Alpha Ryker's Little Witch

Tamara's POV:

Mrs. Kagwe must have been operating under a goad, driving her into poisoning Theo. As I took in the pack members trickling into the pack grounds, my wolf insisted that Theo was partly telling the truth. The adult werewolves chattered amongst themselves, some in groups and others in pairs.

I should have felt sheer unbridled abhorrence toward them for everything they had put me through. After five years of name-calling and unwarranted scornful insults, I stood on the raised podium as their Luna. Following the threat from the Alpha leader, they had no choice but to submit to the very witch they apparently loathed.

My mate stood beside me with his eyesight solely pinned on Monica's friend as she approached the grounds hastily. A low growl left his mouth, commanding silence from the unknowing group of adults. Janette nudged me with her elbow, making me place my hand on his bicep to calm him down.

Theo had been discharged, and he stood behind us with his father. The silence stretched for a minute, except for the sounds of birds twittering and small animals scurrying on the grass. It was nothing short of tense and almost palpable as it floated atop our heads.

"A murderer dwells in the midst of us all." They visibly shook at the amount of power my mate's voice possessed. Gasps followed with a few darting their eyes around in incertitude. My train of sight stayed put on the mated woman as she stood unstirred at the very back of the grounds.

Had Monica been here, they would have been standing side by side. My wolf willed herself to direct her brilliantly precise focus on the woman's heartbeat. I didn't know she could do that until she isolated the beat in an instant, eliciting a bark in my consciousness.

"Theo here," he turned briefly to point at his cousin, "was given a drink laced with something that rendered him immobile and pretty much unresponsive." Her heartbeat spiked, racing as she struggled to keep her facade up.

I shut my eyes, my wolf taking charge. She had her tongue out, panting in anticipation of what was to come. "Today we call out the offender in front of each and every one of you. Soon, my people, you will decide the fate of the pack member that betrayed you." Authority flooded the area as people chanted yes, lifting their hands up.

Mrs. Kagwe's heartbeat was undeniably loud and clear now. Her feet refused to stay glued on the same spot, squirming as she struggled to breathe. Her head turned from side to side, probably trying to find a possible way of escape. I smiled inwardly, knowing that she had no place to run to. Theo had been right, but this didn't mean that I wasn't still doubtful about his whole story.

"I will not tolerate any traitors in my pack!" Alpha Ryker's voice rose up. Her body shook in fear. The more I focused on her, the more I noticed her quivering lips and weeping eyes. Her charade was dissolving with every wave of threatening aura that emanated from my muscular man.

Pete dragged his feet forward, with his cane grasped in a death grip. From my peripheral vision, I could see his head shaking repeatedly. He wanted to talk; the love he had for Theo was the only thing that kept him going after every loss he had incurred in his life.

"My only son would have died after being kidnapped and beaten by masked men for days. He is lucky to be alive today. Had it not been for the Luna." He turned to me with a nod. "He would have been long gone by now." He paused, tapping his cane twice.

"You know yourself. Better come out before I unleash my wrath on you." Menacing, his voice dipped low. Cold, dreadfully quiet, it sent shivers down my spine, forcing a shudder to rake through me.

"Make no mistake; the alpha blood still runs in me." He glued his two globes on Mrs. Kagwe, and I swore I saw his left eyelid close and open in a wink so elusive the crowd missed it. What was that all about?

"Mrs. Kagwe, move forward," Ryker commanded, earning gasps from his pack. They turned to the woman in disbelief, mouths wide open, some covering them with their palms. She trudged forward, the crowd paving way and steering far from her as she approached the podium with precarious steps.

Guards followed her behind. Some adults went as far as spitting saliva as she passed. My eyes sought for her mate, who stood emotionless, watching amongst the pack. His face was neutral, hard to tell what was going on in his mind. Odd. "A-Alpha," the woman stuttered helplessly, kneeling by the feet of her leader. Her wolf submitted, baring her neck and staring at the ground. Now that she was close, I noticed that her heartbeat had evened out. Something was not adding up at all. Minutes ago, the blood-pumping organ was almost jumping out of her ribcage, and now it had evened out?

"Let it happen." The whisper was followed by whines from my white wolf.

"Embrace it." I stood still, a gentle breeze massaging my cheeks yet again. My mate turned to me and I could see his puzzling expression. He must have noticed the change in our bond as the oddly calming voice invaded my senses. "You shall unmask the masked." The prophecy. Mimi had used the exact words the day she visited us. Could it have been my ancestors who were speaking to me?

I closed my eyes and spread my hands in the air reflexively.

"Listen," it chanted again. My mind swirled; round and round, everything began to spin.

"Listen, my child," it coaxed, the smoothness and silky feel of the angelic voice enjoining my systems. My wolf lay down her arms, acceding to the request.

Then, she picked it a series of heartbeats with two of them totally discrete from the rest. "There's more," I mind-linked Ryker.

"What are you talking about?" He whipped his head, my eyes opening just in time to catch the brisk action.

"She's not working alone, Ryker. Listen to her pulse, listen to the deceit that lies under every beat. Then expound your alpha senses. Will your wolf to fetch out some more. There is more." It wasn't long before his thoughts merged with mine. The breeze that came along with the voice dissipated, and in its place, my mate's disbelief took charge.

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"Arise." I wanted to see Theo's reaction. It would be the final nail in the coffin. Picking up on my train of thought, Ryker called his mate to stand beside the woman, their backs to the crowd, facing us.

"Theo was hurt because of you." He pointed at her, watching closely for any signs of regret.

"But I know you were not working alone." Theo visibly tensed. My wolf let out a bark of victory as she listened to his accelerating pulse.

"Someone must have offered you something," he continued. He told me I was right through our mate bond.

"Alpha, please.” Her voice was annoyingly sweet as she peeked at him under her eyelashes.

"Do not insult my intelligence, woman!" He sneered, making her coil and Theo cast his eyes down.

"Jayson!" The beta moved forward, bowing at the head of the pack.

"I want the room next to my office designed as a cell in an hour's time. Make a door on the wall separating the room and my office." I knew then that Kagwe's mate was not going to have an easy escape like Monica. I could see how Theo's eyes widened in shock as he finally swallowed the order his alpha cousin had dished out.

"Yes, Alpha." Jayson got to work with the crowd murmuring amongst themselves.

"In 24 hours, she will be brought back here and my people will decide her punishment." Ryker's voice was heard clearly by the pack members. Some nodded their heads while some just expressed how they couldn't wait to decide the traitor's final fate.

My mate didn't wait for everyone to leave; he simply held me by my hand and walked with me peevishly.

"Slow down." Matching his long strides proved to be a task for my short legs.

"We need to talk." I had refused to listen to anything he had to say about his disappearance nights ago. The torment my wolf and I had been subjected to was still deeply entrenched inside of us. The remembrance of the lie he had openly fed me still rendered me stubborn.

I tried pulling my hand out of his grip, but he just tightened it, his focus right ahead, never faltering. He didn't let go until we were at our place and the front door locked behind us. He knew he had me cornered when I stood glaring at him. "You won't listen to me. This is the only way I can explain myself without you running off." He leaned on the door with his hands crossed sexily.

"I have no sincere or scrupulous regard about whatever lies you have to spew." I stomped to the kitchen to get something to eat. I could feel my stomach burning inside, empty. I could have sworn I had gone for days without eating solid food. "I am sorry, Tamara. I didn't know how affected you'd be. I know I acted impulsively, but would you at least try and put yourself in my shoes? Just for a few seconds. What would you have done if you were me? Finding out that your only sibling who you had always known was dead could have been somewhere alive?" He followed me to the kitchen and stood beside me by the counter as I washed an entire bowl of apples.

"Ryker, I am your mate, and yet you chose to hide your plans from me. That is one thing that I will not forgive." I took a bite of the red fruit, the juicy taste of it exploding on my taste buds.

"Mm-hmm." I silently moaned as I chewed the bite and mixed it with saliva, swallowing it in balls. The fruit was so sweet. Margaret hadn't lied when she said her garden produced the best fruit on all the pack lands.

I closed my eyes, my jaw working on the series of bites that I was crowding my mouth with. "So sweet." I moaned yet again.

"We haven't talked for two days, Tamara. I really miss you."

"Did you think about how you would miss me when you secretly left?" I swallowed audibly with my eyes fixed on his. His eyebrows were drawn together, mouth curved downwards. He kept on muttering curses, frustration showing.

He opened his mouth then closed it just as fast. "Please, I have had two nights to endure without you in my arms. My wolf won't stop reprimanding me for my actions. I accept my mistakes. Why won't you forgive me, Tamara?" The alpha male was about to scream in exasperation.

I was done with the first apple in a minute. Reflexively, my arm stretched for another one, directing it to my mouth. As my teeth separated a small piece of it from the rest, I couldn't help but moan yet again from the sheer sweetness. Ryker's enticing arousal suddenly hit my nostrils head-on, making my wolf swish its tail. His lustful stare was on my mouth. I dropped my eyes between his legs, and I could see a bulge growing and begin to press on his zipper. His Adam's apple bobbed in time with the blink of his dilated eyes. Then he leaned in, his tongue snaking out and coating his lips with saliva. Just before he captured my lips with his enticing ones, he stilled. No doubt in my mind, it was a mind-link. Then with a speed I couldn't fathom, he turned away from me.

"Mimi has been shot again." I dropped the apple.

"She is dead."