ALPHA

Rhys

I held onto Adira’s hand tightly as we pushed our way through the foliage of the forest. I felt like I was in another world, a dream really. Things had gone well on our run and I couldn’t get the feeling of her lips out of my head.

Fuck it was only one kiss but I was already addicted.

I looked down at my mate who had been walking with a slight smile on her face. Seems like she hasn’t been able to get our kiss out of her head either.

“What are you thinking about?”

Adira seemed startled by my question and a blush appeared her face “Nothing.”

“Doesn’t seem like nothing.” I smirked her way. She looked incredibly flustered and I couldn’t help but keep teasing her. We finally pushed through the threshold of the forest where the pack house could be seen in the distance.

“Rhys you keep teasing me and I’ll have to-“

“Alpha Adira!”

My mate dropped my hand and turned to see Lucas and Selene running towards us in a panic.

“What is it?” Adira demands. In that moment she was no longer the relaxed she wolf I had spent time with in the woods and now before me stood an Alpha.

I would be lying if I didn’t say I was turned on by it.

The two wolves eyed us curiously before bowing their heads. Their wolves must have recognized their Alpha pair and accepted us.

“There’s been an accident at the pack house.” Lucas begins, his face was set in a deep frown “One of the house maids has been chemically injured.”

“What? How did this happen? Is she okay?” She asks as the Beta and Gamma began to lead us towards the pack house.

“It’s best if we just show you Alpha.” Selene responds grimly.

The sounds of screaming and wailing echoed in the air. We raced up to Adira’s bedroom and stood in shock at the sight in front of us.

Natalia was kneeling down next to a middle aged she-wolf pouring cool water over her hands. My stomach clenched at the sight of the red and blistering skin. Tears streamed down the woman’s eyes and howled in pain at the water touching her skin.

There were guards surrounding the bedroom and searching every part of the room including her bathroom, what they were looking for I had no idea. Doctor Beckham stood over Adira’s bed wearing protective glasses and gloves. She was collecting samples of a white substance that coated the sheets.

“Callie!” Adira whispered moving to sit next to the woman “What happened?”

Callie sniffled and winced as Natalia began to wrap her hands with a bandage “I was doing my morning chores Alpha. You were gone so I assumed it was okay to clean your bedroom, like I do every morning. Everything was fine until the moment I went to fix your bed. That’s when the burning pain began.” She began to cry again.

“Alpha.” Dr. Beckham cleared her throat getting our attention “Based on Callie’s story and the chemicals poured seemingly across your bed, it appears that this was another attack for...well..you.”

“The chemical is known as Lye is what was used for this attempt.” Lucas began, his jaw was clenched angrily “It’s incredibly dangerous and getting on your skin can cause serious injuries...ingesting it can lead to...death.”

“We assume the assailant wanted to cause serious harm to you Adira.” Selene continued “Thank the Goddess you hadn’t come back to your room.”

I snapped my head over to Adira to see the the passive look on her face but the fear was evident in her eyes. She was trying not to show her people she was afraid but I could see through her.

“And what have you all done to search for the assailant?” I questioned getting the rooms attention away from my mate.

“We’ve tried to track their scents but have come up empty handed. I have sent scouts to search the outskirts of the pack lands to see if we find any clues.” Selene reported crossing her arms and furrowing her brows “I will be joining them soon.”

I nodded my head in approval. Selene being Gamma might have been the best decision my mate could have made. The she-wolf took action without orders needed. It was helpful in cases like this. I was grateful for her.

“Clear the room. Burn that bed down and replace it with a new one. I want some of Adira’s things sent to another bedroom.” I order then glanced down at Natalia “Take Callie the infirmary to rest up.”

“Yes Rhys.”

I knelt down to cradle Adira’s head in my hands. She seems to be in shock and hadn’t moved a muscle since the incident has been discussed. Two attacks in a week. Whoever is after my mate isn’t backing off so easily. “Are you okay Ad?”

Her green eyes flickered to mine almost robotically “People are getting hurt because of me. I’m endangering this pack.”

“This isn’t your fault Adira.” I state harshly “We’ll catch whoever is trying to harm you. I promise.”

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep Alpha.” She looked away from me pushing my hands off of her face and stood to her feet avoiding my gaze.

I opened my mouth to respond when a warrior stepped into the room and whispered something to Selene. She sighed deeply and nodded at the man. “Alpha, the council wishes to speak with you. They request you visit them now.”

“Great just great. Just what I needed.” Adira huffed under her breath “Let’s not keep those old coons waiting.”

She stormed out of the room without a second glance. Selene followed behind her sister leaving Lucas and I. I rubbed my forehead moving to catch up with my mate.

“Give her some time Rhys. She doesn’t know how to deal with all of these emotions she’s feeling .” Lucas says walking in step next to me. I side eyed him not wanting to speak to the boy. It was hard to decide if I liked Lucas or not. The wolf was too close to my mate. He knew her better than I did and to my primitive side, he was a threat. I know better, he has Selene of course but with him not being mated fully, it made me uneasy.

I said nothing as we left the pack house towards the council building. Adira and Selene were ahead of us whispering amongst each other.

We entered the council building and I was impressed with the architecture. It was easily the biggest building in the pack with high ceilings and tall marble pillars. Our shoes squeaked against the polished floors and I admired the paintings of past Alphas that lined the walls. Lucas continued walking to catch up with his Alpha while I strolled through the hall slowly.

The Ash pack was one of the oldest packs around along with the Windpaw and my own pack. It was no wonder they had an impressive council building.

I came across the picture of the former Alpha, Emilio Angelo and paused to study my mates father. I could see where Adira got most of her features from, she had his eyes and mouth but had a smaller button nose. There were also hints of Natalia and Selene in him but none of Emilia who I assumed took after their mother.

“He would have liked you, you know?” Selene appeared next to me crossing her arms and looking up at the painting.

“Would he?” I wasn’t so sure. Most fathers have a hard time letting their daughters go be with their mates. I would assume Emilio would be no different.

Selene chuckled lowly “Yes. Papa admires strong Alpha’s. You would have especially admired you for accepting Adira as an Alpha.”

“You forget that I ruined things not even 10 minutes into meeting her. I think your father would have castrated me if he met me.” I mutter looking away from the green eyed man’s photo.

“That’s true.” She let out a laugh “He would have had your head.”

“Where’s Adira?” I asked changing the subject and looked behind her to try to spot my mate.

“She went into the council room with Lucas. I’m only the Gamma so those meetings don’t require my presence, not that I want to attend anyways.” She grumbled leaning against the wall “Oh and she told me to have you hang tight.”

“Not like I was going anywhere.” I copied her movements and stood next to my future sister. I had a bad feeling about this meeting and everything in me was itching to storm in there and be with Adira.

“Adira can handle the council Rhys. Don’t worry about her.” Selene speaks up breaking our silence turning her look to smirk at me “She’s dealt with those old fools before.”

“I hope you’re right Selene.”

“Oh of these days you’ll come to realize dear Brother, that I am always right.” She pushed off the wall and tilted her head towards the large wooden doors at the end of the hall “Come on, let’s go sit over there. These paintings freak me out.”

My lips lifted and I shook my head following the Gamma.