The Alpha, The Rogue & The Beauty

Enchantments

Leon POV

When I heard Crystal tell Connor that she had told Stacey about Beth, my blood boiled. I couldn’t stop the growl that escaped my throat. I had to leave the building before my anger got the better of me, so I stormed away from the girl’s bedroom, down the stairs and out the front door.

I paced around the front garden, fists clenching and unclenching at my sides. I wanted to hit something, but there wasn’t anything to hit. My anger wasn’t directed at Crystal, she was only a naïve hormonal teenager whose life had changed drastically when Beth entered it a few months ago. No, my anger was directed at my mate and Luna, Stacey, who had arranged all of this, putting Beth’s life in danger and causing upset to a lot of innocent people.

“What do you want to do, Boss?” Darren’s voice broke through my rage.

Stopping my pacing and turned towards him. “Find out how far out Lizzy and our warriors are? I need to be prepared before they get here?”

“What about you?” he asked.

“I’m going to call Jeff.” I stated.

He gave me a quick nod of the head, before he walked away and took his phone out of his back pocket. I withdrew my phone from my pocket and brought Jeff’s name up in my contacts. My finger hesitated over the dial button as I tried to calm myself further.

“Alpha Leon.” I swirled around to find Alpha Patrick behind me. “I apologise for my daughter’s actions, but please…”

“Don’t worry, Patrick. I don’t harbour any anger towards your daughter, she is just a naïve, hormonal teenager whose life has changed drastically recently and she blamed that on Beth. But she showed so much remorse up there, I can’t be mad at her. All my anger is towards my mate, my Luna, Stacey. She is the one responsible for Beth’s k********g and she will pay for it.” I told him and saw the relief that flooded his face.

“Thank you, Alpha Leon.”

“Patrick, I think we can drop the titles now as we are almost family. Just call me Leon.” I smiled at him and then a thought occurred to me. “How good is your tech team?”

“Very good.” Patrick replied, pride showing in his face. “What do you need?”

“Stacey had to have contacted the kidnappers somehow, I need her phone and emails looked through.” I informed him.

“No problems, just let me have her number and email address and they will get onto it straight away.”

“I will. Also, she has got to have paid for this. I know it hasn’t come from pack funds and the allowance I give her wouldn’t be enough even if she had saved it up for years, so how has she got the money?”

“That might be a bit more difficult, but I will see what they can do. Let me know if you think of anything else.” Patrick said, before jogging off across the garden and out of the property’s gate.

Lifting my phone, Jeff’s contact details are still on display. I immediately dialed the number and listened to it ring.

“Yes, Alpha?” Jeff’s voice answered on the third ring.

“Are you alone?” I asked, gruffly.

I hear a door shut and lock, before Jeff answers me, “Yes, Alpha.”

“Good. I want you to detain Luna Stacey and place her in one of the silver-lined cells.”

“Alpha?” Jeff questioned, “On what grounds?”

“Arranging the k********g of the Alpha heir.” I told him, “But it needs to be done discretely, the less people who know the better.”

“I will do it personally, Alpha,” Jeff informed me.

“I also want her phone and laptop secured. I need to know who she has been in contact with recently and check her browser history for any banking items.” I ordered him.

“Consider it done. Do you want me to question her?” he asks me.

“Not yet. I want her to sweat in the cell first. I am also trying to get more evidence against her.”

“Very well. Anything else, Alpha?”

“Not at the moment.” I replied, hanging up the phone and putting it back into my pocket.

Feeling a lot calmer than I had been when I left the house, I headed back inside. Sat at the kitchen table were Baz and Matt, who were being kept company by Stuart.

“Beta, would it be possible for my tracker and head warrior to look at the site of the k********g? Fresh eyes might reveal something that has been previously missed.” I asked Stuart.

He was silent for a moment and his eyes glazed slightly, he was obviously mind-linking his Alpha. When his eyes cleared, he nodded his head. “I can take them up there now if you like. It’s about half an hour outside of the city limits, but still on pack grounds.”

“Thank you, Beta.” I said with a smile as the three men rose from their seats and headed out of the house.

Leaving the kitchen, I followed the smell of hot chocolate up the stairs and to the door of Crystal’s bedroom. The door was open and I saw Crystal still sitting on her bed cradling a steaming cup in her hands as her mother and Sarah sat either side of her and comforted her. I can’t help but smile at how motherly Sarah is to her even though she fed information to my Luna that resulted in the k********g of her own daughter.

Connor and David are in the corner of the room and it appears Connor is quietly ranting at his Beta, his arms flying wildly as he gesticulates to get his point across. I knock on the door frame and attract five pairs of eyes. If I wasn’t such a feared Alpha, I would feel self-conscious.

“I have come to apologise to Crystal for my reaction earlier. I am in no way angry at you.” I said, looking directly at Crystal, “I am angry that my mate, my Luna, would arrange the k********g of an innocent child. She is currently being apprehended and once we find Beth, she will be punished.”

“Th…Thank you, Al…Alpha.” Crystal stutters, “I am truly sorry.”

I smiled kindly at the girl, “I know you are and that is why I am not angry at you.”

Connor approaches me, “Umm… Alpha Leon, could I have a word with you and Sarah for a moment?” he asks, looking over his shoulder at Sarah, who releases Crystal and rises from bed to be replaced by David almost immediately.

“Of course.” I agreed as Sarah joined us in the doorway, a look of curiosity and confusion on her face. I had to restrain myself from putting my arm around her waist and pulling her in close to me as she came to a stop next to me.

“In private?” Connor asked, gesturing with his arm to the corridor.

I back up into the corridor and Connor slides out of Crystal’s bedroom and leads us down the corridor and into another bedroom. From the decor, I presume the bedroom was his.

“Please take a seat, both of you. You will probably need it after I tell you this,” Connor instructs.

I turn the chair at his desk around and take a seat as Sarah perches on the edge of the bed. After closing the door, Connor heads to a bookshelf and removes two ancient-looking books, passing one to each of us.

“These books contain information which may be relevant to your situation.” He comments. “Beth and I were researching the intricacies of mates as we both thought your reactions to one another were strange.”

“Strange?? In what way?” I asked.

“It is obvious to almost everyone that you are both attracted to one another, if not still in love with each other.” He tells us, his gaze switching between the two of us, gauging our reactions.

I just gazed over at Sarah, knowing that if Stacey wasn’t my mate I would still be with Sarah. Sarah can’t meet my eyes, instead she trains them on the book she holds in her lap.

“I thought so.” Connor states, “Werewolves can have humans as fated mates, but the bond isn’t as strong and is normally just felt as an attraction until the human is marked and then the full force of the mate bond comes into play.”

“If you are suggesting that Sarah and I are fated mates, you are wrong.” I tell him, “Stacey is my fated mate.”

“Ahhh…. That’s where it gets interesting!” Connor exclaims, sitting on the bed next to Sarah and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. I feel jealousy boiling inside of me and want to rush over there and yank Sarah away from him.

Connor smiles at me and removes his arm, shifting slightly to put a gap between himself and Sarah. “You see fated mate bonds can be faked with enchantments.” He looks directly at me, a glimmer in his eyes.

“Enchantments?” Sarah questions, her face turning towards Connor.

He turns towards her, “A witch’s potion or talisman. A potion would have to be consumed regularly, and a talisman worn all the time. Can you think of anything like that, Alpha Leon?” his gaze turned to meet mine.

I absently twirl the ring on my finger as I consider Connor’s words, my mind going through every interaction with Stacey, but nothing comes to mind.

“Who gave you that ring?” Sarah asks, bringing me back from my thoughts.

I look down at the ring I am twirling and a slight smile tugs at my lips, “Stacey did, she said it was enchanted so that I didn’t have to take it off when I shifted.”

“Can you take it off?” Connor asked me.

My head shoots upwards and I look at him, confused. “Why would I do that?”

“Because it might be the talisman,” he replied.

“Talisman? What talisman?” confusion wracks my brain. What were we talking about?

Suddenly, Sarah is holding my hand in both of hers, kneeling on the floor in front of me. I reach out and stroke her face as I gaze into her eyes.

She smiles fondly back at me. “Do you trust me?” she asks. I just nodded in response.

Abruptly, pain erupts in my head, and I hear a scream. Pushing Sarah away, I fell off the chair, cradling my head in my hands. I realise it is me that is screaming as darkness overcomes me.