As much as they enjoy tormenting me it doesn’t look like the pack is interested in delaying their moon run by a minute more. I’m not even on the move yet when the rest of the pack shifts and takes off for their moon run. I guess I’m not entertainment anymore now that Keiran has rejected me. Maud holds me up while I limp across the town square and back towards her hut. We only get to the edge of the square before Alpha Ashford’s voice follows us.
“If you stay clear of the village. You can stay at the Healer’s Hut.”
His voice sounds close. I look over my shoulder and see he’s followed us. Behind him the bonfire still burns bright. Keiran and Bella are nowhere to be seen but a few remain. Luna Thalia and Beta Ramos are there along with Bella’s parents. None come close like Alpha Ashford though.
“What?” My voice is nothing but a rasp, so the word is more of a sound than anything else. My throat is too raw from the screaming. I wince and try again, “What do you mean?”
He crosses his arms and looks me up and down. I don’t miss the leer I see.Oh gods.He’s checking me out.
“If you were good enough to keep my son coming back to you, then you’re good enough for the rest of the pack. And a bitch in heat isn’t a treat I’d deprive myself of. You’re going to need an Alpha if you want to survive your first heat now aren’t you?” He comes forward a step.
“I’d say your first heat is enough to repay the debt you owe the pack for supporting you all these years, wouldn’t you?”
I hear what he’s saying loud and clear. I’ve never been through a heat but I know why the Alpha wants me. It’s not going to be long before I’m begging and mindless for a knot. For days on end I won’t be myself. Any Alpha will do for me then and to the wrong Alpha I’ll just be a body to use how they see fit and I wouldn’t be able to stop them. I’ll be that way for days and Alpha Ashford is the cruelest Alpha I know.
I clutch at Maud. “I-no, no.No.” I shake my head and try to shrink into the smaller woman. “I would never do that.”
The Alpha’s eyes narrow. “You think you’re too good for the Alpha, bitch? You’re lucky I’m even thinking about giving you what you need.” He lifts a hand towards me and I flinch away from him.
“I’d rather die than let you touch me.”
“That can be arranged, you filthy orphan.”
Maud’s arm gets tight around me and she moves me behind her. “You come near this girl and I’ll curse your bloodline, Wayne.”
Wayne is the Alpha’s first name but no one calls him that. It’s the first time I’ve heard anyone use it.
He jerks back like Maud slapped him. “Ungrateful witch. Don’t you dare threaten me.”
“It’s not a threat if it’s a promise, now is it? You’ll wake up vomiting toads and pissing blood when I’m done with you if I catch you near her.” She shakes her head. “I’m an Elder in this pack and I won’t soon forget that little stunt you pulled back there.” Maud crosses her arms and chuckles. “I know smarts don’t run deep in your line but you’re more a fool than I took you for if you think you have the power to banish me or that I’ll let you anywhere near my girl. I only let what happened tonight happen because it must. There’s no stopping what the moon goddess wills. Now get your sorry hide out of my sight or I’ll skin you myself.”
Maud moves towards the Alpha and she’s not so small anymore. She feels…bigger. The shadows around Maud get darker and I realize this is her power. She’s pulling it in and by the second the woman grows and expands until she’s seven feet tall. I swear I feel the ground shake when she takes a step towards Alpha Ashford.
I watch open mouthed as the Alpha stops in his tracks and drops into a defensive posture. He looks nervous. I’ve never seen him look like this. Ever.
He’s scared of Maud.
If I wasn’t so shocked I’d laugh at the turn of events but to be honest, I know better than to cross Maud on a normal day so I get it.
Alpha Ashford bares his teeth at her and jabs a finger at me. “She either does her time when I come to get her or she’s gone by morning. That’s non-negotiable.”
Maud snorts and flips the Alpha off. The power she summoned rolls off her like a cloak she’s dropped to the floor. “I heard you the first time, Wayne. You bastard.” She turns herback on the Alpha. A clear sign she doesn’t consider him a threat and holds a hand out to me. I go to her immediately.
“Come on, Cordelia. We’re almost there and then you can rest,” she says, giving my arm a comforting pat.
I don’t know what else to do but walk so that’s what I do. Every part of my body aches. My heat has me close to being delirious and I know I’d completely give in to it if my wolf wasn’t on high alert for threats. She’s glad we’re putting distance between the Alpha and us. I don’t know if she’s really as strong as she thinks or if she’s just reckless but I know she’d fight him. Knowing my luck, I’d totally be given a hot head for a wolf. I press a hand to my chest and will her to be calm but she doesn’t settle. She listens, ears perked and nose sniffing. I sigh heavily. If I can’t stop her I may as well not fight her instincts to stay vigilant. Together we scan the buildings around us but no one comes after us. Maud and I walk in silence, she doesn’t seem as worried as my wolf and I are but Maud just threatened to curse the Alpha’s line and make him piss blood so I don’t expect there’s much she’s worried about.
We’re silent as we walk through the forest until Maud’s hut comes into view. “I’ll put some tea on and get a bath started for you,” Maud tells me. That means she’ll have to lug water from the pump and heat it. I don’t want her to have to do all that at this hour and as much as I hate to admit it I’m too exhausted to do it myself.
I shake my head. “No, I’m fine. Honest. I just need somewhere to lay down and I’ll b-be o-okay.” My teeth chatter at the end of my sentence and I shiver. The heat that’s been burning me up feels like it’s gone the opposite way now. If it was a fire the flames wouldn’t be burning out of control now, it would be a barely flickering ember. The fire in me feels like the bite of ice now.
“Why am I so cold?” The night is cool but now that my wolf is awake I shouldn’t be cold like this. Something is wrong with my heat. I should feel like I’m dying without a partner to ride my heat out, and as much as I hate to say it, an Alpha’s knot is the best medicine for me but right now I can’t stand the thought of being touched. Every little part of me feels too much, so much that I can’t think straight.
“I don’t feel right. I think,” I swallow hard and have to stop walking for a second. “I can’t think. I feel like I’m turning to ice. Something is wrong,” I tell her. “With my heat, I mean. Something isn’t right.”
“Of course something isn’t right. Your fated mate rejected you,” she says and I jerk upright in surprise. My fated mate? What does she mean myfated mate? “And on top of it your wolf wants out. Your heat can’t make heads or tails of itself right now.” Maud tells me and nudges me along and through the clearing to her hut. “You’ll need a warm bath to calm down. We’re going to fix this together, so no arguing with me.” Another shiver racks my body and I’m too weak to argue.
“O-okay.”
