When My Alpha Received My Ashes

Chapter 3

After two weeks away, Ronan finally came home. My old boots still sat by the entryway. An old note was still stuck to the fridge, reminding him to eat on time even when he got busy. He didn't read it. He tore it down and threw it in the trash.

"Tess, get out here."

No one answered. He searched the bedroom, the laundry room, then finally kicked open the little attic door. That's where I'd lived for the past two years. The room was narrow, and cold drafts crept in all winter. On the nightstand sat a glass of water long since evaporated and a pile of empty pill boxes.

He frowned, then immediately called his second. "Seal off every road out of the territory. Find her." Standing in front of my narrow bed, Ronan's voice went ice-cold. "If she ran, she'd better pray I don't catch her."

I looked down at my legs. Before I died, the mangled car door had crushed them. I hadn't caught everything the doctors said. I only remembered someone sighing that it was too late. They couldn't hurt anymore.

His phone rang soon after.

"Alpha, the last call that went through on Mrs. Calder's phone was to Seth Fenwick. He's back in Fir Bay, staying on Lighthouse Road." "She's with him?" "Mr. Fenwick says she already—"

Ronan hung up.

I followed him to Seth's place. The door shook under Ronan's fist. On the third pound, Seth opened it. His shirt was rumpled, his eyes exhausted and completely bloodshot.

"Hand Tess over."

Seth stared at him. After a long moment, he asked, "Didn't you already collect her?

"You picked up her ashes from Moonrest Funeral Home this morning."

Ronan's face went darker. "She got you in on this too?" He shoved Seth aside and shouted my name into the house.

"Tess, don't think that just because you have Seth protecting you, you can forget my mother's death anniversary. I'll count to three, come out right now."

"One."

No one responded.

"Two."

"Ronan, Tess is already dead!"

Seth looked at him coldly.

Ronan didn't look at him, and icily recited the third number.

The moment the third number fell, Ronan threw a punch at his abdomen.

Seth slammed into the door frame, letting out a muffled groan.

"Ronan, Tess really is dead. You were the one who went to collect the ashes! Have you forgotten all of that?"

Ronan furiously pinned Seth down, pressing him hard against the door.

"Even at a time like this, you still want to hide her from me? You like picking up my leftovers that much?

"Wait until she's finished repaying the debt she owes my mother, then you can come asking for her.

"But she definitely won't leave with you. After all, as long as I'm willing to spare her a glance, she'll come back on her own."

My head snapped up. All those nights I'd whispered, begging him to listen—he'd read every one of them as proof I couldn't bear to leave him.

"Shut up," Seth rasped.

Ronan only smiled. "Why? You think you know her better than I do?"

Seth lifted his head, and something shifted in his eyes. His fist caught the side of Ronan's face and sent him into the wall. "She's a person, not something you own!"

In an instant, the two of them were fully locked in a brawl.

Ronan's prowess as an Alpha was unmatched by Seth. He got overpowered fast, pinned to the floor, blood at the corner of his mouth.

I knelt beside him, my hand passing through his shoulder. Even dead, I was still getting him hurt. I threw myself in front of Seth and watched Ronan's foot pass clean through my body before landing on his shoulder.

"Ronan, stop fighting!"

I opened my mouth, tears streaming down my face as I looked at him.

"Look at that." Ronan sneered between breaths. "Taking a beating for her, and she can't even show her face."

Seth spat blood. "How pathetic, fooled by your mother's killer like an i***t, while you caused the death of the wife who loved you most."

Ronan grabbed his collar. "Say that again."

He'd barely raised his fist when his second came running in. "Alpha, we found footage of Mrs. Calder's accident, and a death certificate signed by her doctor."