Page 12 of The Alpha's Mates

“Reese.”

“Yeah.” When her brows pinched in confusion, I confessed, “We could hear you speaking with Vera.” Shifters had incredible hearing, so it hadn’t been hard to listen in.

“You’re going to let me go?” she asked.

“Yes. Tonight.”

Her eyes strayed to the door where Soren had disappeared. “And you’ll let us all go? You won’t come for us again?”

This time it was me gritting my teeth in frustration at her question. I didn’twantto let her go. It was our only option. “You’re free to go back to your pack. We won’t follow you.”Too closely.

Her eyes dropped down to the ground at my feet, hiding whatever emotions she was feeling. It took all of my control not to insist that she look at me. I wanted to know everything about her. Already the Goddess’s sway was working on me and my cadre mates. I wondered if it—if we—were affecting her at all?

Her eyes met mine again and they were carefully blank. She folded her arms underneath her breasts, shoving them up andout. Calder’s thin shirt didn’t do much to hide the outline of those shapely mounds. My mouth watered at the sight. “Thank you,” she said. Her voice was softer now that she wasn’t having to fight us. “I can’t leave them out there unprotected.”

“You would all be safe here,” I reminded her. A stubborn look crossed her face. “You’re welcome to come back, anytime.” I just hoped that they stuck around the area. If she left before the Goddess’s sway began working she could end up hundreds of miles from us and in too much pain to return. It was a risk, but one we had to take. That was also the reason one of us would stick as close as we could without being detected. Leaving our mate unprotected was as detestable to us as leaving her pack alone was to her.

“I’ll be back soon. We’ll give you some dinner, then you can leave.”

Her eyes narrowed on my face, judging whether she could trust me or not. “Why not let me go now?”

“You heard Soren. He’s only going to let you go when it’s safest to do so.”

She nibbled on her full lower lip, drawing my attention there. Internally, I groaned as I hardened in my pants. Her pink tongue darted out to wet her lips. I wanted to touch her, taste her, fuck her. She tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear. The red in her hair shone under the light as she nodded her head. “Okay.”

“Until then, you’ll stay in here. Can’t have you wandering off on your own.”

She gave me an unamused frown. “Yeah, that would be a shame.”

My grin spread over my face. I was ready to get this over with so we could have her back. So I could begin earning her trust and see more of her attitude. The urge to rake my eyes over her body was too much to resist. Her eyebrows shot up at my blatant perusal of her. Offering her another grin in answer to hershocked look, I winked at her. “Try to miss me while I’m gone.” Her laughter followed me through the door.

CHAPTER 7

Reese

Sighing, I sat down on the bed and let my head fall into my hands. This was a complete mess. I was grateful that they hadn’t killed me, but Soren’s declaration that I belonged to them pissed me off. And a part of me was worried that he might be right.

Too many times over the years I’d seen my old pack mates claim their ‘mates’. Only to find out, once I got older, that it wasn’t a real claiming sanctioned by the Moon Goddess. My mother told me the truth once I’d turned fourteen. That the seaside wolves were claiming women as their own, sometimes not even as packs, and without consent. They would steal and imprison any female they could find.

That explained why my father didn’t have cadre mates. Who would put up with a man like him? Then when I presented as an alpha my father and brothers were horrified. Dad’s words still rang in my mind.

Who’s going to want a freak like you? Thanks for making my life even more difficult.

Tugging at my hair, I tried to force his voice out. I wanted nothing to do with him. With my brothers. They were dead to me. I’d kill them if I could, but I couldn’t risk it. Leaving my new pack meant they would eventually be captured. Who was I kidding? I knew it was only a matter of time before something like this happened. They deserved the best and what they had was me. I’d do everything I could for them, but at some point, it wouldn’t be enough.

Raising my head, I stared at the floor at my feet. I’d give anything to be able to talk with my mom. She’d know how to handle the situation I found myself in. Tears pricked at my eyes as my emotions fought each other.

Female alphas were nearly unheard of; they were practically a legend in themselves. A curse really, since all the stories only talked about the horror that followed a female alpha. My designation was the bane of my existence. Daddy dearest made no qualms about letting me know he despised me for it.

That was why I’d had to leave my home. I’d been lucky no one had tried to kill me throughout the years. Mom was the only reason they hadn’t. Somehow she’d kept Dad from doing it and no one else dared to get on his bad side. I couldn’t bring myself to think of what she’d given to him in order to keep me safe. Sadness seeped through my veins as I thought about her. She’d tried so hard to protect me, and in the end all I’d done was get her killed. The tears spilled out over my cheeks. I hadn’t cried since the night I’d left my mother’s body lying in the mud and rain. I’d been too busy trying to keep us all alive to give in to emotion. A wave of exhaustion swept over me as I thought about the past, threatening to drag me under.

The seaside wolves hated anything that wasn’t what they considered normal. So much so that their numbers weredeclining faster than any other pack. They were so superstitious and killed so freely that they were dooming themselves to extinction. Half of them followed their alpha’s lead and refused to live in cadres. They still followed my grandfather’s way of thinking and it was opposite of what our Moon Goddess wanted. My mother was the one who’d taught Emma and I about our Goddess.

She was the one who’d traveled to the mountain and plains packs to seek out any information she could find on female alphas. It made me wonder if she’d met with Vera. Ultimately, her efforts had been in vain, but the fact that she’d tried showed me the depth of her love for me. Her sacrifice had proven what I’d always known.

I made my own way in the world since the night of my eighteenth birthday. The night my mother gave her life to save me. I avoided packs at all costs. The last thing I needed was another man like my father taking control of me the way he had my mother. I couldn’t blame her, my father always got what he wanted. Now I had three men trying to take control of me.

Once I’d asked her why she stayed. Her smile was sad as she shut the book she’d been reading. “I could never leave my children.” I’d often wondered over the last year and a half if she would have left once I’d matured. My brothers were as rotten inside as my father was. But they were still her children. I didn’t understand a mother’s love. Not yet. Maybe not ever.