Page 18 of Cruel Alpha Beast (Roseville Alphas #1)

I pace the kitchen floor obsessively, wringing my hands. I haven’t moved since the message came through the window, summoning Sawyer into the uncertain night. I hope that Penelope hasn’t been too hard on him.

I told him she was firm but fair, though I still worry that maybe she might have changed a lot in a short amount of time. I mean, if Danielle and Monroe were so freaked out about Violet’s lie, then maybe the latter was convincing.

A little too convincing.

I glance over at the clock on the stove. Sawyer’s been gone for some time now. I start to worry that maybe something very, very bad has happened out there in the forest. Something much worse than just Penelope punishing Sawyer for something he didn’t do.

My heart wrenches. If Sawyer’s truth isn’t believed, then I can’t even begin to imagine what would befall Danielle and Monroe in that village. Violet has been accusing them of helping a traitor all day.

And that so-called traitor is me.

Would Shea and I ever be welcomed back someday? Or worse, would the twins be exiled from the coven, never to return again?

Before the first tear welling in my eyes can fall, I hear something outside of the house. Footsteps were hurrying up the front porch. I pause on the tiled floor, staring straight at the door ahead of me, waiting for something to happen.

The doorknob twists, and soon it swings open. There, standing in some of the worst shape I’ve ever seen him in, is Sawyer. His hair is ruffled, his eyes open wide. He looks like a shell of the man he used to be.

But he’s alive. Thank the moon and every star in the sky that he’s alive.

I launch forward, throwing my arms around his waist before he can even close the door behind him. Sawyer latches onto me, pulling me so close to his body that a single sheet of paper couldn’t fit between us.

His body quakes against me, and if I didn’t already feel like something went horribly wrong, now I can’t imagine a scenario where any of this went right.

“Sorry it took me so long,” Sawyer murmurs into my ear. “I had to make sure Penelope got home safely.”

I lean back, confused. If the meeting went well enough that he walked her home, then what the fuck happened that’s got him so upset?

“We were ambushed,” Sawyer explains. “The meeting was going well—Penelope knows that I didn’t hurt that Violet lady. She was about to tell me that Violet could be into some evil shit, but then… Well, then, some evil shit attacked us.”

I clap a hand over my mouth. “What? Are you okay?”

Sawyer finally closes the door and then sinks into one of the kitchen table chairs. He looks down, his head hanging incredibly low.

“Physically, I’m just tired,” he tells me.

“But… Lacey, there were these…these shadow monster things . They kept coming, like they were literally appearing out of thin air. And Penelope, she tried to hold them off so I could run, but I knew they would kill her if I just left her there. She was able to stop them for a minute, but then they chased us to a tree. The tree.”

I sit in the chair next to him, reaching for his shoulder. “Sawyer…”

“Everything is escalating so quickly,” he says. “What if we’re not ready for it?”

“We will be,” I tell him, hoping against all else that my confidence will be enough to convince him of that. “Because we’ll have to be.”

Sawyer sits up straight again, looking at me from his bloodshot eyes. “You need to call Danielle back. Tell her and Monroe to stay as safe as they possibly can.”

“Okay,” I reply, pulling my phone up.

“I’ll have to find some sort of neutral meeting place to talk to them,” Sawyer continues as I press the call button. “I’d invite them here, but you know these people will revolt if I bring witches into the valley.”

“Hello?” Danielle says, her voice still a harsh whisper.

I relay to her Sawyer’s message, and Danielle is quite receptive.

“I say we should meet up on the outskirts of town,” she suggests. “Not in the same spot, though. For all we know, Violet could be camping out there, waiting for us to stop by so she can turn more people against us.”

“Good thinking,” I tell her. “There’s a spot right on the edge of the lake. Right where all of those cat-o’-nine-tails grow.”

“Okay,” Danielle murmurs. “We’ll see you at first light, Lacey.”

“Be safe,” I tell her.

The phone clicks off, and the call ends. I look over at Sawyer, who’s fiddling with his own phone right now. His thumbs tap on the screen of his phone so fast that it almost makes me dizzy. Once he finishes, he presses send and looks up at me.

“I’m texting your brother and the other alphas,” he reports. “I’ve told them to come spend the night over here so we can meet with Danielle and Monroe in the morning. I hope that’s alright with you.”

“Of course it is, yeah,” I breathe out in response.

“Okay, goo—”

But before Sawyer can even finish the word, his phone starts buzzing rapidly. He looks down at the screen, and while I’m not reading the messages, I can see that his group chat is popping off.

Sawyer takes a deep breath, glancing over at me. “I should have known they’d react like this…”

“What is it?” I ask.

“Greg said he’ll be over in a minute,” Sawyer tells me. “Ellis and Jasper, though? They are… Well, they’re not happy about this, but they’re coming, too.”

I start washing whatever dirty dishes are still in the kitchen sink while Sawyer goes to find the extra blankets and pillows he has stashed somewhere in the house.

Greg is the first of tonight’s houseguests to arrive. He climbs the porch and enters the house, looking even more tired than he has been. I greet him warmly and start brewing some tea for him.

Ellis is the next to walk through the doorway with an overnight bag. “Lacey,” he greets somewhat coldly, then sits next to Greg at the kitchen table.

Once I’ve handed the two of them a cup of tea, Jasper files into the kitchen. He merely nods his head and takes the mug I’ve offered him, then joins the others in one of the chairs.

Sawyer finally returns to the kitchen and looks at his closest friends. “Thanks for coming, guys.”

“Of course,” Greg mumbles into his cup.

“Dude, what the fuck are we doing, though?” Jasper asks confrontationally.

“Saving the valley,” Sawyer replies pointedly. “As well as the town you so happen to be in charge of, dude .”

“But what are we doing ?” Ellis adds. “I mean, what are we actually doing, meeting with those witches again? This could be a trap. They could be trying to steal our essence or something. I really think we should reconsider this plan.”

“I agree,” Jasper says. “We should call our dads and see what they think.”

“No,” Sawyer bites back. “ We are the ones in charge here. Not our dads. Not anymore. We have to figure this out.”

“Well, my father told me that nothing good can come out of making arrangements with witches,” Jasper says, as if he’s completely ignoring the point Sawyer just made. “Who knows what goes on in those covens?”

“I do,” I interrupt.

The two other alphas turn to look at me as though they’ve completely forgotten that I was right there. I watch as both of them take in the two simple, but effective, words I’ve just spoken.

Meanwhile, Greg and Sawyer watch me curiously and cautiously. My husband is about to open his mouth, and I fear he’s going to try to shut me up, but I can’t allow it.

“I’ve heard enough out of you two,” I say to Jasper and Ellis. “After I left our pack, I stumbled across the coven in the woods, just a stone’s throw away from your precious shifter valley. They’ve been here just as long as we have. And they’re my family. The family I chose, anyway.”

Ellis turns to Greg with a look of incredulity on his face. “Did you know about this?”

“I asked him to keep it a secret,” I admit, hoping they won’t give Greg too hard a time over this. “I lived with Danielle and Monroe for the last five years. They loved me. They nurtured me. And they helped me raise my little girl.” I turn to look Sawyer dead in the eyes. “ Our little girl.”

Jasper and Ellis look to Sawyer, clearly both just realizing that he must be Shea’s father. If the safety of the valley wasn’t so important right now, I’d consider rolling my eyes at their sheer stupidity.

“If Danielle and Monroe were going to fuck me over, or sacrifice me, or whatever idiotic things you think they might do, they would have done it already,” I continue.

“I would, and I do, trust both of them with my life. I know my word doesn’t mean shit to you two, but I’m sure Greg and Sawyer can vouch for me. ”

Jasper and Ellis exchange glances with each other, then with the other two men in the room. Ellis sinks back into his chair in defeat, while Jasper looks more sheepish than I’ve ever seen him in my life.

“Now, I know you guys aren’t happy with us having to work with witches,” I say. “But they’re not exactly thrilled to be working with you, either.”

Ellis huffs, almost as if he’s offended. I’ve never wanted to smack him more in my life, and I’ve hated him for as long as I’ve known him.

“But you know what?” I cock one eyebrow, putting my hands on my hips.

“Danielle and Monroe know that helping you all out is for the greater good. They will do whatever is necessary to keep their community and their home safe. Maybe you should think about your packs like that for a second, instead of letting some stupid generational conflict get in the way.”

Jasper looks down at the floor, ashamed of himself after hearing what I’ve had to say. Even stubborn old Ellis can’t meet my eyes.

Greg and Sawyer, however, both look at me like they’re so proud of me for speaking my mind. Despite all that’s happened today, Sawyer’s lips curl into a smile, and his eyes sparkle under the kitchen light.

“So,” I sigh, feeling much more confident, “who wants pancakes for breakfast tomorrow?”

***

I only know that I fell asleep last night because I woke up in the morning. I roll onto my side and see that the bed beside me is empty, and Sawyer is rummaging through his chest of drawers, naked as the day he was born. For a moment, I drink in his muscular form, forgetting all that’s at stake.

But as my mind catches up with the rest of me, I remember just how dire things are these days. Life as I know it could end any second now, though the people I love and care for—and even the people I still don’t particularly like—are going to figure this all out soon.

As Sawyer changes into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, I throw a bathrobe on over my nightgown and go downstairs to start working on breakfast. Greg and Jasper are getting dressed, just like Sawyer was when I left him, while Ellis is still snoring in the middle of the living room floor.

I turn the coffee maker on and get to cooking, happy I have something to do with my hands. My anxiety is through the roof, and I don’t think it will get any better until I know that Danielle and Monroe have made it through the night without getting attacked, or worse.

I send a quick text to my group chat with them and say that I hope they’re all right, and my phone finally chirps back at me as I start piling up pancakes on a plate by the stove.

We’re good—getting ready for the meeting , Monroe says, allowing me to breathe in deeply. Will you be there?

I’m about to respond that I’ll see them later when a small figure comes scurrying into the kitchen. It’s Shea, and her bedhead is the worst I’ve ever seen from her before.

“Well, hello there,” I tell her. “Did the rats nesting in your hair wake you up?”

“Why is Uncle Greg in here?” she asks, ignoring my question completely.

“Oh,” I start, hoping to figure out an answer she can handle. “Daddy just had a little sleepover with his friends. Do you want to help me cook for the boys?”

Shea nods and comes up to me with her arms raised high. I reach under her armpits and lift her up to sit on a clear portion of the counter. I give her the oven mittens to wear for safety, smiling as they go down to her elbows, her tiny hands pressed into the space where my fingers would go.

“Morning, Shea,” Greg says as he enters the kitchen, bleary-eyed and groggy-sounding. “Nice hair.”

“Morning, Uncle Greg!” she replies cheerfully.

“Oh, it’s so wonderful how loud you are first thing in the morning,” he says sarcastically, half-stumbling over his feet on his way to the table.

Shea smiles mischievously, and while I’m somewhat entertained by this exchange, I know exactly what will happen if I don’t nip this in the bud immediately—the whole street will wake up before dawn to a shouting four-year-old.

I catch Shea’s eye and shake my head, pressing the side of my finger into my lips.

The others file into the kitchen, and I get Shea off the counter so she can help me hand out breakfast plates to the alphas and Greg. They all eat and slurp down their coffee in relative silence while I cut up some pancakes for my daughter, feeling too sick to eat myself.

“Sun’s coming up soon,” Sawyer mentions, gazing out the window. “You guys ready to go?”

“Go where?” Shea asks me curiously.

“Um, Daddy and his friends are going to say hi to Auntie Dani and Auntie RoeRoe,” I tell her carefully.

“I want to go!” she cries.

“Me too, sweet pea,” I croon back at her. “But you and I are going to stay here and have a girls' day. How about that?”

It’s enough to keep her quiet, and soon enough, breakfast is done. The men head over to the front door before sunrise. Sawyer looks at me and gives me a nod.

“Be safe,” I tell him.

“I will,” he replies.

I follow them out onto the porch, leaving Shea alone in the kitchen for the tiniest moment. I stand on the front step for just enough time to watch the men become wolves and dart off toward the lake.