Alpha's STOLEN Mate (by Abigail Hayes) novel Chapter 68

Chapter 68

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Not my problem, I told myself firmly, pushing down the treacherous sympathy. He’s brought this on himself with his wars and conquests.

Time for him to face the consequences.

Within minutes, I reached the castle’s outer walls. Shifting to my white wolf form felt like coming home after a long exile. Power flowed

through my muscles as I called the wind to carry me, racing across the landscape toward my sanctuary.

The journey that had taken hours by ground passed in what felt like moments. When the familiar illusions of the Silent Forest

materialized around me, relief made me almost dizzy.

Home. Finally home.

I shifted back to human form just as Scarlett appeared on the path, her blue hair wild with obvious anxiety. Behind her, Evelyn sat cross- legged beside her scrying bowl, surrounded by glowing crystals and scattered tarot cards.

“There you are!” I called out with forced cheerfulness. “Just like I promised–safe and sound! You should have seen the close calls this

time. I almost got marked, almost got-”

“That’s not what we’re worried about,” Scarlett interrupted, her warrior’s instincts clearly on high alert.

My smile faltered. “What else could you possibly be concerned about?”

Evelyn looked up from her divination tools, her usual playful demeanor replaced by something far more serious. “You know about the

attack on Kaius’s territory?”

“Of course I know,” I said, confused by their grave expressions. “It’s the only reason I managed to escape so easily. Lucky timing, right?”

Scarlett’s face went pale. “Elowen, the prophecy… Evelyn’s visions… something terrible is going to happen.”

A chill that had nothing to do with temperature ran down my spine. “Terrible how?”

Evelyn’s green eyes held an intensity I’d never seen before. “If no one intervenes, this won’t just be a defeat for Kaius’s pack. It will be a

massacre,”

I shrugged, trying to maintain my casual indifference even as dread pooled in my stomach, “So? The worst that happens is Kaius dies in battle. That’s his own fault for making so many enemies. And honestly? It might solve my mate bond problem permanently.”

“Don’t lie to yourself,” Evelyn said sharply, her voice cutting through my pretense. “And it won’t just be him.”

She stood slowly, her expression grave as a funeral shroud. “Alpha King. Beta. Every wolf in his command structure. And when his pack falls…” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Every allied pack will be slaughtered too. Including your parents.”

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Chapter 68

The words hit me like a physical blow. “Fuck! The reinforcements–they were calling for my parents?”

–

“Among others, Evelyn confirmed grimly. “Without intervention, everyone you love will die tonight.”

Panic exploded through my system. My parents–my stubborn, duty–bound parents who would never retreat from a call to arms, would fight to their last breath for wolves they barely knew because honor demanded it.

who

“But,” Evelyn continued, her tone gentling slightly, “the choice is yours. If you go back, you’ll have to reveal your true nature. Your white wolf abilities, maybe even our pack’s existence. Everything we’ve worked to keep secret.”

“That’s my parents!” I snarled, already moving toward the forest edge. “I have to save them!”

Scarlett stepped forward, her jaw set with determination. “I’m coming with you. Your fight is my fight.”

Evelyn’s knowing smile returned, though it remained tinged with worry. “Concerned about a certain beta, are we?”

“Shut up and keep the pack safe,” Scarlett shot back, but I caught the flush spreading across her cheeks.

At least someone might find happiness out of this disaster.

“No more time to waste,” I said, shifting back to wolf form. “If we’re doing this, we’re doing it now.”

As Scarlett shifted beside me, I tried not to think about the irony–racing back to the place I’d fought so hard to escape, toward the mate who’d tortured and manipulated me, all to save the lives of wolves who might never understand the sacrifice.

Hold on, I thought, whether to my parents or to Kaius himself, I wasn’t sure. We’re coming.