We were going to knock on your door and see if you were still asleep, but the closer we got to your house, the more your scent disappeared. We were able to trace you over here to the edge of the woods, but we didn’t dare go in.”
Danielle snickers behind me. “Brave enough to admit you traced his smell, but too cowardly to walk into a forest.”
“Dani,” Monroe hisses to her.
“Interesting new friends you have here, Sawyer,” Ellis retorts pointedly.
“They’re notmyfriends,” I correct. “But they’ve offered to help us find out some information that might save the valley. Is that alright with you?”
A muscle in Ellis’s jaw twitches, but he backs off. “As long as you trust them.”
“Lacey trusts them,” I tell him. “That’s good enough for me.”
I glance over my shoulder and watch Lacey hug each of the twins. They murmur to each other too quietly for me to hear, and then the sisters disappear back into the woods. Lacey reluctantly steps closer to me. I notice both Ellis and Jasper staring at her more carefully than usual. It’s like instead of just thinking she’s a little odd, now they’re looking at her like she might raze the valley to the ground.
