Page 59 of Wolf Unleashed
Adeline lifted her head, looking proud. “Both. I’m rather highly thought of here.”
Alyssa wasn’t sure her mother could see it. That she was a traitor to her own people, giving the enemy everything they needed.
“Release me. And all the shifters in this facility. They don’t deserve to be experimented on. They never hurt anyone.”
Adeline raised a very sculpted eyebrow. “That mate of yours killed two guards. I’m sure the others have killed as well. Haven’t they?”
There was no good answer. Her mother would twist her words around to prove her point.
“I take your silence as confirmation that I’m right.” Adeline smiled so sweetly it hurled Alyssa back to her childhood, to when her mother would sit her down and explain why the girls at school were nothing but bullies and she’d find better friends in time.
“If you love me, you’ll release them, Mom.”
“I just want to be a family, dear. Your father saved me. Now trust him to save you. Your mind has been warped by your wolf. It’s a disease that’s common in my pack. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen this happen. You feel her clawing at you, don’t you? She wants to control you, just like those male shifters out there. But it’s all lies to subjugate you. Trust me, Alyssa. You know I’ve never lied to you. Once we remove your wolf, you’ll see everything so much more clearly.”
Her mother reached for her again. Alyssa didn’t know this woman anymore. This wasn’t the mother who never hurt a soul.
“Where’s your wolf?” Alyssa asked instead.
Her mother smiled. “Dead. Long ago. I was their first success story, but that was because I wanted it. I helped them kill her. The other shifters we’ve captured haven’t cooperated. That’s why we need you to cooperate, my darling daughter.”
“And if I don’t?”
Her mother tilted her head, thinking. “Your father wants to kill the white wolf to sever the blood-bond, but I’ve convinced him it’s too risky. Even though you’re half-shifter, that could end up killing you. Many shifters don’t survive the loss of a blood-bonded mate.”
“Then you won’t hurt Maddox?”
“No, but the other two, the alpha and scout, they’re fair game. If you refuse to cooperate, Alyssa, I’m afraid we’ll have to put them down.”
“I blood-bonded them too,” Alyssa spurted out too fast. Her mom’s eyes widened and then relaxed. She saw it for the lie it was, except it wasn’t a lie. She had blood-bonded Tiernan.
“I’m telling the truth,” she said, appealing to her mother in a way she hoped would gain her trust. “I blood-bonded all three. Tiernan first, because he was going feral. Ask any of them if you don’t believe me. Then I blood-bonded Maddox and Rafe.”
Her mother cupped her cheek. “I admire your creativity and desire to save those you think you love. I wish you could see how warped your wolf is, making up lies to fool someone she thinks doesn’t know any better. But I was a shifter, my dear Alyssa. Once blood-bonded, a male shifter would never allow another male near his mate. There is no way you’ve blood-bonded more than one shifter. It just can’t be done.”
“It was,” she insisted, feeling her voice trailing away as even she started to wonder if it was possible. The only bond she ever felt was with Maddox, not Tiernan. “I’m not lying. I blood-bonded all three.”
Her mother tucked a strand of loose hair behind Alyssa’s ear. “Ever since you were a little girl, you’ve never been able to lie to me. I can see it in your eyes, Alyssa. You haven’t blood-bonded three shifters.”
“But—”
“If you want to save the other shifters, Alyssa, cooperate. Let us remove your wolf. Otherwise, we will put down the alpha and scout. Rest assured, they won’t suffer. I will see to it personally. After all, we’re not animals here. That’s the whole point, yes? Keeping us human and ensuring we’re not overtaken by the animal parasites that will infest us if we’re not careful.”
Chapter Seventeen
RAFE
Rafe was starting to understand what it meant to be alpha of a pack. So many moving facets in the lives of the individual shifters affected the entire pack. Perhaps that’s what his dad had been trying to teach him. But the individuals were as important as the pack in its totality. That’s the part he believed his father never fully grasped.
Or maybe his alpha had, and he was just better at making hard choices. Either way, Rafe had some tough decisions ahead. Saving Artemis could no longer be his sole mission. Maddox was in equal if not greater danger, and it was Rafe’s responsibility to protect both. They were his pack as much as the pack he’d left behind in Montana.
“Stop your pacing before I stop it for you,” Maddox threatened Tiernan.
They were on edge, each one of them. Tiernan seemed lost no matter where he was. Except when he was with Alyssa. He needed her.
Fuck. They all needed her. Rafe’s birth pack would never accept the four of them together if his father didn’t.
One problem at a time.
