Page 60 of Stalked By the Alphas
We stop outside the main entrance, and Carter kicks the already rotten door off its one remaining hinge. It goes flying through the air and hits the rough ground with a loud thud. The stench of rot and dampness hits us as we enter the darkened interior.
Hazel’s sweet jasmine scent is more pungent now, and I know with certainty that we have the right place this time. Zach flicks on the torch on his phone and shines it around. There is a door at the far end of this single large old school room, and we aim for it, ready to take back what is and always has been ours.
37
HAZEL
I forcemyself to keep my eyes shut. I don’t want to witness anything that happens to my body from this moment on. That’s all it is. My body. My mind and soul have left the building, and all that’s left is this piece of flesh, tied down and unwilling.
Suddenly, a loud crash echoes through the building, making me jump.
David and Ayden freeze.
“What the fuck was that?” Ayden hisses.
“Go check,” David orders Ayden.
As Ayden hurriedly pulls on his pants and leaves the room, a tiny spark of hope flares in my chest. Could it be Carter here to rescue me? No, I can’t let myself hope. It will only make the disappointment more crushing when it turns out to be nothing.
David grips my face roughly. “Not a sound,” he growls. “Or I’ll slit your pretty little throat.” He releasesme and hastily gets dressed, and I can only thank God that whatever it was has delayed this, even if it’s only for a few minutes.
There is a shout from upstairs, a scuffle, and then Ayden comes crashing down the steps, landing in a painful heap on the ground.
I whimper as the thud-thud of heavy footsteps descends the stairs, one by one slowly.
A godawful scraping sound sets my teeth on edge. An alpha appears with a black mask on that appears to have purple lights shot through it. He is enormous in the small space of the staircase; his shirt is hanging open, ripped in places and soaked with blood. In his hand is a metal pipe that he scrapes down the wall until he reaches the bottom of the stairs. He twirls it in his hand. I can see blood glistening on the end. Ayden’s?
I gulp.Who is this? Is he here to hurt me as well?
I choke back the sob as the masked man takes in this underground room and then his gaze lands on me. The scent of cedarwood hits my senses so hard I choke on it. The rage is so deep, so white-hot, I gulp. My stomach churns, and then I cry out as David presses the cold steel of his knife to my throat and digs in, making me bleed.Carter?
“Stay back, or she dies,” he growls.
I cower, terrified and tied to the bed, as I smell my own blood and feel it dripping down my neck. “Carter...?”
My mutter is cut off by David digging the knife ineven harder. He is growling deep in his throat, trying to force Carter to bow to him, to submit. He is powerful, but Carter won’t let him overpower him.
Will he?
38
CARTER
The sight of Hazel,bound and naked on that filthy bed, with that bastard’s knife at her throat, unleashes a primal fury inside me, unlike anything I’ve ever felt before. Every muscle in my body tenses, ready to tear this monster apart.
But I force myself to remain still behind the black mask, my eyes locked on Hazel’s terrified gaze. One wrong move could mean her death. I can’t risk it. This alpha is trying to force me to submit, and while he caught me by surprise earlier, there is not a fucking chance he will get a second shot at me.
He is dead.
“Let. Her. Go,” I growl, each word dripping with menace.
It sickens me to learn that the masked magician is Leah’s father, David, but I recognise that smug face that I always hated as a child. He just laughs, pressing theknife harder against Hazel’s delicate skin. A thin line of blood trickles down her neck, and I have to physically restrain myself from lunging at him.
Ayden stirs from where he landed, and I lower the end of the pipe to his chest. Pushing down hard, I growl, “Stay down.”
“You’re in no position to make demands,” David sneers. “One more step, and I’ll slit her from ear to ear.”
My grip tightens on the metal pipe, knuckles white with barely contained rage. “You touch her again, and I’ll make you wish for a quick death.”
