No Alpha, page 10
part #1 of The Alpha Brothers Series
"Don't ever say you are not mine again, Elodie. I will not allow that," he tells me.
"You confuse me, Alpha," I say, letting out a little sigh as I place my hand on his cheek. I use my other hand to tuck some of his hair behind his ears, loving how soft his hair is.
"I'm not the only one who is confusing," he tells me, his words tenderly spoken and so different from how he usually speaks to me. Alpha pulls out of me and lets me drop to the floor slowly before tucking himself back in his black trousers. He pulls out a chair right next to where he was sitting before and waves a hand at it, suggesting I sit down. I sit in the chair, and Alpha pours me a drink of water before sitting in his seat. Looking at the map in front of us, I see the island we are on is at the bottom, then there is an X over where my old pack was in the forest. There are two more Xs marking the location of the other packs, one higher in the forest and the other in the middle of the mountains.
"Can I ask you something?" I ask Alpha.
"My permission has never stopped you asking before," he replies, and I smile at his snarky response.
"Which pack were you all from? It wasn't mine, so that only leaves two known ones," I ask him. The question has been buzzing around my mind for the last week.
"The Xan Pack," he sourly replies. The largest pack in the mountains, the one I know the littlest about.
"What is it like there?" I ask him, and he knows I mean the condition of the pack and not the weather.
"The alpha runs the pack with an iron fist. The women are slaves, they are shared by all pack members whenever the alpha demands. The men are forced to work hard in the mountains for food and weapons, and they’re forced to populate the army they have. You were lucky to be brought up in your old pack, Elodie," he tells me. I go to ask more when a loud alarm sounds in the distance. Alpha immediately gets up, going to the window and looking out. In the distance, there is purple smoke in the air near the bridge, though I have no idea what it means.
"Someone is at the bridge. Come with me, Elodie. You might recognize the newcomers from your old pack," he demands, heading for the door before I can even think about it. "You can ride on my back." My eyes widen at his suggestion, waiting for him to say he is joking, but he doesn’t. I quickly push my seat back and follow him out of the tower, where he shifts into a large white wolf in the blink of an eye. I’ve seen his wolf a few times over the last few weeks but never this close up. He is huge, powerful, and his fur looks softer than silk as he picks up his trousers in his mouth. Somehow, they are only a little ripped. The alpha wolf lies on the ground, looking back at me expectantly. I nervously head over to him, telling myself that this can’t be too bad. I swing my leg over his back, wrapping my arms around his neck as he stands up and runs off.
Chapter 23
Elodie
We whip past the trees as I hold onto Alpha as tightly as I can, hoping that I don't fall off and enjoying the fast ride. It’s like being a wolf, or as close as I will ever get to this feeling anyway. We run out of the trees and onto the path just before the bridge where Alaric, Letric and three other wolves are forming a line, blocking our view of whatever they are looking at. I slide off Alpha's back, and he drops the trousers in his mouth on the floor before shifting back and pulling them on. Alpha walks over to the line, and I stay close behind him until Alaric moves to the side when we get near, his hand resting next to mine, and he links some of our fingers, but I’m more interested in the people opposite.
A few feet away are three people wearing thick coats, and their heads are bowed in a respectful way. The man in the middle is tall, older with grey hair and a serious expression as he looks at Alpha. There is an older woman at his side who looks at me with her blue eyes and dark brown hair shaping her face. She looks so familiar for some reason, but I don’t know why. She quickly looks at the man and then down to the ground. I’m guessing she is his mate. My eyes move to the other person here, a young, very beautiful woman on his other side who keeps her grey eyes locked on me like no one else is here. I immediately feel threatened by her, and I don't know why. I pull my eyes to the man in the middle and slowly realize who he is even as Alpha speaks his name.
"The Ruxan Pack Alpha...what a surprise to have you at my door," Alpha muses, crossing his arms.
"My name is Cipher, and I was the alpha of the Ruxan Pack like you said. I come here to forge an alliance with you," he says, though his voice wavers a little. I think it is from fear, but it easily could be from lying.
"Funny that as we heard you went to the Xan Pack for the same deal. Did that not work out as well as you expected?" Alaric interjects.
"No, it did not. The mad alpha killed half my pack, and the rest of us escaped. I want a deal with you, and I have a prize to offer," he nervously says.
"What prize?" Alpha asks.
"My daughter, Misty, is untouched and very attractive. She is a true born alpha female, which I have heard you have never found as not many exist anymore. She will be your mate, and I will help you fight the Xan Pack. It is a good deal," he says, and in that quiet moment when no one speaks, I know how much it hurts to be jealous. To be unsure of anything except the fact that the game has just dramatically changed. I look at Misty as she undoes her cloak, revealing her perfect and very naked body underneath it.
"I will make a good mate. I will be more than you could ever dream of," Misty purrs; even her voice is beautiful.
"We need to have a discussion, but for now, you are welcome in our pack. Letric can find you suitable accommodation," Alaric says, and I look up at him, finding him staring at me instead of Misty as he talks. I pull my hand away, and he only frowns.
"And the rest of our pack?" Cipher asks.
"Can camp on the beach across the bridge. I do not trust you—yet," Alpha says, and I look up to see him turn away from them and shift into his wolf before running back into the forest.
"This way," Letric says, waving a hand. All of them shift, and Misty smirks at me before she turns into a large black wolf. Only alpha female wolves are black. They all run into the forest until only Alaric is left standing with me.
"I don’t think letting them in is a good idea," I eventually admit, trying to get the image of the perfect Misty out of my mind.
"You are jealous," Alaric says, stepping closer to me, but I step back defensively. He just invited her to stay here. I know I’m being unreasonable, but I can’t think straight. All I can think of is a horrible image of her all over my Alpha Brothers. But that is the thing. They are not mine. Alpha made that perfectly clear today.
"No. I just don't think any of them are to be trusted," I reply, ignoring the smirk on his pretty lips. “They clearly have a motive.”
"Maybe, but maybe they can be trusted anyway," Alaric says and smiles at me. "Come on, we will go and watch the horse we spoke of earlier and then get some food."
"Sure," I mutter, following Alaric back up the path. Every part of me feels different now, deep down in my bones. I know my place is threatened, if I ever even had a place, and I can't take my mind off how none of my Alpha Brothers ever said no to accepting Misty as their mate. If they take her as their mate, I know I’d prefer a death at the hands of the outcasts than the pain in my heart from watching that happen. What have the Alpha Brothers done to me?
Chapter 24
Elodie
We walk in pretty much silence through the market, and just as we get to the end, the woman who was at the bridge steps in front of us. Up closer, I can see how pretty she is. Her long brown hair falls around her shoulders in waves, a line of freckles litters her cheeks, and her blue eyes are extremely bright. I still can’t shake the feeling I’ve met her before, though when I saw Cipher before, he didn’t bring his alpha female with him. I did hear he slept with two of the women in my old pack though, so that doesn’t say much about his character.
“Hello, again. I don’t think we got your name before,” Alaric says, offering out a hand to the woman to shake. She stares at me for an uncomfortably long moment before she looks to Alaric and shakes his hand.
“Melina. It is nice to meet you both,” she says and looks to me, offering me a hand. “You are?”
“No one special, but my name is Elodie,” I say, hearing Alaric’s displeased huff. I’m not their mate, so why pretend I am something more than I am?
“A lovely name,” she says and clears her throat as I let her hand go.
“Thank you,” I say, feeling a little awkward as she keeps staring.
“I’m so sorry. I am so sorry,” she suddenly says and then turns, running off down the path and disappearing into the people around the market.
“That was…well, weird,” I say, looking up to see Alaric watching the space she was in before he looks down at me.
“It was. I wonder what she was so sorry about,” Alaric says, and I don’t say a word as we continue walking, but I bet it was that she is sorry Misty is going to steal my alphas from me.
"Come on, smile for me," Alaric says as we walk down the path to the horses, but I don’t reply to him, keeping silent as we get to the stables which are larger than I thought they would be. I don’t know how I’ve avoided coming here in all the weeks I’ve lived here now, but I have. There are at least twenty stalls on either side of the large building, and each one has a horse in them. Alaric walks three stalls down before he opens one and gestures for me to enter. I walk in, seeing the large space has a gap on a wooden wall and then hay all on the floor.
"We can only watch and not interfere. Sometimes, nature is like that," Alaric explains to me. I walk over to the gap and look into the next stall where there is a horse with a large stomach lying on the ground. She is sleeping, looking cozy as she does so.
"She is asleep, so there is nothing to see. I think I will go for a walk and see you later," I say, trying to walk past Alaric, but he catches me by my arms, and uses one hand to lift my face so I am forced to look at him.
"You are upset," he mutters, watching me so very closely. It’s like he can read my every thought. I am terrible at hiding my thoughts on my face.
"No," I reply, lying, and we both know it.
"Do you think you are so replaceable, Elodie?" he says, his thumb rubbing my cheek. "We do not want a mate, and we do not want anyone in our bed but you. Elodie, you have our full attention. Do not doubt that."
"She is beautiful, and you never told her no. You never said she wouldn’t be your mate," I reply, hating that my emotions pour out in my words.
"Not compared to you, she isn't," he tells me. He slides his hand to the back of my neck and undoes my necklace before pulling it off. Alaric pulls a little heart shaped bronze pendant out of his pocket and slides it onto the necklace before clipping it back on my neck. "I want you to have a little bit of me with you at all times."
"Thank you," I whisper, rubbing my thumb over the heart and wolf that look perfect together on the chain.
"Now, smile. We should go for a ride before dinner," he says, leading me out of the stall and to the horses we rode yesterday. I might be unsure of a lot, but I know no matter what, I will always have these good memories to keep. I just have to hope I am enough for them all. Not just Alaric’s words.
Chapter 25
Elodie
Alaric takes the reins of my horse from me when we get back to the courtyard after our ride around the beaches where we stopped off for a swim and then rode back before it got dark. I almost forgot about Misty, but even Alaric’s kisses and sweet words can’t keep all the gloomy thoughts out of my mind.
"Go to the kitchens, you look hungry. I will meet you there in a bit once I’ve settled the horses for the night," he tells me, before walking off with the horses. I walk across the courtyard to the doors, pulling one of them open and instantly feeling the heat from inside. There is a lovely smell of something cooking, and my stomach rumbles loudly. I walk down the stairs and pause when I get to the bottom step, seeing Misty sat at the end of the table where Alpha usually sits. No one ever sits there, so why the hell is she? Who even invited her here? All those dark thoughts about being replaced shoot back into my mind, along with the pain in my chest it brings with it.
"Elodie, right?" Misty sweetly says, turning in her seat to look at me. Her eyes run over my blue dress, no doubt questioning the mud on the bottom of it.
"Yes," I tightly reply, stepping further into the room and looking around.
"Mary is collecting Alpha, Letric and Alaric for dinner. I would like it if you left us alone," she says, making it clear she isn’t asking from the low growl she adds. “My soon-to-be mates and I need time alone.”
"Were you invited?" I ask, ignoring her comment on the soon-to-be mates part. Alaric would have told me…right?
"Yes. Were you? Or are you the pathetic little whore they like to fuck when they are bored who now follows them around?" she replies, and I cross my arms, not replying to her as pain etches through my heart that they invited her to dinner. It hurts that she might be right. I turn as I hear someone come in and see Alpha walking into the room. He nods at me before seeing Misty and not pausing as he goes to sit at the table at her side.
"Sit down, Elodie," Alpha demands when I take a step back. I make sure to keep my head high as I go and sit on the seat next to Misty and opposite Alpha, who doesn’t look my way once.
"Tell me about yourself, Misty. I'm afraid it will only be us tonight. Letric and Alaric have pack issues to deal with," Alpha says as he starts serving himself some of the chili and rice from the dishes in the middle of the table. I serve my own, trying to keep silent as Misty babbles on about how amazing she is. She rides horses, can fight with any weapon, and deals with a lot of political issues. She also feels it necessary to tell Alpha how she can place her legs over her head, and she doesn't ever gag at anything. I think it might be necessary to tell her how I’d like to stab my fork through her hand, but I know better than to do that. I keep replaying Alaric’s words through my mind, telling myself that I am not as irreplaceable as I am feeling.
"You are very charming, Misty. Fitting for the only daughter of such a large pack. Did you not ever have any other sisters or brothers?" Alpha asks, and I finally listen into this conversation as I finish my food.
"It's not a subject I like to speak of much, but there was a sister born before me. My mother was raped, and the child was killed upon its birth as it wasn't my father's child," she says. She doesn’t even seem sad or upset as she explains that. Just like it’s a normal thing to kill a baby, when it is not.
"I am sorry to hear that," Alpha says.
"They killed the baby? For what? Existing?" I ask, not bothering to keep the disgust and horror out my voice.
"I don't expect a non-alpha to understand such things. I did not want to discuss this with you. You are upsetting me, so can you leave?" Misty says, letting out a low growl as she glares at me.
"Non-alpha or not. I know killing an innocent baby is an evil thing to do," I snap, not wanting to back down. My hand shakes, making me drop my fork and slide my hand into my lap, wondering why it won’t stop shaking as Misty starts doing a fake cry. I can’t seem to see through the anger burning across my vision, making both my hands shake.
"Elodie, leave. Now," Alpha demands, and I try to hide my shock as I look at him, seeing the anger on his face. It stops my hands shaking, and my anger gets replaced with pure pain. I nod and push my chair out before walking out the basement and taking in a deep gasp of air outside. I've made a mistake, a huge one. I fell for the Alpha Brothers, and now they are destroying me just like I knew they would. I look around at the three imposing towers, trying to figure out whom to run to and knowing that I don't want to go to any of them in this moment.
Instead, I run out the courtyard and look down at the stables. I'm sure Alaric will be gone by now, and no one will be there. I need to be alone, even for a short amount of time. I run down to the barn, only slowing down when I get there, and then walk down the middle of the stables. I find the empty one we were in earlier just as I hear a low whining noise. I walk in and go over to the gap, lowering myself to my knees as I look in. The horse is clearly in labor, I can see the contractions in her stomach, even in the dim light from the fire lantern on the wall above the stable. I fold my arms on the wood as I watch, not noticing anything but the horse as the labor goes on.
I block out the way thinking of Alpha and Misty hurts my heart, how it is just proof that everyone uses me in my life. I’ve always been nothing, and that hasn’t changed. I know Alaric and Letric will do whatever Alpha tells them to do, so I’ve lost them in the same moment. If Alpha keeps Misty, then they will share her too. All of it makes me just feel sick.
I pause my thoughts as the horse slowly pushes out her foal, which is brown in color, covered in blood. The horse stands up once the foal is out and turns around, looking down at the foal. The foal doesn't move, and as the time passes, the movement of the foal’s chest slows down until it eventually stops. The world is silent as, suddenly, the foal's brown fur turns black, and it blinks its eyes open before shakily kneeling up.
I finally get how everything happens for them. The foal has to die to be truly born. Maybe that is a lesson we all need to learn before everything goes wrong.
Chapter 26
Elodie
I leave the horses in the morning, when the sun wakes me up by blaring into my eyes, and my rumbling stomach is making too much noise. After making my way back to the courtyard, I pause, not having a clue where to go. I don’t want to see any of them because I am not ready to think about what Misty means, and the only person I wouldn’t mind seeing is Mary. I rub my forehead just as I see the door to Alpha’s tower open, and I quickly hide behind the wall as Misty walks out. My heart breaks, dreading the thought that he likely slept with her last night. I mean nothing to him. There is so much pain in my chest as tears fall down my cheeks. I feel empty, lost and pointless. Misty walks right past me a few minutes later, not even noticing me as she goes on her way. My cheeks are wet with my tears as I storm down the path to the Alpha’s tower and bang on the door. Alpha opens the door, crossing his arms when he sees me. His expression is neutral. Like I am nothing to him at all.
