Alpha's STOLEN Mate (by Abigail Hayes) novel Chapter 262

Chapter 262

Elowen

I launched myself at the nearest vampire warrior, my white wolf form a blur of fangs and claws. Iis throat tore open before he could raise

his weapon. Two more fell before they could coordinate a defense.

Good. Fast. Stay fast.

My wolf instincts drove every movement-duck, leap, strike, kill. Blood painted my white fur crimson, but none of it was mine yet. The

vampires were skilled, but they’d trained to fight wolves in human form, not a fully transformed Alpha,

But I couldn’t focus entirely on the attack. Behind me, Evelyn swayed on her feet, barely conscious from the extraction. Scarlett stood

guard over her, bleeding from a dozen wounds but refusing to fall.

Protect. Must protect.

That split focus was what Zane needed.

His claws raked across my flank as I twisted to check on Evelyn. Pain blazed, but the wound was shallow-deliberately so. He could have struck deeper, could have aimed for my throat or belly. Instead, he’d calculated the exact depth to hurt without disabling.

He’s playing with me.

I spun and snapped at him, but he was already dancing back, that infuriating smile on his face.

“You’re magnificent like this,” he said, circling me slowly. “Pure instinct and fury. But you’re distracted, aren’t you? Trying to protect your weak friends while fighting me.” He gestured at the bodies of his fallen warriors without apparent concern. “I have hundreds more. How

long can you keep this up?”

Ignore him. Focus.

I charged again, using my superior speed to get inside his guard. My fangs found his shoulder, tearing deep. He grunted with pain but grabbed my scruff, trying to throw me off.

We rolled across the blood-slicked platform in a tangle of fur and fury. I felt his claws score my ribs, shallow again. Always shallow. Always controlled.

Why won’t he finish it?

“Surrender,” he said, his voice strangely intimate despite our violence. “Submit to me, and I’ll let them go. Your friends can leave

unharmed. You’re all I really want anyway.”

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14:50 Thu, Jan 22

Chapter 262

Lies. All lies.

:

I broke free and put distance between us, panting. More vampire warriors closed in, but I couldn’t focus on them while Zane was-

His boot caught my injured shoulder. I yelped-the first sound I’d made in wolf form-and stumbled.

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“Look at Arabella, Zane said, gesturing at the witch’s corpse. “That’s what happens to those who defy me. Her daughter will be next if you

continue this futile resistance. Then your warrior friend. Then, finally, you-after I’ve broken every defiant bone in your body.”

He’s trying to break my spirit. Weaken my resolve.

Rage flooded through me, hot and primal. I attacked with everything I had-claws, teeth, my wolf’s raw power. I called on abilities I rarely

used, the special gifts the Moon Goddess had granted her White Wolf.

Speed that made me nearly invisible. Strength that let me tear through vampire flesh like paper. Even limited elemental control-wind to

knock enemies back, earth to make them stumble.

But Zane met every attack with infuriating ease. My claws that should have disemboweled him barely scratched his skin. My speed, which

should have been overwhelming, felt sluggish against his reactions. Even when I called wind to blast him backward, he simply… absorbed

it somehow, the energy dissipating harmlessly against his body.

What the fuck?

“Confused?” Zane’s laugh was dark. “Your friend’s bloodline is quite useful. Ancient witch magic, specifically designed to protect against

supernatural attacks.” He flexed his hands, where I could see faint traces of Evelyn’s power flowing beneath his skin like veins of light.

“Every bit of power I extracted from her doesn’t just grant me sunlight immunity-it grants me resistance to all supernatural abilities.

Including yours, White Wolf.”

“He absorbed my magic!” Evelyn’s weak voice called from behind me. “Elowen, he’s right-your special abilities won’t work! You’re just

wasting energy! You need to-”

A vampire warrior’s blade cut off her words. Scarlett intercepted it, her own daggers flashing.

She’s right. I’m playing into his hands. Need to think. Need to-

But Zane didn’t give me time to strategize. He pressed his advantage, driving me back with calculated strikes. Each hit was measured-

painful but not crippling. Exhausting but not fatal.

He wants me alive. Wants me broken, not dead.

The sun climbed higher in the sky as we fought. Morning giving way to mid-day. And I noticed something–Zane’s movements became

fractionally slower. His pale skin showed the faintest flush of discomfort when direct sunlight hit it.

The extraction wasn’t complete. He’s not fully immune yet.

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14:50 Thu Jan 22

Alpha’s STOLEN Mate