Page 42 of My Bad Boy Alpha

“You don’t have to worry about me,” James said, chuckling.“We’ve seen worse.”

“Come,” Stone said, capturing my hand and pulling me toward the door.“You need rest.”

After triple-checking to make sure James was okay, I followed Stone back into the bedroom and crawled into bed.

He tucked me in like I was a child and kissed me gently on the lips.“If you feel like that again, call for me.I will be in the other room.Understand?”

I nodded.

Once he left, I closed my eyes and tried to rest.But my mind buzzed.

“You let Derrit in,” the Moon Goddess whispered, her voice drifting like the wind.

“I hadn’t meant to,” I said, clutching the sheets to my chest.“I really hadn’t?—”

“Shh, shh, shh,” she cooed.“I know you hadn’t meant to, but you have to resist.You know what his power feels like now.And in order to protect your pack and your mate, you must refuse to let him in like that ever again.Fight his control.”

Guilt rushed through me.“I’ll try.”

“You must, dear Zuri.Now, close your eyes,” the Moon Goddess said, swiping her fingers from my forehead to my nose so I would flutter my lids closed.“I want to show you something.I need you to focus on Derrit.”

“I don’t want to let the thought of him slip back into my mind,” I whispered.“Please.”

“One time,” she murmured.“I promise, he can’t hurt you.”

After squeezing my eyes shut, I furrowed my brow and blew out a deep breath.My stomach twisted into knots as I lay back on the bed and tried to relax so I could think semi-clearly.I didn’t know what she was about to do, but I trusted her.

And if something happened, Stone was in the other room.He’d save me.

“If you don’t stop Derrit, this is what Durnbone will become,” she said.

Suddenly, fire burned around me, blazing as tall as the buildings in downtown Durnbone.Stone crumbled from the buildings and turned into dust.Pups were taken from their home, forced into slavery.Young girls, barely even teenagers, were raped by the men in Derrit’s pack.

Tears burned my eyes, and I shook my head.“No, this can’t be true.”

“But it will be, dear Zuri, if you don’t stop it.”

I opened my mouth to question, but I lowered my gaze and saw Stone’s head at my feet, his eyes open, his skin pale, and his blood draining from where his neck should’ve been, creating a pool of gooey liquid underneath my bare feet.

“No,” I cried, dropping to my knees and grasping his face.“M-m-my mate.”

“Don’t let Derrit win,” she whispered.“I can’t stop him myself.”

“Tell me how to stop him,” I said, wiping my tears with the back of my hand.I reopened my eyes and gazed up at the Moon Goddess, who stood next to me with her fingers intertwined.“Tell me what I need to do.How can I stop him?”

“You’re the only one who knows how to stop him,” the Moon Goddess said, placing her hand on my shoulder.“I cannot tell you what to do.I can only guide you in what I think is the best direction.”

“And what is that?”

When I closed my eyes again, the image of what Durnbonecould bedisappeared, and I saw Derrit and his warriors setting up camp about three miles south of Durnbone.Which meant that we didn’t have much time left.They had traveled so quickly.

Almosttooquickly as a pack.

“T-they’re that close?”I asked, mouth drying.

“Yes, my dear.”

I balled my hands into fists by my sides and gritted my teeth, glaring at him in my vision through tears.

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