Caught Between Two Alphas

Episode 4

I was washing dishes in the small kitchen, lost in thought. It had been three weeks since that strange night, but I couldn't forget the man I'd met. The soap made my arms all bubbly as I scrubbed a tough stain. The kitchen smelled like lemons and food. I could hear people talking in the restaurant.

I looked at the clock. It was almost time for the quiet part of the day. Soon, Mrs. Rachel would start getting ready for dinner time, and I'd help with the food. I liked this routine. It was different from my scary old life in the pack.

As I rinsed some plates, I smiled a little. Even though things had been hard, I felt okay here. I was still scared someone might find me, but each day I felt a bit safer. I thought maybe I could have a good life here.

Suddenly, I heard loud noises from the restaurant. Someone broke something, and people started yelling. I got really scared.

"Where is she?" a man shouted. "We know she's here!"

My heart started racing. I knew that voice – it was one of Matthew's friends. I dropped a plate, and it broke on the floor. How did they find me? Had I gotten too comfortable?

"I don't know who you mean," Mrs. Rachel said, sounding scared. "Please stop, you're scaring everyone."

I tiptoed to the kitchen door and peeked out. What I saw made me feel sick. Three of Matthew's men were in the middle of the restaurant. They looked scary next to all the nice tables and chairs. One was holding a paper with my picture on it.

The other people in the restaurant looked scared. Some were trying to leave, but others just sat there, too afraid to move.

"Don't lie to us, old lady," the man growled, grabbing Mrs. Rachel's arm. He was hurting her. "We know Ava Cooper is here. Tell us where she is, or we'll do bad things."

Mrs. Rachel looked at the kitchen, and I knew she was worried about me. I couldn't let her get hurt because of me. She had been so nice to me when I had nothing.

I took a deep breath and opened the kitchen door. It made a creaky noise.

"Let her go," I said, trying to sound brave. "I'm the one you want."

The man smiled in a mean way. "Well, well. The runaway shows herself."

As the men walked towards me, I heard someone clapping slowly. The crowd moved aside, and I saw someone I never wanted to see again.

Alpha Matthew Bourne.

He looked just like I remembered – very handsome, but scary. His eyes, which used to just ignore me, now looked really angry.

"Good job, Ava," he said in a mean voice. "You made us chase you for a long time. Did you like pretending to be free?"

I couldn't move. I was so scared. Matthew looked at me like he hated me.

"Did you think you could run away from me?" he said, coming closer. "That I'd let you get away with being mean to me? Saying no to me?"

"Please," I whispered, feeling less brave now. "I just wanted to leave quietly. I didn't mean to—"

Matthew laughed, but it wasn't a happy laugh. It was scary, and made people jump.

"Quiet? Oh, Ava. You lost the right to be quiet when you thought you were too good to be my slave. When you made me look bad in front of everyone."

He pulled out a big sword. People in the restaurant screamed. Matthew walked towards me with the sword. It looked very sharp.

"You're not worth anything," he said, looking really angry. "I'm going to kill you. This will teach people not to say no to me."

I fell down on my knees and started crying. The floor was cold, but I didn't care. All I could see was the sword pointing at my heart, held by the man I used to think I loved.

"Please, Matthew," I begged, hating how weak I sounded. "Don't do this. I'm s-sorry, I'll do anything—"

He swung the sword, and I closed my eyes. I thought about Mrs. Rachel, who was so nice to me. I thought about the stranger I met that night. And I thought about a baby I'd never get to meet.

But the sword didn't hit me.

Everyone gasped, so I opened my eyes. Someone had grabbed Alpha Matthew's arm, stopping the sword right in front of my face. The new person pushed Matthew so hard he almost fell over.

Then I heard a deep voice I knew: "Don't touch my mate!"

Everyone in the restaurant got really quiet. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The man from that night was standing between me and Matthew's sword.

Matthew looked confused and lowered his sword a bit. "Dimitri? Why are you here? What do you mean, 'your mate'?"

Dimitri. That was Matthew's brother? The one who left the pack a long time ago? I felt very surprised.

"You heard me," Dimitri said in a deep voice. "Ava is my mate. I won't let you hurt her."

Matthew looked at Dimitri and then at me. He seemed really angry and confused. "That's not possible! She was my mate at the ceremony. This useless omega can't be—"

"Be careful what you say," Dimitri growled, stepping closer. "Ava is worth more than you know."

I couldn't move. My heart was beating so fast. Dimitri was Matthew's brother. He was the father of my baby. And he just said I was his mate in front of everyone.

Matthew looked mean. "I get it. You've always been jealous, right, Dimitri? You were mad that I became Alpha, so you came back to take what's mine."

"She was never yours," Dimitri said calmly. "You said no to her, remember? In front of everyone. You lost any right to her."

Everyone in the room felt very tense. All the other people had run away. Only Matthew's men, Mrs. Rachel hiding behind the counter, and us three were left.

Matthew held his sword tightly. "I don't care why you're here, Dimitri. I'm still the Alpha, and I'll do what I want with this omega."

Suddenly, Matthew tried to hit Dimitri with his sword. But Dimitri was faster. He moved out of the way and made Matthew fall into a table.

The restaurant got very noisy. Matthew's men tried to fight, but Dimitri was too strong. He beat them all up really fast. I watched, remembering how he fought those bad wolves in the forest.

Matthew got up. His nice clothes were all messy now. "You dare fight me?" he yelled, his eyes glowing with Alpha power. "I'll teach you a lesson, you traitor!"

He tried to hit Dimitri again, but he was too angry to fight well. Dimitri easily stopped all his hits.

"You never could control your anger, Matt," Dimitri said. "That's why you're not a good Alpha."

Matthew's face got really red. "I am the Alpha!" he screamed. "Dad picked me! The pack picked me!"

"And look how bad things are now," Dimitri said. He moved really fast and took Matthew's sword away.

Matthew was breathing hard and looked messy. He didn't look like a strong Alpha anymore. "This isn't over," he said, walking to the door. "I'll come back with the whole pack. Then we'll see who wins."

As Matthew ran away, I finally spoke. "Dimitri," I said quietly. "I... I don't understand."

He looked at me with kind eyes. "I know you have questions, little wolf. I'll tell you everything. But now, we need to go somewhere safe."

When he called me 'little wolf,' I felt funny. I nodded, and he helped me stand up. His hand touched my tummy, and his eyes got big.

"Ava," he said softly. "Are you...?"

I nodded. Dimitri smiled really big, and for a moment, I forgot we were in danger.

"We really need to go," he said gently. "Matthew will come back soon."

I remembered we were in trouble. I turned to Mrs. Rachel, who looked scared and worried. "I'm so sorry," I said, almost crying. "For bringing all this trouble here."

She waved her hand. "You go, dear. Be safe."

Dimitri took my hand and led me to the back door. My head was spinning, trying to understand everything. As we got to the door, I got really scared. What if Dimitri was tricking me? What if he was just using me to make his brother mad?

I got so scared that I pulled my hand away and ran out the door. I heard Dimitri call my name, but I didn't stop. I ran as fast as I could.

I didn't get far before strong arms grabbed me from behind. I tried to get away, but Dimitri was too strong.

"Let me go!" I cried, with tears on my face.

Dimitri turned me around to face him. His eyes looked deep and made my heart beat fast.

"I'm not letting you run away again, little wolf," he said in a low voice. "You belong to me!"