Page 118 of Ruthless Alpha Beast
They rush toward me, seemingly scared of hugging me too hard in case I might break.
Really not helping my case with the guard.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine,” I say. “But I need to go to Jasper. He’s out there hunting, and he can’t do it alone.”
Monroe and Danielle exchange a weary glance.
The guard shakes his head. “There’s nothing that these girls can do,” he says. “I’m under strict orders.”
“What if it were your husbands out there? What if it were any of us? What if youknewyou could help?”
“But Tara,” Danielle says softly. “You were just pretty unwell.”
“I’m feeling much better. I have to go.”
Monroe speaks next. “It’s dangerous, Tara.”
I turn to Lacey, who’s staring off into the distance with a pensive look on her face. “Actually, we should all go. We can’t let Jasper do this alone.”
A silence settles upon the group, and the guard looks the most animated I’ve seen him yet. “I’m under instructions to keep Tara here. Maybe you all can go, but she has to stay.”
I know that a shifter can’t defy their Alpha’s orders, but I’m determined. I rack my brain for something to say.
“But I can help.”
“It’s not a case of that,” Monroe says, a sympathetic look in her eyes. “If we go with a group of shifters, we’ll have a good chance at getting him out safely. We’ll be back before you know it.”
I shake my head.
“Tara, I’m sorry, I really can’t let you go.”
There’s a tension in my chest that makes me want to cry. I know that my friends are looking out for me, but there’s no way that I can just sit around while they go and risk their lives.
“Well,” Lacey says stoically. “If we appeal to the pack and get approval from Dylan, it’s possible that Tara could come with.”
I meet her eyes, lifted by a glimmer of hope.
“That is true,” Danielle begins. “But—”
Lacey cuts in. “Danielle, Jasper is her mate.”
***
It feels strange leading an impromptu pack meeting, even though I feel more assimilated here. As a human outsider, it’s still unbelievably strange.
But there’s no time for my emotions, Jasper’s out there risking his life—every second is precious.
I take a breath and gaze out at the expectant crowd of shifters.
Lacey gives me an encouraging wink.
“Look, I know that I’m probably the last person you all want to be leading a pack meeting, let alone convincing you to go on a hunt, but I truly believe in what I have to say. Time is running out, Jasper is out there searching for a piece of Willow all by himself. Most of you will know or will have witnessed what the first flower we found did to me. I know that Jasper is stronger than I am, but even he’s not strong enough to face this alone.”
Murmurs ripple through the pack, conversations I can’t make out. Some look uncertain, others already seem convinced.
I continue, my voice trembling at first but growing steadier as I remind myself to hold my own.
