Alpha (32 page)

I closed the door and before Scarlett came out of the bathroom I got into our bed and hid the syringe under her pillow. I felt a pang of guilt but I tried to ignore it. I kept questioning if I was doing the right thing but I knew that keeping her alive was all that counted.

"Who was that?" she asked as she climbed into the bed. I pulled her into my arms and held her close as my hand reached for the hidden syringe.

"It was Jake. I needed him to do some stuff for me and he was just reporting back," I lied.

She closed her eyes and I realized how far I was willing to go to keep her safe—it made me realize that I loved her. I loved her more than the fate and destiny that joined us together.

"I love you," I whispered as I feathered a kiss against her forehead. She looked up at me, obviously surprised at my declaration.

"I love you too," she murmured. My happiness at the words she said was weighed down by the guilt that was building up inside of me.

"You are everything I ever wanted," I said quietly to her as she closed her eyes and I hugged her. At the same time I pushed the syringe into her back.

"I'm sorry," I whispered at her shocked and confused expression.

The sedative only took moments to knock her out. But just a few mumbled thoughts filtered through to me before she drifted off.

I can't let them die.

Give myself to Victor.

Anger welled up in me as I realized she'd been planning to sacrifice herself to keep everyone safe. Any guilt I felt about what I was about to do next evaporated.

I couldn't think of what would have happened if Gary hadn't told me that Scarlett had overheard my conversation with Blake. For her own good I was going to keep her safe, and I'd do whatever I had to.

I picked her up gently and carried her downstairs into the basement of the house where cells were located. I'd gotten Jake to get one ready for her.

I didn't know how I was going to face her once she woke up. She was going to be hurt and angry. I had no idea if it was something she would ever be able to forgive me for.

Inside the cell, I laid her on the bed gently. I pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, and let my eyes drift over her for a few moments before I turned and left the cell. I locked it behind me and left the room.

Outside in the hallway, I leaned against the wall next to the closed door and slid down the wall. I waited anxiously for her to wake up. I'd already set in motion my plans to protect her. I couldn't do this to her without coming up with a plan to keep her safe.

Finally, a few hours later I heard her gasp as I was pacing the hallway. She was awake and it was time to face her. The anger that I felt at the knowledge she had decided to give herself to Victor still simmered under the surface as I opened the door and stepped into the room.

She looked so fragile that I wanted to open the door and go to her, but I stopped myself.

"Take it easy, the effects will take a few minutes to wear off," I warned her when I saw her struggle to sit up.

Slowly I watched her piece what happened together and her eyes shot to mine. The hurt in her eyes nearly undid me. What had she expected me to do? Open the door and shove her in Victor's direction?

"I don't understand..." she began to say as she walked slowly to face me through the bars. She reached out to hold one of the bars.

"Don't touch the bars," I warned her. She stopped her hand just in time.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"The bars are covered in wolfsbane," I revealed. She clearly had no idea what that was.

"It'll burn your skin if you touch it," I told her. "It's a security precaution we take to keep werewolves from escaping."

"I don't understand," she whispered again. She looked at me like I'd just kicked a puppy.

"After you came downstairs last night I knew there was something up, I just had no idea what. I went to talk to Jake and Gary came to me. He told me that you'd overheard what Blake and I had been talking about. I had this dreaded feeling that you were going to do something stupid."

I waited for her to say something but she remained silent. I watched as anger ignited in her eyes. She was pissed.

"I began to understand why you were acting so strangely. I decided it was in your best interest to keep you confined so you wouldn't try and do something stupid. I knew you wouldn't be able to sit back and do nothing."

I paused for a moment as I tried to control my anger.

"It was only after I injected you with a sedative and I heard your jumbled thoughts did I realize how far you were prepared to go," I said, and my voice broke on the last word.

She kept silent.

"Do you have any idea what he might do to you?" I yelled at her when I finally snapped. "Do you have any idea what that would have done to me...your brother...or Gary?

It would have broken me. Did she not understand that?

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Cade

She looked sad for a moment and then her emotions disappeared from her face.

"And you really thought that I'd just stand back and do nothing while you gave yourself over to a fucking lunatic!" I shouted.

The fear of losing her scared me more than anything and I couldn't believe how close I'd come to that.

"I would have started a war to get you back," I stated to her. I was still so angry. I ran a hand through my hair as I dropped my eyes from her face and fixed them on the floor. It hurt to look at her.

"How long was it going to take for you to tell me that you'd figured out that Victor was behind the rogue attacks?" she asked, her anger becoming more visible.

"It was only when Kyle told you about your parents and Victor that things started to make more sense. Jake confirmed it last night. A couple of the rogues were in our territory and Jake tracked them to the border of Victor's territory. He saw them talking to some of the pack members from Victor's pack. It explains how he was able to get the rogues to work together. He is an alpha," I said as I shoved my hands into the pockets of my jeans.

"So when were you going to tell me?" she asked. We both knew I had no intention of telling her anything.

"You weren't going to tell me, were you?" she asked as she put her hands on her hips.

"I didn't want to worry you," I replied. It was weak, but it was the truth.

"How could you keep that from me? I had a right to know," she shouted, finally losing her temper. Her eyes glinted with anger.

"And when you found out? What did you decide to do?" I responded as my anger flared again.

"Do you really expect me to stand back and do nothing while the people I love get slaughtered trying to protect me?" she said as she struggled to contain her rage. "I heard what you and Blake said. You'd be going into a fight that you would lose."

My gaze lifted to hers.

"You didn't even give me a chance to come up with a solution," I replied, hurt. "Instead you decided you were going to go and hand yourself over to a monster."

She had no idea what I was capable of when it came to keeping her safe. I would do anything.

"You can't keep me locked up," she argued.

My gaze held hers.

"Yes, I can," I stated. I could keep her locked up for as long as I needed to and there was nothing she could do about it.

"I'll hate you for it," she warned. I knew she wasn't going to be happy about what I'd done but her words still cut through me.

"If hating me is the only way to keep you alive, I can live with it," I lied. "You can't hate me if you're dead."

I didn't know how I'd be able to cope with her hatred for me. But the most important thing was to keep her alive, even if it made her hate me.

She reached for the bar and she screamed in pain. I tensed as I watched my mate in pain. Everything in me screamed for me to go to her but I fought against it. I couldn't show how much her pain affected me or she could potentially use it as a bargaining tool.

"I'll send Curtis to check on you," I said tightly as I fought against my basic urge to protect her.

"You told me you love me," she said in a hurt tone that tore at my heart.

"I'm doing this because I love you."

She might not like it, but it was the truth. I gave her one more look before I forced myself to turn and leave.

Once I stepped outside the room, I leaned defeated against the wall. Doing this to her was tearing me apart but for her own safety I had to keep strong. I reached for my phone and dialed Curtis.

"I need you in the basement," I ordered him before I cut the call.

He didn't keep me waiting for long. I sent him in to look at Scarlett's hand.

It was easier to keep away from her than face the hard reality that she hated me.

Besides, I had plans to make. Blake and I had joined our packs. It was agreed that it would only be a temporary arrangement until Victor was taken care of. I had the larger pack so it was decided I would remain as the alpha and Blake would take the beta role.

The rest of the pack had to be shuffled slightly to accommodate the new roles.

I'd also arranged for a couple of guys to watch over Scarlett's house until everything died down.

Jake appeared in the study.

"She is still refusing to eat."

I needed to do something. I had hoped I'd be able to talk her into eating but I knew it would be a long shot.

She was lying on the bed staring at the ceiling when I entered.

"You have to eat," I told her, but she ignored me.

I had to do something. I couldn't let her try and starve herself to prove a point. It couldn't be an empty threat; I had to be prepared to follow through with it.

"If you refuse to eat I'll have to get Curtis to sedate you and put you on a drip," I warned, hoping that would be enough to get her to eat something.

Silence hung in the air between us.

"You have till tomorrow morning, otherwise you leave me with no choice."

I left, hoping that my threat would work. The thought of getting Curtis to sedate her and put her on a drip against her will made my heart hurt.

A little later Gary came to me and offered to try and talk some sense into her. I hoped that he would be able to but I wasn't surprised when he walked out of the room shaking his head.

"She won't listen."

That night I tried to get some sleep, but I was restless without Scarlett. I spent some time in my study and then I found myself standing outside the door to her cell. I missed her and I wanted to touch her. But I had to hold firm.

A little later that morning I got her a plate of food, hoping she would finally give in and eat something. She was sitting in the bed leaning against the wall when I walked in.

"Here is your breakfast," I said.

She remained silent.

"Scar."

It was only one word but with that one word I pleaded with her to eat. I didn't want to be the bad guy, but if she forced me, I would be.

"I'm giving you an hour. If you haven't eaten anything I will follow through on my threat," I said, giving her a final warning.

I expected her to ignore me but when she got off the bed and walked over to the bars I was surprised.

"Let me out," she instructed in a firm tone.

"No," I replied.

Then to my horror she reached for the bar covered in wolfsbane.

"Don't," I commanded but there was nothing I could do but watch as she wrapped her hand around the bar. She held on even though I could see the pain evident on her face.

It was like someone was ripping my heart out of my chest.

"Let go!" I yelled. As painful as it was, she didn't—she was determined to make me let her out and she'd use whatever she could to weaken my resolve.

"Stop it!" I yelled more urgently as my eyes fixed on her hand, which was still holding onto the bar tightly as her face filled with pain and determination.

Finally, to my relief, she let go and dropped to the floor, holding her injured hand to her chest.

"Let me out," she requested, still in pain.

She'd injured herself to make me let her out. I was prepared to do anything to keep her safe and she was prepared to do anything to get out.

I had no choice. She'd forced my hand.

Anger at her actions made me throw the plate against the wall in frustration. I watched it shatter as I fought to control the anger boiling inside of me.

I looked at her one last time before I walked out.

I called Curtis as I stalked to my study. I told him to sedate Scarlett and put her on a drip. I tried to keep busy strategizing with Blake in my study when I heard Jake call out to me through the mind-link.

We're under attack!