Filed to story: Owned by the Alphas Novel
“I’m here, and no, I didn’t do this,” Cain said, walking out of the bushes at a suspiciously convenient time.
“Where have you been? You were meant to be close in case anything like this happened,” Derik asked, his own suspicions leaking into the accusation.
“Took a break with my mate, sorry. She’s a little hard to convince that other people matter, but she is trying.” He sighed like it was an ongoing issue for him.
“Not good enough this time, Cain. We need to verify you were with who you say you were with.”
“I…can’t. She’s not ready.”
“She doesn’t have a choice. That’s an order, Cain. Who is your mate?” Kai demanded, stepping around me and moving in on Cain, who looked up at him with his hands on his hips.
He shook his head before chewing his lip and meeting Kai’s gaze. “It’s your sister, Nikolai. Beenie.”
Everyone froze. I wasn’t sure how Kai was going to react to that until he laughed, deep and heartily.
“Well then, good riddance. The little freeloader deserves all the shit you’re going to give her. And my parents will turn in their grave to learn a hybrid mated with their princess. Fucking perfect.”
He laughed again, and it was infectious. I laughed with him, and even Brax snickered.
“I imagine getting her to do anything that doesn’t involve her entitled ass is extremely difficult.”
Kai laughed again as Cain rolled his eyes. “And we thought you were going to be pissed,” Cain said, and shook his head.
“Pissed that I wasted time to go check in on her since she doesn’t leave her area of the mansion unless it’s important.
“Meanwhile she was totally fine and I could have been dealing with mate and pack shit,” Kai said, then clapped Cain on the back. “Congratulations, you’ve mated a spoiled brat. She’s all yours now.
“But just in case it’s not coming across, I still love her, and if you don’t treat her as well as my own mate then I will kill you. Understood?” he continued, his voice turning threatening.
“There’s the Kai she warned me about.”
“Enough of this. We need to figure out how this poison made it into Lorelai’s tea and who got their hands on it,” Brax snapped.
Derik spun to us. “It can’t have been a human or it would have affected them too.
We’d notice burned flesh. And Brax would’ve caught the link.
“Which only leaves werewolves. That is going to cause issues, especially if we start interrogating over hurt humans.”
“Then we don’t,” I said, and they looked at me like I had gone crazy. “Whoever this was didn’t achieve what they wanted so we be more careful and wait for them to try again.
“We’ll get them next time they do, and I’m sure now that Tabitha knows her herbs are being used for nefarious uses she will cease to allow access to them.”
I shrugged, the adrenaline from the potential fatality leaving me.
“I don’t like the idea of you playing bait.” Lucas frowned.
My alphas said nothing, but that was as good as agreement.
“Well, I am. That has already been decided, since I am the target.”
“Or we lock you in your room until they have been caught.” Kai smirked, and I scowled at him.
I was not going into hiding. I was just going to be more careful.
“Not an option,” I said firmly so he knew I wasn’t joking, but it just made his smirk wider.
“I bet we could convince you otherwise.”
I smiled, blushing a little at his implications because if he was offering what I thought he was offering then he was probably right.
“Galen,” Derik interrupted.
We turned to where he was holding the woman, my mother holding the other half of her.
“We are going to take her into a separate room and tend to her there,” the doctor said, lifting the woman and leaving my mother to take her plant gloves off.
“I would also prefer it if you were closer. For our humans’ needs and for Lorelai.
How would you feel about moving into the mansion until our child is born?” Derik asked.
Galen frowned. “You trust my control?”
“More than any other wolf in our pack. Not even I can resist the heat. Your will is a power on its own,” Derik said, and Galen frowned harder.
“I’m afraid that may change this following heat with the human here, but nevertheless, I suppose being closer to Lorelai for the baby would make sense.
“Okay, I shall bring my supplies,” he agreed, then started to cart the woman off with him. He looked over his shoulder.
“I will require your assistance, precious Pearl,” he said, then walked off with the confidence of a man who knew his woman was following him, and she did start to before she turned to me and my brother.
“I have to go and make sure the humans are okay and that Marabelle is okay,” Mom said.
“Of course, go,” I said.
“We shall have tea another time.” My brother nodded toward her, and she smiled, then ran off after Galen.
I turned to my alphas, who were all staring after my mother.
“I think Galen may have just found his weakness.” Derik frowned.
I smiled. “I think so too.”
“I know romance is your thing, but I don’t know that this could lead to a good outcome.
“Your mother is not you, Spitfire. She may not take too kindly to Galen losing his control on the next heat, and I think if your mother is here, that is a very real possibility,” Brax said, and I shrugged.
“Maybe she deserves to know what the devotion of a wolf feels like,” I said, and he smirked before he turned to my brother.
“Cain will take you back to your vampires,” he said.
“Of course. May I tell them what happened here?”
“Yes. They may have seen or sensed something at Tabitha’s,” Derik answered before Brax or Kai could snarl out their negative response.
“I will ask. And the next meeting? I would like to stay in contact as much as possible.
“As much as the past has been tested, I do want to be in my sister’s and my mother’s lives. My nephew’s too.” Lucas smiled down at me, and I grinned back.
“We’ll organize something and let you know,” I said, and he nodded before heading away with Cain.
“I’ll go check in on Marabelle and see if I can get a magic scent of some kind when I get back,” Cain said, then left with Lucas in a blink that had me disoriented for a second.
The other humans had been taken back to their quarters with Anetta, and now it was just me and my alphas with a poison teacup shattered over the ground.
“Do you really think one of the wolves would be so against you or me that they would do this?” I asked, and they looked at each other.
In that look, I had my answer.
“We think that Fractum has its roots deeper in the wolves’ minds than we’ve thought so far. They are very susceptible to intrusive thoughts, and those thoughts can be dangerous,” Derik said.
I nodded. “What do we do about it then?”
All of them looked at one another before closing in around me.
“We protect you, at all costs,” Kai growled.
“All costs,” Brax agreed.
“Not all,” I whispered, touching my stomach, and Derik placed his hand over mine.
“We will do whatever it takes to make sure Fractum doesn’t bleed into you or our child, beautiful,” he said before kissing me.
I met his mouth, the intensity in his words making my throat close with emotion as he deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding against mine.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?