Rising Alpha

7

When he glances my way, he stills for a moment.

Oh, no. Did Megan get caught? My heart drops to my stomach.

“Was Megan here?” Kevin frowns and glances around the room.

Shit, her scent is everywhere. It’s not like I can lie. “Yes, but I told her she’d have to come back and talk to you. You’re our alpha after all.” I hate saying those words, but it’s the only way to save us both.

“Good call. Why aren't you ready?" He arches an eyebrow, then grins. "The event begins within an hour. I thought all you girls needed time to get all dolled up."

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. "I'm about to get ready now." In other words, I'm hoping to figure a way out of this entire situation. The image of the shack appears back in my mind.

"It would be wise for you to make sure you're at your best." His eyes flash with contempt and he grabs my arm, pulling me towards him. "We have a regional representative in attendance tonight so you will play your part as the doting mate well. Do you understand?" His hot, rancid breath hits me in the face.

My body tries to gag, but I hold it back. If I break, it'll thrill him. That might be the only reason I'm still standing strong. "Yes, I got it." How I want to spit on him, but if I want to survive this, I have to be smart.

"Good girl." He raises his hand almost as if he'll slap me, but I refuse to flinch. When his hand comes down, it's slow and he rubs his fingers across my choker causing me to cringe.

"You're truly fascinating." He lets me go and then puts his fingers in his mouth. "And you taste so good. I can't wait to lick all over you tonight."

One day I'll be free from all this. It might be in the form of death, but right now that alternative sounds like a peaceful one compared to this. Yet I refuse to take the coward’s way out. I'll fight until my last breath. I refuse to let him have that kind of power over me.

His laugh sounds like the drums when someone is being led to a hanging. In a way, this is my own personal version. "I'll see you at the altar." He winks and then leaves me to get ready for my ultimate demise.

Dom

My wolf growls loudly at the thought of him going to her. s**t, I got to get this under control. Yeah, I thought we were mates, but that can't be the case if she’s bonding herself to this dipshit. There has to be some kind of mistake and my wolf needs to get its act together.

“Who should we meet first?” John glances around and notices that there are some women setting up a table. “Let’s go help them.”

“Huh?” The beta’s eyebrows raise so high they’re hidden by his saggy, nappy hair.

This is ridiculous. “Yes, I’m sure there’s more stuff to do. They might need some extra hands.” It shouldn’t be that farfetched to help out your own pack.

John heads over that way and smiles. “Hello, ladies. How’s everything going?”

A young lady who couldn’t be over sixteen flinches when he steps next to her. “We’re working as fast as we can. We’ll make sure everything is ready by the alpha’s deadline.”

It’s not a good sign when they flinch because a man is near. I can’t even begin to wonder what these douchebags do to them. “No, we want to help out.” I make sure my voice is calm and low. It reminds me of how we had to talk to people during my time in the army.

“Uh…” The girl glances at Dederick and then back at us. “Oh, no. We’ve got it.” She lowers her head and goes back to work.

Savannah

There's no turning back now. I’m grabbing the dress from its hanger when the back door opens. Would Megan come back after nearly getting caught? But, wait, there are three sets of footsteps heading this way. What now?

Alison's the first one to appear in the hallway; and she has tears in her blackened eyes.

"What happened?" Did her mate already beat her again? How could he do this to her?

"He couldn't find me earlier when I went searching for you." She cradles her belly, but her face is tense and scrunched up. "This was my punishment."

"What the hell?" Wait... there were three footsteps I heard. "Who's here with you?" I walk down the hallway and stop dead in my tracks.

Abigail’s arm is bent in an unnatural angle and her daughter’s, Charlotte, clothes are ripped and leaving little to the imagination. Alison has tears streaming out of her eyes with her arms wrapped around her body.

"On my way back, I took a detour since I knew where Kevin was going and stumbled upon this." Abigail waves her good arm towards Charlotte and clenches her hand in a fist. "Dederick was going...."

She doesn't have to finish that sentence. We all understand what she's implying, and it’s sad that I’m not surprised. This isn’t the first time someone tried to take one of the females unwilling.

"The asshole got pissed that I interrupted him and punched me in the eye and stomach. Still mad, he grabbed my arm and twisted it." Abigail reaches out and wraps her arm around her daughter. "But he left her alone after that. At least for now, but we know how Dederick is. We caught up with Alison on our way here.”

For now... That's how we handle everything here. We're safe for now... It'll hurt for now.... We can hide for now... I'm done with all of this. How can I stand here and mate with a guy who encourages this type of treatment in our pack? If we're going down, shouldn't we go down of our own accord,fighting the entire way? "No, she's not going to be safe for now."

DOM

M

y mind goes back to her; the woman who can't be mine. What I wouldn't give to have someone like her in my life. I don't even want to consider what the two of them might be doing right

now. What could she possibly see in him?

The front door bang shuts as Kevin comes back out of the house. His face has a smug smile and he eyes a few girls that are walking by.

What the hell? I can’t believe that bastard’s checking out women when he's about to commit himself.

"Hey, are you okay?" John's voice shocks me back to the present.

Before I can say anything, vanilla inundates me once more but it's got a spice added to it. She's scared. My wolf howls inside me, and there is no way I can ignore this.