Page 34 of Alpha Bride

I can’t help glancing at her stomach, considering that we’ll be the ones waiting for our pup’s arrival soon. I run a hand through my hair, well aware I haven’t even combed it today. My stubble is days old, and I must look feral. Emily, on the other hand, looks radiant despite all she’s been through. Her long red hair is falling in tantalizing waves almost to her waist, and my fingers are itching to reach out and touch it.

“Areyouokay?” she suddenly asks, taking me by surprise.

I don’t feel ready to answer that, afraid of what the truth might actually sound like if I were to utter it. I look away, over the backyard and toward the meadow and forest beyond. In the distance lies the outline of the mountains that mark the beginning of Aiden’s territory, where I fear Malik may be hiding.

I clear my throat. “I’ve been better,” I finally admit. “But right now, I’m more worried about you and the baby.”

Stepping forward, I take her hand and lead her over toward the bench seats that line the patio. She sits and looks at me quizzically. We don’t dothis.We don’t sit and talk. There’s always too much, either unsaid or hurtful—too many things that shouldn’t be said.

But I can see how foolish that is. How foolish I’ve been, holding onto my preconceived ideas about witches and not seeing what’s right in front of me. When Emily unleashed the most powerful demonstration of a witch’s magic I’ve ever seen, instead of putting me off, I only felt proud. And full of awe.

“What is it, Tristen?” she asks, her eyes beginning to look glassy. “You’re making me nervous.”

I squeeze her hand, “No, no, it’s nothing like that,” I say quickly, “I just...” I don’t know how to find the words.

“It’s okay,” she says, giving my hand a squeeze. “You don’t have to say anything.”

But I do. I need to.

“I was wrong,” I begin. “I don’t think you bewitched me.”

Her eyes go wide, but she doesn’t say anything, as if waiting to see what I’ll say next, her walls firmly still up. I sigh, “Ralph always told me th—”

Before I can say another word, Ryan suddenly comes crashing through the doors. I’m about to tell him to fuck off, but as I turn, I see the fear in his eyes, and my heart drops. “They’re h-here,” he stammers for the first time in his life. “I can’t reach the patrol; all the signals are down. They’re literally heading into town…the rogues.”

Emily gasps, the color draining from her face. But instead of fear, I only feel rage. This ends now. “Sound the alarm,” I say firmly. “Everyone knows what to do; we’ve planned for this.”

And we have. Emergency scenarios to protect the most vulnerable and mount a defense. Even with the one patrol out missing, we have enough betas and witches in town to follow our emergency protocols. I stand firing off the pre-written alarm to my brother’s packs; I’ve no idea if they’re under attack, too, or if they can send help.

“What can I do?” Emily asks.

The plan always involved her helping the vulnerable and pups get to the pack hall and being there to distribute runes. But as I look at her now, I can feel her new powers brewing, the gentle sparks dancing on her fingers, and her emerald eyes glowing with magic. But I can’t risk her, not after what we witnessed on the dunes; what if her ability to control her magic was just a one-off?

“Stick with the plan, Emily,” I say, adding, “please.”

I think she’s going to argue for a moment, but then she nods. “Okay, but once all the children are safe, I have to help, too,” she replies, and I nod, hoping that we’ll have it under control before she’s finished at the hall and that it won’t come to that.

It’s only when we get out onto the main street, pack members already rushing down the street toward the hall in a panic, that I realize the scale of the fight we’re going to have. In the distance, I can already see smoke billowing from several of the businesses that lie on the road toward the mountains, and the sound of fighting ahead.

“Emily, get these people to the hall,” I yell, as my betas begin to shift and my wolf begins to take over. “Activate all the runes, every single one. Call for reinforcements.”

She nods, but I can see the fear in her eyes. Still, she steps up immediately, encouraging the pack members to move faster. The hall up ahead is a hive of activity as the witches staying there pour out to help with the children and start activating the defenses that have been designed to provide a sanctuary area in the heart of the town. A scream sounds from somewhere behind me as the first rogues appear along the long main street.

“Everyone back,” I yell as I let my wolf take control, my bones snapping and contorting as the power surges through me.

Leading the way toward the rogues, I summon the wind to push the giant magic-infused beasts back, giving us the advantage. They fight against the pressure of the wind, almost standing still as we attack. I tear into the first one, grateful to have Ryan by my side as he intercepts another, trying to bite my flank. Once one of them falls, the magic shrivels away, and the dead, mangled rogue is left lying in the street. For all their ferociousness, they aren’t any harder to kill—just a hell of a lot bigger.

I look to my side and see Ryan and James taking down another of the rogues together, blood flowing down the street as they both tear into the beast until he slumps to the floor, transforming back into a man in his final moments.

I’m so engrossed in the moment, giving my wolf free rein to do what he needs to do to protect the pack, that I don’t even notice the commotion behind us until Ryan yanks me back. As I turn, I’m greeted by a sight I hoped I wouldn’t have to deal with. Emily is standing in the street at the center of a group of witches, her hands holding a ball of dark energy.

“What are you doing?” I growl, looking over my shoulder as another rogue barrels toward me.

“I can do this,” she says simply, and before I can protest, she sends a blast of power toward the rogue that had been about to tear into me. It slams him into a bench with enough force to shatter it but not kill him. “I’m not going to let them attack us like this.”

The fight rages on around me, and I realize there’s little I can do without turning my back on the rogues. Besides, her power really is incredible. I watch as she fires a volley of dark energy over our heads toward a group of rogues advancing from the side of the square, and I watch them writhe in pain as the magic tears into their skin.

I turn to look back at Emily in awe, but she’s not there. I desperately scan the street until I see her red hair running through the crowd toward two small children, frantically ushering them away from oncoming rogues. I will her to use her magic on them, but she seems to falter for a moment, and then a rogue moves fast, throwing something over her, almost like a translucent net.

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