Raised Among Alphas

56 - Peaceful Politics

Alora POV

"Keep them. Kill them. I don't care, you'll be dead before the day ends either way." 

About the million things I would've expected to hear from Jathred, that sentence was not one of them. 

He is bluffing, right? He has to be. 

"Well, since you don't care..." Our Enemy grinned an evil smile and half lifted his arm pointing his index finger towards his warriors behind him, in some kind of signal. 

All ten of the captive wolves began walking forward, followed close by rogues. Ten rogues to be exact, each one guarding one wolf. 

"WALK BACK HERE NOW" Ithax's voice echoed in my head, he was just as mad as before, if not more. I felt the full force of his command, but once again I managed to shake off the pain. 

"Are Theus and Sophie safe?" I asked him back, not taking my eyes off the threatening wolves in front of me. 

"GET BACK ALORA!" Ithax ignored my question throwing another command at me. 

This fourth time the pain was endurable. 

"Who should I start with, your mate's father? Or maybe her little brother? I'm sure you'll have a fun time explaining to her how you chose your brother's mate over her whole family. Her family name dies with them." The voice of the Alpha Rogue snapped me back to him and away from my mate's ferocious rage. 

If the rogues don't kill me, Ithax most definitely will. 

Also, how funny? The dumbass piece of rogue thinks I am mated to Kasthor. Why? I am sure Jathred noticed that too. 

With another swift move, the rogue idiot lifted his hand and all the wolves stopped walking. They were still a fair distance away from us, but from here I was able to see their eyes, their fearful expressions, and their souls. 

Sure enough, Leila's dad was there, and I assumed the three wolves that I had never seen before must have been her brothers. Shit. This isn't looking good. 

Jathred tightened his fists so hard his knuckles turned white over his tan skin. He was just as afraid for the captives as I was, but he kept his heart rate steady, not giving away any sense of disturbance.  

"The dad it is then" The rogue spoke away waving a finger.

The rogue behind Leila's dad made him walk a step forward and pushed him down to his knees. He placed both hands on the sides of his head, ready to snap his neck. 

I don't know what kind of bluff Jathred was trying to play, but I wasn't playing along. And this time, I am not under his command to follow his instructions. The hell with this facade. 

"Last chance to save lives, Grey Terror. Give yourself up and I promise there won't be a fight. I'll keep you and leave the Desert behind, for now..." This time he was talking to me, and I felt the weight of the world resting on my shoulders. 

No fucking way he said that. He must be bluffing too. These darn Alphas. 

"You kill those wolves, I'll snap you in two right here, right now like the little twig you are. You let them go, and I'll give you a five-minute advantage to leave my fucking border before I come for you." Jathred was starting to lose his patience. 

I wasn't the only one who noticed. Beta Mathias, squared his shoulders and adjusted his posture ready to shift any second now. 

"See that won't be happening. Either I get her, or we fight and I kill you." The Rogue took a step forward, clearly amused at the situation. 

Is he the only one who can't see how bad his odds are? We are in a win-win scenario. 

He speaks of me with a blinding obsession. I wonder if he could actually be that delusional. I've heard some wolves go insane in their chase for gifted wolves, but I have never actually seen it happen. Is he one of those cases? 

The rogue and Jathred were so caught up in one of their now multiple staring contest that I thought this might be the perfect opportunity for me to snoop into his mind since he was too preoccupied to build up his defenses.

So, I tried one more time. I found it. The image I was looking for, was a brand new freshly imprinted picture of my wolf in his brain. He desires me. More than his thrill to kill Jathred, he had a vicious desire to possess me. It was so hard, and intoxicating that it almost suffocated me. I had to pull away from his mind before it would choke me. 

"That's right. That's how much I want you and I can't stop savoring your scent." The fucking bastard pinned his eyes on me and I felt sick to my stomach. 

"All this talk is making me thirsty. Maybe is time for some blood." The rogue lifted his hand and from the corner of my eye, I saw the rogue wolf ready to kill Leila's father. 

 "STOP!" I intervened. The words came out of my mouth. 

Yes. My mouth. I switched back into my human form and took two steps forward getting between Jathred and Beta Mathias. 

My full naked human form was on display. Bare feet touching the cold dirt underneath me. My toned legs numbed by the jitters. My flat abdomen, very empty thanks to my interrupted search for breakfast just over twenty minutes ago. My small rounded breasts that fit perfectly into the hands of my lovers, showed my nipples harden from the cold or the adrenaline, or maybe both. My shoulders, on one side carrying the perpetual spoils of the battle against Zante and the proof of the existence of my love for Kasthor impregnated on black ink over my skin. On the other side, the ever-shinning silver mark that my mate gave me, lingered on my neck. My long straight dark hair that fell down my spine reached the lowest point of my back. More than anything, the Rogue Alpha was able to see my real eyes for the first time, and the second he did, I saw me in his soul. 

This image of me became his most precious desire and he was ready to trash his delusional campaign for the Desert if that meant he would get to keep me. 

"My name is Alora Lorcan and you won't kill any single one of those wolves. You are going to let them go right now." I don't know where the words came from, or how my voice distorted to be so grave. But I did it somehow, I used my commanding voice on the bedazzled Alpha and hoped that it would work. 

"Alora..." The rouge savored my name as it left his lips and my whole body felt dirty right away. 

 "What is he doing here?" Zante interrupted the tension and we all turned our heads in the direction he pointed his finger. 

YES. 

"Mate!" Thana was ecstatic. I couldn't disagree with her, having Ithax near me is all I wanted right now. Let me rephrase that, I didn't want him, I needed him. This rogue was sick and twisted, and whatever strength I felt to face him was washed away after he said my name. 

Although, as a side note, I shouldn't be so happy. He was going to fucking kill me. 

"Alora, step back." Ithax was rushing toward us, wearing a robe just like the ones Jathred and Mathias were wearing, he wasn't fully running but his pace was strong and steady. At that speed, he would be catching up to us in a matter of a couple of minutes. His voice didn't show any sign of rage against me although I knew he was pissed. But it was powerful enough to make everyone notice he meant business. 

For the first time today, I finally obeyed him. 

"Retreat your wolf," The rogue leader told Jathred.

"Oh no. You better retreat yours while you still can. That one over there is my sister's mate, and he won't take your threats kindly. If I were you I would leave before he gets here." Jathred pulled me behind him towering over the rogue flashing his canines at him. 

"Have fun telling your mate how her family died under your command." He lifted his hand again and then shifted right in front of us.

So much for peaceful politics. It was time for blood now.