Alpha's STOLEN Mate (by Abigail Hayes) novel Chapter 73

Chapter 73

Elowen

Finally. Finally I was home.

475

The moment I collapsed onto my familiar bed, every muscle in my body seemed to exhale with relief. The nightmare of the past few days

-being captured, tortured, manipulated, nearly marked, then dragged back into a war zone–felt like something from another life. Here,

wrapped in blankets that smelled like safety instead of sandalwood and winter pine, I could finally let my guard down.

When consciousness finally dragged me back to the waking world, I found Evelyn sitting in the chair beside my bed, her flame–red hair

catching the afternoon light as she studied what looked like a particularly complex spell diagram.

“What are you doing?” I mumbled, rubbing sleep from my eyes.

“Making sure you didn’t die in your sleep from sheer exhaustion,” she said with a grin. “Also, someone had to keep watch in case you

started sleep–talking about your romantic adventures with the Alpha King.”

“Very funny.” I sat up, immediately noticing how much better I felt. “How long was I out?”

“Two full days. You were practically comatose–even when I tested whether you’d wake up if I played bagpipe music right next to your

ear.”

“You didn’t actually-”

“Of course I did. You didn’t even twitch.” Evelyn’s expression grew more serious.

“Where’s Scarlett?” I asked.

The witch’s face fell slightly. “Training. Constantly. More intense than ever before, and with this… edge. Like she’s trying to outrun

something.”

I understood immediately. “So she told you about finding her mate?”

“Oh, that whole romantic disaster?” Evelyn waved a dismissive hand. “Yeah, she mentioned it. Though honestly, I think we three are just destined to be the eternal spinsters of the supernatural world.”

I snorted as I climbed out of bed. “Speak for yourself! We’re not like you at all. You’re such a weird witch, who would dare get close to you? They’d probably worry you’d use love potions to make them obsess over you forever.”

“I would never resort to such pathetic self–deception!” Evelyn protested, looking genuinely offended.

Before our banter could escalate into a full argument, the door opened and Scarlett walked in.

1/2

14:43 Tue, Jan 13

Chapter 73

One look at her face told the whole story. She was trying to project calm indifference, but I could see the hurt lurking beneath the surface -the particular kind of wound that comes from having hope crushed just as it begins to bloom.

“Don’t look so gloomy!” Evelyn said brightly. “You know our Alpha has it worse than you do. At least Frost isn’t going to keep chasing after you with unwanted advances. He rejected you cleanly from the start–no false hope, no prolonged torture.”

I shot the witch a withering glare, but she had a point, however tactlessly delivered.

“I think there might be more to Frost’s situation,” I said carefully. “Something about his scent seemed off, and he doesn’t strike me as the type to reject his mate without good reason. Maybe we should-”

“It doesn’t matter,” Scarlett cut me off sharply. “He doesn’t accept me, so I don’t accept him. Simple as that. She looked directly at me. “Just like our Alpha with her situation.”

Touché. I couldn’t exactly argue with that logic when I was doing the exact same thing with Kaius.

“Besides,” Scarlett continued, “I have bigger responsibilities than moon–eyed romance. Protecting this pack comes first, especially now that…” She paused, her expression growing troubled. “Now that we have more pressing concerns.”

The shift in her tone made my stomach clench. “How pressing? Please tell me my little battlefield debut hasn’t already attracted

unwanted attention.”

“Oh, you don’t need to wonder about that,” Evelyn interjected. “You’re definitely being watched. Do you have any idea how valuable white wolf blood and organs are to crazy witches and alchemists? Not to mention regular wolves who’d kill for a chance to study a living

legend.”

Scarlett nodded grimly. “During patrols, we’ve been detecting rogue wolves in the area. They’re not attacking–just… observing. Gathering intelligence. But every time I get close enough to engage, they vanish.”

Comments