Mated To The Alpha Bully

18

We dashed across the harsh terrain, unsure if we were going in the right direction, and Mira kept up with me perfectly, matching me stride for stride. Then I heard a howl from the town behind us, and my hair stood on end. More howls joined in, cutting through the cool night air, and then I heard the distinct growl of engines starting up. I looked over at Mira, trying to urge her to run faster while increasing my own pace until my muscles screamed. There couldn’t be any slowing or stopping, not now. We had to make it.

But even in our wolf forms, we couldn’t outrun cars, and it wasn’t long before I felt the pull in my gut that meant Jordan was getting closer. f**k. Stronger and stronger it pulled until I almost lost my footing, and the sound of cars in the distance grew louder. Panic filled me, and then suddenly the headlights were on us, illuminating us like spotlights. I tried to bolt to the side, to go into a defensive running maneuver that Stella had taught me. I didn’t make it. The SUVs slid in alongside us, spinning around with expert precision to box us in. Dammit, I thought, and tried to look for an escape route. There wasn’t one.

We were trapped, once again.

Chapter Eight

My legs shuddered under me as I halted completely, and I was panting hard enough that I was sure Jordan could hear it. Mira wasn’t better off beside me, her lips pulled back as she lowered herself into a defensive crouch. But the waxing moon was overhead, and I still had its magic filling me. I pressed against Mira's side and teleported us away from the cars, into another spot of desert. Then I did it again, putting distance between us.

Before I could blink away a third time, the air around me seemed to light up, and fire hit my side. I let out a loud howl of pure agony as I was knocked down, and then a beam of pure sunlight flew toward Mira next, though she narrowly dodged it. From my spot on the ground, I traced the bolt back to Roxandra, who sat in front of one of the SUVs.

As I struggled to my feet, the cars surrounded us again. One of the doors opened and I snapped my head toward the sound. Jordan stepped out and held up a hand, and at his silent command, other shifters emerged from their vehicles and surrounded us. The three Sun Witches moved to stand beside Jordan, and Roxandra's hand lit up as she shot another bolt of light at Mira, this time hitting her square in the chest.

She yelped, falling on her side, and didn’t move again. If I’d been in human form, I would have gasped, but what came out of my throat was a whine. I looked over at her, trying to figure out if she was even still alive, but the shifters were closing in fast. I closed my eyes and weighed my options. I only had a few seconds to make a decision, and if I made the wrong one, it could end with both of us dead.

There was no way I’d leave Mira, even if I could teleport, and I didn’t see a way that I could carry an unconscious shifter and fight my way out of here. And if the Sun Witches hit me with whatever they’d hit Mira with? I’d be toast. I flinched at the thought of having their magic on me again. I never wanted to come into contact with that again.

"I'm disappointed in you, Ayla," Jordan said with a sigh, as he moved to stand in front of me. "I thought you were finally willing to accept me as your mate."

Never, I thought, as I glared at him from my wolf eyes.

"I told you to keep her locked up," Roxandra said.

"If I had, you wouldn't have seen her power tonight," Jordan said. "I told you she would use it if given a chance."

"True." Roxandra turned a cruel smile on me. "We were wondering what exactly you could do. Now we know."

"There was never any chance of you escaping," Jordan told me, looking down at me with a haughty expression. "The second you used your power, the Sun Witches felt it. We let you keep going for a while so they could study you. After that, it was easy to track you down."

My heart sank at his words. We'd never even had a chance, and now I was going to be trapped with the Leo pack forever. Despair made me want to throw my head back and howl at the moon, but instead, I snarled at my mate. All the desire I'd once felt for him was gone, replaced only with pure hatred.

He bent down and stroked my head, and I snapped at his fingers. "Tomorrow is our mating ceremony. Don’t even think about running again. If you try, we’ll kill Mira and her mate.” From the deadly smile on his face, he was completely serious. “Hell, maybe I’ll kill the entire Pisces pack too, just because I can. So do them all a favor, and don’t even try.”

I balked at his words, and all the fight left me. Surely he wouldn’t kill an entire pack because of me? I didn’t want to chance it. I didn’t trust his mental stability in the slightest. There was no way to escape, and even if I could find a patch of moonlight that wasn’t currently being flooded with the light from the cars, I couldn’t leave Mira.

I dropped my head in submission and shifted back to my human form, standing naked before them. “I won't run." I held my hands out in front of me in a don’t shoot gesture. “I promise."Jordan sneered and didn’t even give me time to cover myself before he grabbed hold of my wrist and dragged me back to one of the cars.