Page 71 of The Alpha's Chosen Outcast

“You’re right. Let’s go.”

I open the door and we both change, leaving our clothes by the front door. I see Sam, Logan, and Callie rushing over. Sam picks up the clothes and they stare at us before they close the door.

They’ve probably never seen a wolf before. Changing in public is a pretty normal occurrence in this world, but maybe not in this town.

I feel Heather as we get closer to the woods. Running on all fours gets us there in no time. Raymond is keeping pace a few feet behind me.

He’s not supposed to surpass me while we’re running in wolf form since I’m Alpha. That’s the law, although I’m not sure how much those laws apply out here.

Once we charge into the woods, I know exactly where to go. I wouldn’t have known to go straight for the woods if it hadn’t been for Logan.

Having that bearing shaved off precious minutes in the race to reach her. The fact that I can feel her is a good sign. She’s definitely alive. But I sense her fear. The smell is strong. Sharp and acrid.

We’re almost to her when I hear her scream. I know it’s her. Raymond knows, too. He’s almost nose to nose beside me, and I won’t stop him.

We look at each other and I sense he understands what to do. He will protect Heather as I go after the assassin. I can’t imagine he doesn’t see us coming, though. It could be an ambush, but I don’t care. Heather is all that matters.

We reach a clearing, and I see them. Heather is tied to a tree with a thick rope. My heart drops to my stomach when I see that the assassin has a knife to her throat. He definitely heard us coming, but he’s focused on me as we slow down and stop.

“Come any closer, and I’ll slice her throat before you can rip out mine. You might beat me, but you’ll lose her.”

Heather whimpers, “Trey, you should go. They don’t want you. They only want to get rid of me. You can lead our pack and find someone else. Our pack is what matters.”

“Listen to your mate, Alpha.” The assassin practically hisses. His voice is slippery and somehow still authoritative.

I growl at him, and he pushes the knife against Heather’s fragile skin, causing a small trickle of blood to trail down her throat.

“I’m not playing games!” He braces his feet on the ground, and his breathing quickens.

I inch closer, noticing that Raymond is gone. He understood me even though we never spoke. I only have to hold out for a few more minutes. I let out a low growl but I maintain some distance.

“You know what has to happen here, Alpha. Either I kill her, or she disappears. You can’t keep her. You don’t get to skirt the rules like that.”

I see Raymond behind them then, approaching the clearing from the other side. The assassin hasn’t noticed yet, still fixated on me. In his wolf form, Raymond jumps out and pounces on the assassin.

Heather screams. “Father!”

Raymond and the assassin tussle on the ground, claws slashing and a blade flashing until Raymond howls.

“No! Father!”

The assassin has planted his knife in Raymond’s shoulder. Judging by the handle, it looks to be silver. Fuck. I’m not wasting any time here. We need to get him medical help right away, or he’s going to fall into the effects of silver poisoning.

When I realize that he’s not changing back, it’s obvious that the knife had to have been silver. Nothing else would stop the change.

I turn to the assassin, now without his silver knife clutched in his hand. I don’t see any other weapons on him. We circle each other, him still as a human, and I can hear Raymond whimpering behind me. Heather is sobbing, still bound to the tree, pleading with her father to hold on for her.

This fucker isn’t leaving this clearing alive. I can’t allow that now.

“I may not be able to beat you, but I don’t have to,” he says. “All I have to do is get past you once and go for her throat. Then I’ll have fulfilled my duty, and the elders will make sure I’m safe from you. As I said, you can’t stop this.”

He changes then, and I realize he knows he won’t win this fight fairly. However, if he can get to Heather and complete hismission, he’s counting on me being incapacitated by grief. Grief won’t incapacitate me—yet. It will fuel me.

I realize after he takes his wolf form that he’s not part of our pack. I don’t feel him like I do with everyone else from our pack.

I know I’m new to the role, but that’s part of the mantle of power that came to me directly after my father’s death. I feel it now. He’s a lone wolf. He doesn’t have a pack.

This discovery means I can kill him without consequence. He’s still circling me in his wolf form, acting like he’s going to make a move any second, and then he does. I move too. Faster. Fast enough to reach him before he can touch Heather.

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