Alpha's STOLEN Mate (by Abigail Hayes) novel Chapter 150

Chapter 150

The memory surfaced unbidden-Morgath as she’d been decades ago, before the scars, before the madness. Just an ordinary witch who’d made the fatal mistake of falling in love with a wolf shifter. Their relationship had been secret, forbidden by pack law that prohibited

unions between witches and werewolves.

But her mate had seemed different. Progressive. Kind. He’d promised to protect her, to change the old laws, to make their love legitimate.

She’d believed him. Even bore his child.

Then came the night her mate’s pack discovered the truth. They’d locked her family in their cottage-her, her infant son, her wolf lover.

The pack Alpha himself had set the fire.

The scars on Morgath’s face weren’t just burns. They were the price of trying to shield her baby from the flames as she crawled through the inferno. Her mate had burned alive, screaming not for mercy but for his pack to save his reputation, to remember he’d been a loyal

wolf who’d never truly loved the witch.

She’d escaped. Barely. But no pack would shelter a witch with a half-breed child. They’d wandered for months, rejected everywhere, until the baby died of exposure and starvation in her arms.

That’s when Morgath had found the Flesh-Weavers-or they’d found her. She’d proven a prodigy at their darkest arts, eventually becoming their leader. And her hatred for all werewolves had grown with each passing year, festering into the obsession that drove her now.

I should pity her. Part of me does.

But that didn’t make her any less dangerous.

Morgath must have noticed my expression. Her voice softened slightly. “Stop dwelling on my past, Elder. It only proves what I’ve always known-werewolves are fundamentally deceptive. They walk as humans, think like humans, pretend to have human morality.” Her voice turned venomous. “But they’re beasts. Animals. And they should be treated as such.”

“I don’t have time for philosophy!” I snapped. “Today, right now, you’re releasing Elowen. When the timing is truly right-

“No.” Morgath’s tone brooked no argument. She made a dismissive gesture. “Elder Rowan, our partnership was built on mutual benefit. But lately, you’ve been acting against my interests repeatedly.” She moved toward the door, clearly ending the conversation. “Please leave.”

Rage exploded through me. “FUCK! Do you have any idea how much I’ve given you?! The magical reagents, the funding, the protected channels for your experiments-”

“And I’ve taught you countless spells, shared my research, given you the tools to enhance your aura beyond anything the Elder Council thought possible!” Morgath shot back. “More importantly, I bought you weeks of time alone with Kaius. Time you apparently wasted.”

I lunged forward, grabbing her expensive robes, pulling her close. “You realize your plan threatens every werewolf in existence? I could expose you right now. Reveal your identity, your location, everything!” My voice dropped to a lethal whisper. “You’d be dead within days,

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Chapter 150

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hunted by every pack on the continent. They’d tear you apart, you twisted freak!”

The mask fell away again as Morgath’s face contorted with pure rage.

Oh fuck. I went too far.

“Rowan,” she said quietly, dangerously. “Let’s both calm down and-”

Her hand moved faster than sight. Invisible force slammed me backward, pinning me against the wall with crushing pressure. I couldn’t

move, couldn’t breathe properly, couldn’t even shift my weight.

“Morgath! Stop! I’m not your enemy!”

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“No?” Her voice dripped with contempt as she advanced. “But you’re certainly not useful anymore. And I’m beginning to suspect you’ve developed real feelings for your pet Alpha.” She practically spat the words. “You’ve become a fucking liability. A loose end.” Her eyes blazed with paranoid fury. “How do I know you won’t betray everything to your beloved Kaius? How can I trust you won’t let emotion override

our plans?!”

Panic clawed at my throat. I reached for my aura, my signature Elder power-

Nothing. Completely suppressed by whatever magic Morgath was wielding.

She’s stronger than me now. So much stronger. When did the gap become this wide?

“DIE, Rowan!” Morgath’s voice rose to a shriek. “You’ve fallen to their level! You think like them, feel like them! You’re as corrupted as any

werewolf!”

Invisible fingers closed around my throat, squeezing with relentless pressure. My feet kicked uselessly against the wall, finding no purchase. My vision began to darken at the edges.

This can’t be how it ends. Not like this. Not because I was foolish enough to-

To what? Care? No. Impossible. I couldn’t care about Kaius. I’d just wanted to control him, to use him, to-

Liar.

The thought came from some honest part of myself I’d buried long ago. I’d wanted him to choose me. Not through compulsion or magic. or fear, but freely. Genuinely.

And he never would. Because of her. Always because of her.

I’d killed Silas for this. Betrayed my fellow Elders. Aligned myself with a monster. All for a chance at something I couldn’t even admit I wanted-and for what? To die here, alone, strangled by my own co-conspirator?

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Chapter 150

You’re pathetic, Rowan. A five-hundred-year-old fool playing at being young again.

The pressure on my throat increased. Consciousness flickered.

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And then, impossible as it seemed, I heard Kaius’s voice-cold, contemptuous, brutal:

“You’re nothing but a delusional, ancient whore who died the way she lived-desperate, unloved, and forgotten by morning. Even your corpse

won’t matter enough to mourn.”

Was it real? A dying hallucination? A message through whatever thin thread still connected us?

It didn’t matter.

He was right.

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19:42 Wed, Jan 14

Alpha’s STOLEN Mate