Pulling myself together, I sit upright and assess my condition. Every wound inflicted on me by the demon is gone as if I never suffered it at all, but now I’m in nothing but my boxer shorts.
Chuckling softly, I shake my head as I turn to Rissa, sliding my arms under her and lifting her as I stand up. She feels featherlight in my arms, fitting so perfectly that I begin to wonder why I hadn’t accepted this for what it is from the beginning.
My only reasoning for pushing her away was to appease my pack, and especially my parents. They would have never accepted her as my mate because of her status, and I cannot imagine that my pack members would have accepted it either.
The original Blackmaw Pack, before it merged with the others to make up Snehvolk, thrived on ancient rulings that prevented our forefathers from taking mates of low standing. My parents were firm believers in upholding those values passed down to us through generations, and I felt no differently.
Gulping on that thought as I carry Rissa through the south part of Girdwood, where most of my pack members reside, I try sticking to the shadows so we’re not seen. But as I get closer to my house—a free-standing double-story building near the edge of my side of the village—I spot a few members of the pack hanging near the porch.
The first one who lifts his head is my beta, Connor, whose brows furrow as he leaves the group and jogs toward me.
“Alpha Brooks!” he calls out in a concerned tone, immediately shrugging off his leather jacket as he approaches. “What happened? You’ve been missing since last night.”
I grunt as I accept the beta’s attentive gesture as he flings his jacket over my shoulders. But when he offers to take Rissa, my arms get tighter as I pull her closer to my frame.
“That won’t be necessary,” I say sternly as I embolden my stance, raising my chin. “You don’t wanna know what happened out there. The demon attacked us twice.”
Connor breathes out heavily through puckered lips, his eyes widening with worry. “Well, I’m glad you’re still alive.”
“Barely,” I sigh. “If it wasn’t for Rissa…” I lament as I turn my gaze down to her sleeping face.
“Your disappearance was a big thing here in Girdwood,” Connor informs me, following me as I proceed to the house. “News got around that you and Rissa will be mated soon. And when you both went missing…” he clicks his tongue.
I pause to let the information sink in, slowing down just as the group notices my arrival.
“They know?” I ask, stunned that the word had already spread before I could address it myself.
What kind of alpha will I appear to be to the others?
I can feel my sense of control slipping through my fingers as my heart sinks when the group of soldiers approaches.
“Alpha Brooks! Oh, my Goddess! You’re back!” one of them cheers with relief evident in his sigh.
“We couldn’t find you, and we’ve been put under lockdown,” another informs me. “We’re not allowed to travel beyond Girdwood for now.”
I glance at Connor. “Have the other witches had any visions?”
He nods. “Luna Aurora sensed that there was some kind of danger approaching. I’m guessing it had to do with you two.”
“Is Rissa okay?” Josh, one of the soldiers, asks as he squints his eyes at her, sparking my protectiveness over her, along with my curiosity, when he steps forward.
“She’s fine. She just needs some time to rest.”
“Phew!” Josh blows out relieved breath. “We were all worried about her when she disappeared from the clinic.”
“You were?” I ask with a frown that’s met by the others confirming this and explaining how much Rissa has done for them and their families at the clinic.
Stunned into silence, I glance at my beta with a firm nod that tells him that I need to be left alone.
I need some time to myself to process what I’d just learned.
How could the others not accept me being mated to an omega when she’s done so much for them? They speak so highly of her, and they’d naturally accept her as my luna.
I was so wrong.
The realization has me riddled by guilt even as I gently and cautiously carry her inside my house. It seems I was the only one who’d been against Rissa all this time, and the only one who started any bullying at all.
Shit!
