AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Okay, well, when they showed up, I knew it was my only chance to get out.”
“Can you tell us why you wanted to get out?” I ask.
She nods. “Our Alpha. Liam Mercer. He’s been in charge for the past twenty years or so and he’s made life torture for everyone in town. All the women are unofficially his mates, which means we’re not free to seek out true mates or chosen mates of our own. The men in town have become pretty vicious because they can’t have their own families. That would be bad enough, but he takes away any children who turn out to be Omegas or Alphas. No one knows where they go, or if they even…” Her voice shakes as she trails off.
Everett growls. Maybe I should have spoken to her alone. This conversation is only turning his anger into rage.
“Take your time,” I tell her, when she gives us a worried look.
“I know why your Beta was out there with your hybrid friend,” she blurts. “The Alpha isn’t quiet about his plans. He had some of his Betas camp out on your territory, looking for a way to legally capture your Omega. We were all expecting you to send someone to check out our town once he succeeded. We were told to be nice to you, to make it look like any other town. That’s the only reason the men in the diner didn’t try to capture your friend and kill your Beta.”
“Do you know exactly what he did to catch Oscar?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “He said they caught a lucky break. Seized an opportunity.”
“Does he have witches?”
Everett takes in a sharp breath.
I know it’s a sore point for him, but I have to ask.
“Witches?” she asks, sounding confused.
“Packs used to enslave witches,” I tell her. “It gives the Alpha a power boost. It’s an outdated practice, but we had to ask.”
“I never met a witch before Rachel. Our Alpha despises witch magic. He says the only true magic is shifter magic.” She shrugs.
“What about hybrids?” I ask.
If Rachel’s mates have special abilities linked to their human sides, there must be other hybrids out there who have similar talents.
“Rachel’s the first hybrid I’ve ever met,” she admits. “All of the shifters in town are full bloods.”
No witches. No hybrids. What does that leave?
Shifter magic. The curse to change forms when the moon is full was originally meant as a punishment witches visited on those who wronged them. Shifter magic is tied directly to witch magic. The two can never be fully separated. I wonder what he means when he says the only true magic is shifter magic.
“Now that you’re free of that pack, what do you want to do?” I ask.
She blinks at me. “I… I don’t know.”
“You’re not marked,” I tell her.
“Our Alpha doesn’t believe in marking his wolves.”
Why would he? A mark is a promise to protect from an Alpha, as much as it’s a promise to be loyal from the pack member being bitten. He clearly isn’t interested in protecting his wolves.
“It’s up to you if you want to try to live among humans,” I tell her. “You could get as far away from here as possible, start over. Choose a human town and steer clear of shifters.”
She frowns. It’s an alien concept to her. I’m not sure she’d find it easy.
“Or you can stay here with us and take your time deciding if you want to be part of our pack.”
Her frown fades. “This is… I didn’t expect to be given a choice.”
Everything she’s told me is awful, but this is what hurts my heart.
She hasn’t had any choice in anything for so long.
