Page 2 of Stalked By the Alphas
“Okay! Okay!” Parker sobs. “Just... please stop.”
I nod to Zach, who eases off the pressure but keeps Parker pinned. Noah hands him his phone.
“Type exactly what I tell you,” Noah instructs. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking...”
Parker’s hands shake as he types, tears and blood dripping onto the screen. When he finishes, I review the message:
Hazel, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking, and I don’t see this going anywhere. You’re not the right omega for me. I’m looking for someone more traditional. It’s over.
“Perfect,” I say. “Send it.”
Parker hesitates, earning himself another kick from Zach. He presses send with a scowl.
“Excellent.” I straighten my cuffs as I stand up. “Now for the terms of your continued well-being.”
“There’s more?”
“Of course.” I gesture to Noah, who pulls out a document. “This is a non-disclosure agreement. Sign it.”
“What if I don’t?”
Zach yanks him up by his collar. “Then we pay your sister a visit. Maybe break more than just fingers.”
Parker signs with his good hand, barely reading the terms.
“The rules are simple,” I explain. “No contact with Hazel. No explanations. If you see her in public, you walk the other way. If she contacts you, you ignore it. Break any of these conditions, and what happened tonight will seem like a pleasant dream.”
“You’re monsters,” Parker whispers.
“No,” Noah corrects. “We’re a pack protecting what’s ours.”
I check my watch again. “I think we’re done here. Make sure our friend understands the gravity of silence.”
I turn away as Zach’s fists connect again and again, Parker’s muffled grunts drifting on the slight breeze that has picked up off the sea.
Everything we’ve done—the threats, the violence, the manipulation—it’s all for her. She’ll understand eventually. Once she’s ours, once we’ve marked her and claimed her, she’ll see that we were only protecting what belongs to us.
Zach joins us, wiping blood from his knuckles with a handkerchief. “He won’t be a problem.”
“Did you kill him?” Noah asks, mildly curious.
“Nah, just made sure he’ll be too scared to even think about Hazel, let alone contact her.” Zach’s grin is feral in the darkness. “Left him with a few broken ribs, some missing teeth, and a very clear understanding of what happens if he breaks our rules.”
I look back at Parker’s crumpled form on theground. “Take his wallet. Make it look like a mugging gone wrong.”
As we drive away, I smile. Let him go to the police. Let him try to warn Hazel. No one will believe him—we’ve made sure of that. Years of carefully crafted alibis, of building our reputations as Hazel’s protective best friends, has created the perfect cover for our true nature.
We will do this time and again until she realises what is in front of her all this time. Three alphas who will do anything for their omega.
Hazel
Five Years Ago
The pristine gardensof the Richmond estate stretch out before me, meticulously maintained even in the darkness. Moonlight catches on the edges of rose petals and glints off the surface of the ornamental pond, creating an ethereal backdrop for what is likely to be our last summer together. The thought makes my chest ache in a way that has nothing to do with the whiskey currently blurring my mind.
The night air is thick with summer heat, clinging to my skin like honey. Even in the darkness of Carter’s garden, the temperature hasn’t dropped below stifling. My sundress sticks to my back, and I can feel sweat beading at the nape of my neck where my long, chestnut hair reaches my lower back.
We’re sprawled across Carter’s favourite spot, a hidden corner behind the rose garden where his dad’s watchful gaze rarely reaches. The grass is cool beneath my bare legs, and the gentle brush of a breeze carries the heady scent of summer heat and the ocean.
