Page 19 of The Forbidden Alpha

Her words were meant to be a promise, but they landed as a threat. To be seen by a room full of predators wasn’t a dream—it was a target on my back.

I patted her hand, my fingers icy. “I need some air. My head is spinning.”

I pushed back from the heavy oak, my legs trembling, but Mavy’s hand tightened.

“Adea.”

She leveled me with a look that said, ‘Don’t argue.’ There were two plates in front of her, filled with food I’d spent hours preparing. Her silver eyes tracked me with a quiet, sisterly precision. She patted the seat beside her. “Sit.”

“I’m not hungry, Mavy.”

“I didn’t ask.” She slid the second plate toward the empty chair.

I looked at her for a long moment. She didn’t look away. That was the thing about Mavy—she never tried to fix you. She sat with you until you forgot you were broken. Normally, I was thankful for that, but tonight, I felt trapped.

I forced myself to sit. Every clink of my fork against the ceramic was a countdown. Around us, the excitement roared into a celebration, and I swallowed a few bites—enough to satisfy the alpha in her blood—until she finally leaned back and released her grip. I didn’t wait for her to change her mind.

I rose to my feet, made myself small, and got out of there.

I didn’t stop to grab a coat. I slipped through the back exit, the cool evening air hitting me hard, sharp against my skin. The noise faded behind me as I crossed the driveway and hit the gravel that turned into the damp pine-needle floor of the woods.

The woods swallowed me immediately, the dark settling around my shoulders, familiar and welcome. I exhaled, the first full breath I’d taken all day. This was mine. The only thing that had ever been mine. No rank. No bloodline. No decree from a Table of Alphas. Only the cool waters, the pine needles, and the sky twinkling between the branches above me.

I stalled by the waters; I was desperate to sink beneath the surface and let the silence do its work. A prickle at my nape had me looking over my shoulder.

I didn’t move.

I was imagining it. I was letting him get under my skin.

“Run faster, little wolf.”

The memory of his voice crawled up my spine.

“Dick,” I muttered under my breath, squeezing my eyes shut. I refused to be driven from the only place that belonged to me.

I stayed, but didn’t undress. The feeling of being watched never left. It nagged at the corners of my mind, patient and certain. When I finally made my way back, I walked faster than usual, my skin crawling with the sensation of a heavy gaze following me through the trees. I kept my eyes on the path, but in the back of my mind, I saw the shredded bark on the cedars and the fresh scratches that marred the trunks. Someone had been here.

I pushed the thought away, but failed.

I walked faster anyway.

Chapter 10

Gabe

The castle was a frantic hive of activity. I’d been hauling trunks and bags to the trucks since the sunrise, my muscles screaming against the weight after another night of the Bondbreaker. Usually, the cool mountain air of the Half Moon territory would have kept me sharp, but today, a heaviness settled on my shoulders.

Alpha Jaxon was by the transport, his face a mask of authority. I ignored the need to hunch my shoulders and to submit to his power.

“This is the last one, I promise!” Mavy chirped, dropping a heavy designer duffel at my feet. The Princess was a spoiled brat, excited about a party, while I was fairly sure I was dying. I hoped I’d find my mate and he’d free me of my Cinderella duties.

“Ten minutes, Mavelin,” Jaxon said, his voice dropping into that timbre that demanded obedience. “Be at the gates.”

I rolled my back to shake off his command. My spine popped satisfyingly, and I relished my strength. I grabbed the bag from her, my forearms burning, and nearly collided with a shadow in the hallway.

“Ady, I’m dying here,” I huffed, though my heart softened the second I saw her.

Adea jumped, her back hitting the wood paneling. She looked… worse. Her eyes weren’t on the luggage; they were fixed on the front door like she was bracing for a monster to burst through it.