Page 11 of Alpha's Chosen Mate (Wolf Billionaire #2)

CHAPTER 11

ASHER

I cock my head at the end of the trail of footprints, my thumb pulling down the safety of the loaded pistol. The wind howls, ripping harshly at my hair, making it harder to catch the scent of my prey.

A twig snaps and I turn sharply. Talon raises his hand in the air, weariness casting dark shadows underneath his eyes. “It’s fucking two in the morning, Ash. I should be in bed with the hot brunette it took me two hours to seduce, not hunting with you.”

“Two hours? You’re getting rusty, Tal,” I mutter, scanning the trees. The scent doesn’t lead any farther, and the tracks have been washed away by the rain. He’s either long gone, or lurking nearby.

Talon snorts and leans over to lift a fallen log. “That’s rich, coming from the man whose dick doesn’t function around women who aren’t his wife—who, by the way, would rather die than touch him.” He tosses the log into a pile with a grunt. “Your life’s looking pretty bleak these days, Asher. ”

If only he knew. I’d gone straight from Leilani’s room his and ordered him out of bed, abusing my power as alpha. I didn’t need him to come with me, but having Talon here reminds me of all we’ve lost, why I brought Leilani here in the first place, and why I can’t lower my defenses around her.

“What do you say we?—”

I’m so distracted by my thoughts that I don’t notice the shuffling in the trees until it’s too late. A lone figure moves so fast I don’t see it until Talon’s agonized roar shakes the forest. A clawed hand protrudes from his chest, dripping with blood. His face contorts in pain and his brown eyes meet mine, his mouth moving with soundless words.

“I’m not a very patient man, Wilde,” Christian Anderson says casually as blood drips from Talon’s lips. Dead green eyes light up with amusement at my cocked gun. “I wouldn’t shoot if I were you, unless you want to bury another of your wolves.”

My blood rushes to my ears as my gaze flickers between my best friend and a man I yearn to kill with every fiber of my being. Anderson has his father’s eyes—eyes that no living being should possess. They’re dead except for a faint gleam of insanity. I could never forget them. They’re the same eyes that have haunted my dreams for over a decade.

My finger falters on the trigger and the alpha bastard’s eyes track the movement, an amused smirk playing on his lips at what he presumes to be a show of weakness. “Let him go, Anderson,” I tell him, forcing myself to sound bored, even if all I can focus on is his hand in Talon’s chest. A hole that big will some time to heal, but if it gets any bigger, Talon will die.

I shrug. “Or not, but either way, you’ll die tonight. How quickly depends on your choice.” I let a little bit of my wolf to the surface with a cruel smile. “I’ll try to make it painless. ”

He smiles, almost politely. His hand twitches toward Talon’s heart, no doubt to rip it out, and I pull the trigger. Gunfire splits the air and he pulls away from Talon to avoid the silver bullet flying for his neck, but he isn’t fast enough.

“Son of a bitch!” he growls, clutching his shoulder.

I aim again, this time for his head, but Talon releases a pained sound. “N-not the plan...Ash.” My eyes lower to where he clutches his bleeding chest, coughing and spitting up more blood.

Right. I can’t kill Christian Anderson tonight. When I do, it must be through the rules and law. A blood duel is the only way I can get away with murder without inciting bloodshed for my people and hurting the few innocents in his pack.

In that moment of distraction, Alpha Christian lunges for me. We clash in a party of fists and canines, snarling. The pistol is knocked from my grasp and his fist jams into my nose, knocking my head back. I retaliate immediately, gripping him by the neck slamming him into the nearest tree, relishing in the sound of his bones cracking.

Claws rip at my neck and dig in deeply, but I barely feel the pain. Vengeance and adrenaline fuel me, and I lift him, swinging him into the tree again and again, until the trunk shatters.

Alpha Christian snarls, surging forward to clamp his teeth over my neck. I dodge just in time to avoid getting my throat torn out, and he follows through with a slash along my chest. Blood gushes out of me in perilous amounts, but I still feel nothing.

My sight bleeds into red, and my shoulders and arms triple in size as I shift, taking on the form of man-wolf. I roar, raw power leaking from my veins, and Alpha Christian groans, his alpha blood fighting against my aura. He snarls in defiance, even as his knees give out. He topples forward, refusing to bend the knee as disbelief, panic, and rage darken his eyes.

Alphas do not bow to other alphas, much less kneel to them.

But I’m not normal, and I never have been. I’m larger, faster, and deadlier than any other alpha I’ve met for good reason. I didn’t train relentlessly, conquering pain and madness along the way, to be beaten by a pup who slept peacefully at night while I roamed the forests, raving mad. He never stood a chance against me, and it’s finally beginning to dawn on him.

I am what every alpha wants to be—the apex predator. Dressing in human clothing, collaborating with their businesses, and knotting a tie around my neck every morning on my way to work doesn’t change what I am—a wild animal with a severe, uncontrollable lust for blood, for vengeance, for a more peaceful life…for love.

My voice is thick with malice as I crouch in front of his writhing form. “You should’ve stayed behind your fancy walls, Anderson. This is beyond pathetic.”

He heaves a harsh breath that transforms into a chuckle. “I had to. I felt her need for me through the bond.”

Jealousy and rage flare within me. “That’s a lie. You’re not mates anymore.”

He smiles, blood staining his teeth. “She never accepted my rejection. She still belongs to me.” His smile turns feline. “Did she tell you nothing happened between us tonight? Surely, you realize that’s a lie. If you’d hung around for just a few minutes longer, you would have grown accustomed to the sounds she makes when she comes…soft little sighs.” My ey es catch on the nail marks on his arm. “She gave me these when I fucked her against the wall.”

My canines grind and my breathing turns shallow. “You’re lying.” He has to be. I’d have felt it if she’d fucked him. But then, the moment I caught them, I’d slammed my walls high enough that nothing could have slipped through the bond. I have no way of knowing if they actually had sex, but just the possibility of it screws with my mind.

He laughs, though his body shakes from exhaustion. “She’s brainwashed you, the sly little bitch.”

My fist connects with his jaw, wiping the grin off his lips, replacing it with blood and a grimace. “Speak about my mate like that one more time, and there won’t be enough of you left to bury.”

He blinks, and something bright flickers in his empty eyes for the first time. “It’s true then. You are mates.” He spits out blood, and the shit-eating grin returns. “She doesn’t know, does she? What a miserable world you live in, getting mated to a woman you hate, wanting her, knowing she’ll never return your feelings because she still loves me. She’ll despise you forever…after all, she thinks you killed her mother.”

I pause. I killed… who ? I’d heard of the Blue Moon Pack’s luna dying during a gruesome skirmish, but I had nothing to do with that. I don’t operate in cowardice or send my people to fight my battles without me. I don’t deal in massacres, because I know precisely what it feels like to be on the receiving end of them.

Maybe it was rogues. It wouldn’t be first time my pack and I have taken the fall for rogue attacks. I’ve never been a man who explains himself to outsiders, and every accusation that’s been hurled at me has contributed to my image as Dark Alpha. I understand her hatred and frustration now. Her anger toward me had seemed silly and baseless, but it suddenly makes sense.

My jaw clenches. “The next time you come into my territory and touch what’s mine is the day you die. It might be earlier than I planned, but I don’t care.” I straighten and incline my head. “Go on, alpha.” The last word comes out mocking. “Run like the coward you are, before I change my mind.”

Clutching his bleeding shoulder, his eyes flare gold, a promise for retribution gleaming in them. But he knows better than to attack me—that’s a fight he’ll never win. He disappears into the trees, but not before he tosses something in my direction. I stare at it for several seconds. It’s my mother’s necklace.

Resentment stirs inside me, filling my mouth with a bitter taste. She was so caught up in the moment with him that she didn’t notice she’d lost the last thing I have of my mother’s. Slipping it into my pocket, I shake my head. I was a fool to let myself grow soft on her.

“Any…time…now…” Talon groans, and I stalk to his side, wedging my shoulder underneath his. “It…” He breathes heavily, and I peer at the gaping hole in his chest. The skin is healing too slowly. “…fucking hurts. I’m gonna die, Asher.”

I huff an amused breath. “Not if I kill you first, Tal. Shut the fuck up.”

He does, and his wheezing accompanies us all the way to the packhouse, his feet dragging slowly behind us as he drifts in and out of consciousness. Cayden stands by the entrance, his face grim as he whispers to Boaz and Glade, the spies I planted in the Blue Moon and Midnight Packs. Their monthly report is still two weeks away. Their unscheduled arrival can’t be good .

They look our way, eyes widening as they take us in. Cayden rushes over, and I pass Talon to him. “What the hell happened?”

“Get him to the physician,” is my only response. To Boaz and Glade, I jerk my head toward the terrace. “Come.”

“You shouldn’t be here,” I start when we’re alone, leaning against the railing that overlooks the training yard. A few warriors loiter on the grounds, lunging at each other, correcting their stances, running training exercises. They do so quietly, careful not to wake the entire mansion.

Boaz pulls back his hood and his pale gray eyes shift to mine. “Desperate times call for desperate measures.” He looks to his brother, who nods in agreement. Nothing could have prepared me for the words that leave his lips next. “There was an attack on the Blue Moon Pack.” A small pause. “Mardoc Stone was killed.”

My spine snaps straight and I clutch the railing to keep myself grounded. The news washes over me, unwanted, unneeded, unacceptable. My sole purpose, the reason I carried on for years without pause or fail, all building up to one grand moment…and now my vengeance has been destroyed in a matter of seconds. It shakes the core of my entire being—who I am and what I exist for. I’m falling into the same abyss that consumed me years ago, hard and fast.

Glade steps forward. “There’s no heir to take over after the alpha. It’s complete chaos with the council and the elders playing politics, but they’re leaning toward seeking Alpha Anderson’s leadership.” His black leather jacket glints in the moonlight. “If that happens and both packs merge, we’ll have quite the problem on our hands, alpha.” I hear his unspoken words. And all this would have been for nothing .

A muscle works in Boaz’s jaw as he lifts a scrap of paper to my face. “This was found on Alpha Stone’s body. You’re being forced to take the fall for it.”

I unwrap the paper and my frustration rises at the words scrawled elegantly in red: The Dark Fangs Remember.

I crumple the paper. “The rogues. Were they caught?”

Boaz nods. “They’re saying you’re the one who sent them.”

My nostrils flare. I’m being framed, and only one person could possibly benefit from all of this: fucking Anderson.

Light footsteps and the sweet scent of lavender alert me to Juliana’s presence, and I tell my men, “Return before you’re missed, and keep me updated.”

They bow and disappear down the stairs. I cast a weary glance at Jules, who’s leaning against the door with her cellphone in hand. “You gonna break it to her or what?” she drawls nonchalantly. There’s no love lost between our family and Leilani’s, and while her father’s death, no matter how it happened, should be a source of joy for us, I can’t shake the sadness creeping like vines into my heart.

She’ll be devastated.

I shouldn’t care, but I do. Sighing, I run my fingers through my hair and look at the sky. “Not until I find out who’s behind this.”

Jules’s brow arches in an expression that reminds me too much of my mother, and I sidle up to her, bumping her with my elbow. “Do me a fav?—”

“Nope.”

“I’ll give you whatever you want.”

She shoots me a sly grin. “I want a sports car. ”

“The fuck do you need a sports car for, Jules? You’re still grounded for running off with your human boyfriend and nearly killing him.”

She rolls her eyes. “You want this favor or not, Ash?”

I sigh heavily. “Fine.”