The Alpha's Mate (Werewolf Romance) (16 page)

With a long-suffering sigh, Jack jumped into the back of the truck a
nd sat next to the milk crate. Todd and I went to our seats and we headed for Huntsville at top speed.

Chapter Fifteen

It seemed everyone in town had gathered in front of city hall. Cal and Jackson were there, talking to Vicki who had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Some men held Kelsey off to the side. So Vicki had told them or Kelsey revealed herself somehow. Either way.

The entire assembly fell silent at my appearance.
The rogue alpha’s head in hand, I walked through the throngs of people toward Jackson. I wanted to drop Ronnie’s head and run to my mate, my wolf actually demanded that I do so, but I resisted. If we’d been alone, I would’ve chosen differently, but with so many wolves around, I had to settle pack business first. Hysterical female reactions and tearful reunions would have to wait.

“You okay,
Clo?” Jackson reached for me, but I side stepped him.

“I think so.” My voice was shak
y. “I take it Vicki told you about Kelsey.”

“Yeah.”
He wanted to touch me, I could see it in the tension of his shoulders, but he held back, respecting my need for space.

“And how she turned tail and ran, leaving me behind?”

“I didn’t turn tail, you were dead. At least I thought you were,” Vicki said, her voice strong with certainty, but her eyes shifted back and forth, uneasy with the lie.

I didn’t respond for a second. The crowd waited, holding their collective breath, wondering what would happen next. Very gently, I set Ronnie’s head gently down on the sidewalk and then walked over to where Vicki stood.

I just looked at her, my gaze boring into hers with the full weight of my wolf behind it. She fought me, tried to match me, but
, in the end, she lowered her head too. Just like Frank had.

“Tell the truth, Vicki.”

“I am.” This time she sounded less certain and more desperate.

My hand lashed out, fast as an angry rattler and grabbed her by the throat.
I tossed the blanket wrapped around her to the ground and dragged her over to where Jackson and Cal stood. There, I forced her to her knees. Then I let her go...to a point. I pushed my foot into her back, shoving her to the ground. The last thing anyone needed was Vicki loose and running amuck. She’d done enough of that already.

“Let me go, you bitch.” She tried to rise, but I held her in place.

“No. Not until you tell the truth.”  I leaned down and said more quietly, “If you don’t start talking, I’m going to take your blood challenge and give Ronnie another head to keep him company.”

She went still and I could almost see the wheels spinning in her head as she tried to think of a way out.  After several long minutes, she finally capitulated. “Fine.”

“Great.”

She attempted to stand, but I wouldn’t let her. “Can I get up while I talk?”

“No.” She’d lost the right to any dignity when she’d left me to face Ronnie alone.

Vicki gave an aggravated sigh. “Fine. Okay. First, I take back the accusation that Chloe is an Omega wolf.
Second, when I saw an opening, I ran. I-I-I--” She faltered and I ground my foot into her spine causing her to gasp. “I left Chloe behind,” she finally spit out.

The crowd
murmured, shocked by her words. To leave pack behind like that was a serious offense. If you didn’t look out for the pack, the pack wouldn’t look out for you. Granted, I was no expert, but even I knew that much. Vicki may as well be a lone wolf now. Hunstville wouldn’t acknowledge her at all.

I stepped back then and let her stand. To Cal, I said, “What do you think?”

Cal moved to stand in front of Vicki, a stricken expression on his face. This hurt him and I almost felt bad for having forced the issue, but, in order for the pack to be strong, wolves like Vicki couldn’t be allowed to stand. Cal knew that, but the knowledge didn’t make it any easier. Vicki wouldn’t even look at him. She just hung her head and stared at the ground. Defeated.

“Vicki you have betrayed your pack.
You have spread lies. You turned your back on wolves in need and put all of us in danger with your actions.” Cal heaved a sigh. He looked older, as if the last few days had aged him another decade. “And it’s my fault.”

Everyone gasped, almost in unison.

“I was the one who encouraged Jackson to date the women of our pack. I was the one who wouldn’t let him follow his instincts. I was wrong and my mistake has led to a lot of bad feelings.” He put a finger under Vicki’s chin and forced her to look up and meet his gaze. “Vicki, you have to let go of your anger. Chloe is not your enemy. Stop pining for Jackson, he’ll never be your mate, not even if Chloe dies. Go find your mate if you want happiness and stop trying to destroy someone else’s. Understood?”

She nodded mutely.

“Normally, we would cast you out of the pack, but I’m going to give you a second chance.”

Vicki’s eyes went wide.

“I release you to the pack,” He said, giving her formal permission to leave.

Vicki took one stumbling step backward, away from the alpha and then stopped, unsure. From the way she kept blinking, I wondered if she was having a hard time believing she was free to go.
After a moment, she slunk off, joining up with her usual cronies, who surrounded her like a protective cocoon and escorted out of the town square.

The crowd watched her go in
stunned silence. They’d expected Vicki to be executed like Kelsey or, at the very least, run out of town.

Cal looked out at everyone, his expression serious.
“I’m giving all of us a second chance. Many of you have not done right by Chloe. I let it go thinking it would pass, but it’s clearly too dangerous to be allowed to fester. She is your Alpha’s Mate and you will respect her.” He nodded toward the rogue alpha’s head which stared out with glazed eyes. “If that doesn’t make you toe the line and give her the respect she deserves, then you have earned the consequences of your actions and none of us will have any sympathy for you.”

“The same goes for me, just in case there was any doubt,” Jackson added,
his voice a deep growl.

‘Thank you’ I mouthed to both men.

Cal smiled, the expression softening his features. “Chloe, I knew you were the alpha’s mate from the second you showed up at my place after you first shifted. You honor us and I hope we’ll prove ourselves worthy to be your pack.”

“Thank you, Cal.” I went to him and kissed him on the cheek. Then I
sank back into Jackson’s arms and we kissed. Finally. My wolf even managed a happy yip, clearly thrilled to be reunited with her mate.

“I was so scared,
Clo,” he whispered. “I couldn’t see your wolf anymore. I thought you were dead.”

“I know. It’s
okay.” I kissed him. “I’m safe, Jacks.”

He nuzzled my neck inhaling deeply. “Thank, God.
”

“There’s only one problem.”

“What’s that?” He lifted his head and frowned at me, concerned.

I pitched my voice as low as I could and pressed my mouth against his ear. “I can’t seem to shift. I think my wolf is stuck again. Kelsey did something to me.”

“I’ll kill her.” His body tightened as he prepared to spring toward her.

“No.” I laid my hands on his chest and pushed him back.
Without question, I wanted Kelsey gone. Dead or alive, it didn’t matter much to me, but she’d been like a sister to him when they were kids. I didn’t want her blood on his hands. “I’ll deal with her.”

Rel
uctantly, I left the warm safety of Jackson’s embrace and went to face Kelsey. In my mind’s eye, my wolf bared her teeth, her body vibrating with growl after growl. For her part, Kelsey greeted me with a haughty, defiant expression.

Without a word, I hauled back and slapped her across the face. Maybe I couldn’t shift, but my
werewolf strength had stayed with me. Her head snapped back with the force of my hit, and, when she righted herself, blood dripped from her lip.

“Hello to you to, Chloe.”
She drew out my name in a sing-song voice, taunting me.

I slap
ped her again, infuriated by her insolence. “You’ve lost the right to know me, bitch. Say my name again and see what happens.” Grabbing her by the hair, I yanked her down until we were at eye level. “Now, tell me about that drug you gave me. How long does it take to wear off?”

“A couple hours.” She smi
led, a wicked glint in her eye. “Why? Are you having problems with your wolf?”

I tightened my grip on her hair in warning
, giving her a little shake. If Kelsey was smart, she would shut up while the shutting up was good. But, while she winced, she kept talking. Louder now, just to be sure everyone could hear.

“About one percent of patients will find their wolves permanently stunted. Did that happen to you?
Aww, poor baby. What kind of alpha’s mate can’t shift?” She laughed with sick delight.

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. I’d come full circle, from
supposed null to alpha’s mate and back. Cold fear shivered through me. Was I going to lose Jackson over this? Would Huntsville stand with me if the damage was permanent?

Suddenly,
Cal was next to me with no warning, moving super fast. He clamped a hand around her neck. “The kind of Alpha’s mate who saves her pack.”

With a quick twist of his arm, he ripped her throat out.
Just like that. One second she was alive, the next, she was dying. I jumped back as blood sprayed everywhere. Kelsey’s mouth worked open and shut, but no noise came out. She didn’t have a larynx anymore. Anger flashed in her eyes followed by fear and then they grew dull, foggy with death. She wouldn’t come back, not from that, the blood loss was too fast.

“
I could’ve done that,” I said. In fact, I’d wanted to. I’d been squeamish with Ronnie, but was angry enough at Kelsey to want to feel her flesh give and rip under my fingers.

He shook his head, wiping his hands on a rag someone handed him.
“Pack justice is my job and it’s better for you and Jackson both if I do this.”

I nodded. Cal was probably right. The last thing Jackson needed was to watch his mate kill someone from his home pack.

Cal put an arm around my shoulder and turned me toward Jackson. I made to walk over to him, but Call held me back. Bending down to my ear, he whispered, “Don’t worry about your wolf. You’re way too strong to be stunted now. Besides, I hear Jackson knows how to bring a wolf.”

I laughed. “That he does.”
  He let me go then and I rejoined Jackson, who wrapped me in his arms once again.

Cal motioned toward the wolves who’d been holding Kelsey. “Get her body ready to send back to her pack for burial.”  The men nodded and dragged her off.

Turning to face the rest of the pack, Cal said, “Okay. Show’s over for now. Get back to your business, folks.”

“Wait a minute,” shouted someone. “What if she can’t change?”

“You gotta change to be in the pack,” said someone else.

I shook my head. It was starting alre
ady. A growl rumbled in Jackson’s chest, strong enough that it shuddered through my body, too. I patted his forearm. After Kelsey and the rogue, I didn’t have it in me to worry about insular wolf politics. Not just then.

C
al held up his hands. “Calm down folks. It’s been a long day. Let’s give Chloe some time and see what happens. There’s no rush.”

“
But it’s pack law,” protested a wolf named Joe. He was an older man and owned the gas station in town. “You gotta be a wolf to be pack.”

Cal drew himself up to his full height. “Chloe saved us from a rogue alpha, that earns her a concession from me,” he pointed to himself, “the pack alpha. Drop it
unless you want to challenge me. I’ll prove my blood on yours.”

Joe licked his lips, nervous at the full brunt of Cal’s authority, and shook his head. Cal stared at the crowd until they began to disperse, muttering and casting dark looks my way.

I flashed a sweet smile at them. “You’re welcome. I was glad to do my duty by the pack, no matter the price I paid.”

A
few of the wolves ducked their heads in  shame as I called them out.

I looked at Jackson. “The way I feel right now, I wouldn’t cry if you didn’t become alpha after Cal. Folks don’t seem to appreciate what we do for them around here.”

He nodded. “They’re just scared. Give them some time. It’s been a big day.”

“Tell me about it.” I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Take me home, Jacks.”

Chapter Sixteen

On our way home, Jackson stopped at the gas station so I could wash the blood off my hands and scrub off the worst of the dirt. The girls would be wolves one day, they would know the taste of blood, the feel of a pulse under their teeth, but, until then, I felt the need to shelter them. They didn’t need to see me covered in gore.

The second I stepped into the house, Mara and Sara greeted me with open joy, slamming into me with tight hugs.