Chapter 5: A Dangerous Game
1095 Words
The air in the grand hall was electric with tension. Each wolf in the room stood tense, their gaze fixed on the standoff between two alpha Alphas.
Justin's arms around Willow's waist grew tighter by the moment as her own heart throbbed in her ears.
Kaiden's yellow eyes blazed with suppressed fury.
"I warned you," Kaiden moved a step closer, "let. Her. Go."
Justin chuckled, his fingers brushing against Willow’s arm in a way that was meant to provoke. "Relax, Kaiden. I’m simply making conversation with the lovely lady. Or has she already forgotten how to speak for herself?"
Willow swallowed. She was not so innocent as to believe Justin's charm was anything but a tool. But trapped in the middle of the two feuding Alphas, she couldn't help but feel like a prize to be won.
"Don't play games, Justin," Kaiden's voice was cold and lethal. "You think you can come into my pack, touch what's mine, and just walk?
Justin scoffed. "And yours, Kaiden? The woman who hates you? The mate who was torn from you? Tell me, does she call out your name in hunger, or is she another prisoner in your harem?"
A growl ran through the middle of Kaiden's torso. Power eddied around him, and for the first time that night, Willow saw something ignite in his eyes—something elemental, something exposed.
Possession.
He didn't merely wish to own her. He desired her.
"Enough," Kaiden snarled, bridging the distance between them in an instant. With a vicious jerk, he wrenched Willow from Justin's arms, holding her fighting body hard against him. "I will not warn you again."
Justin grinned, undisturbed. "Oh, sure, sure." He raised his hands in mock surrender. "For the time being, I'll allow you to retain your little toy. But take this to heart, Willow… " He tilted his head to one side, eyes sparkling. "I always do what I say I'm going to do."
And with that, he turned on his heel and melted into the throng, leaving Willow fighting against Kaiden's implacable hold.
His hand closed around her wrist like a vice but not hurtfully—firmly enough to make her understand she belonged to him, regardless of whether she wished to or not.
"You have no clue how much trouble you've just gotten yourself into," he ground out.
Willow jerked herself free. "I didn't get myself into anything, Kaiden. You did when you kidn*pped me."
His face twisted. She could have sworn for a moment he would strike her, but he drew a bitter breath and turned away.
"Get to your room. Now," he growled, his voice heavy with authority.
She wished to disobey him, to challenge him, but the stress of the evening had worn her out. With one last glare, she turned on her heel and stalked away.
Willow was in bed that night, on her back and staring up at the ceiling. Her body ached from what had occurred that day, but her mind was active.
Justin had offered her an escape. And at what cost?
Kaiden had saved her tonight. But why?
She had eyes closed, attempting to sleep, when a sound outside of her door had her sitting up in a straight position.
Boots landed on the bed with a heavy, sluggish impact.
Her heart racing, she got out of bed and padded to the door, ear pressed against it.
"You should have killed him when you had the chance," growled a rough voice.
Kaiden.
"Not yet," replied a second voice—his Beta. "Justin's little visit here wasn't for taunting's sake. He's scheming."
"Let him wait," Kaiden stated. "We have more urgent business. The girl still has no idea what truly happened to her family's attack."
Willow's breath caught.
Her family.
Her fists were tiny clenched balls as she leaned in to listen.
"Do you think she'll ever forgive you if she finds out the truth?" his Beta questioned.
There was a thick pause.
Kaiden had spoken this time quietly. "She can hate me all she wants. But I did not order the attack. And I will not let the real perpetrator get away."
Willow stumbled backward, reeling.
Kaiden had not ordered the attack?
Everything she had thought—her anger, her hatred—had been based on the belief that he was the one who had killed her parents. But if he wasn't, then who?
A frozen horror brewed in her stomach.
She had to have the truth.
The night was quiet when the trespasser shattered it.
Willow sensed it before she saw it—the presence, the disturbance in the air. She'd barely a moment to relocate herself before a firm hand clamped over her mouth, stifling her scream.
"Shhh," a voice whispered.
Her eyes flew open.
Lucas.
Her mate.
The boy she'd hoped to spend forever with.
Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as she reached for his wrists and he let out a release of her. "Lucas," she whispered. "You—you came for me?"
He nodded, his blue gaze steadfast. "I never gave up hope, Willow. I would've been here sooner, but Kaiden's pack is guarded by all manner of things. I had to wait it out."
Hope leapt in her chest. "Then get me out of here. Now. Before he realizes—"
But Lucas wasn't listening. His hands on her shoulders were vice-grips, his face contorted into something she couldn't decipher.
"Why were you with him tonight?" he growled, voice low.
Willow's eyes went wide. "What?"
"Kaiden." His jaw was clenched. "I saw the way he looked at you. The way he touched you."
She stiffened. "It's not like that."
"Isn't it?" Lucas's fingers burrowed deep into her skin.
Willow flinched. "You're hurting me—"
"Then come with me," he commanded. "Now."
She hesitated.
The words should have been easy to speak—Yes, take me away. I don't belong here. But something restrained her.
Lucas's fingers around her arm tightened. "Willow. We can't waste any more time on this. If you won't come with us."
His voice dropped cold, possessive.
"Then I'll take you by force."
Her breath caught.
The boy she'd once loved was gone now. His desperation had soured into something else.
Something lethal.
Before she could even move, the door at her back creaked open.
A known shape slid into the room.
Kaiden.
His gold eyes burned with icy fury as he fixed them on Lucas's clenched fist wrapped around her.
Willow was hardly able to shape his name when the world ended.
- Writer
