Chapter 153
Zara
“If it were up to me, you’d be executed this morning.” Alpha Kane turned to Govinda, his voice dropping to a rough growl. Sophia’s eyes flashed at Alpha’s words. “Zara convinced me otherwise. She convinced me that you deserved… a chance p>
Two pairs of eyes met mine: Sophia’s and Govinda’s. Each glowed with gratitude, but he was filled with surprise. “Sophia once told me you’d accept me.” Govinda’s slight accent wove through his words.
“I didn’t believe her then. I hope I can live up to your expectations p>
“Oh, you will,” Alpha nodded grimly, the blood of the Alpha coursing through his veins. “Your existence will not be revealed to this pack, not yet. They won’t welcome your presence here. There’s a house on the outskirts of my territory. Go there now and remain unnoticed. I’ll come to interrogate you once this mess is finally sorted out p>
“I expected nothing less, Alpha Kane. Still, thank you for your hospitality.” Govinda nodded, his face strangely serene as he looked at Sophia.
“You shouldn’t be thanking me,” Alpha grumbled. “Thank you, Zara; without her, you’d already be dead p>
“Thank you, Zara,” Govinda nodded, his gaze never leaving mine. Govinda stood carefully and hugged Sophia. Her brown eyes were wide and bloodshot, burning my face. I watched as her lips parted and moved silently, unable to force a word out.
“I’ll tell your mother you’ve decided to stay with him.” I promised her, “I’ll tell her you’re okay p>
The corners of her lips lifted slightly in a smile, but I could see the fragments of her heart digging into her skin. I saw the pain of Sophia and her wolf frozen in those brown eyes, celebrating their mate but mourning their loss.
With her in his arms, Govinda raced down the road, his body a blur with the speed.
“Ryan,” I gasped, stumbling toward my house. Wolves’ corpses lay in the middle of the road; the scent of their thick blood lingered in my nose.
Alpha was instantly at my side, his rough hand under my arm as he led me up the steps to the porch. Ryan lay on the floor, much paler than usual, with… Dad leaned over him. Dad’s face was frozen, the wrinkles deepening and more pronounced.
His eyes widened when he saw Alpha and me. I was sure we both looked terrible. I could feel the sticky blood drying on my skin, peeling off, and I rolled with every movement. The short dress I was wearing was torn, revealing my blood-soaked stomach and dark shorts.
“I applied herbs to the wound,” he said curtly, focusing on Ryan. “It will help dissolve the silver in his blood, but he needs a doctor p>
“A doctor is on the way.” Alpha nodded, his face stern as he looked down at Ryan. “The doctor at the hospital will be very busy, so I called my personal doctor p>
“Patrol teams.” I gasped, my heart pounding as I recalled the fight that had unfolded on the outskirts of our town.
“When… Marcus disappeared, and the rest of the wolves retreated.” Alpha grimaced, his voice thick with rage as he said Marcus’s name. Even with the horrible scarlet mark on my skin, my stomach twisted at the sound of Marcus’s name.
We stayed with Dad until Alpha’s personal doctor arrived. Only when I was assured that Ryan would survive did we finally leave the house.
As guilty as I felt about Ryan’s injury and the loss of Sophia, my mind was filled with questions and painful realizations.
Marcus had used the shadows to save himself, and that meant a price. What price had he paid for his escape?
Alpha and I returned to the car, which we’d parked on the side of the road. Some of his men had already arrived, clearing bodies and blood from the road. Alpha told me that Alpha Zeke was fighting on the north side of town, slaughtering brown wolves as fast as he could.
Zeke had brought Bran with him, who had dispatched the brown wolves with equal ferocity. Luna Freya remained at headquarters but sent her men to assist in the battle.
The silence in the car gave me too much time to think.
Either Kate was mistaken, or she was planning for Alpha to move all his men to the south side, mistaking her warning for truth. Though I still had my suspicions, I still believed Kate deserved a chance to clear her name.
The smell of drying blood made me grit my teeth as I let my fingers touch my soft skin. Beneath the thick layer of dried blood, my stomach was smooth and undamaged.
“Where is the wound, Zara?” Alpha asked when the battle was over, and Govinda had healed.
Nova recoiled from the thought, from the same realization as me, but it wouldn’t have changed anything. Even Nova couldn’t deny what had happened.
Turning my head away from Alpha Kane’s gaze, I ran my tongue over the dried blood on my lip and shuddered at the taste. The wolf was half-human. I knew this because, when the blood touched my taste buds, power and bliss shook my nerve endings.
I was stunned and silent as the blood invigorated my exhausted body and the wound on my stomach stitched itself shut.
I spent most of the ride home pondering the price Marcus paid for his escape and why he’d agreed to it in the first place.
While questions swirled in my head, pounding my skull until a dull ache formed, only one was answered.
In front of the warehouse, leaning her back against the door, sat a girl I’d only thought about a couple of times. Our only interaction had occurred before I learned the truth, when the brown wolves were making their way onto our land.
Jesse stood by the front door, her legs stretched out, as if waiting for someone.
Only she wasn’t waiting. Her eyes were wide with fear, staring into the distance. Her small hands clutched her neck, and through them I could see a thick, jagged line that almost separated her head from her body.
As with innocent, there wasn’t a drop of Jesse’s blood on the ground.