Page 22 of Rebel for Claws (Rebellious Mates #4)
SIXTEEN
ALARIC
T he weight of Vivian's body against Alaric's chest should have been comforting, but Alaric could feel the tension radiating from her even as she melted into his embrace.
The sweet scent of her skin—vanilla and wildflowers—filled his senses, but underneath it he detected something else. Worry and fear.
He watched her gaze drop suddenly and her shoulders sag slightly, and his chest tightened with protective instinct. Their mate bond pulsed with her distress, and every Alpha instinct in his body screamed at him to fix whatever was causing her pain.
"What's wrong?" The question came out rough, edged with the worry he couldn't quite suppress when his mate was troubled.
Vivian's teeth bit her lower lip—a gesture so vulnerable that it made something fierce and protective surge through his veins. When she finally looked up at him again, her eyes held a pain that made his wolf restless beneath his skin.
"I'm just missing my rebel group," she admitted, her voice but a whisper. "I keep thinking about them out there, probably risking their lives searching for me. They don't know if I'm alive or dead, and I..." She swallowed hard. "I need to make sure they're safe. I need them to know I'm safe too."
The raw emotion in her voice hit him like a physical jab.
Here was his fierce, rebellious mate—the woman who'd infiltrated Moon Hollow and faced down the High Council—brought low by worry for her people.
It made him love her even more, even as it made his protective instincts roar with the need to eliminate every threat to her peace of mind.
"You can contact them now," he said immediately, his hands sliding to grip her shoulders. "I have a secured private line here in my office—completely untraceable. You can let them know you're safe."
Her eyes lit up like stars, the transformation so sudden and brilliant that it stole his breath. The smile that spread across her face was radiant, and he felt a surge of male satisfaction that he could put that expression there.
"Really? You'd let me do that?" The hope in Vivian's voice made his chest ache.
"Of course." He gestured toward his oak desk where the secure communication array was built into its surface. "But they can't know your location, and they can't join you yet. It's not safe."
"I understand." She moved toward the desk with renewed energy, her melancholy evaporating. "You can stay while I call them, since you let me stay for your conference call."
As if I'd leave you alone right now, he thought, settling into the leather chair beside his desk. Not when you're vulnerable and worried.
Vivian's fingers flew over the secure keypad, entering a frequency that was clearly committed to memory. The connection crackled to life, and within moments a voice filtered through the speaker—female, cautious, tinged with barely contained emotion.
"This is Kelly."
"Kelly, it's me." Vivian's voice carried across the connection, warm with relief and affection.
The sharp intake of breath on the other end was audible even through the encrypted channel. "Vivian? Oh God, Vivian, is it really you?"
"It's really me." Tears gathered in Vivian's eyes, and Alaric felt his own throat tighten at the raw emotion in her voice. "I'm alive. I'm safe."
"The others thought you were dead," Kelly's voice cracked. "After you vanished without a trace—we searched for three days, but your scent just... disappeared. We didn't know what to think."
Alaric watched his mate's face crumple with guilt, and he had to grip the arms of his chair to keep from pulling her into his lap and soothing away her pain.
"I had a vision last night," Kelly continued, her voice gaining strength. "I saw you alive and protected. I told the others to wait, and that you'd contact us. I knew you were out there somewhere."
"You were right to trust your visions." Vivian's voice steadied, though her hands trembled as she gripped the edge of his desk. "I'm safe and protected, but I can't tell you where I am right now. And you can't join me yet—but soon, I promise."
"We're managing here," Kelly assured her. "But Vivian, there's something you need to know. Intelligence came through the rebellion communications this morning—something that changes everything."
Alaric felt his entire body tense, every instinct screaming that whatever came next would shatter the fragile peace they'd been building in their territory. Beside him, Vivian went rigid, her knuckles white where they gripped the desk.
"What kind of intelligence?" Vivian's voice was deadly quiet.
"Human operatives are now targeting all magical shifters," Kelly said, her words falling like stones into still water. "Not just hybrids, not just specific bloodlines—anyone with even a trace of magical ability. The orders came down this morning. It's a full-scale purge, Vivian."
The silence that followed the devastating news was deafening. Alaric watched the color drain from his mate's face, and saw her violet eyes blaze with fury and fear in equal measure. The mate bond thrummed with her rage, so intense it made his own vision tinge with gold.
"What are we up against?" Vivian's question was barely a whisper.
"We don't know yet. But our contacts in the other territories are reporting coordinated strikes. It's not random—they have lists, Vivian. Specific targets."
"Are you safe?" The question tore from Vivian's throat, raw with desperate concern.
"For now. We've hunkered down and activated all our protective wards. If trouble comes, we'll move—you taught us well." Kelly's voice held grim determination. "But Vivian, they're coming for everyone like us. Everyone like you."
Alaric rose from his chair, unable to remain seated while his mate vibrated with barely contained fury. The protective instincts that had been simmering since their mate bond roared to life a week ago, demanded he shield her from every threat and eliminate every danger.
"I'm going to stop this," Vivian said, her voice carrying deadly promise. "I'm going to end Thorne and his madness for good."
"Be careful," Kelly pleaded. "Come back to us alive."
"I will. I promise." Vivian's voice broke slightly. "Stay safe. I'll contact you when I have a plan."
The connection ended, leaving them in heavy silence. Alaric watched his mate stand frozen at his desk, her entire body radiating lethal intent. When she finally turned to face him, her eyes blazed with the kind of fury that could level mountains.
"They're hunting all of my kind now," she said, her voice deadly calm. "Every magical shifter in the territory."
"I heard." He moved toward her, his own rage building like a storm. "This escalates everything."
"It does more than escalate it." Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "It makes this personal for every shifter with even a drop of magical blood. Thorne just declared war on anyone who threatens his power."
"Which means we need a comprehensive strategy?—"
"No." The word cut through the air like a blade. "We need to end this now, before more people die. I'm going straight for Thorne."
Alaric felt his Alpha authority surge, clashing against her determination like opposing forces. "That's suicide, Vivian. You walk into a direct confrontation with him, and you won't walk out alive."
"Then what do you suggest?" She whirled to face him fully, her eyes blazing with desperate fury. "That we sit here planning while he systematically murders everyone like me? While my people—our people—are hunted down like animals?"
"I suggest we cut off his resources first," Alaric growled, his own temper fraying. "His human operatives, his funding, his allies. We dismantle his network before we go for the man himself."
"People are dying right now!" Her voice rose, cracking with emotion. "Every minute we spend on strategy is another minute Thorne has to kill innocent shifters."
"And every minute you spend charging blindly into danger is another minute closer to losing you!" The words exploded from him, raw with fear and fury. "You think I can just stand by and watch my mate walk into certain death?"
The admission hung between them, electric with tension and unspoken emotion. Vivian's eyes widened, and he saw the exact moment she registered the depth of his terror at losing her.
"I can't afford to lose my people," she said quietly, but her voice carried steel. "I can't have more blood on Thorne's hands because I was too cautious to act."
"And I can't afford to lose you." He stepped closer, his grey eyes shifting to gold with the burning intensity of his emotion. "You're not just a rebel leader anymore, Vivian. You're my mate, my partner, my future. What happens to you happens to me."
The raw vulnerability in his confession seemed to shake her resolve, but her jaw remained set with stubborn determination.
"Then help me find a way to stop him that doesn't involve watching from the sidelines while more people die."