Asher
I made a decree that everyone must learn to defend themselves. I can’t wrap my head around how the pack border was breached.
No one dares to cross into my pack-at least, that’s how it used to be. Now, it’s a wake-up call of the vulnerability I didn’t want to acknowledge.
I didn’t get the chance to ask Ally what she was about to tell me during the battle. She’s been avoiding me like the plague ever since. I feel her absence, even as I try to push it out of my mind.
Consumed by anger during the attack, I didn’t spare even one rogue to interrogate and torture answers out of. A mistake I won’t make again. I fear another threat, especially for a thriving pack like Redwood.
Liam notices my drifting mind, his sharp eyes catching every subtle shift in my demeanor. He asks if I’m okay, though he already knows the answer. He knows me too well to miss when something is off.
“There’s something off about Zoe Carter,” he says, with a cautious firm tone. “I can’t put it into words, but she smells like trouble.”
My face snapped to his, my interest piqued. Even Kaido’s stirs within me, curious and alert.
“What do you mean?” I ask, Liam’s instincts are rarely wrong, and if he senses something, it’s worth digging into.
“I suspect I’ve seen her before,” Liam says, “And the way you look at her is so annoying. Everyone notices it, Asher. The way you were so worried about her when she was injured what the fuck was she even doing there?”
Liam’s anger rises with each word, and I know he’s not wrong to question her presence. But how do I explain that Ally had something urgent to tell me? Instead of answering, I dismiss him with a wave of my hand.
Suddenly, Ally’s emotions hit me like a wave. My eyes snap to Liam, and he looks at me, his face mirroring the concern I feel.
“Are you okay?” he asks, his voice laced with worry.
I didn’t respond. Instead, I rise abruptly and march out of my office, my senses sharp and focused. Liam follows closely, his footsteps echoing mine.
I know Ally was at the training ground with Kayla earlier, but now, every instinct screams that something is wrong. “Where the fuck is Zoe?” I growl, my voice cold and commanding.
Kayla cowers under my glare, her fear palpable as she points toward a distant corner of the training grounds. “She went that way with Maya.”
My stomach knots at her words. This sounds like trouble. I know Maya, and she’s bent on carrying out her threats.
I quicken my pace, dread settling deep in my chest. Will Ally be able to defend herself against Maya if something happens? The thought fuels my urgency, and I can only hope I’m not too late.
“You see what I mean, Alpha? You seem so worried about that human. Is there something you aren’t telling me?” Liam’s voice trails behind me with suspicion.
“Now is not the time,” I snap, pushing forward toward the direction Kayla indicated. But as I round the corner, I freeze in my tracks.
Before me, Ally is relentlessly pounding Maya, her fists a blur as she channels a fury that seems to have been simmering for years. Maya lies beneath her, barely defending herself, her face bruised and battered.
I can tell that Ally’s anger burns deep. There it looks like there is an ugly one, no doubt from their time at BloodMoon Pack.
But this… This is unacceptable. I’m the Alpha, bound to uphold the laws of the pack, and what Ally is doing goes far beyond self-defense.
I have to stop this.
I move forward and yank Ally off Maya.
The instant my hands make contact with her, the spark that ignites between us is nearly unbearable.
It’s the bond, the damned bond. She collides with my chest, and for a fleeting moment, the world around us disappears.
Her hazel eyes lock onto mine, pulling me into their depth. My breath hitches, the tension between us palpable, suffocating. Everything blurs except her.
But then, a cough breaks the spell. Reality crashes back in.
“Seize her,” I commanded, with a cold final voice. Kaidos growls in my mind, threatening to burst forth, his fury mirroring my own.
I can’t bear to watch as they drag her away, so I turn my back, walking away while Liam unleashes a barrage of displeased words at Ally.
If only Liam knew that the woman he’s berating is the same Ally he’s been so eager to claim for himself.
I feel her gaze drilling into my back, and against my better judgment, I glance over my shoulder one last time. Our eyes meet, and in her mind, I hear it loud and clear.
‘Fuck this bond,’ she thinks, her mental walls down for the first time since the incident with Maya.
Since then, she’s locked me out, severing any direct connection, leaving me only with her emotions.
But now, her thoughts seep through, defiant and filled with anger.
I’m about to step out of the training arena, determined to keep moving forward, to ignore the pull, the bond, the chaos. But then, her emotions spike, a tidal wave of fear and pain washing over me.
I force myself to keep walking, resisting the urge to turn back. If I look, if I see her again, I might be compelled to do something I’ll regret.
Kaidos roars within me, torn between rage and something softer, something we both refuse to name.
Suddenly, a loud growl echoes across the arena, followed by a piercing scream that shatters my resolve.
“Alpha Asher!” Ally’s voice is raw and filled with pain, calling out to me ripping through my defenses.
I stiffen, my entire body locking in place. The scent of her blood, sharp and potent, mixes with her arousal triggering an instinctual response in Kaidos.
He purrs in pleasure, feeding off the scent, the danger, the connection.
I can’t ignore it anymore. I turn back, my heart pounding, driven by something primal and uncontrollable.
I suddenly turn, my senses on high alert, and my eyes lock onto the scene before me.
The unmated wolves in the arena are watching Ally, their eyes filled with lust and something darker and dangerous. Their gazes rake over her, predatory and hungry, drawn by the scent of her pain and vulnerability.
“Shit. This doesn’t look good.”