The Alpha’s Fated Choice (Alpha's Fated Encounter Trilogy #1)

I feel selfish even thinking that I should be more important to Alex than the lives of all his pack members.

I want to ask him who it is that he fears so much. I want to ask him exactly how accepting me will hurt his pack. I want to beg him not to cast me aside. But my voice is stuck somewhere deep inside me, buried under layers and layers of pain and hurt.

Several loud knocks jerk me out of my thoughts. Without another word, I make my way to the front door and peer through the peephole.

It’s Patrick.

I open the door, staring at the ground, my voice dull. “He’s in the bedroom.” I gesture vaguely behind me.

I can feel Patrick’s gaze on me, but I do not look up. I drag myself to the kitchen and close the door, not wanting to overhear their conversation. Sitting at the kitchen table, I rest my head against the wall and contemplate the ceiling. My eyes are dry, but this ache in my chest isn’t going anywhere.

Am I supposed to hate Alex now? Am I supposed to feel sorry for him? Or am I supposed to feel sorry for myself?

Numb and mentally exhausted, I just want to crawl into bed and go to sleep. I want to hide from my problems, from this confusion eating at me. I want to hide from the world.

I wish Alex hadn’t told me the truth, whatever little he did tell me. Because now I feel worse.

I don’t know how long I’ve been staring at the ceiling when the kitchen door opens and Patrick pokes his head in. “Can I talk to you?”

I shrug.

He enters the kitchen and closes the door behind him. Leaning against it, his hands folded behind his back, he studies me. “Are you alright?”

I open my mouth to say yes, but instead of words, a strangled sob escapes, and I lower my head into my hands.

Patrick crouches next to me, rubbing his hand on my back. “I’m sorry.”

So am I.

“I can’t take Alex back to the motel with me,” Patrick says softly, his voice strained. “I cannot have him near Julia while he’s so vulnerable. His wounds are far from healed. He has some major internal injuries that will need a few days to heal completely. Do you mind if he stays here, Sophia? I think this is the safest place for him.”

“Why are you doing this to me?”

“I am begging you.” He sounds distressed.

I lift my head and look at Patrick. “What is it about Julia that you all fear so much?”

Patrick is silent for a moment, and when he meets my gaze, he says, “She will kill Alex if she cannot possess him. She is obsessed with him. And I don’t think even he realizes how bad it is.”

When I just stare at him, he wets his lips and continues.

“Julia is the one who leaked his location to your pack security team last night.”

Chapter 16

Alex Stone

“Do you have any proof of this?”

I look at Patrick, fury building up inside me.

“She must have been outside the room when you were talking about going to the north side of the forest for a run,” my senior lieutenant tells me. “I watched you leave, and then I saw her shadowing you. I followed her. She stopped to place a call, and I heard every word. I tried to hurry after you to warn you, but she must have seen me. Crazy bitch attacked me. Went for my fucking jugular. I managed to fend her off but got two broken ribs as a result.”

He lifts up his shirt, revealing the black and blue bruises on his side.

“Why would she do that?” I frown. “What would be the point?”

Patrick lowers his shirt and picks up a snow globe from the shelf next to him, giving it a shake. “I think she was pissed that you rejected her. I know she came to your room the night before.”