The Cursed Alpha

Worry, Relief, and not Petrified?

ZANE POV

I wasn't sure if I woke up the next morning, or if I had stayed awake all night and just decided to get out of bed because the sun came out. All I knew was that one minute I was in bed and the next I was standing in the bathroom, staring at my shirtless reflection.

Yesterday, I had gotten into a fight with one of Fr—the Alpha's strongest warriors. He had gotten a lot of hard hits on me, especially my face and chest. I had thought a couple of my ribs were at least cracked, and I had been certain that my face would be swollen today, if not completely purple. But surprisingly, there was nothing other than that warm, silky sensation underneath my skin.

The feeling had first appeared yesterday, after Fr—the Alpha walked with me back to my room. She had told me to get on the bed and... she had kissed all the places on my upper body that should've been bruised today...

That's because she's—my wolf tried to speak, but I was stronger than I was yesterday. There was no way I was letting my inner demon tell me anything. I couldn't stand being reminded that I had a monster inside of me. Hearing his voice was like hearing nails on a chalkboard. I pushed the wolf back into the dark recesses of my mind and ignored the intense loneliness and sadness I always felt when I did that.

I started walking towards the kitchen when I was intercepted by the Beta. Beta Christopher. I didn't know what his problem was, other than the fact that it was with me.

"What do you want?" I asked him. The one good part about being...mates with the Alpha was that it was like a little piece of insurance that I would never be tortured or hurt by any of the higher ups of this pack. Because she was the highest up. At least, that's what I figured.

"I want you to be a better person, or to leave my..." the Beta seemed to struggle for a certain word, and I felt a weird sort of emotion settle into my chest. Probably had something to do with what happened between me and the Alpha last night. "Alpha," the Beta finally decided. "Leave my Alpha alone,"

"I've tried," I reminded him. "But for some reason, your crazy Alpha won't let me,"

"Don't call her crazy," the Beta snapped, and my eyes narrowed. I heard my wolf try to tell me something about his scent again, but I ignored him. "She's too good for you." the Beta stated, and I stood up a little straighter. Just who the hell did this guy think he was?

"Listen, did you need something? If not, then let me go have my breakfast," I started shoving past him, but his iron-firm grip landed on my arm and pulled me back. I tried to pull myself away, but he was seriously strong. I bet he could snap me like a toothpick if he wanted to. Good thing he wouldn't.

"There is a reason I'm talking to you," he growled. Literally. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up from the animalistic sound, and I reminded myself that there was a reason I kept my contact with my inner demon to a minimum. "Charlie Howard said it in front of everyone: you spend every minute of every day with my Alpha until she says you're free to roam around,"

I didn't like the way he said his Alpha, but I figured that was just the wolf messing with my head and I pushed the feeling aside.

"So?" I asked.

"So, you're going to be with our little Freysie until she thinks you're safe alone with the children,"

Freysie? I stiffened.

"Fine. Where is she?" My voice came out hard and choppy.

"In her office. As long as you're spending your days with her, do us all a favor and try to get her to eat her meals on time,"