Lib Novel Page 120
“My Alpha isn’t in the right frame of mind right now,” he says coldly. “He doesn’t seem to understand that you’re going to be nothing more than a hindrance.”
“A hindrance?” I laugh, trying not to show that his words are slicing me up.
“Exactly,” he spits out. “A female like you, who does not even have a wolf, is only going to hold him back. Nobody in our pack will ever accept you, so stop trying to get his mating mark. You are an anomaly. You don’t deserve to—”
I hold up my hand, stopping him in mid-speech. “I don’t need the whole song and dance from you. I get the gist. You don’t approve of me. Boo-hoo.”
“Approve of you?!” The man gives me a disdainful look. “You’re not even good enough to lick the bottom of our shoes!”
“You sure have a lot of anger inside you.” I study him. “I didn’t realize Alex surrounded himself with such vile people. But don’t worry, he already rejected me.”
“That’s not going to be enough.” He takes another step toward me, and I waggle a finger in his direction again.
“One scream. That’s all it’s going to take.”
The hatred in his eyes chills my soul.
“So, your plan is to do what? Kill me and bury me out here somewhere? And what about when Alex finds out?”
He sneers at me. “Alex is not that attached to you. And he won’t do anything to me. I’ve been by his side for years. We have a bond forged in blood. He is confident in my loyalty.”
Worry snakes through me when he doesn’t reject my words. I know that the pack security team is nowhere near this area. With the impatience this man is showing, I’m not going to be able to hold him off much longer.
“Loyalty?” My upper lips curls. “I don’t know about loyalty, but I do know that the person I’m looking at is not so different from the monster who hurt your people.”
The man flinches as if I’ve slapped him. “How dare you—”
“Am I wrong?” I tilt my head, my voice cold. Underneath the fear that is twisting my gut, there is also anger rolling through me. “You’re trying to kill me for merely existing. Simply because the Goddess decreed your Alpha and me to be fated mates. And since I don’t have my wolf, you think you get to decide my destiny for me, don’t you?”
His lips draw back in a snarl. “Even if you had your wolf, Alex can only ever be with the Silver Wolf!”
“So, Alex’s life and decisions are yours to control?” Annoyance flares within me. “He can only be happy if you allow him to be? Is he a sacrificial puppet that is only meant to dance according to your fingers and those of your pack’s? Your little band of merry men aren’t the only ones who suffered under Queen Karina’s subjugation. Have you forgotten that Alex also lost his parents? But he’s the one who has to sacrifice his happiness, his needs.” I take one step toward him, finally understanding the reason behind this anger. “Tell me, will you only be appeased once you’ve drained him of everything, all happiness, every bit of joy? Will you and your friends finally be satisfied once he crushes his soul for you? Loyalty, my fucking ass!”
The man’s face turns a crimson red. “You have no idea what you’re—”
“I know what happened to your pack. And I know that no matter what you say or what Alex believes, all you people have ever done is treat him as somebody with no feelings. His pain and his needs don’t matter to you. But I bet if it were your fated mate on the line, none of you would be so willing to sacrifice her for the greater good.”
He gnashes his teeth, enraged now. “Shut up!”
I clearly touched a nerve there, and when he leaps at me, I pick up a downed branch lying next to me and slam it into his side. He goes rolling on the ground but jumps back up to his feet.
“You’re not even worth spending a minute on,” he growls.
Before I can blink, he transforms into a black wolf and charges at me.
Fear paralyzes me, and I know there is no escape this time. I can only await death.
I’ve never been a quitter, though. I ready myself, my own claws out. I’ll go for his eyes or his belly. I don’t want to hurt Alex’s friends—clearly, they matter to him—but I’ll be damned if I’m going to let one of them kill me.
He’s inches from me, his body in the air, his mouth wide open as if he’s planning to bite my entire head off, when a streak of black appears out of nowhere and slams into him. My attacker goes flying into the trees, breaking a couple on his way down.
Chapter 23
Sophia Hope
A large, black wolf is staring at me.
He doesn’t go after the other wolf. Instead, he circles me, sniffing at me before coming to a stop next to me, his stance protective. He nudges me with his head.