Page 21 of Stalked By the Alphas
“Agreed,” Carter says. “We’ll keep watching.”
I hang up without responding and press down harder on the accelerator. As I speed back towards the rented house around the corner, the image of Hazel lying unconscious and alone haunts me. But then I remember what she has done to us, and I grit my teeth.
We’re doing this for her own good. She needs to learn that she can’t just cut us out of her life without consequences. Once she’s back with us where she belongs, everything will be better. She’ll see that in time.
When I pull up to the house, I see Noah waiting outside with a grim expression. I kill the engine and climb out, slamming the car door harder than necessary.
“What’s with the look?” I growl as I approach him.
Noah’s jaw clenches. “We may have a problem. That alpha who took Hazel for tea earlier is not who he seems. I’ve been doing some digging. His name is Ayden Donoghue, and he’s not just some random guy passing through town.”
I freeze, my hand on the doorknob. “What do you mean?”
Noah pulls out his phone, swiping through somefiles before holding it up for me to see. On the screen is a photo of the alpha from the tea shop, but he’s wearing a police uniform.
“He’s a detective,” Noah says, his voice low. “Transferred here from London about a week ago. I think he might be investigating the disappearances connected to Hazel.”
“Shit,” I mutter. This complicates things. “Does Carter know?”
Noah nods. “I told him as soon as I found out.”
I push past Noah into the house, my mind racing. A detective sniffing around Hazel is the last thing we need right now.
“We need to get rid of him,” I growl, pacing the living room. “He could ruin everything.”
Noah nods grimly. “Carter’s already working on it. But we have to be careful. If a detective goes missing, it’ll bring even more attention.”
I run a hand through my hair, frustration building. “So, what do we do? We can’t just let him keep getting close to Hazel under the guise of an interested alpha. This guy is a cock. He knows nothing about her.”
“Look, I hate this as much as you do, but we might not have a choice,” Noah says. “At least for now. We need to find out exactly what he knows and why he’s here before we make any moves.”
I slam my fist against the wall, leaving a dent in the plaster. “I don’t like this. We’ve come too far to let some fucker mess it all up now.”
Noah growls, responding to my aggression as Carterjoins us from upstairs. “Don’t worry about this arsehole. Hazel is ours, and no one is going to take her from us.”
I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself. Noah’s right. We’ve overcome every obstacle so far. This is just one more hurdle.
13
HAZEL
My head throbsas I slowly regain consciousness. I blink, disoriented, trying to piece together what happened. I’m slumped at the top of the stairs, wet and shaking.
Sitting up with a groan, panic creeps in as memories of earlier flood back. The blank card, my meltdown at the police station, the crushing anxiety. I squeeze my eyes shut, willing it all to be a bad dream. But the ache in my head and stiffness in my limbs are all too real.
Slowly, I push myself up to sit, fighting a wave of dizziness. I need to pull myself together. I can’t keep falling apart like this.
With shaky legs, I stand and make my way to the bathroom. The face staring back at me in the mirror is pale and drawn, with dark circles under my eyes. I barely recognise myself.
But even as I try to rally myself, doubt gnaws at me.Am I really losing my mind? Imagining threats that aren’t there? Or is something sinister actually happening?
I grip the edge of the sink, taking deep breaths. I need to be rational about this. Maybe I did imagine the masked magician card and photo, or maybe my mind is playing tricks on me.
I splash cold water on my face, trying to clear my head. Frowning, I open the medicine cabinet above the sink and pick up the bottle of herbal tablets. Could it be these giving me hallucinations? I scan the label, but there is nothing on it to suggest such extreme side effects. But that doesn’t mean anything. I should go back and see them tomorrow and ask the question, to see if they can help me figure this out.
Replacing it, I head back downstairs, rubbing my head where I banged it. In hindsight, the time out did me good. I may have an idea of why this is happening to me, so I just need to stay away from the herbal tablets until I can figure this out. I pick up the bottle of water from halfway down the stairs and take a long drink. When I reach the bottom, I pick up the cam-bear and place it by the front door before I pick up the voile and pole, I dropped when I came in. Taking them back upstairs with my phone, I set about putting them up in my bedroom window, although now I’m wondering if this is even necessary. It was only because I thought someone was taking pictures of me, but that picture didn’t even exist. With a sigh, I leave it up andstraighten the voile. Closing the curtains for good measure, I strip off and head to the shower, needing to wash away the sweat and dampness that this afternoon has caused.
The hot water cascades over me, easing some of the tension from my muscles. As I wash, I try to sort through the jumbled mess of thoughts in my head.
