Chapter 29: Fractured Alliances

ALEXANDER

~Knock. Knock~.

Without lifting his eyes from his laptop screen, Alexander called out, “Enter.”

The door creaked open. Jason slipped in and quickly shut it behind him. That could only mean one thing; he didn’t want anyone overhearing their conversation. “How’s your back?”

Alexander’s gaze flicked to Jason momentarily. “It’s okay.” He had hoped it would heal faster, but he wasn’t about to admit that. It might help if he let Olivia examine it again, but he’d been trying to keep his distance from her.

She was everywhere. Her scent was everywhere. Every corner he turned, every step he took led him to her. It was driving him mad.

His office was the most secluded part of the house, one of the few places her scent hadn’t permeated. So, he was confining himself there.

The seven-day ~break~ was nearing its end and the beast within him was growing restless. She would leave and all he’d have left of her was the lingering scent.

He wanted her to stay.

No matter what.

But he pushed those thoughts aside. That approach wouldn’t work. Yes, it might keep her at the pack house, but not in the way he desired. ~Damn~.

He thought the best way to soothe his nerves was to be alone.

Even if he could control his emotions, he didn’t want to reveal too much. She was just starting to feel at ease around him and he didn’t want to spoil that. Self-control wasn’t his forte.

“So, I got some news about that beta.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Apparently, he’s not entirely dishonest.”

Alexander held his laptop screen and shut it. That jerk? Speaking the truth? He wasn’t convinced. He was a habitual liar. He had manipulated Olivia. He had exploited her.

“What are you saying?”

Jason tilted his head. “I still have a few contacts in the packs up North. They’ve heard of a Will—a parentless beta.”

A sprinkle of truth in a pool of deceit.

He was finding it hard to believe. “They were murdered.”

“Exactly.”

Damn it. He had minimal interaction with the distant packs but he hadn’t heard about any intra-pack killings. Was that the reason for the frequent change of alphas?

No, it couldn’t be. No one would allow a pack to slaughter their own and then grow. They would pose too much of a threat. “Is this a common occurrence for them?”

“No. But you would have done the same.”

“What?”

He couldn’t think of a scenario where he would have to kill one of his own.

Jason sighed, lowering his head. “They, um.” He licked the back of his teeth, his complexion turning paler.

“They had, well, ~murdered~ humans.”

He didn’t like the way he said that. “Murdered?”

“Alex…”

Ignoring the worry in his voice, he chose to repeat his question. “Murdered?” He wasn’t going to let this slide.

“Mutilated, okay? They were killing, ripping apart, and ~consuming~ humans.”

A growl escaped his lips and as the fury clouded his vision, coursing through his veins, he found himself punching the wall behind him.

~A choice between two evils.~

How does one deal with bloodthirsty werewolves? He had heard of them. Once they developed a taste for humans, they became deranged. It was a power game, especially for betas.

They finally had the upper hand. It wasn’t a common occurrence.

Humans led their lives, werewolves led theirs…they interacted only when necessary. Everything they did was done in secret.

Werewolves made sure that humans perceived them as a myth and nothing more.

It was a survival strategy. Yes, they could tear a human apart, but they couldn’t fight all of them.

It was best to avoid conflicts. Rabid pack members were a liability. A threat to the entire pack.

Naturally, the alpha would get rid of them.

He let out a breath, his lungs deflating. “And the beta?”

Jason rubbed his neck, avoiding eye contact. “He was just a pup.

“They didn’t want to keep him ~just in case~. But they didn’t want to kill him either. He hadn’t done anything…~yet~. His mother used to be a human. They found her parents, left the pup at their doorstep, and disappeared.”

Alexander withdrew his hand from the wall, pieces of drywall falling to the floor. He could feel the blood trickling down his knuckles but that wasn’t what was bothering him.

“He touched her. She’s going to return and he’ll be there.”

~Calm down.~ He needed to calm down. But he couldn’t. His mind was foggy, his wolf was trying to take over. “She’s my damn mate, and I’m supposed to send her back there? I’m supposed to let her ~leave~?”

He didn’t care that it was ~his~ parents who committed the crime. That little bastard was tainted. He had seen it in his eyes. From the moment he laid eyes on him, he knew something was off.

He was a complete nutcase. The chains?

The stalking? The sex? His hand clenched into a fist, his nails piercing his palm, drawing blood.

He could feel the sweat trickling down his face as he struggled to control himself.

Alexander wanted to smash his face. He wanted to strangle him and watch the life drain from his eyes.

He ~had~ to go there. He ~had~ to keep her away from him. He—“DAMN IT!”

Another hole in the wall.

“Alex…” Jason’s voice wavered, a tremor he couldn’t mask. “I understand th—”

“You don’t ~fucking~ understand,” Alex exploded.

In a heartbeat, he found himself inches away from his right-hand man.

“You don’t fucking understand. She’s ~mine~ and she’s leaving. She’s fleeing straight back to him.

“That jerk touched her. He put her in ~fucking~ chains. You don’t know a damn thing.”

He raked his fingers through his hair. “What the hell am I supposed to do? Chain her up and keep her here?”

A bitter laugh escaped him, but there was no humor in it.

“That makes me just like him, doesn’t it? Just fucking chaining her up, keeping her where I want her. Yeah, like that’s going to make her fall for me.”

The more he discovered about that scumbag, the less he trusted him. There was more to learn, more to reveal about him. What the fuck else was he concealing? Was he like his parents? Was that why the chains?

If he wasn’t restrained like a fucking beast, he’d ~behave~ like one? Unless he’d been sheltered, he was ~certain~ he had witnessed some of the atrocities his parents committed.

It was ~within~ him. Like a disease, a growing darkness.

His nose twitched. ~Fear~. It was radiating off Jason. Sure, he was fucking angry, but fear? Jason wasn’t afraid of him. There was more. Did he want to know more? “What are you keeping from me?”

“It’s not about the beta. It’s about Olivia. We’ve seen more wolves around—”

“Again?”

He didn’t need this crap. The blows were coming from all sides.

“Maybe it’s—”

Jason didn’t get to draw his next breath.

Before he could utter another word, Alex seized his throat, squeezing his windpipe. He hurled him forward, slamming his body into the wall.

“Maybe what? Maybe she should go?”

All the suppressed fury he was holding back, all the instincts driving him mad were being unleashed.

His wolf was howling inside him that Jason wanted to keep them apart while the rational part of him was trying to soothe it.

~That wasn’t it. Jason liked Olivia. He wasn’t trying to take her away. He wanted to protect her~.

Jason lifted a hand and wrapped it around Alex’s wrist.

Alex waited for a moment, feeling the pounding of his heart in his temple, before easing his grip enough to let him speak. “They’re here for her.”

~He fucking knew that~. He didn’t need the reminder.

~Everyone wanted his mate~.

“She’s an omega. She’s not marked,” Jason stressed.

Heats were the most perilous times for an omega, but it didn’t mean life was a walk in the park otherwise.

She had no clue the trouble she could get into just by being packless like she was.

He had to guess that fucking beta had resolved a few problems in the past, wiped a few tracks.

There was no way no one ~ever~ found her. Was that why, before he had a girlfriend, he took Olivia during her heats? So her scent wouldn’t attract anyone?

All of her other stays had been short.

Not long enough to leave a trail that other packs could follow. He hadn’t even considered it. Not until the brutal attack the other day. They’d been ruthless.

Most packs were dealing with a decrease in births, in expanding ranks. What better than a fertile omega to rebuild the pack? If he’d bitten her, they would think twice about it. Her scent wouldn’t be the same either.

But right now?

She was a prize to be claimed.

He loosened his grip, causing Jason to collapse on the floor. He dragged his hand down his face, sighing. “Damn, I—sorry—I.” Alex pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I ~get~ it, okay. But what am I supposed to do?” He covered his face with both hands, his head throbbing.

Keep her here to mate her without her willing consent, or let her go and endure the pain. Those were his two choices. And only one was feasible.

“Would it be so insane to tell her?”

“She’ll feel cornered.”

“Perhaps she’ll come to understand. She’ll realize you didn’t create her. Maybe someone else will spill the beans. ~Let it slip~.”

Even if he did confess to her. Even if ~everything went according to plan~, it’s not like she’d agree to be his mate today.

She’d either remain—unclaimed—or she’d leave. It wouldn’t solve their immediate problem.

“She’ll depart. I’ll figure out a way to break it to her.” He needed to strategize his best approach.

However, no plan seemed ideal, not while she was with the beta.

She could flee to him and he could twist this whole mess to his advantage. He needed to be removed from the picture so he couldn’t feed her more falsehoods.

He couldn’t afford to lose her. Certainly not to that beast.

Jason gave a nod. “What about the beta?”

“I’m going to handle him personally.”

The time had come for a more direct face-off.