Page 13 of The Wolf's Captive
I swallowed hard, afraid to tell her everything, and yet, she’d been amazing to me. She’d trusted me enough to allow me to use her for a spell. And she hadn’t even known what I was trying to do.
“I’m mated to the alpha who turned me,” I whispered, hardly daring to utter the words. “And when a bad man did something horrid to me–”
“No!”
Shaking my head, I pulled away from her. “No, it wasn’t that. It’s hard to explain, but when it happened, my mate struggled to be near me.”
“I don’t understand,” Zoe muttered. “Once you’ve mated, he should stick by you, no matter what.”
A shuddery breath released from me as a pang of guilt squeezed my stomach. I wasn’t telling the story right. It was too hard to explain. Shit, what had I started?
“It’s not his fault… I, I felt the withdrawal. He didn’t tell me that he rejected me, I just… knew.”
Nodding, Zoe licked her lips. She clearly didn’t understand because I wasn’t telling her the whole story, but hopefully she wouldn’t judge Malone. Boy, I had really messed it all up.
“So… did he reject you? Or did you flee before he could?”
The truth of my predicament smacked me straight in the face, almost winding me. “Erm.”
“Maybe he just needed time to process what happened with that other man.”
Tears welled up in my eyes again, almost choking me. I hadn’t even allowed myself to think like that. I’d been so wrapped up in my own disgust and his initial reaction, I’d panicked and left the man I loved behind.
My phone interrupted my pity party, bursting into a haunting tune. Drake.
“I need to get this,” I said, wiping my eyes. “Thank you.”
Zoe squeezed my shoulder and got up, leaving me to answer the call. My eyes traced the pentagram on the ground, a sigh leaving me as I greeted my brother.
“Hey, bro.”
“Della!” Rochelle’s voice blasted down the phone. “I knew it! Why would Drake lie to me all this time? Did he really think I wouldn’t somehow find your number?”
“I…” My stomach churned as my friend ranted.
“Anyway, before you hang up, there’s something I need to tell you.” Her voice was shaky, as if she was terrified that I wouldn’t listen.
An ice cold chill spread through my veins, making it hard for me to talk. If Rochelle had Drake’s phone, did that mean something had happened to him? Was his mental health okay?
“What is it?” I pushed through my teeth as they chattered.
Rochelle’s hitch of breath made me hold mine. “It’s Malone, he’s been arrested.”
“What?” I barked. “By the police?”
A chuckle filtered to me as Rochelle’s tone relaxed. “No, silly hybrid, the werewolf council. They think he’s hidden you in order to prevent them from carrying out their duty with Kieran.”
“They do?”
Talking to the she-wolf was familiar, as if we had been in contact for the past month. And yet, my insides twirled and fluttered, reminding me that she was close to Malone. Close to my mate.
“Yes.” Rochelle cleared her throat. “We’re worried.”
“What will they do to him?” I asked, fear gripping every fibre of my being.
I couldn’t risk Malone losing his alphaship… or worse. If the council wanted me dead, they might torture Malone, trying to get information on my whereabouts. Information that he didn’t have.
“I don’t know,” she said, her voice becoming low, “but we can’t get to him. The pack have tried to persuade the council to let him go. It hasn’t worked. I didn’t know what to do, so I stole Drake’s phone and found your name under Commander Number 2. It was a pure guess, but you two are weird enough for it to make sense.”