Page 29 of Stalked By the Alphas
Noah grunts. “It was unprecedented.”
“Never mind that,” Carter snaps. “We need to move in fast.”
“We need masks,” I remark, the worst of the devils appearing for as long as I am weak enough to let him out. “Really freak her out and break her.”
Carter’s grin is feral as he nods in agreement. “Excellent idea. We’ll be like demons from her nightmares, and we already have some. I followed her wearing one the other day.”
“What? You didn’t inform us of that!” My anger bounces between arousal and guilt, but I shove it all aside.
He shrugs. “It was last minute. A bit of fun.”
I feel a twisted thrill run through me at the thought of her fear spiking her scent.
Carter disappears into another room, returning moments later with three white masks that cover the entire face.
Noah takes them and examines them. “These are perfect. Blank and emotionless. It will increase the perception that we aren’t really there, that we are a figment of her delirium.”
I take one, feeling the smooth surface beneath my fingers. It’s perfect. Impersonal. Terrifying.
“We don’t speak. Don’t let her see anything identifiable,” Noah adds.
I nod. “We had better hurry. We are losing time with her.”
“We still need to figure out a way in,” Noah says, staring at the laptop and flicking through the various cams, probably searching for an entry point. “Wait,” he says after a few seconds. “Oh, we just hit the jackpot.”
“What is it? An open window?” I ask, moving in closer.
“Not as good, but she has forgotten to bolt and chain the front door.”
I feel a rush of adrenaline at Noah’s words. It’s almost like fate has dealt us a hand. “Are you sure?” I ask, peering at the screen. “That’s not like her.”
“Maybe she forgot if her heat was already on her when she got home,” Carter muses. “Either way. This is our entry point. Once we are inside, we will lock and bolt it and leave the kitchen window open but pushed closed as our exit and re-entry. She is unlikely to realise unless she checks. But even in her lucid periods, she won’t be fully with it.”
I nod, a feeling of nerves hitting me suddenly as the devil disappears. Can we really do this? Can we really go in there and have sex with her without her consent, without her full knowledge? I will have to ask her. I will have to whisper in her ear if she wants our knots to make her feel better, and I hope to fuck she says yes. It is the only way I will be able to live with myself.
19
NOAH
Carter’s planis not subtle—it’s the exact opposite. It shows me all I need to know about his growing impatience. He is ready to risk everything for this plan, and while this is more my style, I have to stop and wonder about what it will do to Hazel. She will break completely, which will push our timeline up by a lot. As we prepare to leave, my phone buzzes. I pull it out with a frown. There is no caller ID.
Normally, that would stop me from answering, but something in the back of my head is screaming at me to answer.
Sliding my thumb across the screen, I murmur, “Yeah?”
“N-Noah?” a croaky female voice echoes down the line, as if she were standing in a canyon.
“Who is this?” I ask, drawing the attention of Carter. He pauses to scrutinise me.
“It’s Leah,” she whispers. “I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get back to you. I’ve been… b-busy.”
Busy? I emailed her six years ago. Something is very off with her. I take a moment to listen. Her breathing is erratic, and her voice is trembling and weak.
“That’s okay, thanks for ringing when you could,” I murmur softly.
“What—what did you want to know? A-about Hay-Hazel?” She attempts to make her voice steady, but I can feel the anxiety coming down the phone line. She is no longer the vibrant girl we all knew. Although people change. Fuck knows, we all have. She is a shadow of her former self, and that has intrigued me.
“Do you remember your fifth birthday party, Leah?” I ask soothingly, adopting the clinical psychologist tone that seems to come naturally as soon as I’m around the unhinged.
