The Alpha's Abused Mate

Chapter 9: Intrutors and Interrogations

The meeting with Akule took place about a week ago at this point. Xavier stood true to his word and sent some of our Deltas to join in protecting the New Moon pack. Thankfully, we have discovered that there have been no new kidnappings at this point. So, that is good.

The only downside, as Xavier pointed out a few days ago, is that we are now understaffed when it comes to protecting our own pack if something were to happen. He doubts that it will, but it is an unknown. 

Due to this, Xavier has spent most of his time in his office going over important aspects of this as well as how it affects the pack. 

I, per usual, have been left to wander around the mansion. Usually, I would hang out with Harvy and Leigh, but sadly, they both are busy with school work (after all, they are both still in high school). So, I sat in the library, alone, reading up on some history. 

One thing I have been trying to research is the Winter Haven Pack. I was trying to figure out why it seemed so familiar. From the book I was currently reading, I discovered that the Winter Haven Pack is lead by the Lightwood family. The family was known for being harsh and also non-conformity, which makes sense as they are often starting wars with the neighboring packs to assert dominance and expand their power. 

The pack was originally quite small as it started as a group of lone-wolfs joining together. From there, they took over multiple packs to create one of the largest territories on this side of the continent. 

For a period of time, the wars stopped, and that is where the information ended. Now, they are starting up again and their first target must be the New Moon Pack. But why. They were, well sort of, at peace for nearly twenty years. 

I put the book I was looking at back on its shelf and picked up another one: Alphas of Notorious Packs. As I opened the book, I saw pictures and as well as stories about different pack leaders over time. So, I went near the back of the book and found the information on Winter Haven. Compared to some of the other packs, the section on Winter Haven was small, but it held a lot more than I expected. 

The first Alpha was Yixon Lightwood. In the small image next to his description I saw a painted picture of a tall, fair-skinned man with ginger hair. Hair that resembled mine. As I continued flipping through pages, I saw all of the Alphas shared that complexion and hair color. 

In an effort to calm to the rollercoaster that began in my stomach, I grabbed my necklace and started reading about the latest Alpha, Alpha Kai Lightwood. 

Kai Lightwood of the Winter Haven pack took his position on the 17th of July, 2001. His haste appointment to power came as a shock to the members of the pack as his father, Nodin, stepped down after a mere 15 years of power. It is theorized that this transfer of leadership came from the loss of ...

My reading was cut short at this point. I heard loud yells coming from the hallway as well as a few bangs as if something fell over. Assuming that Harvey and Leigh were fighting, again, I stood up and walked out of the library and into the hallway. 

As soon as I was out of the door, I froze. It was not Harvey and Leigh fighting but Edric and another man, a delta I assume, leading a handcuffed man down the hallway. Xavier rushed down the hallway from where his office was and stopped when he saw the man. 

"Who is this?" He asked Edric and the other man.

Edric responded, "we don't know his name, Alpha, but we do know he is from Winter Haven." Edric, as though to prove his point, motioned to the small tattoo on the back of the man's shoulder. The tattoo was of a wolf howling and a circle enclosing it. Simple enough, but it is known to be the tattoo of the Winter Haven Deltas. 

At that very moment, the trapped man looked at me and grinned, "oh Xavier, this must be the new Luna," he laughed darkly, "quite pretty, she is. Better keep her locked away. Would hate to lose her if I were you."

Xavier did not react well to this comment. He walked forward and grabbed the man by the hair before banging his head against the wall, hard. 

A loud crack was heard as the man's nose broke and blood began to drip down his face.

"You will not address her," Xavier growled at the man before looking back to Edric, "Take him downstairs. I will deal with him later."

As Edric and the delta lead the Winter Haven man down to the basement, Xavier turned to me. I could see the anger on his face.

"What were you doing?" He asked, his voice harsh and cold, "what is wrong with you?!" His voice raised at this and I, feeling scared, began to shrink back against the wall.

"I-I assumed that Harvey and Leigh were fighting... I decided to go see if I could break it up.." My voice cracked as I spoke and I looked down at my feet, unable to continue eye contact.

"So, you hear yelling and a loud crash, and instead of staying put, instead of staying safe, you decide it is worth your time to go check it out? What if he was not contained? You could have been hurt." 

I did not respond to this but kept looking down. 

Xavier growled again and took my arm in his hand. His grip was tighter than usual, but I did not show that it hurt as he lead me down the hall and then up the stairs to our bedroom. He opened the door and looked at me.

"You will stay in here until I tell you you can leave." He let go of my arm and I walked inside the room.

The door shut and I heard a key locking it from the outside. 

I went and sat on the couch and hugged my knees to my chest. I have never seen Xavier so angry towards me before this. Sure, he has been frustrated or told me off for a small mistake, but he has never actually made me fearful, at least not since I first arrived. 

I put my hand on the spot in which Xavier grabbed and flinched to the touch. So, I looked at it and saw a bruise had formed. 

Sighing, I looked down and tried to calm down.

My wolf was howling inside me as if trying to figure out why our mate would hurt us like this.

I must have fallen asleep on the couch at some point because I was awoken to the door opening and Xavier walking in. He looked over at me and walked over. 

"Aliya," He said as he sat down near me. Instinctively, I scooted away as I was unsure what his intentions were.

He shook his head and then saw the bruise he gave me and his eyes went soft.

"Aliya, I'm sorry. I did not realize I grabbed you that hard," He tried to explain. 

I did not respond, though. I just hugged my knees to my chest once again and sat tensely. 

Xavier scooted closer to me and took one of my small hands into his large hands.

"I will never do such a thing to you again." He stated. His words were soft and his face showed he was remorseful, "I was worried for you once the prisoner addressed you in such a way and I acted out of impulse. I should never have grabbed you in such a way."

I just nodded my head slightly and bit my lip, "w-what happened?" I asked him, obviously meaning with the new prisoner.

"We interrogated him. As we already knew, he is from the Winter Haven Pack. My guess is that the New Moon Pack was not the intended target, but was used as a distraction mechanism to lower our defenses. Which worked. Sadly, we did not get much information from him tonight, but I do expect we will find a way to loosen his tongue before too long." 

I just nodded and then asked something that I did not realize I was wondering, "why would he say 'I would hate to lose her if I were you?'"

"Often, as a way to hurt an Alpha, enemies will capture or kill their Luna."

I nodded my head and let go of my legs before leaning over and hugging my mate. Breathing in his scent made my wold go wild, but I tried to ignore her.

His arms protectively went around me as well before standing up and carrying me to the bed.