Page 62 of Alpha
I tried to eat but the nervous knot in my stomach was making it difficult, so I did the same with my plate.
“We need to face the possibility that there might be more,” stated Jake as he ran a hand through his hair. He voiced what everyone was thinking but didn’t want to say out loud.
“What happens if there are more of them?” I asked Cade. I’d seen their training setup and I was impressed, but then again, I didn’t know a lot about werewolf fighting.
“We normally only get attacked by a couple of rogues at a time. Everyone is trained so they are able to defend themselves, but we have dedicated fighters who are trained to fight rogues. Rogues don’t normally work together because they don’t like authority. What we experienced today is worrying because we have no idea how someone was able to group together and organize the rogues that attacked us today.”
“Do we have any idea who it could be?” I asked. It was still puzzling why all of these rogues were hell-bent on trying to attack me. I couldn’t think of a single reason why anyone would want to hurt me.
“No,” Cade said as he reached for my hand. This new piece of information about the attack had made him nervous and he seemed to relax as his fingers covered mine. It was a comforting peacefulness that came over us when our skin connected.
The rest of dinner was spent trying to strategize a defense to a hypothetical attack by rogues with larger numbers.
“What about letting the girls fight?” I suggested. Conversation stopped mid-sentence and all eyes swung to me. All but Cade looked at me like I was talking a different language. Cade shook his head at me.
“No way,” he stated vehemently. His eyes warned me off the subject.
“You can’t expect us to just sit here and do nothing while you guys go to fight a battle you might lose because you’re outnumbered.”
I was arguing on behalf of all the girls in the pack, whether they wanted me to or not. Exasperation and anger entered my voice as I argued with them.
“There are other options,” was Cade’s stern reply.
“And what is that?” I asked as I glared at him. Trust him to come up with an alternative to letting girls from the pack fight.
“We could join packs with Blake,” he suggested as he scanned our pack members for their reaction.
Jake seemed to mull the idea over for a moment before he announced, “That could work.”
I was so angry that I’d just been dismissed so easily, I wanted to scream, but instead I said, “Are you guys for real?”
Silence descended as the pack members looked to Cade.
“Like I’ve told you before, it will never happen,” he stated. His eyes darkened with anger as he tightened his hold on my hand.
Trying to discuss it with Cade and our pack members was a waste of time and effort. I’d have to come up with another way to get them to consider it. There had to be a way.
“And like I told you before, I can’t let you go out to fight without me,” I reminded him as I held his angry gaze.
He was the first to pull his gaze away from me and then he began to discuss the effects of joining a pack. It was like he ignored everything I’d just said and carried on with their conversation.
Angry and annoyed, I pulled my hand from his and pushed my chair back. Cade’s eyes swung to mine. I gave him the angriest look I could muster before I turned and stalked out of the dining room before I did something I regretted, like slapping someone and the closest person to me had been Cade.
I’d slapped him once already that week.
On my way upstairs, I hesitated for a moment. I knew Cade would probably want me in his room tonight, but I was so angry I couldn’t be in the same room with him until I calmed down. Instead, I headed to the guest bedroom I’d previously used.
Once I entered the room, I slammed the door closed. There was a key in the door and I locked it. It would give Cade the clear message that he wasn’t welcome in my room.
With that thought, I leaned against the door and let out a frustrated sigh.
One thing that had been nagging me at the back of my mind was the fact that if I mated with Cade, then I would be able to shift and I’d be able to heal more quickly. It would make me stronger and I’d be in a better position to fight.
On one hand, I wanted to be ready before I took that step with him—I didn’t just want to do it just to be able to fight. It wasn’t like I wasn’t attracted to him, I was. He made my heart race and he made my knees weak with just a few kisses. I could just imagine what effect he would have on me with more.
I cared for him and I knew he cared for me. So I had to ask the question: What was keeping me from mating with Cade? Was it the fact that I didn’t want to be pushed into it by outside influences? That I wanted to make the decision on my own?
I let out a sigh when I thought about the whole fighting thing. As determined as I was, Cade seemed to be just as determined to stand his ground on the subject. It was like I was pushing against a brick wall.
