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“This way,” I tell him, taking the lead.
Aleks’s curses under his breath, but he doesn’t try to change our trajectory again.
And there she is. Peyton Slade, standing next to a tall, burly blond-haired Alpha with a flat expression and shrew gold eyes.
She must’ve sensed us coming, too.
I stop when there’s about fifteen feet between us and them. Calling out to her, I ask, “What are you doing here?”
As if I didn’t know. The Alpha’s scent wasn’t familiar, but I’ve seen his picture before. If you know the right sites, lone wolves form their own communities online. We warn each other about what packs to avoid, what territory we can squat on, and who might be willing to turn the other way if we need to spend a little time with one of our kind before moving on.
I haven’t checked in on my old contacts since I came to stay in Muncie. They were a godsend when I was avoiding Aleks all last year, but I’ve gone underground a bit since then. I still know who that male is—which means my question redundancy.
I’m pretty sure I know why they’re here.
Her cackle of glee has a pit forming in my stomach even before she gestures at the male nearby. “This is Dash Harrigan. Alpha of the Northern Winds Pack. You missed your trial date. We’ve come to correct that little oversight.”
“Trial?” echoes Aleks. He lays his hand on my shoulder. “What do you mean?”
He knows. I explained it to him at the shack, and he brushed it off, assuring me that I was Cadre now. The Alpha’s laws don’t apply to me.
I knew better. I just… I guess I hoped I could avoid this, almost as much as I knew from the moment I caught the unfamiliar scent that I was probably running into a situation exactly like this one.
The Alpha clears his throat. “She’s been summoned by the Alpha collective to discuss her unique… abilities. She’s been accused of using them cruelly. We’re offering her the chance to explain.”
Oh, Aleks doesn’t like that at all. His fingers bite into my shoulder, though he keeps his tone neutral. “She has to decline.”
If only it was that easy. “Aleks—”
“You don’t get to decline a summons from the Alphas, you bloodsucking parasite. The alternative is being put down. At least, this way, I get to watch Howell suffer a bit before they decide she’s too big of a freak to be allowed around normal shifters.”
Before, when I first saw Peyton, I was torn between wanting to walk up to her and slap that smug look off of her face and clutching Aleks to me so that she can’t get her claws in him. I haven’t forgotten how she vowed to take my mate from me the same way I “stole” hers, and even though she fucked Jack Walker thinking he was mine, I wouldn’t put it past her to get her revenge by setting her sights on Aleks.
I should’ve known better. There are some prejudices not even a twisted shifter like Peyton can get past. And then there’s Aleks. My gentle, cultured vampire has a switch that turns him from bloodsucker nobility to a vicious killer in seconds:me.
“I won’t let you touch her. None of you.”
During the whole exchange, even when he was speaking, the Alpha had hung back. Once Aleks hunches his shoulder, coiling his body as he’s prepared to fight them both, Dash’s eyes go from a soft gold to a molten lava. He must’ve been keeping his level of dominance contained because, with a steady snarl, he releases it.
Woah. My wolf immediately whines, eager to submit to the much stronger wolf.
Unfortunately, my human half agrees. Aleks could probably take him. As strong as Dash’s dominance is, the Wicked Wolf had an edge. Aleks was able to take him on, though I think both of us accept that Walker’s death came as easy as it did because Aleks was particularly determined and Walker was prepared to play the role of the martyr to get his war.
I turn around, clutching Aleks’s sweater with my fists. I have to yank to get him to break the stare, which is probably a good thing; Alphas take prolonged eye contact as a challenge, and my attempt to stop Aleks from attacking might be in vain if Dash accepts.
“Aleks, baby, listen to me. Are you listening to me?”
I kept my voice low enough that it’s clear I’m only talking to him. After a moment when the red gleams from his irises, he blinks, and my vampire is back. “Elizabeth…”
“Listen. I have to go. I know you don’t like it. Believe me, I don’t like it, either. But I have to. Please don’t make it harder than it is.”
“I won’t,” he assures me, voice thrumming with emotion as he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “But I’m coming with you.”
My voice was low, but they still heard both of us easily.
“Your mate can’t come with you,” the Alpha interjects. “I’m sorry.”
Surprisingly, I think he actually means it.
