Page 40 of The Forbidden Alpha

Ethan’s jaw clenched so tight I heard his teeth click. He reached across the table, his hand covering mine, his thumb tracing my knuckles. He held my gaze, his green eyes acting as a tether, holding me fast against the current of memories threatening to pull me under. We sat like that for a long minute, the sound of birds chirping and the occasional breeze, until I pulled my hand back to finish eating. The sweetness of the moment lingered until Ethan straightened, the morning warmth in his eyes morphing into a violent promise.

Ethan reached for a side table in the stone wall and brought back the spiked mask. The corner of his lip twitched when he saw my confusion. “The Alphas hate it.”

I laughed and set my fork down. “I think we’ve kept them waiting long enough.”

Ethan cracked his neck. “If you’re ready. It’s time I reminded these men that my mercy has limits.”

The peace we’d had been a fragile bubble, and as we stood, it popped. Ethan’s expression hardened.

He reached for my hand, interlacing our fingers. We moved toward a private elevator; he pressed an unmarked button, and we descended. With every floor we dropped, the air grew colder, until the scent of espresso and strawberries was replaced by the smell of old stone and earth.

The iron-bound doors groaned open, revealing a chamber that felt like a tomb. Ranked men and women stood against the stone walls, and I finally knew what Olivia meant by gargoyles. It must be a Beta thing. Hushed whispers drifted from the shadows behind them, cutting off the moment we entered.

Twelve Alphas sat around a circular stone table that had sprung up out of the ground, their combined power poked and scraped at my skin. They looked at me with cold dismissal.

One Alpha jumped to his feet, slamming a fist on the stone. “This is who you declare war over?”

“The Half Moon heir overreacted. She’s a member of their court, despite being Giftless. She’s theirs to punish.” Another Alpha, this one a wall of muscle and gray-streaked hair down to his shoulders, spoke. His violet eyes flickered from me to the Alpha standing.

Ethan’s arm heated my back, his hand gripping my waist. There was a shift and the already cold room dropped.

“Adea is my mate,” Ethan said, his voice quiet, yet multitudes more terrifying than the other man’s shout. “And you’ll address her with the respect of a Luna.”

I took a breath, the cold air stinging my lungs. Despite that, warmth spread to my fingertips.

The silence in the room was suffocating. I felt the words bubbling in my throat, sharp and angry, until they finally overflowed.

“He didn’t overreact,” I said, my voice shaking but holding a weight I hadn’t known I possessed. Eyes locked onto me. I forced myself to look at the Alpha standing—and then at Jaxon. He sat rigid at the far end of the table, his expression a neutral mask.

He wouldn’t meet my gaze. The man who had been my Alpha for ten years was now just another juror—thankfully, just one voice, rather than the God of my small, miserable world.

I lifted my jaw, exposing the ugly bruising on my throat.

“This wasn’t my first disagreement with Shane. This time, he intended to break me. His thirst for blood was fueled by the fact I found my mate.”

A strangled sound erupted from Jaxon’s throat. He surged forward, his hands gripping the edge of the stone table. He looked ready to kill me for the public humiliation. But then Ethan’s hand settled on the back of my chair, his presence a warning that silenced the Alpha before he could manage a word. His jaw worked, his face furious even as he sank back in his seat.

I continued. “He saw me in Ethan’s arms and went berserk. Ethan stopped him. If you want to stand behind a coward who uses rank to leash a woman who doesn’t belong to him, then that says more about The Table than it does about my mate… or me.”

The Alphas shifted, a few of them looking away. I turned to Ethan, my chest heaving, the adrenaline finally overriding the fear. “I’ve told them why. Do they need anything else from me?”

Ethan looked down at me, his green eyes searching mine. He saw the cracks and nodded. “No. A deeper recount will be needed at the trials. You’ve done enough.”

He let go of my waist, the loss of his heat making me shiver. His focus shifted, pupils dilating as that milky white haze covered green, leaving his body behind as he spoke to someone. He was silent for a beat, his expression unreadable as he coordinated with someone on the outside. When they cleared, he reached out, his thumb grazing my cheek.

“The first time I left you…” he trailed off, the memory of finding me broken in the garden playing behind his eyes.

“I’ll be fine,” I promised.

I didn’t wait for him to change his mind. I turned my back on The Table and disappeared behind iron doors.

Chapter 22

Odis

The scent of her—sweet, sharp, and entirely Olivia—was the only thing that could drown out the bloodthirst that flowed through my veins after what happened to my Luna. I stayed on my knees for a moment in the shadows of the hallway, sitting in the satisfaction that came from her moans. Her juices coated my mouth as she finished. I didn’t move, didn’t even breathe, content to be the ground she stood on if it meant she was satisfied.

Despite the bruising ache tenting my slacks, I made no move to bridge the gap. My own hunger was second to the desperate compulsion to see her shoulders drop, to be the one thing in this tower allowed to give her peace.