Alpha Will

20. Will

In all honesty, I never expected Kiara to have any feelings for me. I just assumed somewhere in the distant(or more likely near) future I'd finally snap and do something so out of line and that'd be it, she'd kick me out of her life and I'd go properly insane. End of story. But I'd never considered the probability of her getting snatched away by anyone else- especially not someone like Andrews.

A self-centered, impulsive, rude prick.

And yet, despite that they seemed to get along well even though Kiara doesn't usually get along with strangers. Worse, not only did they get along, he was also human and not likely to stifle Kiara with the possessive tendencies that frightened her so much. I had to keep them apart-

Kill him and bury him, the wolf snarled. Problem solved.

And that'd earn us Kiara's eternal love and respect, I thought.

You were about to do it earlier.

Moment of weakness.

I ignored the snarling, deciding to concentrate on the immediate and more important matter at hand, the threat to Kiara. Dealing with Andrews will come after the Alpha Eater is out of the way- which ironically meant putting up with the douchebag. I've sent scouts scouring every inch of town and the surrounding area but there was no sight of the woman. Andrews might be the only chance to find out something useful, if he was telling the truth and not just trying to impress Kiara.

"Your mom is a witch," I stated.

Kiara looked up at me, maybe startled at the venom I was unable to keep out of my voice. Or maybe it was the witch part that surprised her.

Andrews came to a halt outside a small shop, gesturing at it with a grand wave. "My mom is a witch/renovator/waitress/former assassin. Don't threaten me while she's around." He winked at me merrily but it was obvious he couldn't hide his dislike towards me either.

I deadpanned. Witches were powerful, lots of them lethal, but not much a challenge for an alert alpha. Which is what I instantly became: alert.

The shop was located on the newer part of the business district, the sign above reading 'Garden Cafe'. Inside wasn't big but cozy enough, the furniture charmingly old-fashioned, the tables covered with black cloth and unlit candles. There were flower pots everywhere. Dangling from the ceiling beside the lights, lined up by the windows, on the tables, colored plants of every kind growing out of them proudly. They gave the place a floral smell, a naturalness that was actually refreshing.

The cashier and an empty glass case for the desserts were near the end of the shop. Beyond that was a closed purple door.

I counted the windows, three in all. Including the door we came in, there were four possible exits.

"Brad? Is that you? Are you still alive?" The voice came from the purple door, which was now open a crack, a few blonde hairs poking out.

Brad rolled his eyes. "Why wouldn't I be?"

The woman made no move to come out. "You told me you were going to steal an alpha's mate from him before leaving. What else was I supposed to assume?"

"I'm still alive," Brad replied.

The door opened and a tiny woman walked out, eyes closed, pale eyebrows raised. "Then the alpha isn't planning on killing you."

"Not yet," I admitted.

Kiara raised a brow my way. I shrugged.

"I'm rooting for your team," Brad's mother directed at me, turning to Kiara. "I'm Frieda. You must be my annoying son's first love. Word of advice," she leaned in as if about to share a secret even though her voice remained loud, "dump him and stick with the werewolf."

I stuck out my hand, smirking at a scowling Brad. "I'm Will Cage, nice to meet you."

She shook my hand- paused mid-shake. "He has muscles." She looked back at her son. "Brad," she said quietly, "you don't stand a chance."

I smiled, maybe this wasn't going to be a useless visit after all.

***

"The Alpha Eater is like the worst nightmare for all the selfish, chauvinistic Wattpad werewolves," Frieda said, setting down each of our drinks in front of us.

She kept her eyes closed the entire time but moved easily, declining any offerings of help from her idiot son. I was surprised she could tell both us and our respective drinks apart. There was definitely more to the woman than she let on. Not necessarily in a bad way, I thought, watching as she placed a plate of cookies in front of Kiara and slapped at Brad's reaching hand.

Frieda pulled out the empty chair between Brad and me, smiling when Kiara bit into the treat.

"What do you mean? Is she like a werewolf feminist or something?" Kiara asked, passing the cookies to me.

The fact that she passed them to me first could be viewed as an unconscious statement, right?

Frieda shook her head. "She might be interested in protecting the weak, but she's more of a judge, jury and executioner. She kills alphas that she believes are mistreating their mates."

Brad burst out laughing. "Sounds like there's no problem at all here, Fred."

"I told you to stop calling me that." Frieda frowned. "Murder isn't always the solution, plus, you can't take the law into your own hands. What if she's wrong about something? No one person can know everything."

"I doubt she's wrong in his case," Brad pointed at me. "Before this Alpha Eater hopped along, Cage here was busy entertaining some of our town's finest women while Kiara followed after him like a faithful puppy-"

"Brad," Kiara cut in, eyes wide and embarrassed.

Brad snorted. "You don't honestly believe he's suddenly salivating after you like your the best steak he's seen since steak was created because he's in love with you?"

Kiara's face fell. "I- no one said he was in love..."

Brad tilted his head, staring right at me. "He's only being faithful now because he's afraid the big bad Alpha Eater will kill him if he isn't."

That's it.

I stood up, ready to throw him through the shop window, climb out after him into the street and pummel him until that stupid mouth was too bloody and swollen to be spouting nonsense. It was past time for this.