Page 17 of Stalked By the Alphas

16

CARTER

Watching. Always watching.

Hazel is in the bookshop. She has freaked out about the masked magician, and now she is just standing there staring at nothing. It’s like she has gone into shock or something. I nod to the same old man I saw yesterday walking his dog. He glares at me, leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the road to the bookshop.

“What do you want then?” he asks.

I turn my stare at him, keeping it cool. He is a prime alpha, definitely not one to back down from a fight despite his age. He is a tough arsehole, I can tell that from here. I quite enjoy the fact that he has challenged me loitering here.

“Getting up the nerve to ask the pretty book lady out,” I say with a faked nervous laugh.

His eyes narrow further, and he looks over the road before looking back at me. His suspicion of me doesn’t lessen; if anything, it increases. “Hazel is a good girl. Don’t you go sniffing around her just to hurt her. I know your kind.” He points a gnarled finger at me.

“Oh?” I ask, trying to suppress my smile as I straighten up. My tight black shirt and black combat pants probably aren’t the most innocent sartorial choices, but fuck it. We are getting our hands dirtier than we expected to, and Savile Row suits aren’t cheap.

“Yeah,” he growls. “I was you once, boy, so don’t you pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about.”

“I appreciate that you are looking out for Hazel. But I can assure you, I mean her no harm.” Well, in the short term, yes. The long run will be happy ever fucking after.

The old man’s weathered face creases with suspicion. “This village looks after its own, and Hazel is one of us. I’m watching you.” He jabs at his eyes before he jabs his fingers at me.

I force myself to maintain a neutral expression, though inside, I’m trying not to laugh. Not at him. I admire him and aspire to still be an old hardass at his age, but it’s pretty cute. “I assure you, sir, my intentions towards Hazel are entirely honourable.”

He snorts derisively. “Sure they are. That’s why you’re lurking out here like some kind of stalker instead of going in to talk to her like a normal person.”

“I hear you, but I’m working up the nerve. Hazel is special. I want to make a good impression. ”

“And how would you know that if you haven’t even spoken to her yet?”

Fuck. He’s wily. Thinking quickly, I say, “I’ve been in her shop a few times. Just browsing, you know. But I’ve seen how kind she is with customers, how passionate she is about books. That’s what I mean by special.”

He doesn’t look entirely convinced, but some of the hostility leaves his stance. “Hmph. Well, if that’s true, then stop being a coward and go talk to her properly. Hazel deserves better than some creep watching her from across the street.”

I nod, feigning sheepishness. “You’re right, of course. I’ll do that. Thank you for the advice, sir.”

He grunts and starts to move away, then pauses. “And boy? If I find out you’ve hurt that girl in any way, there won’t be a place on this earth you can hide from me. Understood?”

The threat is as serious as they come. I have no doubt he means every word.

“Understood, sir,” I say solemnly.

He gives me one last hard look before continuing on his way, his tiny dog trotting beside him.

I wait until he’s out of sight before allowing myself to smile. It’s nice to see people looking out for her, but there is nothing and nobody who will stop me from breaking our tiny omega and then putting her back together with all the love she deserves.

But when I glance back at the shop, she is still frozen in place. I make a rash decision to push the timeline forward. Noah and Zach won’t like it, but it’s tough shit. I move forward, and as soon as my foot hits the road, I stop. That fucker Ayden Donoghue is making his way to the bookshop and reaches it before I can. I growl and pick up my pace.

But then I stop dead in my tracks as he speaks to Hazel, and she turns her head slowly. She flings herself into his arms, and he wraps his around her as she sobs her heart out on this fucker’s shoulder.

“Fuck,” I growl, frustrated as I back off. It will ruin everything if I try to go to her now. I won’t see her true reaction to seeing me with him standing there holding her. I move back to the pavement, my anger burning on a slow simmer. That detective is up to no good. He isn’t randomly here and interested in Hazel because she’s a gorgeous, unmated omega. No, there is something more sinister going on here, and I intend to find out what it is. If he is here looking into the disappearance that seems to happen around her, then we have a situation on our hands.

Looking down at my watch, I inhale deeply. Hazel’s heat is due any day now. We know from watching her that she deals with it on her own. Not once has she taken an alpha to her bed to knot her until her heat retreats, and a damned good thing too. Those alphas would find themselves without a dick if that were the case. The thought of her slick-filled pussy crying out for an alpha’s knot makes my dick go hard. I want nothing more than to see her through this heat, but we have to wait. Or do we? Her biology will be screaming for an alpha. She will be naturally delirious. Who is to say she would even know we were really there if we went to her and claimed her over and over again, disappearing during her lucid moments, only to return and ravage her?

It’s a thought. One that sits quite nicely with me.

But first, we need to get rid of this arsehole before Hazel decides he is the alpha for the job this season.

Not on my watch. Not a fucking chance in hell will he get his dick anywhere near her pussy while I’m alive to stop it.

My jaw clenches with barely contained rage. Her petite frame is shaking with sobs as she clings to him. He’s murmuring something to her, his hand rubbing soothing circles on her back. The intimacy of the scene makes my blood boil.

After what feels like an eternity, Hazel pulls back slightly. Ayden cups her face gently, thumbs wiping away the moisture. He says something that makes her nod, then guides her back to the shop with a protective arm around her shoulders.

This is not how things were supposed to go. Hazel was meant to be isolated, vulnerable. Instead, she’s found comfort in the arms of this stranger with bad intentions.

I pull my phone out and dial Noah.

He answers on the first ring. “What?”

“I want that fucker gone,” I growl aggressively.

“The detective dick?”

“Who else?”

“What’s he done? ”

“Apart from existing in Hazel’s sphere. He is with her now, comforting her after she has had a meltdown over that bastard masked magician doll.”

A pause.

Then, he says, “Tell me you are joking?” I can hear the tightness in his words, which means I’ve pushed a button that has no reset. I smile. Ayden is a dead alpha walking.

Noah’s voice is cold and deadly as he responds. “I’ll take care of it. Give me thirty-six hours.”

“Make it twenty-four,” I hiss. “I want him gone before Hazel’s heat hits.”

“Consider it done,” Noah says and hangs up without another word.

I stare at the bookshop, imagining all the ways I’d like to make that detective suffer. But Noah is better at handling these delicate situations. He’ll make sure Ayden disappears without a trace. If it were left to me, I’d smash his face in until even his own mother wouldn’t recognise him.

But for now, I need to focus on Hazel. Her reaction to the masked magician was stronger than I’d expected, which means her descent into madness is getting closer.

As I walk away from the bookshop, I can’t help but think back to my earlier musing. Hazel’s heat is imminent. She’ll be vulnerable and needy. It could be the perfect opportunity to make our move without her even knowing. If we plan it perfectly, be there while she is delirious and away when she is lucid, making it seem like fevered dreams, it will slowly unravel her even further.

The more I think about this plan, the more I like it. Hazel Bishop will be ours, and anyone who stands in our way will regret it.