Page 20 of Cruel Alpha (Nightfire Islands Alphas #1)

This was fine. Everything was fine. I was thinking things over. I appreciated that Caleb was giving me time, just as I’d asked.

I was also going a little crazy. Our encounter in the kitchen had clearly kicked the bond into overdrive, because I craved his touch every second of every day. It was maddening, as if my own body didn’t respect my decisions. I was trying to be sensible about this. I was trying to protect myself and my children, but all my body and my wolf wanted was his hands on my skin and his dick inside me.

On the morning of the sixth day, I’d had just about enough. I didn’t exactly want to go on a tour of the town; the people of Lapine had only been growing more dissatisfied with my presence the longer they were forced to run patrols and forego tobacco and other goods from Arbor. I had washing to take over to the laundry, though, and I needed to get out of the house.

I would have liked to bring Julia with me. Lapine may view her as little better than me, seeing no use for a half-blind wolf, but she was the sister of the Alpha, and the Pack knew not to mess with her. Yet she was out on one of her visits to the Pack elders. She’d be home later with stories about all the funny or offensive things they’d said, smiling from ear to ear.

The twins were getting restless, too. While I knew that, theoretically, they were not much safer indoors than outdoors—if Arbor was going to come for us, they would hardly be deterred by Julia’s front door—I still hesitated to take them outside. I never wanted them to feel the way I had when I was growing up: like a walking freak show, something to be pointed at and shunned. I certainly didn’t want another incident like the one with Leonard, and I feared that if someone did try to lay hands on them, then Emmy’s wild magic might make another appearance, and that would only make things worse.

The problem was that the twins didn’t understand any of that. They only knew that having Mommy’s undivided attention had gotten old, and they were desperate to be outside, even if it was just to “help” carry the washing.

So, with the big basket balanced on my hip—Jack and Emmy each carrying a plastic bag with a single item of clothing in it—I ventured out into the world. The weather had grown even colder over the last week or so, and I had to turn back to bundle the twins up tighter, breaking out a pair of bobble hats that one of Julia’s elders had knitted. Neither of them seemed to care about the cold, happily toddling along with red cheeks and runny noses while I shivered and huffed and rearranged my hold on the basket every few minutes so I could change which of my hands was exposed to the elements.

Luckily, the walk wasn’t long, and we reached the laundry room without incident. I tried to be friendly to the women in the laundry, who were apparently astonished at the sheer audacity of my using this communal resource. Apparently, they expected me to wash my clothes in the freezing river out of shame for imposing my presence on my own Pack. Emmy clearly didn’t pick up on the decidedly unfriendly atmosphere, however, because she asked the laundresses a thousand questions about what they were doing, wanting to be lifted up to look into the soapy water. Despite her undesirable connection to me, Emmy was armed with enormous eyes and an attitude that just wouldn’t quit, so it took a few attempts to extract her from an impromptu lesson in how to get grass and blood stains out of sweatpants—an essential piece of knowledge for any shifter.

Once I had finally separated Emmy from her new fans, I was told to come back tomorrow to collect my things, and I thanked the women as warmly as I could before dragging the twins back out into the cold.

As we drew closer to the hall and to home, the sound of raised voices cut through the quiet. Scooping Jack up onto my hip and grabbing Emmy’s hand, I slowed my steps as I approached, trying to make out what was being said, but there were too many angry voices overlapping each other for me to make out much of anything. When we finally reached the edge of the market square, I lingered in the shadow of one of the buildings, watching the group—mostly males, with a few worried-looking females hovering in clusters—as they shouted and gesticulated. This close, I could make out some of the words.

“—over the bridge—”

“—at least fifty—”

“—should have known—”

My heart dropped into my stomach. They were talking about Arbor. There were Arbor wolves on the bridge. Suddenly, I was frozen to the spot, completely paralyzed by indecision. I needed to get home, needed to get out of the open, but if I moved into the square then I would have to face the ire of the Pack. I could skirt around the back of the cottages, but if I couldn’t be seen, then I wasn’t safe. If Arbor were already on the island, they could descend at any moment, and I couldn’t be alone with my babies when that happened. I clutched Jack tighter, squeezing Emmy’s hand as I dragged her in closer to me. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t move. I was so alone.

“Quiet!”

The single word rang with authority, and the shouts died down immediately as Caleb strode into the square. A flood of warmth rushed through me at the sight of him, and a little of the tension left my body. The noise died down almost immediately as the assembled Pack members bowed their heads to their Alpha.

Flanked by his A-Team, Caleb surveyed the gathered shifters, who trembled with the need to speak but who would not—could not—disobey their Alpha’s command.

“You might have heard that Arbor wolves were sighted by the bridge this morning,” Caleb began. His tone was even and matter-of-fact, and if I didn’t know better, I would think he was hardly bothered by the news. “I can confirm that there has been a sighting of at least sixty Arbor hunters amassing on their side of the bridge. I have placed lookouts who will let us know immediately as soon as a move is made. Now is the time to ready ourselves. I know that it has been many years since Lapine last had any conflict with our fellow shifters, but we are strong, we are resolute. We will not be cowed by an attack from Arbor.”

Some of the males perked up at that: a battle, after all, was a chance to prove themselves in the eyes of their Alpha. If they did well, there was a chance for promotion to Beta, to move from quarry work up to Pack leadership; that kind of opportunity didn’t come around often.

Others, though, still looked wary.

“What about the females?” Piped up Trevor Norris, and Caleb acknowledged him with a nod.

“I’ll be sending a few of my Betas to round up the women and children. We’ll keep them safe in the hall, with a team of volunteer males to guard them while we engage the Arbor attackers outside of town.”

It was a smart plan that would give the less bloodthirsty males a job to do without making them feel lesser, and it kept the more vulnerable members of the Pack away from the fighting. Most of the Pack seemed to acknowledge this, and the tension in the square ebbed slightly.

That was until Leonard fucking Pearce stepped out of the throng and said,

“With respect, Alpha, why are we risking our lives? All Arbor wants is the witch and her young. We hand them over, and there’s no need for bloodshed.”

My blood ran cold. I’d known that people like him despised me, but I hadn’t thought he’d be willing to so brazenly suggest handing over my children to be murdered.

“No need for bloodshed?” Caleb parroted back to him. At his shoulders, Leo and Xander were both braced to move, to hold him back if he went for Leonard, which was looking like a more real possibility with every passing second. “You know that if we hand them over, they won’t waste a second to—” he paused, swallowing hard as if it hurt him to say the words “—shed the blood of Alyssa and her children. Is that really what you’re asking for? To save your own skin?”

“Not my own skin—there’s plenty of strong young wolves who might be lost today. What of their mates and their children? You would make widows and orphans for the sake of a banished whore?”

Both Leo and Xander lurched forward to grab Caleb’s biceps just in time to prevent him from tearing Leonard’s throat out. The growl that ripped itself from Caleb’s throat sent ripples through the crowd, all of whom showed their necks in submission. Even Leonard could not stand against the force of it, though he grimaced with annoyance as his instinct forced him to submit to his Alpha.

Where the Pack felt terror, I couldn’t help the thrill that ran through me. That was my mate. He was strong, he was fierce, and it was all for me and my children. Jack hid his face in my neck, whimpering quietly at the shock of aggressive sound, but Emmy’s eyes were wide as saucers and fixed on the square.

“Say. That. Again.” Caleb snarled, towering over Leonard. Xander and Leo reluctantly let go of his arms, apparently satisfied he wasn’t about to wolf out or commit serious violence. I wasn’t so certain.

Leonard’s head stayed bowed as he said,

“I am only thinking of the good of the Pack, Alpha.”

“Look at me. Alyssa is your Pack. Her children are your Pack.” He paused for a few long seconds, his eyes glazing over in thought before he straightened up. More shifters were joining the gathering in the square, having heard the commotion or been told about the imminent attack. I saw my father in a group of quarry workers in the opposite corner of the square, and Pauline and Gracie clinging to each other as they approached from the elders’ cottages. All of them were hushed as Caleb took a deep breath.

“Hear me,” he said; it was an order. If he didn’t already have the attention of every shifter in that crowd, he certainly had it now. “If any member of Lapine Pack lays a finger on Alyssa Graves or on her children, they are not only in open defiance of their Alpha, but it will be considered treason against me.”

My heart was beating out of my chest. My stomach was doing somersaults. There was no way he was about to say what I thought he was about to say.

Then he said it:

“Alyssa is my mate. She is your Alpha female, and her children are my heirs. You betray her, and you betray the future of this island.”

I barely registered the frisson of whispers that swept through the crowd. My mouth was hanging open, my whole body shut down from shock, and Jack was tapping my cheek.

“Momma. Momma, he say your name.”

“Yeah,” I croaked. “Yeah, he did, buddy.”

I couldn’t even begin to explain to my children what had just happened or the way it had changed the course of their lives. I could hardly understand it myself. All I knew was that I wanted to run to him. I wanted to stake my claim on him just as he had claimed me. I wanted to feel his arms around me, around us, and know that nothing was ever going to part us again. I wanted to be with my mate.

Just as I began to step forward, Nate came bursting into the square. His frantic gaze found Caleb’s immediately.

“They’re not there,” he panted, and I saw the defiant expression drop from Caleb’s face in an instant, replaced by terror.

“Julia?”

Nate shook his head.

“Gone, too.”

I was across the square before I’d consciously realized the implication of Nate’s words.

“I’m here,” I cried, unable to stand the stricken look on his face for a moment longer. “We’re fine, we’re safe.”

Caleb’s warm, strong arms were around me before I could say anything further, and I was engulfed by his pine and charcoal scent. After so many days apart, it was like breathing fresh air again. My wolf was preening in my chest, and I couldn’t blame her. We’d been claimed in front of the whole Pack. We were his. We belonged. With my face smushed against Caleb’s chest, I confessed,

“I was just doing laundry.”

I felt his laugh rumble in his chest, but then he pulled away, almost sheepish.

“Sorry,” he said, low enough that only I could hear. “I shouldn’t have—”

I shook my head.

“It’s okay,” I assured him. It was more than okay. It was perfect. Everything was perfect—apart from the small army of hostile wolves about to invade the island. Right. I’d almost forgotten about them. Caleb clearly hadn’t, though, because he scooped Emmy up into his arms, his expression hardening once again into that of an Alpha on a mission.

“Ethan,” he said, “Go find Julia.” With a curt nod, Ethan was out of the square at a run.

It was only as I watched him go that I realized every other eye in the square was on us, and I shrank back against Caleb. He wrapped his free arm around my waist as he gave his friends and the assembled Pack members their orders. This time, there was not a single voice of dissent. I listened to it in the strangest haze of fear and contentment. The wolf within me was growling so low it was almost a purr, relishing the closeness and the scent of her mate; I relished it no less, but I was also aware that in a few short hours, everything might be very, very different.

I tightened my hold on Jack, who grumbled and wriggled, trying not to think of what would happen if Arbor made it into town, if they found us. I tried not to think of the black look on Leonard Pearce’s face as he knelt, humiliated, in front of the Pack. I tried not to think of the target that would be on Caleb’s back during the fighting.

I reminded myself that Caleb was strong. He was brave. The Arbor wolves would not get the better of us. I wouldn’t let them. I finally had my family, whole and together, and I’d be damned if I was going to let it go now.