Page 12 of His Temporary Alpha Mate
Larken
“Ilet you down.” I hung my head in shame. This had been the most important task I’d ever been given, and I’d ballsed it up. If it wasn’t for Roan, I dread to think what would have happened.
“Did you?” Deke looked me square in the eyes. It was almost as if he was trying to lead me somewhere. There was no condemnation in his gaze. If anything, there was sympathy there.
“Yeah,” my exasperation bled into my tone, making it sharper than it should be while I was speaking to my boss. Deke was the Head Enforcer. If he said something to Alpha Blake, I could be exiled from the pack.
“They got past me.”
“How did they manage that?” Deke was being super patient with me. Completely at odds with how he usually was. Not that he was a ball-buster, justexacting. He wanted to have confidence that the pack was properly protected.
“They knocked me out.” Fully put on my ass before making me take a nap in the middle of the hallway. How humiliating! My alter was still growling over it even as my head throbbed. The pain was nothing against the shame I felt.
“Was that before or after you raised the alarm to Roan, giving him a split-second advantage?” Deke casually pointed out.
“Oh.” Shit. I’d just reacted instinctively. I barely remembered shouting to Roan.
“Yeah.” His nod punctuated his answer. “You fought both assailants.” We stood at the same height, about six-three, so he maintained eye contact with me easily. “Yourself.” Deke was pointing at me now, some of his alpha influence leaking out as he begged me to see what I’d done.
“In close quarters, without the backup of your alter, thanks to the magic they had you under.”
Yeah, my lizard was pissed beyond belief he’d been locked away. He wanted to take a bite out of them, but Kade had already killed one, and the other was for the Alpha to deal with. We were both proud of the Alpha Mate.
Deke continued, bolstering my shaky confidence. “You created enough noise that Roan was prepared for them. What you did was your job, and you did it well.”
A swell of pride rose up inside me. I was sure I was about to get a dressing down. I thought for sure they would reassign me and send me for more training. Except, here I was in front of the Head Enforcer, getting praised.
Tears pricked at my eyes. “Everyone is okay, right?”
My first thought was for Roan. I heard the screams and cries. I knew the other kidnapper had hurt him. Stuck in the house, I had to stay put as he was taken to the clinic.
Then I felt bad about the baby. The little girl put us all in danger just for existing. It wasn’t even her fault. I didn’t blame her at all, just stupid alphas who weren’t ready to accept things were changing.
“Kade is in shock. Jasper is getting his memories tweaked, so he doesn’t go into labor. Aldrin doesn’t want him to have the baby yet because he’s measuring smaller than he should be. Little Elliotte is perfectly fine. Not even a scratch—“
“Roan?” I did care about the others. All my mind could focus on was he hadn’t mentioned Roan. Did that mean he was bracing himself to give the bad news? Had we lost him?
“Going to recover.” I nearly fell to the floor with relief. My knees went to jelly for a split second before I made myself stand straight. I barely heard what Deke was saying. He was grinning, so Roan really had to be out of danger. I was sure someone said Roan had stopped breathing.
“That new healer is amazing. Roan will be up and about in no time. No visitors for a bit, though. The clinic is maxed out.”
Deke’s words stopped me in my tracks. How was I going to sleep, function, without seeing for myself that Roan was really alright?
“Lark?”
“Yeah?”
“Go get some sleep.”
All night I just tossed and turned, unable to really drift off, too aware of the empty bed on the other side of the room. Aside from being my best friend here and the guy I had feelings for, Roan was also my roommate. Sure, it made things awkward sometimes, but I wouldn’t have changed itfor anything.
It was tempting to text Roan, though it was unlikely he had his phone. He hadn’t reached out to me, and I didn’t want to hassle him or smother him if he just needed space to heal.
Although I had the day off after being given a concussion and some bruises from the attack, I decided to see if I could be of any help. There was a shortage of enforcers since the attack. So many of us would have to be checked again by Axel and Chase to ensure pack loyalty. I hoped mine wasn’t in doubt.
The breakfast room was subdued. Talk was hushed whispers. The alphas stayed in their friend groups, either not to attract attention or because of suspicion. The Alpha would have to do something about the atmosphere and doubt before a rift formed.
I drank some much needed coffee and ate a breakfast sandwich while tucked into the corner. None of the other alphas approached me, though I heard my name being mentioned. They had to be curious about what happened.
