Rejecting the Alpha

Those dark blue eyes were so familiar I could barely tear my own away from them. Yet, as I calmed I realized that even though the eyes were so very much like my mate's, the rest of the face was not. This man had a slightly wider nose, and less defined cheekbones, and his hair was a few shades lighter.

He wasn't Alpha Gavriel, although he looked like he could be his son...

Or, his brother.

Thedric?

I wondered, but I couldn't ask because the awful gag was still fastened to my face. I made some garbled noises instead, hoping to draw his attention and communicate that I wanted answers.

Instead of addressing me, he spoke to the taller guard and they walked from the room.

My mind spun, wondering what Thedric—if my guess was correct—wanted from me. I was his brother's mate, but they were hardly on good terms.

But even if they were, it still did not bode well for me, because if they were I would probably just end up back there, right in the nightmare where I began.

I met the shorter guard's eyes and mumbled more questions, but as per usual he did not even try to acknowledge me. It was like trying to talk to a tree, except I liked trees. Rogues, on the other hand, had brought me nothing but misery the last few days.

I shifted my hands around, trying to gain myself some more give, not even to escape at this point, just for comfort. My wrists were raw from how long they’d been confined.

The guard grunted. "Knock it off."

I rolled my eyes at him. I was still afraid, but my frustration was also growing. I wanted to get away and back to Vander before I found out what these rogues wanted from me.

He was probably so worried. I tried mind linking him again, but I came up empty as always. It probably would not have worked anyway since we were likely too far apart, but it was worth a try. I just wanted his strong arms around me again, I craved that feeling of safety and love that he gave me.

I shot a death glare at the guard, but he ignored it like everything else.

Maybe this was just meant to be some sort of torture. Maybe Thedric—if I were right—really just wanted to know what I knew about his brother. If that was the case, the joke was on him, because I would have been happy to tell him things to take my first mate down before he could hurt anyone else, if only his brother had just asked. There was no need for an elaborate kidnapping that would likely be viewed as an act of aggression against Lightwood.

Finally, the tall guard came out, along with the newcomer. "You can go," he told the rogue guards, who both left with a nod.

He untied the gag from my mouth and handed me a bottle of water. My mouth was terribly parched so I brought it to my mouth. I wasn’t worried it was drugged because it was pretty obvious their preferred method was injections. Now that the newcomer was closer, I realized he had that gamey rouge scent, like others.

"So, I imagine you've got questions?"

I didn't wait. My voice sounded almost creaky, but I did not let that stop me. "Yeah. Are you Alpha Gavriel's brother?"

His eyes widened at bit. "I am. How did you guess?"

"Your eyes are just like his."

He did not look pleased with that assessment, which gave me a fairly good estimate of where his sentiments lay. "Maybe they are."

"So you don't get along with him then?" I asked, judging by his sour tone.

"Don't you know what he did?"

I shrugged. "He told me he killed your father in a challenge, your mother died from losing her mate shortly after, and he also killed your sister because she wouldn't tell him where you were, but he didn't give many details."

"He's a psychopath."

"Yes, he is.” I wanted this rogue to understand I held no loyalty to the brother he hated. “He also held me against my will. Sound familiar, like maybe something someone around here is doing?"

Thedric scowled at me. "I'm not doing this because I want to."

"Good. Then let me go, please. I want to go home."

"Home? Where's that?"

"Lightwood? Where you kidnapped me from? Or I guess, where your rogue thugs kidnapped me from?”

"Why weren't you with my brother? I didn't even know he had found his mate until my contacts told me he was frantically searching for you."

"You said it yourself, he's a psychopath. I ran away, and I never plan to go back. So, if you could just release me, we can forget this whole thing—"

"You can stop asking, because you're not going anywhere. I have plans that involve you."

I was afraid of that. I hoped he wasn't planning on murdering me as revenge for what the alpha had done. I swallowed hard. "What are you planning?"

"If Gavriel doesn't step down and hand over the pack, I'll threaten to kill you. Then when he steps down, he’ll lose the power he gains from the pack, and we’ll take him out for good.”

I closed my eyes and inhaled slowly. "That's probably not going to work, you know?"

"It will. Mates are our greatest weakness.”

"It won't. I’m not his weakness. He doesn't love me. His wolf might care a bit, but he'll judge whether or not he's what's best for Stonemason, and if he thinks he is, which he will, he'll let you kill me. Then he'll try to kill you anyways, because you'll be a threat."

"It's not that simple."

"It is. It really is. And by doing this, you're showing you're no better than he is, except you don't have the vampire attack and an injury from a fall into a ravine to blame it on. You’d be a worse villain than he is.”

My words were starting to agitate him, so I dialled back to a more diplomatic attitude. "Listen, Thedric, I can see why you want to take him out and save Stonemason, and the target he decides is a threat. I truly hope you can take him out. He's the one who led the attack that slaughtered most of my birth pack, so I understand clearly why you hate him. I hate him, too. Maybe I could help you somehow instead, like give you all the inside information I have about how he is now.”

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Why would you help me?"

I tried to hold in my aggravation. "Do I need to list the ways he abused me? He killed my family, he killed my friends, he forced me to be with him, and he killed our unborn pup through his uncaring actions. I never loved him, and any possibility I might died when he fucked Levenia and caused me to miscarry my pup."

"Levenia, huh?"

"You know her?"

"Oh, I remember her."

"I don't know what she was like then, but she's horrible now."

"I can imagine. She was nice enough to me, but pretty awful to the younger girls."

"I'm not surprised."

"Neither am I." He looked at me consideringly. "I really wish that I could let you help me, but I think the hostage idea is the safest. He’s more powerful than me and I need an edge.”

I frowned at him. "You're making a mistake."

"I guess we'll find out."