Page 60 of Alpha
“He’s okay,” Hank reassured me as he studied me for a moment. “They got ambushed.”
I stood beside Hank, waiting for Cade and holding my breath. Even though I knew he was okay, I wasn’t going to relax until I could see him for myself.
I heard the sounds coming from the forest before I spotted the massive black wolf that I knew was Cade being followed by a dozen other werewolves, none of them as big as Cade.
The crowd parted as the wolves ran onto the property. As I turned to see Cade and the rest of the werewolves shift back into human form, I heard the large gates behind me close with the sound of metal against metal. I recognized one of the werewolves as Jake. He’d left the compound to join Cade.
I rushed over to Cade, who had spotted me and was already walking toward me. He held his arms open as I rushed to hold him.
“I’m okay, Scar,” he assured me as he hugged me, lifting me off my feet.
“I was so scared something would happen to you,” I spoke against his shirt, loving the feel of him warm and alive under my hands.
“I’m fine,” he reassured me as he settled me back down on my feet and pulled away. With his finger to my chin, he lifted my gaze to his. My eyes glistened with unshed tears. “I need you to keep it together for me.”
I nodded my head and took a deep breath. He pressed a feathered kiss to my forehead.
“Go back to the house and wait for me. I need to check on Blake and the other wounded werewolves,” he explained gently as he released me. Then I remembered the massive wound across Blake’s stomach and all the blood.
“Will he be okay?” I asked. If Blake had been human, I was pretty sure he would have died already.
“Yeah, he’ll be okay,” he assured me. “Remember we heal quickly.”
“Okay,” I said as I pulled myself together. He gave me one last lingering look before he turned and hurried to the medical center.
I wanted to go with Cade. I didn’t want to be in the way, though, so I turned and headed back to the house with Hank following behind me. It was then that I remembered that the rogues that had ambushed Cade and Blake were the same rogues that were after me and I felt a shiver of fear run up my spine.
Seeing the remains of the attack had made the threat all that more real in my eyes and I had to admit I was scared.
Inside the guest room I’d used before, I sat down on the bed. I felt exhausted. The panic and fear had faded, but I was still struggling to work through what had happened from the time I’d been bundled into the car with Jake.
It had also been one of the first times I’d seen Cade in his alpha role, in charge and giving orders. He’d earned a newfound respect from me. I’d never actually thought before about the responsibility that he held on his broad shoulders. Being responsible for the safety of an entire pack wasn’t an easy job and he seemed to pull it off effortlessly. He’d been born to lead.
I wasn’t sure I was capable of the same. Even though the attack had scared me, I was more determined to fight alongside Cade. I didn’t want to be left behind, wondering what was going to happen, I would never forgive myself if something had happened to him today while I’d been safely guarded in his house.
An hour later, Cade walked into the room.
My eyes lit up at the sight of him. I’d been sitting on the bed, quietly contemplating my thoughts.
He hesitated for a moment a couple of feet away from the bed. I stood up and walked over to him. As I reached him, his hand reached for me and he pulled me close.
“It’s been a long day,” he sighed as he held me in his strong arms.
“What happened?” I asked, leaning my head against his chest as I held him tight.
“We walked straight into a trap,” he began to explain as he rested his chin on my head. “Normally, rogues don’t work together, but for some reason these guys did. We didn’t see it coming.”
“How many rogues were there?” I asked.
“There were about twenty of them.”
“I was so worried about you,” I let out. I usually wasn’t one to talk so openly, but I needed him to know that he meant a lot to me and that what happened today had scared me.
“It’s one of the reasons we train so hard, to make sure we are prepared for anything. You can also feel my heightened emotions like fear through the link so if I’m ever in any real danger you will feel it,” he said. I lifted my eyes to his.
I’d forgotten about that.
“I don’t think I can let you go alone if it happens again,” I revealed. I wanted to be honest with him even though he probably didn’t want to hear it.
