My Rival Alpha Mates

Chapter Seven : Week to Prove Him Wrong

Chapter - Seven

Lyra - POV

"What did you say to Alpha Roacher that made him change his mind about letting me apply for the job?" Dante looks so smug. It only makes me angrier.

"You have no wolf. If anything happens to you, I will drag Alpha Roacher to the wolf court, and he will face far worse consequences," I snatched the phone from his hand before he could stop me. His eyes find mine, a slow frown marring his face.

"Why would you do this to me?" I try not to snap at him, keeping my calm. I am burning with rage as he confesses this with no remorse.

"You think I am letting you off the hook?" His voice carries no emotion.

I scoff at his words. "Even after telling you the truth, you still don't plan to believe me."

"I don't trust a word out of you." His hollow eyes hold mine. "Hand me my phone."

I want to curse and say more. He has no right to meddle in my business. Part of me feels the grief behind his rage. He lost his sister.

All of this anger aimed at me is just his pain wearing a different face. I gasp when his warm, large hand closes over mine in one swift move, taking his phone back. He steps aside and turns to walk away.

"You don't believe I can be a doctor just because I have no wolf?" He keeps walking further.

"What if I help you with the nightmares?" His footsteps come to halt at my words. He turns over his shoulder, eyes narrowing, his expression saying what I suggested is impossible.

"No cure exists for the curse nightmares." He answers. "Don't kid yourself with foolish thoughts, Frosty."

"Maybe it's foolish. But you want a solution." I walk closer to him, and the confidence coming through me I can't quite explain maybe it's this fire I carry for becoming a doctor, "I am sure your nightmares are getting so bad you could seriously hurt someone." His eyes study me, but I don't miss the flicker of annoyance. It tells me I am right on point.

"What do you get in return for your kindness?" He asks. The mockery in his question is impossible to miss.

"You tell Alpha Roacher to give me the job as assistant doctor," I reply.

He smirks at my words.

"Deal. Frosty, if you mess this up, you prove my point. You are useless." I feel the sting of his mockery, but underneath it sits a small, quiet win. He agreed. He has no idea how much he is going to lose that smirk when I prove him wrong.

He pauses all of a sudden and I jump back before I bump into his back. He turns over his shoulder.

"This deal comes with a deadline, Frosty."

"How long do I have?" I ask.

"A week." His slow, evil smile drains my small flicker of joy right out of me. This is mission impossible. "Get in the car." He orders it like he is barking at a Beta. I hate him. Still, I have carved out an opportunity; maybe I can turn this mission impossible into a possibility.

The car ride is thick with awkward silence. The moment we reach the mansion, I rush inside and head straight to my room, my mind already turning over how I might treat his nightmares only to remember I have no laptop or phone.

"Laura," I call for her. Someone appears in front of me at lightning speed.

"Ahh!" I scream. Opening my eyes I find Alpha Dante standing in front of me, one of his hands clamped over my mouth, muffling the sound.

"Why are you so loud?" He hisses.

"Y-you —"

"What?" He asks. I shove his hand off me so I can speak.

"You scared me," I admit. His eyes look amused at those words coming out of my mouth.

"Are you okay?" Laura's voice carries worry, but the look she cuts toward Alpha Dante is openly suspicious.

"I'm fine," I say. Alpha Dante glances between me and Laura.

"Don't give me that look, woman." He says to Laura. "She is my wife. I can do anything to her."

"She is not an object, Alpha Dante," Laura replies coldly. She looks furious. He scoffs and walks out without bothering to answer.

"Jerk," Laura mutters under her breath. I try to hide my smile and fail completely. Laura catches it, and the tension in her face softens into a smile of her own.

"Should I stay in your room until Alpha Caden gets here? I will protect you and not let Alpha Dante anywhere near you." She says it all in one breath, with the kind of determination that makes it sound like a sworn mission.

"I don't think that will be necessary."

"You called me earlier; was it not to be saved from Alpha Dante?" She asks, her eyes going wide and wounded.

"I need my phone and laptop. I was going to buy new ones —"

"Oh, I forgot to give you these." She grabs my hand and I follow her to the guest room. It sits far from mine and Alpha Dante's wing.

She holds out my old phone and laptop.

"Alpha Caden asked me to go to your home and collect a few things for you. I forgot to bring these back to your room." I watch her

face as she says it. She is lying or at least leaving something out.

"You visited my pack," I say. "Can you tell me how my brother is doing?"

"Not well, to be honest. He looks like a walking zombie." Laura says it and immediately regrets the words. "Sorry. I mean he lost his mate. He is sad."

"My father?" I ask.

"He is handling the pack while Alpha Nathan recovers." She explains.

"Did my father ask how I am doing?" I ask. I already know the answer. But that small, stubborn part of me still wants to believe he cares.

She looks at me as if deciding whether to tell me the truth. "You can tell me," I say.

"He looked relieved when I collected your things. And I heard him speaking about destroying your room." Laura doesn't hold back. She tells me the truth without softening it at all. Maybe working closely with Alpha Caden does that to a person. I smile at her, not even upset. That quiet, lingering thread of hope I had been carrying somewhere inside me simply goes still.

"Why are you smiling? Shouldn't you be angry with him?" Laura asks, confusion written plainly across her face.

"I don't know what to feel anymore for my father and my brother," I say. "Even being angry at them hurts me."

"Anyway, thank you," I whisper.

"Oh here are your contact lenses." I take them, grateful to have my mask back. Something to hide what my eyes give away without my permission.

She leaves me alone. I check my phone. A few missed calls from Kyle, and one from the institute likely following up on my plans to join their human hospital facility.

I call Kyle.

"Hey! Are you okay? Where are you, Lyra?"

"Easy," I say, keeping my voice calm. But hearing his concern feels good. It feels like something I forgot existed, someone caring. After Emma, that is not a small thing.

"I'm fine, Kyle. I can't tell you where I am right now."

"Seriously, things have gone from bad to worse, Lyra. I heard what went down. I am furious at Nathan for what he did to you." Kyle says.

"Don't be too hard on him. I think our father pressured him into signing the marriage contract. Look after him for me, will you?"

"Kind-hearted as always." He sighs. "You deserve a better family. How are those Alphas treating you?"

"I'm okay. You don't need to worry about me," I say.

"I know you're lying, Lyra. If it ever gets to be too much, call me. I will help you get away from those alphas." I smile, something warm settling in my chest at knowing Kyle has my back.

I hear footsteps coming down the hall. "I'll call you later," I say, and disconnect. I move to the door.

Alpha Dante walks past, then pauses, his hollow gaze cutting toward me.

"So what is your plan to heal me, doc?" The mockery in his voice is practiced and easy.

"I will come to your room tonight," I say calmly.

"See you tonight then, Frosty," He says. "Though I know it will be pointless." He turns and leaves my doorway.

I pay him no mind. I sit at my desk and work through my notes, mapping out the potion I plan to make for Alpha Dante, something to quiet whatever nightmare holds his subconscious hostage and tears at him from the inside. Without wolf senses, I cannot measure the true intensity of what he suffers. I work with what I know.

I gather what herbs I find in the back garden. Valerian root for the nervous system. Moonpetal for wolf-specific brain chemistry. A small measure of dreamweed, enough to dull the subconscious without suppressing it entirely. I am not certain about the ratios. I adjust twice, scrapping the first batch. I am working on instinct and memory alone. Looking at the potion, it's ready. I am nervous walking into Alpha Dante's room.

He sits at the edge of the bed, shirtless. My eyes catch the lean lines of his abdomen before I can stop them, and on the left side of his chest is something engraved in what looks like Spanish, the meaning lost on me.

"If you are done staring, Frosty." His onyx gaze snaps to mine. My hands tighten around the bottle.

"So what is that strange thing you brought?" He asks. "A poison to finish me off?"

"If you think it's poison, I'll drink it myself," I say, doing exactly that, his eyes never leaving mine. "See? Nothing happened."

He looks at me with an untrusting gaze. I hand him a glass of the potion. He takes it and drinks.

I pull a chair beside the bed and sit.

"Now leave my room." He hisses.

"I can't. I need to see if this works and how strong the effect is," I answer.

"So you are going to watch me sleep like a pervert." He mocks. The word stuns me.

"I am not watching you like that. I am examining you —"

"You are so easy to rile up." He mutters under his breath. He settles himself in bed. I notice a few scars across Alpha Dante's frame. I believe they are from the nightmares, marks left by his own hands in his sleep.

"You should leave," He says, staring at the ceiling. "I can hurt you. Maybe kill you."

"Did you hurt someone badly?" I ask. He looks at me. Guilt flickers across his face. He doesn't answer.

"Leave the room, Lyra."

"Laura is here. She can help if something happens," I say.

He scoffs. "Laura can't save you. She is an omega. I can kill her and you without blinking."

I don't let myself think too hard about what that means for me. I still remember the chokehold and how close he came to actually killing me. I watch Alpha Dante's frame rise and fall with slow, steady breathing. I hate this man. But he is my patient now. I want to heal him.

No wait, he is sleepwalking. Did I fail? Every doubt I have comes rushing to the surface at once. He is in front of me before I can process the movement. My back hits the wall. His claws press to my throat. Alpha Dante's eyes are hollow. His lips part.

"I will kill you." His voice is not his own. "Caden's mate. You are the reason my sister died."