Alpha's STOLEN Mate (by Abigail Hayes) novel Chapter 244

Chapter 244

Scarlett frowned, reading it again more carefully. “I mean, it does sound like her though?”

“Maybe. My eyes lingered on the postscript. Something about that line-‘don’t wait up, this could take a while-left a sour taste in my

mouth. Like she was trying too hard to keep us away.

But maybe I was just overthinking it. Reading problems into nothing because I didn’t want her to leave.

The scent hit me suddenly. Lavender.

Faint but distinct, wafting up from the parchment like invisible smoke. Common enough-nothing unusual about lavender.

Except my body reacted like I’d been struck by lightning.

The letter ignited in my hands-not literally, but the psychic heat was so intense I nearly dropped it. My fingers didn’t burn, my skin

wasn’t scorched, but every nerve ending screamed danger.

This isn’t physical. This is something else entirely.

Then it hit me like a tsunami.

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Not emotions-echoes. Psychic imprints carved into the parchment with such brutal force they’d crystallized into the paper itself, waiting dormant for the right person to unlock them. And I was that person.

Fear slammed into me first-sharp and metallic, the kind that makes your mouth go dry and your heart forget how to beat properly. Then urgency, pressing down on my chest like a physical weight, crushing the air from my lungs.

Images flickered behind my eyes-half-memories, half-visions transmitted through touch:

Evelyn hunched over this very letter, quill trembling in her grip. Her head snapping toward the door every three seconds, pupils dilated with terror. Writing with forced casualness while panic clawed at her throat. The desperate need to finish before someone discovered what she was

doing-

The psychic assault was so strong my knees buckled. I hit the floor hard.

“Elowen!” Scarlett was beside me instantly, hands on my shoulders. “What’s wrong?!”

I thrust the letter at her with shaking hands. “Lavender-do you smell it?”

She sniffed the parchment carefully, then shook her head. “No? There’s nothing-”

“The imprints- My voice came out thin, breathless. “Can you feel what she carved into it? The fear?”

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14:48 Thu, Jan 22

Chapter 244

Scarlett’s confusion deepened. “Elowen, what are you talking about? Letters can’t store feelings!”

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“There’s targeted magic on this!” I struggled to my feet, legs still unsteady. “Keyed specifically to trigger for me-for the White Wolf.” My

hands were still shaking. “The fear, the terror I felt-it was embedded in the parchment itself!”

I grabbed Scarlett’s arms, meeting her eyes. “She wasn’t excited when she wrote this. She was terrified. More scared than I’ve ever felt

from her-and you know Evelyn doesn’t scare easily!”

Scarlett stared at the letter, then back at me. “But… what does this mean? Why would there be magic on it?”

“I don’t know.” I steadied myself against the dresser, still shaken. “I can’t tell if Evelyn put it there herself as a warning, or if someone

else left a trace.”

My fists clenched. “But one thing I know for certain-there’s something deeply wrong here. That fear I felt? That wasn’t normal anxiety

about leaving. That was terror.”

Scarlett’s face drained of color, the full implication hitting her. “Oh God. So this cheerful letter-this whole ‘going on adventure’ thing-it’s

all fake?” Panic crept into her voice. “She’s in actual trouble and we just let her walk out! Fuck! We can’t abandon her-she’s our family!”

“We won’t.” I cut through her rising panic with absolute certainty, my voice steel. “We’re going to find her.”

Scarlett’s jaw set with determination. “Where do we even start? Eastern vampire territory is massive-hundreds of miles!”

“I don’t know yet.” I looked down at the letter, at Evelyn’s handwriting that seemed too careful, too composed-all of it screaming hidden

distress beneath the cheerful surface. “But we’ll figure it out.”

I met Scarlett’s eyes, letting her see my unwavering resolve.

“Whatever she’s facing, she won’t face it alone. We’re bringing our witch home.”

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14:48 Thu, Jan 22