Page 14 of His Temporary Alpha Mate
“We identified three of them and they were exiled, but there are others out there.” My eyes met Hiroshi’s. I wanted to hate him, I really did, but here he was, his heart on his sleeve showing just how much he cared for Roan already.
“Having lost three members for Roan hasn’t exactly made him popular. Those guys had friends here that might not have been a part of it, but they are holding grudges for lost friends.”
I’d heard some of them on mornings when I had breakfast with Roan. They would make snide remarks, knock into him so he would spill his food or coffee. All stupid things which could be put down to accidents, which obviously weren’t.
“So we need to watch out for the other alphas? Is that what you are saying?” Hiroshi asked, his voice unsure and quietly spoken.
“What I’m saying is that Roan is Kade’s ex. He was in the Hayes pack, so people are cautious about him. He killed Rincoln, preventing Blake from getting hurt, so that’s a point in his favor.”
He was a hero to the pack for that. Still, being Kade’s assistant put him too close to his ex. It was a mess. More than once, I suggested Roan swap with Dalton, though neither was up for that.
“Mating as a group just puts another target on his back,” I said, finally just getting it out there. Roan needed to keep his head down and not attract attention for a while.
“How so?” The blond beta filled the silence that followed my statement.
I almost felt bad that Hiroshi looked devastated.
“Anything that has him standing out right now is bad. The pack already believes he gets special treatment from the alpha.” Putting it mildly. I shouldn’t have been sugarcoating the truth.
“Do you believe that?” Again the blond spoke. It wasn’t a question, really. He wanted to know what I thought.
Another one under Roan’s spell.
“Goddess, no! Look, saving Elliotte will help his image —“ I could see him winding up to reply, so I held up a hand. “Not that it was the reason he did it. He loves those babies as if they were his own. Kade is like a sibling to him these days, however weird that sounds.”
It was true. Anyone who spent time with them could see the familial love and affection between them. Kade had allowed Roan back into his world and given Roan a family, something he had dearly missed while looking out for Kade over the years at a distance.
“So, what’s the solution?” Hiroshi whispered, looking overwhelmed. Unshed tears filled his eyes.
“Keep it as quiet as you can until you know it’s going to work. Keep an eye out for each other. Roan’s one of my only friends here, so I’ll help keep him safe as best as I can.”
I didn’t say much else as I helped them gather up Roan’s favorite things along with his laptop.
Once they were gone, it really hit me. Roan wasn’t coming back. I’d lost any chance I’d ever had with him now his fated mate was in his life.
My room felt empty with half his stuff gone. Hiroshi had a house in the omega section, somewhere I couldn’t go without permission, so it wasn’t like I could visit Roan whenever I wanted.He hadn’t even texted me to tell me he was okay. Hadn’t asked if I was alright either.
Realizing I wasn’t as important to Roan as he was to me was the moment something broke inside me.
“Fuck this.”
I got up from my bed and went to find some alcohol. Time to drown my sorrows.
Sometime later, the hours had long since lost meaning, Dalton found me drowning my sorrows.
“Are you alright?”
No, “what happened,” or beating about the bush. Clearly, Dalton already knew what was happening.
“Not sure. Can’t feel my fingers.” The now empty bottle of the alcoholic cider slipped from my grip.
He caught it easily and set it on the table. “Good thing I brought snacks. We’ll get you sober in no time.”
“Ugh, no, let me be numb, please.” My tongue felt thick in my mouth. Forming the words took far too much effort.
“Okay, maybe not sober. Less drunk, so you actually make sense. All I heard was ‘ugh, no,’ then it was a garbled mess.” Dalton chuckled tohimself, though, looking closely, his expression was tight, and the laugh held a manic edge.
I clasped his wrist. “Are you alright?”
