Alpha Mendoza

Chapter 5

Alessia:

The bowl hovered inches from my lips, its thick dark liquid swirling ominously. It smelled a little too bitter to mean medicine. Too bitter to be anything meant to save.

My stepfather’s grip tightened painfully on my jaw. “Stop being dramatic and drink it. You refused to swallow the pill, we had to resolve to other matters.”

I struggled, voice barely a whisper.

“I… I can’t. I just need a few moments to think. The Alpha has already given me until tonight, please.”

“The faster you are done with this, the better.” My stepfather said angrily. “And I am not leaving this room until you’re done.

Lucien sank to his knees beside me, one trembling hand clutching mine. His tears fell freely as he looked at me.

“Alessia, I don’t want you to do this,” he whispered, voice cracking perfectly. “But if it means saving me… I’ll accept your sacrifice. A sacrifice for love, for us, our marriage.”

Sage snarled inside me.

Sacrifice? He wants our pup dead. Do you think that he is going to care about us?

“I won’t force you,” Lucien added, gaze full of tragic devotion. “But if I die… please know I forgave you. Please know that I wanted things to be different.”

My stomach twisted painfully.

Tears blurred my vision.

My stepfather snapped, “Enough sentimental nonsense. She will drink. Now hold still…”

A violent roar erupted outside. A roar that did not belong to Red Moon.

The walls shook. Warriors shouted. Metal clashed. The front door slammed open somewhere in the distance.

My stepfather cursed under his breath.

“What now…?”

Shoes thundered down the hall.

But the shattering of glass, and then the bag on the door took us all off guard.

The door flew open, slamming so hard against the wall it cracked the wood.

And he walked in.

Alexander Mendoza.

My breath stopped.

His presence consumed the entire room. Tall, built like a weapon, eyes blazing with a fury I had only seen on battlefields. His Elite Guards filled the doorway behind him, all dressed in dark armor with the Blue Moon crest, radiating lethal intent.

Alexander’s gaze swept across the room…

First, the spilled blood on the floor.

Then Lucien kneeling beside me.

Then my stepfather’s glass of “medicine.”

Then me.

His entire body went still.

Sage whimpered, overwhelmed.

Mate… He’s come to get us out of here.

My stepfather found his voice first. “H-how dare you barge into Red Moon territory without permission! Who the f*****g hell do you think you are? This is…”

Alexander didn’t even look at him.

His voice, when he spoke, was ice sharpened to a blade. “I’m here to retrieve something of mine. You stole something from me.”

My heart stopped. My lungs forgot how to breathe.

Lucien stiffened. “Y-your… what?”

Alexander reached into his pocket and pulled out the smallest, most insignificant object imaginable.

A lighter.

One I must have accidentally taken from his hotel room.

“I believe someone here ‘stole’ classified Blue Moon property,” he said coldly, flipping it open with a click. “I traced it to this house.”

Lies.

Terrible lies.

Even Lucien and my stepfather knew it.

But Alexander’s tone dared anyone to challenge him.

The glass in my stepfather’s hand trembled, not with fear of the lie, but fear of the man delivering it.

Alexander stepped closer.

And that was when he saw the bowl. The color. The smell. The truth.

His expression changed from cold to murderous. And the low growl that came from his wolf told me, and everyone else, that he saw through and read what they were trying to hide.

“What,” he said softly, dangerously, “is that?”

My stepfather stumbled back. “Medicine. Nothing to concern you. I believe that it is not a place for you to be asking questions. You got what was yours, now you leave.”

Alexander’s eyes cut to me. My swollen, tear-stained face. My trembling hands over my stomach. Lucien’s grief. Two nurses looking down at me, wanting to hold me down.

And something inside him snapped.

He lunged so fast that none of us even blinked before his hand closed around my stepfather’s throat and slammed him against the wall.

“Medicine?” Alexander growled, voice vibrating with fury. “You were about to poison her.”

“L-let go…” my stepfather choked.

My heart raced so fast it hurt.

“No…” I whispered, shaking. “Please…”

He released my stepfather only enough so he didn’t suffocate, but the message was clear.

Touch her again, and he would kill him.

Lucien stood up quickly, expression shifting from pitiful to strained fury. “You can’t come here and act like you own her. She is to be my wife, and you are lucky that I am not coming for your head for using her body for her pleasure.”

Alexander’s gaze swung to him.

“I don’t need to own her, and I believe the pleasure was mutual.” He said, not bothering to sugarcoat it. “But I will not let you kill what’s mine.”

My breath caught. Lucien’s face went white. My stepfather wheezed, sagging against the wall.

Sage whispered, trembling,

He came for us. He came to save us.

Alexander took one step toward me, voice low but steady. “Alessia, come here.”

I couldn’t move.

Couldn’t think.

“I… I can’t,” I whispered. “They’ll punish me. They’ll…”

“You’re not staying here,” he said, final and absolute.

“I beg your pardon?”

“I said, you are not saying here.”

He extended a hand.

Commanding.

Powerful.

Terrifying.

And safe.

“I’m taking you with me.”

The room fell silent.

Every breath hung between us.

My heart pounded violently, Sage pushing me forward from inside.

Go. Run to him. Our mate came for us.

“Alexander, she is doing it to save me… if she doesn’t…”

“To save you? Your worthless life is worth nothing compared to my child.” Alpha Alexander snapped, glaring at Lucien. “Anyone who touches her declares war on Blue Moon.”

“And what of me?” I asked, making him frown. “Do I not get a say in this? The man you speak to is my fiancé.”

Alpha Alexander opened his mouth to speak before a cough raked from Lucien’s body. My eyes widened in surprise at the sight of blood when I turned to look at him.

“SON?” Alpha Garren’s voice tore through the room like a blade. And before I could react, before I could reach for the bowl, Alpha Alexander’s arms wrapped around me.

“Oh, no… you are not going to do it.” He said, pulling me toward the door.

“No! Let me go! I can save…”

“You are coming with me.” He said, stopping me. “Whatever it is that you think you’re going to do… you are not going to risk my child’s life for anyone…”