The Forbidden Alpha

Adea

I sent Gabe a text, I needed to know where he was and if he was near Olivia. What I had to talk to her didn’t need him there. As sure as I was I wanted to hear it from her first before telling my best friend that his mate was going against her pack and working with Shane.

My phone pings and when I check, I see that Gabe has responded.

Gabe * … I’m out with Beta Odis right now. Why? Is something wrong Ady?*

Sigh. I hate feeling like I was lying to him but I couldn’t tell him yet. My fingers hover over the keyboard before I text out a response.

*I was just wondering. No worries, nothing’s wrong Gabe.*

I shove my phone into my back pocket. Now that I know he isn’t with Olivia, I can go and talk to her without any disruptions. I take a deep breath and head to Olivia and Gabe’s room.

I stopped in front of their door and ignored the pinch in my chest. It felt like an impossible task to face the one person that has had my back since I’ve been here other than Gabe.

I had to rely on Korra to be at my side through this. I’ve had her by my side to face all of the trials we’ve been through, I was glad to have her as my wolf.

The pinch in my chest reminded me of what I needed to do today. I gulped. I knocked on the door and waited a few minutes until the door swung open revealing an empty-faced Olivia.

She dressed in an oversized t-shirt and tights. She runs her hand down her hair and grips the tips of her hair. She didn’t say anything as she moved back and made room for me to walk past.

I walk in and look around. It seems like every time I come here the lights are dimmed low and I can’t ever get a clear look around. I stride in and take a seat at the quaint table and wait for her to sit.

There was an icy chill in the room that clung to every inch of my skin. The only warmth around me was the steady breathing that came with every breath I took.

“Are you ready for this?” She asked me, as she looked at me from across the table.

“I don’t think I could ever be ready for this,” I breathed. “The worst thing is, I had a feeling something was wrong but ignored it. I honestly never would have suspected you would betray your pack and because of my foolishness, I ignored my gut feeling about you when you came back.”

Olivia shifted in her seat and I watched as she set her elbow on the table and dropped her head into her hand. I knew she had to be hurting after everything she had gone through but that didn’t help clear up why she would go against her Alpha and behind her mate’s back to help who had hurt her.

“You’ve been a good friend,” I told her. “I couldn’t have asked for a better person to be by Gabe’s side,” I say.

Olivia’s eyebrows furrow and knit together. “Do you honestly believe that?” She asks as she stares at me, her eyes hunting for the truth.

“Yes,” I say, “but he doesn’t deserve this.”

Olivia nods.

“He doesn’t,” she says.

I let out a breath of relief. I’m making a breakthrough.

“And I didn’t deserve what I went through…,” she says as she leans forward.

I nod firmly.

“Yet here I am,” she clipped.

My heart clenched into a tight fist. Think Adea, think. This is my one and only chance to convince her to come back to our team. If I could just convince her to stop helping Shane… she wouldn’t have to face Ethan as an enemy and she wouldn’t have to lose her place in the pack.

Gabe wouldn’t have to lose his mate and they could still have a life together, they could still have a future together. I struggle to find what to say as I stare at the shell of a girl who was once quirky and full of joy.

I know that I was the reason things were like this. I know that if it weren’t for me, Shane wouldn’t have targeted her. I close my eyes against the guilt that threatens to weaken my resolve. I knew I was the reason all those terrible things happened to her and that I was the reason why the Olivia I knew and loved was gone.

“It’s not too late, Olivia, you don’t have to keep going along with what he says,” I say. “If you swear to me right here, right now by the Moon Goddess that you won’t help Shane anymore I’ll forgive what happened last night.”

She squeezed her eyes shut and took a few deep breaths before she opened her eyes. “And what would happen next?” She asked, doubtfully. “We just go back to normal and pretend that I didn’t bring Shane onto our territory? That I didn’t give him the information he needed to know when you’d be alone or where to find you? We’d just pretend I was the same Olivia that was kidnapped that night to shifted?”

“We could figure it out together,” I urged her.

She shakes her head. “I’ll never be her again,” she swallows, “and I think we both know that Adea.” She says it with heart-shattering finality.

“What are you saying?” Gabe begged. We both froze and turned to the sound of his voice. We looked around the room and my eyes swung to Gabe and a knife seemed to drive itself into the pit of my gut as I watched my best friend step into the dimly lit room. He looked desperate, bewildered, and hopeless.

Olivia looks at me and I shake my head.

“I came here alone,” I tell her before turning back to Gabe.

“It’s not what it looks like,” I blurted.