THE ALPHA'S UNWANTED OMEGA

CHAPTER 19. CAUGHT IN HIS ARMS

Ava

We were both lying on the mattress. I was wearing Rae's shirt and he was shirtless. With one of his arms encircling my petite frame, I slept soundly in his arms, my head propped on his chest. It looked like a lovely moment, and judging from a distance, it appeared as though the two of us were passionately in love and were having a good time.

A tornado of horrifying ideas raced through Annie's head. This betrayal would be too much for her to handle. Her cheeks heated with rage, and tears filled her eyes. Kyle felt a terrible thing was about to happen when he glanced at her, but he was too late to stop her.

Annie sprinted over to the two of us and grabbed the blanket firmly, causing me to scream in agony from my throat. Startled, I stood up, but Rae only slowly opened his eyes and scarcely moved. It appeared as though he had done nothing wrong and didn't give a damn about getting caught.

"Rae, what's going on here?" Her intense rage was visible in her large, dark eyes.

Startled, I turned to face Rae and pondered how I had gotten there — in his arms — that night. He didn't appear to be the least bit concerned.

"Nothing happened between us." He stood up quietly and held out his hand to assist me in standing up.

The final shreds of Annie's pride were broken by that image, and she rushed over to me, snagging my neck.

Annie's hold on my neck was so tight that it caused both of us to fall to the ground, with Annie on top of me and prepared to murder me. Annie's eyes turned yellow, ready to shift, her wolf taking over her thoughts.

Despite Rae's hopes that Kyle would assist him in separating the two of us, Kyle appeared content with the scene he was witnessing.

Gesturing, Rae took Annie's hands and hauled her up, putting her close to Kyle and telling him to hold her and make sure she wouldn't act out again.

Yes, she was revealing her actual self when she said, "I'm going to end you, Ava."

I was still lying on the ground, trying to find a method to get air into my lungs. My neck bore the marks left by Annie's fingers.

Rae's calm had completely worn off. "You're not going to end anyone here, Annie," he said. "What do you think you're doing?" he growled, utterly furious at her.

"What do I think I'm doing?" Her wolf was in charge, as evidenced by the yellow in her eyes. "You ask me what I'm doing when I find you lying with this woman?"

Kyle released her. He wanted to see Annie harm me, even though he had enough strength to hold her for a long while.

"Nothing happened between Ava and I," Rae explained. "What you saw was simply..."

Yet Rae was unable to clarify. He turned to face me as I stood there, still attempting to find a solution for the severe pain in my neck. I couldn't have defended myself, of course, because my wolf was still asleep.

"By the way, even though I told you to leave Ava here, why did you put her down there in the basement?" he asked, meeting Annie's gaze once more.

She glared at him, saying, "Oh please Rae, don't try changing the subject."

For a split second, Annie forgot that she was in the presence of the Alpha and that she should be treating him with deference and respect.

He glared at her as well, saying, "Answer my question. Maybe I wouldn't be here and none of this would be happening if you hadn't locked her in the basement."

"Oh, it's my fault now? I put Ava where she deserves to be," she laughed mockingly.

Her yellow eyes shifted to look at me. Though Rae was standing in front of Annie, prepared to stop any tragedy from occurring there, her wolf was obviously roaring because she felt I deserved to die.

He went on irritably, "You ought to have followed my instructions, Annie. The hunters were not here, and Ava's life is in constant danger."

"Ava, Ava, Ava!!! I don't give a damn about Ava. I just want to understand why my husband abandoned me in the middle of the night and ended up here, in the arms of his ex-mate. Since she came back here, everything has been about her." Another yell, this one followed by an impending weep.

But Rae was unable to respond. He massaged his temples while turning his back on her. How could he convey to his wife the need he had for his mate's closeness? He was well acquainted with Annie and understood that no amount of reasoning could persuade her to the contrary. She was on the verge of going insane since she had witnessed her husband embracing me.

He turned back to face her. "I brought Ava here and decided to stay to protect her when I realized the hunters weren't here. I had to make sure she was okay." He then turned to face her once again.

"Just picture the reaction of the pack upon learning that the Alpha King left his spouse by herself at home in order to spend time with his lover."

I started moving towards her. "I'm not his lover," but Rae stopped me. "I don't need to stay here being insulted and accused of things I didn't do."

Rae stopped me when I tried to go away. He squeezed my arm firmly.

He looked into Annie's eyes, who was sick of seeing it. "You're not going anywhere, Ava."

"You don't trust what I'm telling you but you care so much about what the pack will say," Rae retorted.

"Rae, I can't take the critical looks from these people," Annie murmured. "You ought to have seen the way they looked at me."

He went on, "Annie, these people are my people, and even though I would do anything for them, you have to believe in me."

Kyle interrupted to let everyone know he was still present. "I apologize, Alpha, but what we saw was a little embarrassing."

"Do you also believe that Ava and I are having a romantic relationship?" I felt so little when Rae said this that I thought I might practically vanish.

My heart broke to pieces when I saw Kyle laughing and making fun of me because of the question that Rae asked. The idea of a romantic relationship between us seemed ridiculous to him.

Kyle said, "I don't think anything, sir, but since Ava does not belong to this pack anymore, she shouldn't be here."

"I decide who stays and who leaves." Rae eyed him icily. "Nothing occurred between Ava and myself. I dozed off on the couch while Ava slept on the mattress. That's all I have to say. I don't want to hear any more questions or suggestions."

Annie persisted in her brooding there, as though she were positioned before a cauldron, agitating all of her wounds and getting ready to dish them out one by one. After her wolf calmed and she gained control of the situation, she turned to face Rae.

She approached him cautiously and said, "You'll have to decide what to do now, Rae. Either you choose her and go on a journey in search of the bastards she claims are your kids, or you choose me, your Luna, and your wife."

"Choose?" Rae glanced at Annie and then at me.