Alpha King's Unmated Sister-in-law

Chapter 5

Warren stared, stunned by her sudden outburst. So was everyone else, including the heads that were peeking out of the doorway behind them in the wedding hall, and the messenger who had come bearing the news looked not only shocked but infuriated. He shot Beth a hot glare before looking back at Warren, mouth open to say something, but the other man beat him to it.

"I'll be fine, Elizabeth," he said at last with a winning smile, and nodded at the messenger to move back down the steps and leave them be. "It must be the nerves. And here I thought you weren't nervous at all! Come on, let's get you down and -"

"Forget nerves! Warren, trust me on this. Don't go, do not go!" Beth tore off her wedding veil and tossed it on the ground, shoulders shaking with the effort to hold in all the impossible things she wanted to shout. But no, she had to figure out how to open his eyes without resorting to telling him wild time travel stories. Who would believe it if she tried to say she had come from the future and that the Moon Goddess had given her a chance to make this life go a different way? Who would believe if it she tried to tell her innocent husband of less than three hours that if he went to investigate the attack, he would die within days? She had to come up with a convincing story. She had to make him stay. How could she live with herself if the very first person she connected herself to in this new life ended up dead because of her failure - again!

But this was worse than a matter of conscience. What if the Moon Goddess revoked this second chance if she failed to save Warren? What if her continued redemption here hinged on her ability to spare him the fate that he had met in the life before? Her stomach lurched, and she all but threw herself at Warren, eyes blazing.

"Don't go," she said again. "We just got married. We don't even know each other yet, and you're going to leave me within hours of our wedding?"

"Elizabeth, it's all right. I'll be back as soon as -"

"Will you? Will everyone else? Tell them to withdraw. There shouldn't be blood spilled on the day of our being married, and that wasn't even a full report. What will you do if you run headlong into a force that outnumbers you? No one has had a chance to prepare because of the wedding, and it'll be that much more dangerous!"

Too late, she heard the grumbling and whispers from the foot of the steps where a small group of unfamiliar faces had gathered. Wait, she recognized one of them as part of Warren's personal guard, a strong wolf of the Heether family. Then were they all Heether warriors? They were supposed to be powerful, and they took almost excessive pride in their fighting capability. Damn it, no wonder they were glaring at her so fearlessly, not caring that she was the new bride of their Alpha's eldest son. Her insistence that they withdraw was tantamount to jeering and telling them all they were weak.

Men and their egos! What would it take to salvage this moment? Warren was trying to leave this very second, so she couldn't even convince him to discuss it with her elsewhere. If only she had a few minutes to hatch a plan, she might be able to weasel a solution through, but Warren was already motioning at the werewolves below and signaling for them to leave soon. No!

"Then take me with you!" she demanded in a desperate final attempt to salvage the situation. Maybe she could alter things at the front. She had no idea how since even in her past life, she had never heard any details about what had happened, but at least she would know to not lower her guard. "I'll change out of this dress and get into more suitable clothes, just wait one minute and I'll be done."

"What? Elizabeth, don't be crazy. Besides, with me, you'll never have to fight in another battle again." He flashed her a confident smile. "She-wolves are protected in the Heether pack. Even if you weren't my wife, you would never be sent to battle. Now, a good luck kiss, one for the road. I look forward to getting to know you when I come back, just like you want."

Never allowed to battle, more like. Damn noble chivalry, useless and pointless! What era did they live in? Damn it all! He reached for her with gentle hands, delivering a husbandly kiss to her forehead while she racked her brain for another tactic. But what could she do now! He was stepping away already, and he would be gone in seconds. She needed a lifeline here, something to make him stay, a reason better than what others only saw as hysterics.

There! Her gaze landed on Daniel who stood at the bottom of the steps as well. Except why was he there, preparing to leave? In the past life, he had been left out of the fighting party... Or had he survived? Her memories were too damn hazy. But still, if there was anyone here who could convince Warren to change his mind, it had to be family. Her mind flashed back to last night when they had met in the hallway, his eyes cool and assessing. Yes, he would be reasonable. He would be on her side, if she could just - "Stop him!" she exclaimed, staring at Daniel. "He's your brother! Ask him to stay. If he won't listen to me, at least he'll listen to you."

She chased after Warren as he descended the steps, hand wrapped firmly around his arm. But he only smiled at her, and down below, Daniel was still glowering at them both in silence instead of agreeing with Beth.

"I'm sorry," Warren apologized and tucked her hair behind her ear once they reached the other werewolves. "But I have to go. It's my duty. And I'm your husband now, that makes it even more imperative for me to make sure our territory remains safe for you. For both of us."

"We'll plan it out later! Don't walk into an ambush."

"It won't be an ambush we can't handle. We've done this a hundred times, a thousand. Everyone here is itching for a chance to sharpen our claws, anyway. Aren't we? Even my baby brother. Come on, Daniel. Time to go."

No! No, what was happening? This would only end in slaughter, and now she was going to fail not only Warren Heether, but Daniel, too? And less than a day after she had vowed she would do right by their family this time and give them the future they deserved. But if both of them went, did that mean both of them would die? Maybe things would go differently since Daniel was going with them this time. That was different from before - when the news had come, Beth was sure only the eldest son had gone with the others. Maybe that meant fate had changed enough that they might succeed this time. Things were already diverging from the other life, so maybe...

No. She couldn't risk it. "You should at least let Daniel stay," she managed. "Things are going to be incredibly hectic and confused here with the bridegroom vanishing hours after the wedding. Your brother will be a big help. Besides, he's a teenager! Leave him here."

"But my dear, you're a teenager, too, if we get technical-"

"He's your teenage brother. I'm already your wife, worry about him right now!"

She ignored the furious glare Daniel had fixed on her, especially when Warren's face loosened and he nodded at her suggestion without needing a single other word to convince him. Wait, this easy? He was folding on that right after she had suggested it once? Maybe he hadn't wanted his younger brother to come along in the first place. "That's a good idea," he conceded. "Daniel, you'll stay and protect Beth in case anything happens here. I'm trusting you."

"What! No, Warren, I'm coming with you!"

"I've made my decision."

"You already made it before! You told me the next time the territory came under attack, I could come. It's past time! I should have been part of this a long time ago. I want to fight! I want to fight for our family!"

"I'm sorry. Just chalk it up to my fickleness if that helps. Either way, you already know arguing is pointless. You're staying here. We'll be back as soon as we can."

Beth had less than half a minute to come to terms with this. Warren only gave her two kisses on either cheek before rushing away, leaving all the wedding guests murmuring and demanding answers to questions no one knew how to respond to, least of all the bride. She stood on the steps, dumbstruck at the speed of how things had changed on a dime, in a flash, no warning...

"Why did you do that!" Daniel barked, teeth almost grinding together on the last syllable. He looked fearsome with his blond hair mussed and green eyes blazing as if he had just come out of a savage storm, full of fury. "What are you up to! You've been married to him for an hour or two and suddenly you're so in love that you're willing to throw your life away and go with him? When you were just screaming about how he'll die if he goes? You've never even met him before today. What's your deal!"

"I'm...just worried for him. It's better like this. So just..."

"I don't want to hear it. You! Bring everyone around and send all the guests home. We're leaving. Now!"

There was no chance to try to come up with a convincing story, or even a facade of fragile panic to explain away her irrational outburst after the wedding. Within minutes, Warren was gone, Daniel was furious at her, and everyone who had seen what transpired either thought Beth was a hysterical, paranoid bride struck with newlywed fever or a naysaying, bad-luck-bringing, crazy wannabe-fortune teller who had just forecasted her own husband's death and disgraced him in front of hundreds of pairs of eyes.

She couldn't let this happen again. She was still dazed by this new life, this second chance, by how unreal everything still felt. But if she wanted a real chance at fixing this life before it became the same disastrous cesspit, she needed to be calm....She needed to remain rational.

"I won't forgive this."

She turned back to Daniel when they reached her new bedroom at the Heether pack house. He was glaring even harder at her now than he had before, and if she weren't already so on edge by how drastically everything had taken a turn for the worse, she might have been intimidated. But she didn't have time to be scared.

"Good night, Daniel. I'll see you in the morning."

He stalked away, vibrating with white-hot anger. She sighed before disappearing into the bedroom.

* * *

Half the mate bond ritual from the wedding was thankfully intact even though she and Warren hadn't consummated it yet, and for the next three days, she almost religiously checked their mind-linking. It was too weak to communicate through at this distance, but she could still reach out just to feel his presence and let him feel hers. She had no romantic attraction to him, barely even sentiment, but the force of her guilt and fear for his life must have given the mind-linking enough power for her to do at least that much. Oh, Moon Goddess, she prayed. Let Warren live. Let me do right by the Heether family this time, let me make the amends you said yourself that I needed to.

They were good people. Far better people than Matt had convinced her they were. Too bad she had only realized it in this life. She would never again be deceived into believing such malicious lies and slander again, especially not because of someone else's jealousy. Damned Matthew Catii...She would never let him manipulate her ever again.

She was still riding the high of having cut Matt off that she forgot to be afraid. And then it happened.

On the fourth morning, there was no response when she reached out to Warren's distant aura. No presence, no twitching, no flaring of energy. He had simply - disappeared.

No. Not this. Things couldn't be devolving again just as quickly as before. She had to be able to make a change. She had to be able to change fate.

"Hey! You - I'm sorry, I don't remember your name. Gerard?" She came to a screeching halt before one of the sentries posted by the pack house's entrance. "Have you heard any news? I lost contact with Warren. I don't know when. I woke up and suddenly he wasn't there -"

"Something does appear to have happened in the middle of the night." The bald man eyed her with a subtle glower. He must have been one of the superstitious ones convinced that her outburst on the wedding day had jinxed the attack party's mission. "But not to worry, Elizabeth. Things have been handled."

"What? How?"

"A search party has been sent out. The Alpha's youngest son already left four hours ago with our best remaining hunters and warriors, just in case. But everything is fine. There's no need to worry."

She barely heard him. Daniel? They had sent Daniel out? Why! The reason for Warren's disappearance could be anything, and she desperately hoped his party hadn't been slaughtered, but the truth was that they could have been. Why would they send yet another of the Alpha's precious sons to verify the fate of the eldest! Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Oh, Moon Goddess, why were things unraveling this way? If she had been sent back in time to make a new life for herself, not only to spare her own life but to spare the lives of everyone else she had helped wrong before, why were things becoming more difficult than before?

She staggered back to the bedroom, too stunned to make a ruckus. Not that anyone would take her seriously. All alone in this bedroom instead of sharing it with her new groom, everyone must think she was just a high-strung case of pure nerves, vulnerable and afraid because her husband wasn't here next to her. Please! She was a grown woman, even if she was in this decade-younger body, and she barely knew Warren. She only knew that she needed to protect the Heether family, protect them from the future that awaited them if she did nothing.

So why was she being set up to fail!

She tried in vain to mind-link with Daniel at least even if she couldn't reach Warren even still, but of course it was futile. He was hours away, long gone. She slammed the side of her fist on the wall, gritting her teeth as she fought the dizziness that rolled over her, wave after wave.

Damn it, damn it, damn it! If she wasn't able to save Warren, she had promised herself she could at least save his brother, the youngest of the Heether family. She had let down her guard, and now this had happened. Damn it!

She sank to the floor, teeth clenched.