Page 26 of Her Bully Alpha (Honeycomb Valley Alphas #1)

I clung to Jay as tightly as I could. I wished I could push the man’s face from my mind, but he was still there. His dark black eyes were staring deep into mine, and his evil smile. I could see it wasn’t the dark around me that I should have been scared of, but the man standing before me.

I tightened my fingers on Jay, knowing I was no longer there. I was here, and Jay was holding me. I was safe. I broke free from whatever hold he had on me.

“I have you,” Jay whispered into my ear. His hand held my head, and I could feel his fingers shaking.

I wiped away tears as they broke free and leaned back. I could still hear his words. He loved me. He’d said it. He’d yelled it.

“I love you too,” I tell him, looking into his eyes. “I love you just as much. I wish I had said it sooner.”

He cupped my face, pressing a kiss to my mouth. I melted against him.

“Not that I don’t love this, but I’m confused as to what happened.” Katie broke the silence. I quickly realized that there was a crowd and there were a lot of people watching us. I suddenly grew embarrassed as Jay told people to start clearing out.

Katie walked over to me and looked into my face. “Are you okay? Does anything hurt?”

I nodded my head. “I’m okay. I’m fine.”

“What happened? You were talking, and then suddenly you were just…gone.” Katie looked at me worried, shaking his head. “I didn’t know what to do. And since when did you have electricity as part of your magic?”

I looked at her, confused now. “I don’t. That’s not part of it, or at least…I don’t think it is.”

“She’s never used electricity before,” Jay clarifies for Katie. “She’s got the ability to heal. We are still learning her full potential, but that isn’t part of it.”

I thought back to it. I didn’t know who the man was, but he had magic and power. Everything had happened so quickly. What if that was part of his gift?

That pain was from him. He’d stared at me, telling me how everyone was going to pay.

“The virus was created,” I tell them. “There was a man.”

I watched Jay’s face twist up in anger, and his hands curled into fists. “Who? What did he look like?”

While I saw the saw pretty clearly, his face was also distorted. His pure black eyes and his smile were too wicked. Someone that looked like this would be locked up.

I shook my head. “He was tall….extremely tall, and he was wearing all black. I couldn’t really make out his face well, but his voice…” It was going to haunt my nightmares. The way he worded things, and the visions of him watching me. It sent ice down my body.

Kate shook her head, confused, and started to pace. “What do you mean the virus was made? That doesn’t make sense.”

“He created it,” I said as I glanced at Katie. “He told me. He created it to attack the women only. He’s getting his revenge.”

Katie’s eyes widened in horror at that information.

“Wait, you can just treat viruses like that?” Jay looked at Katie. “Seriously?”

Katie nodded. “If you have the understanding, yeah, you can pretty much create a virus…to take down whoever you want. But you have to either infuse it into the body or…”

“Or what?” Jay said, his voice coming in clipped.

“You have to be powerful enough to pick out everyone you want and curse it on them.”

We all knew it wasn’t the first answer, meaning whoever I saw was powerful.

“What did he want with Sam?”

Katie frowned. “I don’t know everything about magic, but I have heard some people lose their minds a little when they sink too far. If they use magic the wrong way, it can take over their minds and twist things up.” Katie looked at me. “He probably wanted to use her healing ability to heal that part. He probably is aware he’s going crazy. But you can’t fix that.”

I looked at Jay. “Are there other magic users around here? Any that you guys are watching?”

Jay shook his head. “Of course, we have tons of them, but not one you’re describing. We don’t keep track of them like that, either. They are welcome into Honeycomb Valley just like shifters are.”

“Did you have one in the past?” I didn’t know who the man was, but he spoke of wanting revenge. “He seemed to know you all extremely well.”

“What?”

I nodded, hating how he showed me all the guys. He showed me Henrik at home sleeping and Frank while he was out for a run. Aaron and Maddox were out having a drink. And Jones was at home watching TV. I didn’t know what scared me more, that he had watched me or that he had watched all the Alphas, and they didn’t even notice him.

“That’s not good,” Katie said. “This is worse than I thought.”

Jay shook his head. “We are all new to our roles. Frank has been in the role for the longest time, but only six years. We haven’t done anything to piss anyone off that much. Sure, we’ve angered people, but not to that length.”

So, it was the parents. Which I could see. Jay’s father was no sweet man, and my own father also had a hard side. They had to have something in the past that angered this man, but the question was, what?

I kept hearing his voice as he moved around in my mind. “I was waiting for you to finally come to your true potential, Sammy. Waiting very patiently to get inside your head like this.”

I never wanted him to be able to do that again. I was going to need to work on my magic and keep it under control.

“He wanted revenge, so I’m guessing something happened in the past. We should really find out what happened and who he is.”

Jay ran a hand through his hair. “The only people who are going to know that are going to be the Council. And I’m sure they are going to love hearing about this.”

“Then we need to speak to them,” Katie said. “If he created a virus, Jay, anything can happen. He could easily release another, one that is far more powerful than the first.”

It made my stomach clench up at the thought.

“Katie, what does that mean for you?”

Katie shook her head. “I don’t know. This changes so much. If it’s magic-based, we need to talk about how we are going to keep everyone safe.” Katie shook her head and you could see Katie’s mind was churning away.

“You have to speak with the Council and see if there is anything that can be done to protect everyone. What about a protective barrier?”

“What’s that?” I asked, looking between the two.

Jay scowled. “It’s something only high magic users can use, but I doubt any one could pull it off and they only last for so long. That doesn’t solve our problem.”

Katie scowled. “You should look into it.” Katie sighed as she looked at me. “You promise you’re okay? Nothing is wrong?”

Besides feeling like this man had been inside my very skin, I was perfect. I nodded my head at Katie. “I’m fine.”

We headed home, and Jay held onto my hand tightly the entire ride. I was sure he was afraid at any moment I could be pulled back. A vision could hit me and he’d never get me back again.

As soon as we got home, Jay pulled me into his arms and carried me up the stairs. I sank into his embrace, allowing the scent of him to fill me. I felt his hands tighten as he went up the stairs. “I thought I lost you,” he whispered his face looking grim.

I reached up, cupping his face as he stopped at the top of the stairs. “You didn’t,” I whispered back. “I’m right here.” I couldn’t deny that I was scared and that the man could be in my head at any time. But it was more of a reason to learn about magic, more of a reason to grow.

Jay looked hurt as he pressed his forehead against mine. “I’m sorry I didn’t protect you better. It’s my one job and I failed.”

I shook my head. “You are protecting so many people, Jay. And you did. You brought me back. You did not fail me.” I leaned my head against his chest. “We can talk to the Council tomorrow.”

He twirled us, turning towards my side of the upstairs. “And until then, I just want you.”

He walked down the hallway, passing my office and grew closer to my bedroom. “And I want to remodel,” Jay added.

“Why?” I said, confused.

“I don’t want us splitting the upstairs anymore.” He walked into my bedroom and threw the covers back before he crawled in, taking me with him. He yanked the covers over us.

“Okay, then, who’s room would you like to stay in?”

“This one,” he said, holding me against him. “No more division between us. I want us to share the same bedroom.”

I couldn’t help but smile at that. “I like that idea.”

“And I want you to remodel. Make this house feel more like a home.”

“You think it feels like home here?”

Jay nodded. “It’s warm in here. It gives a calming vibe when you come in.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “My goodness, you’ve changed, Jay.”

He cupped my chin. “You’ve changed me, Sam.”

I blushed, staring into his eyes. They were soft, and I didn’t think I could love this man any more than I did.

“Together,” I said, “We can do all of that together.”