by Lyra Winters
I lingered before pulling away. "I need to call a few warriors and assign them to watch Olivia."
He pouted, and his thumb stroked my cheek. "All work and no play."
I shook my head at that. He knew damn well that there was plenty of play, especially when it concerned us.
Blaine ran a hand through his perfect silver hair. "I don't like it."
"I know, but she's my mom." My hands slid down his chest, my fingertips burning from the ecstasy of the matebond. "I told her I would."
"Mom or not... you're still an Alpha that can make her own decisions," he grumbled.
"This is my decision, okay?" I tiptoed and kissed along his jawline.
He sighed, closing his eyes. "I'd be a lot less tense if you'd let me fuck you first."
I wriggled my finger. "Nuh uh. If I let you do that, we won't end up going at all."
"Damn." He grinned. "You caught me."
I rolled my eyes, and the corners of my lips tilted upwards. "Let's get this over with."
He trailed behind me with his hands stuffed in his pockets as we headed toward the door. We locked up the cottage and made our way to the cellars. It was five miles from the pack house and secluded in the middle of a thick forest. A hatch was the only entrance and the only exit. They covered it with dirt, sticks and leaves.
"This is it," I said as we came across the entry. I bent over to brush away the covering and yanked it up, causing the metal to creak as it opened.
"Nice." Blaine glanced around. "This is definitely out of the way."
"That's the point." I slid down the opening and into the cellars. He did the same behind me and I heard the hatch slam shut.
A guard was standing at the bottom of the ladder and bowed his head. "Alphas."
"I'm here to see Nolan."
He snorted. "That sleazeball? Right this way." He led us down the dank cement hallway and into the torture cells. It reeked of blood and sweat, an attribute fit for those sentenced.
"Unfortunately."
"Alright, he's in cell six." He held out a thick brown glove. "For the Wolfsbane."
Blaine grabbed the glove and pulled it onto his right hand.
I nodded. "Thanks."
"Good luck." The guard's gruff voice echoed off the walls.
We made our way down to his designated lockup. The cells were made of steel and laced with wolfsbane to cause burns to the wolves who attempted to escape.
Blaine opened the door with his gloved hand. We walked into the cell as he shut the door and locked it.
I frowned. "I could've opened it."
"Don't worry about it." He nodded toward the other side of the cell.
My eyes shifted to Nolan who was lying on the ground in the fetal position wearing only his underwear. Lacerations ripped open his sickly pale skin, and blood coated the floor beneath him.
"P-Please, no more." His voice was weak as he struggled to lift his head.
"Mom wants me to pass along a message." I clicked my tongue. "Ivy and your baby are doing fine, and Ivy misses you."
"I don't care about her. I thought I made that clear." He coughed up blood as he could finally lift his head and look me in the eye. "You're who I want."
"And I clarified that I don't want you. I sentenced you down here to learn a fucking lesson."
He winced. "I'm your mate."
"You were my mate. You're the one that rejected me, Nolan." My nose wrinkled.
"It was a mistake." Nolan placed his hands on the bloodied cement floor and pushed himself onto wobbly legs. His body hunched over.
I shook my head. "Don't care about your baby, at all?"
Even if he didn't care for Ivy, he must have had some connection to his own flesh and blood.
His gaze faltered. "I don't know."
"You made that pup with my sister. Whether you like it or not, you have an obligation now."
He dropped his head and his shoulder started to shake. I thought he was sobbing as his whole body began to quiver, but then he lifted his head up. "The only obligation I have is you." A deep mirth bounced off the walls as his lips curled into a big smile. His green eyes pierced mine, and he sprinted toward me.
I moved out of his path with ease, sidestepping him, and pushed my palm in between his shoulder blades. I sent him hard into the wall coated in Wolfsbane. He smacked it hard, his flesh searing at the contact.
He dropped; the back of his head bounced off the floor before colliding again with a crack. Skin was missing from his nose while burns scattered his chest from the impact.
The burns were struggling to heal. One perk of being a werewolf was that we healed abnormally fast, but our downfall was wolfsbane. That pretty little plant restricted our healing process and if used in a high concentrate, it could be fatal.
He let out a strangled cry as Blaine walked over to him. "Show Sophia respect as your Alpha and know your place," Blaine whispered, squatting down to where he could see his face. "Or next time, I'll make sure you won't heal at all."
Nolan whimpered, closing his eyes as he rested his head on the cold floor.
"Use the time you have left in here to think about Ivy and your baby," I said.
Blaine unlocked the heavy cell door before pushing it open. We walked out, and the door slammed shut behind us.
"Did he try anything?" the guard asked, locking it back with his gloved hands.
Blaine snarled. "He launched at his Alpha."
The guard's eyes flashed. "I'll teach him another lesson."
I waved him off. "I pushed him into the wall. He's recovering from heavy contact with Wolfsbane. Do as you will."
"I'll make sure he is properly punished regardless, Alpha." He led us back to the hatch.
"You do that," Blaine said, handing him the glove.
I grabbed the cold metal ladder and climbed back up the hatch. I grasped the grass around it and pulled myself up. Blaine climbed up behind me before shutting it and kicking the covering back over.
"Maybe that visit wasn't the worst. I got to assert my dominance." He grinned as we walked through the overgrown forest.
"You do love to assert your dominance."
He grabbed my hand and pulled me in for a rough kiss. He pulled back slightly, resting his forehead on mine. "I'll show you exactly how dominating I can be once we get home."
"Yes, please."
Blaine and I interlocked our fingers as we entered the dim-lit dining room. Riley, Gabe, Ivy, Nolan, and my parents sat around the long marble table. Blaine and I took the open seats next to Riley and Gabe. Our family had expanded, and it was a different atmosphere than it used to be.
"I'm so glad you all could make it." Mom smiled, glancing around the table. "I've been missing all of you. I was hoping we could put our problems on the back-burner and be a family tonight."
I tapped my fingers on the table. "You told me he wasn't going to be here."
Ivy waved me off. "Mom told me not to bring him, but he's part of the family too, so I did anyway."
My eyes shifted to Ivy as I let out a low growl. "I don't care what he is. I don't want him anywhere near me."
"He just got out of the cellars yesterday. I didn't have the chance to see him all last week, thanks to you," she snipped.
"There was a damn good reason I sentenced him there." I felt my wolf stirring within me.
"Girls, let's just try to get along. Your mom has been really upset about all the fighting," Dad said, squeezing Mom's hand.
"Sophia hasn't been fighting," Blaine said. "She's been demanding the respect she deserves as Alpha of this pack."
Mom turned her head under his gaze.
"You're right, Blaine. Sophia has just been standing up for herself, and she should continue to do so," Dad agreed. "Ivy, Nolan. Both of you need to show your Alpha respect."
Nolan's gaze shifted to the table. His skin was pink, as he was still healing from the Wolfsbane. He had two black eyes, his nose swollen, and deep gashes peeked out from under his shirt and up his ne
ck. I couldn't imagine all the torture he had endured. Hopefully, he had learned his place in the pack.
Ivy pressed her lips together and nodded.
"Can we eat now?" Riley asked, grinning from ear-to-ear.
Dad chuckled. "You may."
It was silent as we filled our plates with pulled pork, mashed potatoes, mac 'n cheese, and green beans. We ate in silence for a couple of minutes, enjoying the home-cooked food.
I swallowed the food that I had stuffed in my mouth. "This is so good, Mom."
"Mom's cooking is the best." Riley ate another forkful before eyeing me. "I heard that you two fully mated. Congratulations." She winked.
I rolled my eyes and smiled. "Thanks."
Blaine nodded. "Thank you, Riley."
This was why I loved Riley. She was the only one who had congratulated us within my immediate family. Pack members had been enthusiastic about it, but after the whole Nolan incident nobody here wanted to acknowledge it.
I heard a clang and glanced over to see that Nolan had dropped his fork. His gaze fixed on me and his jaw clenched.
I averted my gaze back to Riley. "I see that you fully mated, too."
She laughed. "Yes! Gabe finally marked me and completed the mating process on the full moon."
"Congrats, man." Blaine slapped Gabe on his back.
I giggled. "Well, I'm thrilled for you both."
"I was fully mated and marked before both of you." Ivy winked toward Nolan.
Riley leaned forward over the table. "Oh, that's right! To a man who wasn't your mate."
Mom gave out an exasperated sigh. "Riley, don't start."
"He treats me like his mate. Isn't that what matters? I mean, he rejected his true mate for me." Ivy placed a hand on Nolan's tense shoulder.
"Didn't he just try to mark my mate? The one he rejected for you?" Blaine's voice was dangerously low, and he straightened his posture.
I knew Blaine was tired of Ivy and Nolan. Beyond tired and to the point of shifting and killing one of them, not that I could blame him. I reached over and placed my hand on his thigh.
Ivy huffed and crossed her arms. "Nolan! Say something," she mumbled, elbowing him; but Nolan kept quiet and continued eating his food, staring at his plate. "I'm pregnant. Remember? You guys should be nice to me."
"Being pregnant doesn't give you the right to be a bitch." Riley scoffed.
"Riley! We don't need to use curse words," Mom scolded, and shook her head.
"Ivy, I'm no threat to you. You don't have to keep throwing the rejection in my face." I squeezed Blaine's thigh as he put his hand over mine.
"I hate you, Sophia." Tears started to well up in her eyes. "The only reason your precious Blaine is with you is because he feels sorry for you. Your first mate rejected you. Why would he want Nolan's sloppy leftovers?" She slammed her fists down on the table, knocking over Nolan's half-full wineglass.
Blaine went rigid, I could feel him fighting his wolf through the matebond. His instincts were telling him to take out the threat, and the threat was my pregnant bitch of a sister and her disgusting husband.
I stood up, growling at her. "Watch yourself."
"What're you going to do? Throw me in the cellars? I'm pregnant! You can't touch me because you'd be hurting an innocent baby." She placed a hand on her stomach.
"Girls. Please," Mom interjected, grabbing a cloth and walking over to clean up the wine spill.
"Hell, I kind of feel bad for you. You're just a little reject, after all," Ivy pressed on with a smug smile.
I felt Blaine's hand on the small of my back as he stood next to me. "I would watch what you say, she-wolf."
"Nolan's rejection may not mean much to you now, Sophia, but don't you remember that day? You were so excited to meet your mate and it turned out that my boyfriend was your mate." She laughed, running a hand through her hair. "Instead of breaking up with me and being with his true mate, he rejected you for your little sister. I mean, that must've been painful not to have been good enough. Too bad you were of Alpha blood. You wouldn't have had to suffer. 'Cause you'd be dead." Her eyes were dark as she glared at me.
"Too bad your baby has a heartless bitch for a mother." My canines broke through my gums, and my claws broke through the tips of my fingers. "You're putting that pup in danger by blatantly disrespecting your Alpha. If you keep this up, I won't be able to stop myself from ripping your fucking throat out."
Her expression went blank before she stomped over to me and swung her palm at my cheek. Her actions had me seeing red. I caught her wrist and squeezed, feeling her bones snap under the pressure. My claws cut into her wrist, blood oozing out of the wounds. Her scream pierced my ears, making me clench down harder. Her bones crumbled under my grip and I cut into her flesh deeper.
My half-transformed snout leaned closer to her, smelling her fear.
The table erupted in gasps. My claws retracted, along with my canines, and I took a deep breath, dropping her wrist. She shrieked, holding her arm and stared at me wide-eyed. Her hand hung disconnected and bloody from her forearm.
"Ivy!" Dad stood and walked over to her.
"What the hell did you do? Are you trying to kill our baby?" Nolan shook his head at her.
Mom grimaced at Ivy, looking away from the situation.
A deafening growl exploded from me as I pulled away from Blaine. "I am your Alpha. I have every right to banish you, sentence you to the cellars, or lock you up until you give birth and then kill you in front of the pack." Her small frame shook. "I won't do that, for the sake of our parents and that baby. You will learn your place in this pack. Don't make me beat it into you."
Nolan jumped out of his seat, knocking the chair over, and stormed out of the room.
"Nolan, come back!" Ivy turned from me before stumbling after him, cradling her wrist.
Blaine wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his chest. I inhaled his scent, thankful for his presence. The rage I had felt seconds before dissipated thanks to the matebond.
Dad cleared his throat. "I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault." I shook my head, focusing on Mom. "I'm not attending any family functions with her there."
She waved me off. "I know. I don't expect you to anymore. But did you have to break her wrist? She is carrying a baby."
"With the amount of disrespect she showed Sophia, I'm surprised she didn't do worse," Dad snapped at her.
Blaine nodded. "If Sophia hadn't addressed her when she did, I would've killed her."
The room went quiet. Blaine wasn't an Alpha to be messed with, everyone knew that. Ivy had no clue how close she had been to death.
"We're leaving," I said before grabbing Blaine's hand and walking out of the room.
We went back home. There wasn't much conversation in the car and when we pulled up to the cottage, Blaine didn't say anything. He just got out of the car and went inside, without waiting for me.
I went inside after him, kicking my shoes off at the door. Blaine was sitting on the couch with his head in his hands.
"What's wrong?" I asked and took a seat beside him.
"Honestly?" He lifted his head up, staring at me.
"Of course."
He nodded, rubbing a hand over his stubble. "You're always letting your family disrespect you. It pisses me off. Don't you have any respect for yourself as an Alpha?"
I flinched. His words hurt me, and I couldn't believe that came out of his mouth.
"They are always demanding something of you. The only two in your family who don't are Riley and your father. You keep letting them get away with sly comments and jaded insults. Sure, you correct them verbally, but we are wolves. We are violent creatures. We have to be put in our place to learn our place."
"That's not how I was raised, Blaine. I haven't been taught to... abuse members of my pack for my own gain."
He shook his head. "Abuse and dominance are two different things. This pack is a lot more lenient than most and that's because the way you
run your pack doesn't work. It leads to members like Nolan and Ivy."
I ran my hands over my face before leaning back on the couch. "I just accepted the Alpha title from my dad two months ago. I'm still learning. Give me time. I put Nolan in the cellars, didn't I? I broke Ivy's wrist tonight. I put them in their place."
"Finally, you did. I had to tell you to put Nolan in the cellars and the only reason you broke her wrist was because if you hadn't, you knew I would've done much worse to her," he said.
I pushed off the couch and stood in front of him with my arms crossed. Every word that came out of his mouth was like a dagger to my heart. "Is there anything else you have a problem with, Alpha Blaine?"
He swallowed hard. "I love you. I'm just looking out for you. I hate how they treat you, and how you let them."
"I don't let them do anything." I said with a defeated sigh.
He stood up, and his nose grazed mine. "I'm sorry. I don't understand the family dynamic you have."
I nodded. "You don't have to understand it."
"Really, Sophia. I just... want more for you."
"I've been thinking." I reached up and rubbed my thumb against his cheek. "About your pack and mine."
"And?"
"I like the idea of your pack and a new start. Does that make me a bad Alpha?"
He shook his head. "No, not at all."
I smiled. I knew he was concerned about my family, and to be honest, so was I. The rejection put an invisible wall between me and my pack. That's something an Alpha should never feel, and it worried me. We would figure it out, and be good Alphas, no matter which pack we led.
The pungent aroma of blood and flesh surrounded us as Blaine and I approached the limp body of a werewolf near the East perimeter. As we drew closer, I recognized their scent.
My claws dug into the ground and my heart dropped. 'It's Gretta. She's an Elder.'
'She reeks of rogues,' he said.
I growled. He was right. This wasn't Lockhart directly, but he was the cause. I shifted back into my human form and took a step forward. Blood had descended into the surrounding ground, coating my foot as I got closer.
Gretta's gray hair was stained crimson, her brown eyes were frozen open, her flesh had gaping holes and her tendons were ripped. It looked like they killed her right after shifting from wolf form. Her wolf snout was present in her human features, her fingertips had claws, her arms were contorted from being mid-shift, one leg was bent into a hind leg, and fur sprouted from her epidermis in patches. I bent down and shut her eyes before I murmured a quick prayer.
