Page 48 of Curvy Alpha Bride
“I think only the men are left outside now,” I say, trying to start the topic lightly. “The women are gone.”
“Yes, they would be,” he says, as if that explains everything. When he keeps staring into the fire and doesn’t talk, my anxiety intensifies, making my stomach twist so badly, I have to put down my cake.
“I’m trying to be gentle right now, but I really need to know what you found,” I say. “Unless you want me to read the journals myself?”
“No,” he answers quickly. “They are complicated and not easy to navigate. Also, it’s pretty personal.”
“Well, you better give me the rundown, then,” I reply. “I’m guessing it must be pretty bad.”
He nods. His face is drawn and thoughtful, as if he’s deciding what he should tell me. It makes me suspicious that he isn’t going to reveal the whole truth.
“I banged on the door a bit more,” I say. “But they won’t even talk to me. I got a bit upset thinking about Dove, and lost my shit at them, but they didn’t even turn around.”
“There was no hope for Dove,” he blurts. “Not once did it get her. It’s tragic, I know, but going after her would have led to a mass slaughter and only increased the danger. We have to be so careful here.”
Seeing the determination come into his eyes scares me even more. There is a sense of duty, a balancing of the cosmic scale.
He will spend some lives to save others… what the fuck happened to him in there?!
“Once what got her?” I mutter, my voice thin and trembly.
“I don’t know,” he says, shaking his head. “Father never specified. He called it many things—a beast, mostly. But it took my mother, and this made the creature very strong. They had to shut down the town and try to starve it, to make sure it couldn’t take anyone else.”
Realization dawns on me, and the cold terror that already lives inside my bones swells, making my blood race.
“That’s why they locked us up,” I say softly, and Xavier nods.
“They are putting themselves at risk out there. I don’t know the exact details of how it hunts, but it seems like young women are more vulnerable. That doesn’t mean men are safe, though.”
“But how do we get out of here?” I ask, panic creeping into my voice. “It’s going to just sit in the woods forever, isn’t it?”
Xavier looks away, and I get the feeling he’s wondering how much he should tell me. I don’t like it.
“The rules!” I exclaim. “All those bogus, creepy rules about not being out when it’s fully dark, like the new moon. It’s all about this thing, isn’t it?”
He nods. “Yes, Mabel. That’s what it’s about. Apparently, the rules kept it in check… until it got my mother.”
Xavier’s voice breaks a little, and I don’t want to push. I can see he’s feeling damaged and broken. The more he finds out about his family, the worse it seems to get. But I still need answers.
“What happened after it got your mother?” I ask. “Why didn’t it destroy the town if it was so powerful?”
“They locked down,” he answers. “Apparently, there are bunkers under the buildings, and everyone hid from it. My father stayed up here in the cabin because this place is fortified against it. He said the thing needed his power to get out to Lycan Pass, and if that happened, it would kill every wolf in the Range.”
“What?” I whisper, my throat closing in shock. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, it’s that powerful. It could wreck every single town. All the isolation here over the years was Valentine Creek protecting the rest of the Range.”
My mind swirls with the idea of a creature so powerful, it could wipe out every wolf I know. Then part of the story suddenly sifts up to the surface and becomes the focal point of my fear.
“Xavier,” I croak, my voice rasping in my throat. “When you said locked up in bunkers, what did you really mean by that?”
“The whole town literally went underground. I’m not sure how long for, though. My father was trapped up here for around twenty years.”
My emotions peak so hard, it feels like I stood up too fast after ten shots of tequila. The room spins around me, and I’m really glad to be sitting down.
“Twenty years?” I choke out.
“Oh, Mabel, don’t worry.” Xavier takes my hand. “I don’t think we’re in full lockdown mode. Not with the men still outside. If it was that dangerous, they wouldn’t be here at all.”
