The Forbidden Alpha

Adea

I felt sick to my stomach. The image of her burn mark seared into my brain. 

“I think I’m going to be sick,” I whispered to Korra.

She shook her head. Silent.

Ethan looked shocked. I could see him fighting his emotions.

“And what did you do then?” He asked.

“I was handcuffed the entire time to the table so… I couldn’t do anything,” Olivia said. She talked as if she was talking about someone else. As if the events of the past week didn’t happen to her.

“The entire time he … burned you?”

Olivia shook her head. “No, the entire time he had me.”

I understood the black hole in her eyes. I swiped at the tears that rolled down my face. I had no right to cry. This whole thing… the reason the light was gone in her eyes… all of it… was my fault. Olivia was kidnapped because of Shane. I was to blame for everything she went through.

It was a good thing I was sitting. My legs felt like jelly and if I was standing I would have fallen over. Ethan turned from her and made his way to the seat beside me.

When he sat down he took a deep breath and exhaled. I reached over and held his hand. Odis staggered forward until he stood before Olivia. He walked around the table and stopped next to Olivia.

She didn’t look at him. He dropped to his knees in front of her and dropped his head. I watched as his shoulders shook.

“I failed you,” he whispered. “I-… I’m so sorry Liv.”

Olivia’s eyes landed on Odis. She let go of Gabe and turned to face him. She didn’t say anything as she stared down at him. For a minute she just stared. She reached out and caressed his cheek.

“I broke my promise,” Odis choked.

“It’s okay,” Olivia said before looking at Ethan.

“From today onward,” Ethan took a deep breath, “I strip you of your Gamma title and pass it to your mate, until further notice.”

“But why?” Odis asked.

“Are you going to sit here and act like you don’t know why?” Ethan asked him. “Look at her! She isn’t herself,” Ethan said, glaring at Odis.

“I can’t trust her to make sound decisions. We can think of this as a break. Give her time to heal and rest,” Ethan said, as he looked at Olivia.

Odis nodded.

“I do have one last question… Why did he let you go?” Ethan pressed.

Gabe threw him a warning look and Ethan ignored him. “There’s no reason for him to let you go,” Ethan continued.

Olivia remained silent.

“What was the reason?” He asked her.

Olivia shook her head slowly, her eyebrows furrowed, her hands pulling at her hair.

“I think that’s enough for today,” Gabe growled. He stood and pulled Olivia up. 

“She still needs to have a medical examination,” Ethan told him, “but you can leave after it’s done.”

Odis walks over and lets Doctor James in.

“I’ll make it as quick as possible Olivia,” Doctor James says warmly. “If you’ll excuse us,” Doctor James says to all of us.

Odis is the first one up and leads the Deltas outside. “I’ll see you later,” I tell Ethan and I follow after Odis.

“I have a few things to speak to James about. I’ll see you later,” he tells me.

***

Gabe

After I walked Olivia to the room I helped her undress for a shower. I didn’t miss the way she flinched from my outstretched hand and shook when I touched her. Every time was like a stab in the heart.

I helped her shower and dry her hair. I made sure to help her dress and get her into bed. My mate looked up at me looking frail and weak under the blanket. She swallowed and I wondered if she was afraid I’d try and kiss her.

As much as I wanted to touch her, kiss her, hold her… I knew I couldn’t. Last night when I brought her back to the room she cowered in the room away from me. It broke me and made me feel like an utter failure.

I had my mate back but she wasn’t the same. I didn’t know what happened to her but I knew now. My chest was heavy and I felt like I was drowning under the fake smile I gave her.

She didn’t reach for me, she didn’t say anything to me. She just stared at me. I needed to step away for a second, a minute, an hour. I needed to run until the pain lessened.

As soon as my mate was safe in bed, I shot out of there so fast I’m surprised I didn’t run into anyone on my way out.

I need to get out.

I needed to shift.

I needed to breathe.

My chest rose and fell with the need to escape. If I stayed inside this building, inside of four walls, I’d go insane. I needed the grass below my feet and the sky above my head. The pain in my chest was threatening to burn through me.

As soon as I got outside, I shifted and ripped through my clothes. I don’t fucking care if I don’t have clothes and I don’t care if I have to walk back through the packhouse naked.

My mind was playing the things Olivia had admitted to during the meeting. Her words turned into pictures and I imagined everything that fucker did to my mate. The images were replayed over and over again.

I tilted my head back and let out a gut-wrenching howl into the cold night air as I ran the fastest I’ve ever run in my life. My wolf cried with me, mourned with me, was in despair with me.

Where was I the night she disappeared? Why wasn’t I with her? Why didn’t I keep her safe? We’d let her down. We failed to protect what was ours. We had let down our mate.

I let out another pain-filled howl with the hopes of expelling the hurt I felt. I ran like I could outrun the events of what happened like I could escape the pain my mate was feeling.. Like if I ran fast enough I could disappear into the night sky.