Page 13 of Alpha’s Hated Mate (Shifters of Clarion)

T he howling. Goddess, save me, I’ve never heard anything like it.

It’s like the cry of a million souls. Wolves that have passed through the veil hundreds of thousands of years past and are crying out in pain from beyond. It shakes the trees around me and vibrates the ground under my feet. I hunch over to keep the sound from shaking my bones.

There’s a light up the trail. Just a flash of gold for a moment. Then I see her running . . . her white dress flowing in the wind as she runs toward me. Her dark hair flows behind her, away from her pale face. She’s terrified . . . and she’s holding something.

The closer she gets, the better I see her and the bundle in her bruised arms. She holds it close to her chest. She’s barefoot and desperate to escape the howling behind her.

Run, I want to yell at her. She doesn’t see me. She rushes past me and into the woods beyond, leaping over fallen logs and branches. I can hear her heartbeat and feel her fear. She needs to get to safety . . .

The howling comes again, and I know I’m about to die. The sound crashes into me and shakes my insides hard enough to send me to my knees. I manage to hold on to the bundle. It’s a baby. A baby crying . . . I struggle, but I stagger to my feet with the baby in my arms and run.

The trail is hard, covered in pine needles, sharp stones, and branches jabbing and cutting into my bare feet. I stumble and trip, but I manage to make it to a clearing . . . but I’m exposed. I panic as I look around, not knowing what to do next.

A caw cries out above me, and I see a large black raven. It looks at me and caws again before flying further into the woods. I barely catch my breath but run to follow it . . . I have to protect the baby.

I’m gasping for air, reaching out as I sit straight up and claw at the ceiling. Arms grab my shoulders, holding me down.

“Hey, hey. It’s okay. You’re safe.”

My vision clears, and I realize I’m looking up at Chad. His long dark hair has fallen into his face as he struggles to hold me still.

“It’s all right,” he says softly. “It’s just me.”

As I calm down, I look around and realize . . . I’m not in my room anymore. That’s where I went to sleep. That’s the last thing I remember. Why am I in Chad and Yarra’s room?

“What . . . what am I doing here?”

The door opens and Yarra comes in. Aydan’s right behind her. They see me, and Yarra immediately rushes to my side. “You’re awake.” She wraps her arms around my neck and hugs me. “Oh, thank God you’re okay. I was so worried.”

I’m so confused. I must have sleepwalked again. She releases me, searching my face to be sure I’m really all right. “I’m okay,” I tell her. “I guess I’ve just been sleepwalking again.”

She looks over at Chad, who stands up and says, “I’ll get her a glass of water.”

He leaves, and it’s just the three of us. Aydan is watching us from his place near the door. He looks concerned, but he also looks cautious. “Are you really all right?” he asks. “Yarra said that you were in trouble.”

“I’m fine. I was just sleepwalking again.”

“No,” Yarra said, shaking her head. “Not this time.” The look on her face is scaring me. She’s as pale as paper and a little sweaty to boot. “I think something had a hold of you.”

Her words send an icy chill through me. Aydan says, “What do you mean?”

She looks back at him, and before she can say anything else, Chad walks in with the glass of water. I take it gratefully. My mouth feels like I’ve been eating cotton.

“We were just sitting here, going over my homework,” Yarra says. “When she came knocking at the door. Only . . . only . . .” She looks back at me, biting her lip with worry. “You weren’t you . Your eyes were all white. Your fangs were out. You . . . you threatened me.”

I didn’t hear her right. I couldn’t have. Threatened her? “Wh-what?”

“You came in here and . . .” She’s speaking in a low, halted tone, the trauma still clear on her face. “You called me a filthy hybrid. You said I was unworthy of being the Luna of the Tsukino pack—”

“You weren’t yourself,” Chad jumps in. He doesn’t say anything else, but we’re all thinking the same thing. Damn it.

“So this isn’t normal,” Aydan says. He’s got a nearly panicked look in his eye as he looks at them for some explanation.

Chad and Yarra exchange glances in a silent discussion.

“Hello?” Aydan pressed. “What the hell is happening to her?”

“Scarlets are . . . “ Chad clears his throat “ . . . more susceptible to mind control magic.”

“Hold on a second.” Aydan’s chuckling nervously. “Mind control magic? Are you for real?”

I’m watching Aydan’s face as he absorbs that information. His brow is deeply furrowed, as if he doesn’t believe a word of it.

“It’s happened before,” Yarra says. “That’s why the woods are off limits. A Scarlet tried to hurt me and other members of the faculty by using another Scarlet to do his bidding.”

“Scarlets don’t do magic,” Aydan says.

“Yeah,” Yarra replies with a sad tone. “And yet it still happened.”

“If this is mind control again, we need to figure out who’s behind this.” Chad’s standing next to the bed with his arms crossed, the deep resonance of his voice taking on an Alpha’s commanding tone. “Whoever this is has threatened my Luna and, therefore, my pack. I can’t take this lightly.”

I reach over and take Yarra’s hand. She squeezes it, silently letting me know that she understands that I wasn’t in control.

“Fine,” Aydan says. “So where do we start? Enemies, maybe? Who hates your pack enough to try something like this?”

“One thing you’ll find out once you’re ruling your pack properly is that Alphas can have a staggering number of enemies. Old grudges from Alphas past are not uncommon for any of us.”

My head is starting to ache from the vision. I rub between my eyes to give myself some relief as they bat ideas back and forth. All this and I still don’t even know what those visions mean in the first place. Yarra’s hand rests on my shoulder.

“You okay?”

“Just a little headache,” I say softly. “Fucking visions are intense sometimes.”

She blinks her sapphire eyes. “The same one?”

“Not exactly the same. This time Natasha wasn’t pregnant anymore. She was running with the baby in her arms into the forest . . . like she was being chased by a monster.”

“Yarra said that you think your visions are about Natasha of Hino,” Chad says. “Why would you be having visions of her?”

“I have no idea. What do you know about her?”

“From what Yarra told me, it’s the same stuff you already know. She expected to become the Alpha King’s Luna, but he chose Luna Queen Crystal. Then, she colluded with the Alpha King’s brother to overthrow him.”

“And she was also the mate of the Alpha King’s brother,” Aydan says.

“Well . . . the true nature of their relationship has been muddied by conjecture for years,” Chad says. “Some think that she was the actual mastermind behind the coup and used Prince Raphael in her own quest to become Luna Queen. Others think that she was merely a pawn of the prince and his evil scheme of taking the throne from his brother.”

“What about her being pregnant?” I asked.

“I recall the professors once saying that there were whispers that she may have been pregnant with Raphael’s child during the coup. It’s not confirmed by any actual documentation that I’m aware of. But if it were true, Natasha and her baby would’ve been in great danger after what they did. Would the Alpha King risk having Raphael’s child grow up so he could return to finish what his father started? If Natasha really survived and managed to escape, she would’ve gone into hiding.”

My stomach twists at this. “So . . . so it’s possible that she’s alive somewhere?”

He shrugs. “It’s possible. At the very least, she could’ve lived long enough to give birth had she been pregnant.”

We all fall silent. This doesn’t exactly confirm that Natasha was pregnant . . . but it might as well. Chad was more in touch with the lore of the royal line than the rest of us. Who knows what other secrets haven’t been told better than him?

“Do you believe that Natasha lived long enough to have Raphael’s baby?” Aydan asks. He’s standing with his back against the wall, arms folded in stiff skepticism.

“Honestly, I think it’s plausible,” Chad says. “The one thing no one ever talks about is the reasoning behind Raphael and Natasha challenging the Alpha King’s throne. Historians have always just chalked it up to Raphael being power hungry. But what if it was more than that?” Chad’s eyebrows furrow. “Luna Queen Crystal is Clarion’s first hybrid Luna Queen and there are wolves that still secretly disagree with it to this day. Perhaps Raphael and Natasha were purists, who didn’t want the Alpha King’s future children—and heirs to the throne—to be hybrids.”

Yarra gasped, her hands going to her mouth. “Maybe that’s the connection. I’m also a hybrid. Maybe whoever did this to Saffron has a problem with me being a Luna.”

My entire body turns cold, and I suddenly want to leave. Get as far away from Yarra as I can, if only to protect her. Chad leans in and touches Yarra’s head gently.

“Whoever tried to do this, they won’t get away with it,” he says. “I swear to you. We’re going to get to the bottom of this.”

I look over at Aydan, who’s looking back at me with resignation. He sighs, finally, and says, “For now, I think it would be a good idea for us all to get some rest. Come on, Saffron, I’ll take you home.”

Part of me doesn’t want to go . . . but it’s better that I should. If it happens again, I don’t want to be anywhere near Yarra.

“Wait,” she says as I sit up. “You shouldn’t be alone tonight. What if this happens again?”

“I’ll stay with her,” Aydan says. Both Chad and Yarra look at him with surprise. “I mean, it has to be me. One of you could be the target, right?”

Chad stands up and walks up to him, staring him down with his dark eyes. “Be careful, Aydan. Whoever’s doing this knows what she is and will probably use that against you.”

“I’ll be fine,” he says. He looks at me and adds, “Let’s go.”

I get out of the bed and take his hand. As we’re walking out into the night air, I have to admit I feel a little safer with him at my side.