Alpha's STOLEN Mate (by Abigail Hayes) novel Chapter 176

Chapter 176

Frost

For fuck’s sake-

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But there was no time to argue. The five red wolves were circling, flames dancing along their claws and muzzles. I had to end this. Now.

The potion Lysandra had given me was working-I could feel magical energy sliding off my fur, the flames that should have been searing

my flesh only leaving minor burns. But five against one was still terrible odds.

Doesn’t matter. Ill tear them apart if I have to.

I threw myself at the nearest wolf with reckless abandon. No strategy, no self-preservation. Just pure, furious assault. My claws found

throats, my teeth found spines. I traded injury for injury, accepting wounds that would have made me hesitate before.

Take the damage. Kill them faster. End this.

One wolf went down, its neck broken. Then another, its skull crushed between my jaws.

But I was slowing. The wounds were adding up. The pain was becoming unbearable, cutting through even the strange euphoria of

whatever Lysandra had given me.

The last three wolves saw their opening. They swarmed me, driving me to the ground under their combined weight. Fangs closed on my

shoulder. Claws raked my flanks. Fire scorched my face-

A flash of brilliant blue light split the air.

A wolf-sleek, powerful, its fur the color of deep ocean water-crashed into the fray like a lightning bolt. Its claws were wreathed in

crackling blue energy, and with a single swipe, it sent all three red wolves flying backward.

I scrambled to my feet, and suddenly Scarlett-Scarlett’s wolf-was beside me. Fighting with me. Moving in perfect synchronization like

we’d trained together for years.

And something was happening inside me.

The potion. The cigarette. Whatever Lysandra had done-it was all culminating in this moment. I could feel something surging through

my body, through my very soul. A connection that had been severed was knitting itself back together, strand by strand.

The bond. Our mate bond. It’s-

But it wasn’t just returning. It was stronger. Fiercer. More intense than it had ever been before, like it had been reinforced with steel

cables instead of thread.

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accept my help.

She’s not just my former mute. She’s not just Elower’s bra. Shes-

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19:46 Wed, Jan 14

Chapter 176

Something had shifted. Whether it was the bond, the potion, or the intensity of fighting side by side, I couldn’t tell. But my feelings for

Elowen-that desperate, consuming obsession-it was fading. Not gone, but… muted. Like someone had turned down the volume.

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And in its place, something new was growing. Something focused entirely on the woman standing in front of me.

Lysandra. You magnificent, meddling witch. This was your parting gift.

I moved toward Scarlett before I could stop myself. We were both naked from our shifts, and when she realized, her face flushed crimson.

“Frost, don’t-” She tried to push me away, but the movement was weak. Hesitant.

The renewed bond was stronger than before. I could feel it pulling us together like gravity, and from the look in her eyes, she felt it too.

“I don’t know what happened,” I said softly, reaching for her despite every logical part of my brain screaming that this was a terrible idea. “I don’t understand how this is possible. But when I look at you now, Scarlett… you’re different. Everything about you is different.”

My hand found her waist, and she didn’t pull away this time.

“I don’t know if I love you,” I continued, the words coming from somewhere deep and honest. “I can’t say that I do. Not yet. But, I met her eyes, let her see the truth in mine. “I can’t say that I don’t love you either. Not anymore. Not after this.”

Scarlett’s breath hitched. Her face was still flushed, her eyes wide and vulnerable. “Fuck,” she whispered. “What the hell is the Moon Goddess playing at? What kind of sick joke—”

I pulled her closer, close enough that I could feel the heat of her skin, smell the unique scent that was purely her. “Maybe it’s not a joke,” I murmured. “Maybe this is exactly what was supposed to happen.”

“Frost-”

“I spent so long fighting fate,” I said quietly.

I rested my forehead against hers. “But this time… this time I think I need to stop fighting.”

Scarlett’s hands came up to rest on my chest, not pushing away but not pulling closer either. Just touching. Feeling.

“What are you saying?” Her voice was barely audible.

I closed my eyes, feeling the bond humming between us like a living thing. Feeling Scarlett’s heartbeat matching mine. Feeling, for the first time in years, like maybe I was exactly where I was supposed to be.

“I’m saying,” I breathed, “that this time, I’m going to accept what fate has given me.”

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19:46 Wed, Jan 14

Alpha’s STOLEN Mate