Page 63 of The Alpha's Seer

I sit on my hands to keep them from jittering, but it's no use. My mouth is dry, and I can't stop thinking about Calix. For him to leave me like this... it tells me we're in danger, and that terrifies me.

“Cox,” I rasp, my tongue wetting my lips. “Is he safe?”

Cox continues to stare at me silently before nodding.

Relief floods my body, but he still doesn't speak, and I'm about to lose my shit.

“What's happening? Please, Cox, tell mesomething!” I'm desperate, and although I'm only a human, I want to help. I'm the Alpha’s mate, and everything is falling apart around us.

Vix guides the young boy, Soren, out of the room with a stare that tells me she's seen something she'll never forget.

“Vix? Are you...” I start, twisting my body to speak to her.

“Don't.” Cox's voice is sharp and loud, and I whip around with surprise. “Her mate was attacked.”

An ache stretches across my ribs, and I bow my head, my hand clamping to my mouth.

“Is he alive?”

Cox sighs. “For now.”

Oh no.

Poor Vix, and of course, poor Soren. I don't think I've met her mate, but it's impossible to say with the amount of people I've seen here. I’m suddenly annoyed with myself for not making more time to learn more about the pack and its people, and my brows crash together. “Do you know who did this?”

I'm so fucking restless. My legs won't stop jigging, and my heart races like I've been running. I've barely moved in hours; it doesn't make sense.

Cox shakes his head.No.

“I know you're worried, Cox, but so am I,” I snap. “Please tell me something. Anything.”

Cox stares past me, his eyes vacant before he sits upright. “Alpha Calix is here.”

I bolt from my seat and leap—yes, leap—over the back of the sofa, halfway out the door, when I see my mate across from me. He's shirtless and panting, but as I scan his body, I'm relieved he doesn't appear hurt. I run to him, crashing into his arms as tears prick my eyes.

“I'm okay,” Calix mumbles, kissing my forehead. “Let's go inside.”

“What's happening? Cox won't tell me anything, and people are hurt?—”

Calix silences me with a brief kiss on my lips. “Try to keep up; come with me.”

Usually, I’d be pissed or offended by his comment, but before we’re even in the packhouse, Calix is surrounded by the men I've learned are his second, third, and fourth in command. It's hot in here with all of us panting and raging, and as Calix begins to talk, I rush around the kitchen filling pitchers with water. I fill the table with glasses and start handing them out once they're filled, and the men take them gratefully.

Calix especially, who nods his thanks to me before downing two glasses in a row.

“They're not normal. They're not like us.” Calix pants out, and I pour him another water, my fingers trembling. “I saw one.”

My stomach churns with dread at his words.

“What are they?” Cox demands, his fingers curling around the back of a chair so tightly it cracks. “What did you see? Did he say anything?”

Calix dips his head, and sweat drips down his neck and onto his chest. Like everyone else, I wait with bated breath until he finally raises his head.

“He told me they were exiles. Rejects.”

The men shift but say nothing as Calix continues, twisting his neck this way, then that. I wince when it cracks.

“He was deformed. Burned, I think. But he was fast,” Calix says, looking every man in the eye before adding, “Too fast.”