I’m not about to give my feelings away now. As far as Elias McGruff is concerned, I felt nothing when he rejected me.
“Can we talk?” he asks as he rubs a flattened palm on his nape, staring at me through the layers of blonde hair that brush his lashes.
His soft demeanor feels like a ruse, and my eyes flit over his shoulder to make sure he’s alone. If this isn’t an ambush to force me into the woods, then the alpha is here to talk me into willingly sacrificing myself.
Not happening!
Why would anyone in the pack willingly sacrifice themselves? Even if I’m the outcast and treated like scum by almost everyone I’m forced to encounter, my life is still valuable to me.
Does he think he can sweet-talk me into sacrificing myself? Charm his way into laying my head on the chopping block to spare the lives of the Snehvolk werewolves who couldn’t care less about me?
I stifle the urge to scoff, acting aloof as I fold my arms and lift my chin. He probably doesn’t know that the word got out I’m the pack’s chosen sacrifice for the demon, so I pretend to be unaware.
“What do you wanna talk about, Alpha Elias?” I ask flatly, to which he glances over his shoulder.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to speak inside. This is a private matter, and I think you should be sitting down for this one.”
Frowning at his soft, consoling tone, a stark contrast to the cruel tone he’d used to reject me five years ago, I school my expression to maintain the ruse that I have no idea what he’s getting at.
He is the alpha and leader of the pack, after all. I can’t defy him, so with a terse nod, I step aside and allow him to come into the cabin.
His broad form fills the doorway to the brim, his towering height obvious as he steps over the threshold. Mentally noting that it’s the alpha’s first time in my isolated cabin far away from the rest of the pack members, I try not to dwell on that fact too much.
It’s not like it makes any difference since he’s here to give me the type of news that requires me to be seated. He has no idea that I already know what the pack is planning, and for a split second, even I forget when my airways are arrested by the most heady, masculine scent I thought I’d forgotten.
How could I possibly forget the crisp scent of lemons mixed with the sweetness of vanilla against the backdrop of domineering earthy notes? When he passes me on his way inside, a gentle wisp of air blows by, prompting me to close my eyes and relish in the scent that is so distinctly Elias.
I open my eyes again to witness him walking in, appearing too large for my cottage with his broad shoulders and bulging arms, where the muscles flex and protrude when he lifts a hand and runs his fingers through the sweep of platinum blonde hair that brushes his collar. Momentarily dazed, hypnotized by the scent occupying the expanse of the cabin, I wonder what it would feel like to run my fingers through…
No!
I chastise myself mentally, catching my thoughts before I can make a complete fool of myself the way I did five years ago. I’m not the same she-wolf I was back then, even if I’m still the Snehvolk Pack’s worthless, lowly omega.
As I take a deep breath and push aside the feelings I buried years ago, Elias turns around and stares at me thoughtfully, reminding me that he’s only here to charm me into being the pack’s sacrifice. I know that’s not the purpose of my life, and even if I’ve been treated as an outcast within the pack, it’s no reason for me to willingly forsake my life to protect them.
It’s not like they’d listen to me, anyway. My grandmother tried, but they thought she was crazy when she prophesied the emergence of the demon dog and told stories about the heritage of our pack’s bloodline with strong magical powers. I had to keep the secret that I’m a witch from the pack, who might have cast us out if they knew.
“Aurora, you—”
The pang of dread that grips my chest is what prompts me to interrupt him.
“Excuse me, Alpha Elias,” I murmur. “I need to use the bathroom.”
Alpha Elias accepts the lie with a terse nod, and I scurry off to the dim passage, where I quickly slip into my bedroom. My nerves are on fire as I grab a bag and shove a few personal items inside.
It’s all I need to make my escape. I’ll have to rely on my instincts and the powers of my witch heritage to get me out of Girdwood, even if I haven’t been able to develop my skills. Grandmother’s last words to me before she died were to keep my witch powers hidden and stay in the Snehvolk Pack without causing chaos.
No one ever believed her and thought her claims were despicable.
Now that the prophesied demon is here, they want to sacrifice me?
I won’t let that happen. With one final glance at my bedroom, I slip the straps of the bag over my shoulder and strengthen my resolve with a deep breath before escaping through the window.
The ominous forest might be frightening, but it’s not as scary as sacrificing my life for the greater good of the Snehvolk Pack.
Even if I loved Elias McGruff once, I despise him now. Perhaps even more than I did before.
Chapter 3 - Elias
