The Forbidden Alpha

Adea

“You died, Ethan.”

I watch as shock flashed across his face before he reigns it in.

“In the beginning or towards the end of this battle?” He asks.

“I’m not sure but in my dream, you die in the very beginning,” I tell him. “When I run downstairs, I open the door and I can’t find you. But when I do see each other, I start running for you. That’s when he kills you,” I say quietly.

“How does your dream end?” He asks.

“I…” I trail off.

“How does it end?!” He says, and I can feel the anger in his words.

I lower my eyes. “After Shane takes me, he marks me and falls asleep. When I wake up, I take his sword and kill him. I walk over to the window and stare at the moon.” I retell the dream like I’m standing in that room. I can see the moon outside of the window.

“I curse the Moon Goddess and throw myself from the window.”

A sharp intake of breath makes me lift my eyes to meet his.

He clenches his jaw and I can see the muscle in his jaw twitch. His eyes darken and I know he’s angry.

“When everything finally made sense I wanted to tell you. I wanted to warn you… but then Olivia was kidnapped and you were away on a meeting. The only thing that mattered was getting her back.”

I shutter as the thoughts of what she went through flit through my mind. “I wanted to see if there were a way to prevent the dream from happening… from happening because I-I don’t want it to happen again,” I choke on the last sentence.

Ethan pulls me to his chest. He doesn’t try to make it better or tell me it won’t happen. He doesn’t try to tell me everything will be okay. He holds me and that brings me the comfort I so badly need.

After a few more moments I pull away. “I don’t know what the plan or course of action would be for it but if you do decide on one please keep me updated.”

“Of course,” he breathes. “It’s your vision, isn’t it? If I’m being honest with you, I hope it isn’t a vision.”

I nod.

“Of course. I hope it’s nothing more than a terrible nightmare but I’ve had it more times than I can count. I’d rather be safe than sorry. I couldn’t bear losing you or anyone else,” I tell him.

Ethan lifts me up off of him and I stand next to him. He stands up, grabs my hand, and leads me to the sitting area in his office. We sit in chairs across from each other.

“Thanks for coming to me with this, even though you weren’t sure how this conversation would play out. I’m thankful you can come to me, Adea.”

I blush.

“If not you, who would I talk to?” I smile.

“No one,” he says, pretending to be angry.

He loved me like I loved him, and when I looked into his eyes, I saw everything I felt. I saw a future we both wanted, a future we would both have. I could stare into his eyes all day but I need to know if there’s anything new on Olivia’s condition.

“How’s Olivia?” I ask.

“Now that Gabe has stepped in for her she can have the time to do what she needs to recover. I got the Medical Exam results today and they confirmed that she had been sexually assaulted. He didn’t hold back on torturing her.”

“Goddess…” I shake my head.

“I won’t allow you to blame yourself for this. You aren’t responsible for the things that piece of shit does. He wants you to feel responsible. If you think you are, then he’s winning, and you’re letting him win,” Ethan says.

“Fucking Shane,” I growl.

“I’ve ordered that she stay home. Gabe and her need space,” Ethan says. My heart twists at the mention of Gabe. I lean back in my chair and worry for my friend.

“If there’s anything I can do… I’ll do it,” I say aloud. I don’t know if I’m saying it to Ethan or if I’m saying it for myself.

“The night Olivia was taken, the intruders weren’t far from us and it made me realize we need to tighten our security.”

I nod.

“Last week, I had to fight another Alpha and I took over his pack. The pack members will be joining our pack in the next week or two. I’ll gather the soldiers and after I train them. I’ll see who’s ready and they’ll be initiated and assigned to a Delta.”

“The intruders never should have been able to make their way onto my territory,” Ethan continues and shakes his head. “If they were close enough to take Olivia, they were close enough to take you.”

Ethan’s eyes flash.

“If they had taken you,” Ethan shuts his eyes and clenches his teeth. He takes a deep breath before continuing. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to you.”

The distance between us suddenly feels vast, and all I want is to be in his arms again.

“I’ll do anything to protect you,” Ethan says. His tone of voice is so confident, so absolute.

I stand and close the distance between us. I grip his face with both hands and pull him in for a hot kiss, sloppy and fervent.

“I love you Adea,” he says. My heart explodes.

That earns him another kiss and I deepen the kiss.

“I love you,” I say back.

Ethan’s eyes glaze over but his hands wrap around my waist. When the link is over he kisses my hair and I lean into his embrace.

“That was Odis,” he says.

“I think I’ve distracted you long enough,” I laugh. I walk over and give him a quick kiss on the cheek. I stride to the door, open and start to close it.

“Oh, Adea?” Ethan calls.

I stop and look at him through the small crack left in the door.

“I’m sorry you had to sleep alone last night, I had a lot more to discuss with Doctor James and Odis than I thought.”