Page 21 of Cruel Alpha

“They’re not mine,” I clarified, and four faces winced. Leo only frowned—clearly, he’d had the wrong idea.

“Ouch,” said Jace.

“Yeah,” I agreed, not wanting to linger on the subject. “But they’re kids, and they’re Alyssa’s, and they’re in danger.”

“They’re magic, right? Like their mom?” Ethan asked, and I nodded. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Noah tense. Cunic Pack was old-fashioned, and I knew his father would rip him to shreds if he knew Noah was here. Arbor and Cunic were close allies, and he was risking the stability of that alliance in order to help me; I wouldn’t have blamed him for staying home, but here he was, and I was more grateful than I could say.

“Yeah, and Alyssa’s on her way down here right now, so everyone put your dicks away. There’s sweatpants and shirts on the table over there,” I said, gesturing to the pile of black and grey material heaped on one of the benches.

“What?” said Xander, as he pulled on the borrowed sweatpants, “afraid of being shown up? I like a girl with a bit of meat on her bones. If you’re not gonna make the most of it—”

He didn’t get to finish his sentence because I was on him, a growl ripping itself from my throat as my fangs descended. Ethan’s arms were around my waist, pulling me back before I could sink my teeth into him, and I had to wrangle my wolf into submission.

“Don’t,” I snarled. Xander might have been one of my best friends, but for a moment, I wanted to rip out his throat. The thought of him—of any other man—touching Alyssa, eventhinkingabout her that way, made my blood boil and my muscles tense.

In contrast, Xander was utterly calm. Noah had a hand on his shoulder, ready to pull him back if necessary, but Xander shrugged him off, smirking.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” he said. “Will we be allowed to look at her when she gets here, or what?”

I was saved from having to answer that question by a soft knock on the big doors. I shrugged Ethan off, composing myself.

“You all decent?” Alyssa’s voice echoed through the hall, and I called the affirmative before she pushed open the door, sheepish. “Julia said to check before I came in.”

Jace nodded sagely.

“She has seen and commented on all our dicks,” he said. “Keeps us humble.”

“I bet,” Alyssa agreed. Her small smile lit up her face, her cheeks glowing from the cold outside, the tip of her nose pink and adorable. She was swaddled in a pale blue sweater that was far too big for her, and I wanted to sweep her up in my arms and let my body lend her its warmth. Then I remembered the flat, distant look in her eyes when she’d said,it’s a little late for that, don’t you think?And suddenly, every inch of me was cold.

I cleared my throat.

“Thanks for coming,” I said, and she nodded, not looking me in the eye. I could feel my friends’ pity in the air, and I hated it. “Alyssa, this is Ethan, Jace, Noah, and Xander. You already know Leo, obviously.”

“Obviously,” Alyssa replied, giving Leo a little wave, which he returned. It dawned on me then what a terrible idea this had been. I should never have agreed to put Alyssa in a room with five other men who shared my rank. Even if my human mind knew that they were my friends, that none of them would ever—no matter what off-color jokes Xander made—treat my mate with anything but respect, the wolf within me bayed for their blood. They shouldn’t be within five feet of her. Leo definitely shouldn’t be unfolding a chair for her. I balled my fists so I wouldn’t snatch it from his hands to do it myself. I began to pace, trying to shake off the possessiveness that was clouding my mind. We were here to talk tactics, and that was all.

Once everyone else was seated, I came to a reluctant stop.

“Thank you all for being here. I wouldn’t call you all away from your own Packs if I didn’t think we weren’t under serious threat.” All the joking and the ease were gone from the room now, and everyone assembled listened with rapt attention. “Arbor has been made aware that any member of their Pack crossing the bridge will be treated as an act of aggression, but I think it’s only a matter of time before they make an attempt either on Lapine as a whole or a more targeted attack on Alyssa and her children.”

“Assholes,” grumbled Xander, and everyone else nodded in agreement.

“Assholes they may be,” I continued, “but they’re still our neighbors. I don’t want to fight them unless we have to. It’s gonna be hard enough to convince the rest of the Pack to accept Alyssa and the kids, and harder if we drag them into a conflict because of it.”

“I assume you’ve already talked to Slade?” Leo said. “Tried to smooth things over?”

“He came by the same day we got back,” I said. “I talked to him, but uh—I don’t know how smoothly it went.”

Leo nodded.

“So you made it worse, gotcha.” Normally, that would be a joke coming from Leo. He’d rib me for being all brawn and no brains, and I’d punch him in the arm, and that would be that. This time, though, there was something approaching venom in his tone. I didn’t have time to unpack that, though, and nor could I argue with his assessment of the situation. I’d been too angry to even pretend I respected Slade, and he’d taken that poorly.

“Sounds like you showed him who’s boss,” countered Xander. “The best defense is a good offense. Make sure they know that if they try to come for you, they’ll lose.”

“Not with a man like Slade,” argued Leo. “He’s weak, sure, but he’s arrogant, too. To him, a show of force is an invitation. It’s a dare, and he won’t back down from it.”

“What did he actually ask for when he showed up here?” Jace interjected.

“He wanted Alyssa and the kids handed over,” I told him. Jace frowned, thoughtful; it was a familiar look on him.

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