Alpha's STOLEN Mate (by Abigail Hayes) novel Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Elowen

:

93

Wind screamed past my ears as I plummeted through empty air, the cliff face blurring into streaks of gray and brown. In those terrifying

seconds of freefall, my entire life flashed before my eyes like pages torn from a book.

My parents‘ faces, etched with worry the night I’d disappeared. The months of wandering alone, rejected and broken, until I’d stumbled into that rundown diner where I’d met David–a wolf who couldn’t shift past his eighteenth birthday. He’d been washing dishes for minimum wage, hiding his shame behind a forced smile.

Then there was Sarah, kicked out of her family pack for loving another she–wolf. James, born without a wolf spirit entirely, working three jobs just to survive in the human world. Elena, whose wolf had been damaged by childhood trauma, leaving her partially shifted and ostracized by everyone.

Scarlett, my fierce beta, abandoned by her pack when her wolf proved too aggressive, too wild–they’d called her dangerous, unstable, a

liability they couldn’t control. She’d been living on the streets when I found her, using her strength to protect other outcasts in exchange

for scraps.

And Evelyn, my brilliant flame–haired witch, cast out by her coven for refusing to use her magic against innocent wolves, for choosing

compassion over tradition. The magical community had branded her a traitor, leaving her powers untrained and her heart broken.

One by one, I’d found them. The rejects. The broken. The cast–offs that the perfect wolf world had thrown away like garbage.

The Misfit Alliance.

That’s what we’d started calling ourselves, half–joking, half–serious. With the help of my human friend Cassius, I’d landed a position at a major financial corporation. Through diligent study of finance and economics, combined with my supernatural intuition for market trends,

I’d built a lucrative career. The money had been excellent–my unique abilities gave me an edge that human colleagues couldn’t match.

With those earnings, I’d bought land, built homes, created a sanctuary for wolves who had nowhere else to go.

And somehow, they’d started looking to me as their Alpha. Me, the girl who couldn’t shift on her eighteenth birthday, who’d been publicly

rejected by her mate. But I’d given them something no other pack could–acceptance. A place where being broken wasn’t a weakness, but a

qualification for belonging.

I had so many plans still. Expanding our territory, finding more outcasts, maybe even establishing trade relationships with human

settlements. But now-

*You fucking idiot!” Nyx’s voice roared through my consciousness like a slap to the face. “This isn’t the time for a sentimental death

montage! We’ve got bigger problems!”

I snapped back to the present, suddenly very aware that I was still falling at terminal velocity toward what looked like a collection of very

unfriendly rocks.

1/2

10:28 Mon, Jan 12

Chapter 20

93

“We’re in freefall!” I shot back mentally, watching the ground rush up to meet me. “We’ve lost the battle with gravity! Even if we’re some

legendary white wolf, we can’t fight basic physics!”

“Have you forgotten what Evelyn told us?” Nyx snarled, her mental voice dripping with exasperation. “White wolves have countless

abilities waiting to be awakened! For fuck’s sake, maybe extreme situations are exactly what we need to unlock them!”

“That’s phoenix rebirth through fire!” I protested, even as I felt panic clawing at my chest. “We’re wolves!”

“According to our witch,” Nyx continued relentlessly, “white wolves can connect with any natural element! We can manipulate any force of

nature! Ring any bells?”

Suddenly, memory flooded back. Those first months after I’d learned to shift, when I’d discovered I could run faster than any wolf had a

right to. Not because my legs were stronger, but because I could somehow… encourage the wind to push me forward. Make it curve

around my body in ways that defied physics, turning resistance into assistance.

If I can control wind speed… why not wind direction?

I forced myself to relax, even as the ground grew larger and more detailed below me. Closing my eyes, I reached out with senses I barely

understood, feeling for the currents of air rushing past my body.

There. The wind wasn’t just chaos–it was a living thing, wild and powerful, but not uncontrollable. I could feel its patterns, its moods,

the way it wanted to flow.

Instead of fighting it, I began to dance with it.

The howling torrent of air that had been roaring around my falling form gradually grew gentler, more responsive. Slowly, impossibly, I felt it shifting beneath me, no longer pulling me down but beginning to support my weight.

The wind gathered itself into a spiraling cushion beneath my body, a miniature cyclone that pushed back against gravity with increasing strength. I wasn’t just falling anymore–I was riding the air itself, controlling my descent with growing confidence.