The Traitor Alpha's Daughter

The Biggest Lie Yet

Alina’s POV

I never should have gone with him into the forest that night, but I certainly never should have stripped down to my underwear like that.

No one saw; at least, no one from the wolf half of Winder did. If they had, Wren would definitely be dead, and there’s a good chance that I would be, too. What was I thinking? How could I have been so careless?

I know the answer to that, I suppose. It wasn't just about feeling free; I wanted to be loved. I wanted to feel love. I’ve wanted it desperately for the six years since I lost my father. It’s one of the many reasons I’ve put up with Noah for as long as I have; and yet, with Wren, it feels… different.

I’m not saying I’m in love with the guy. I’m just saying I feel… safe with him. Happy. Appreciated. In a way I haven’t felt in six years.

Anyway, what’s done is done. He approached me in the stairwell on Wednesday, looking like a million bucks and smelling like absolute Heaven, and all I wanted was to throw my arms around his neck and kiss him, but, of course, I did just the opposite. I told him we’d made a mistake, and I walked out on him.

And then Kat approached him on Friday in the parking lot and, for all I know, they’re together now.

If they were, I should obviously just let it go. That would be the smart thing to do.

I’m not smart, though, and all I can think about is the fact that Kat's "relationships" with humans typically end with that human either dead or turned into a vampire.

So, on Saturday night, when Noah goes out for a “boys’ night” and thinks I’m asleep, I resolve to find out where he lives and go spy on him.

It’s easy enough to get his address. Not everybody in the pack reports back to Noah. Mr. Evans, for example, loathes him, as you’ll recall from my very unpleasant post-class encounter with him last week. Alice has my back way more than she has his. And my aunt Diana, who used to be my dad’s Beta, pretty much despises him.

(She’s a Marks by blood, like me, and an Omega now, of course. Disgraced like the rest of us. But I love very few people as much as I love her.)

“Sure, I’ve heard of him,” she tells me when I go to her little cottage to ask her about Wren. She works at the county sheriff’s office, so I had a feeling she’d be a useful resource in this. “His mother’s the new curator at the Winder Museum. Asks a whole lot of questions, I hear.”

Not exactly a surprise, given how many questions her son asks. “Do you know where they live?”

Diana frowns, eyeing me suspiciously. She has the same azure eyes that my father passed down to me, along with the smaller, lighter frame that is signature of Marks wolves. She’s in her forties, but is just as beautiful as she was when I was a child. Her husband, Jack—my father’s old Delta—is a lucky man.

“They’re renting the old cottage where the Mulberrys used to live,” she admits. “But what’s this about, Alina? You know better than to get involved with a human.”

That’s not entirely true; as I mentioned before, several wolves in our pack have mated with humans. It’s one of our most basic rules: you can’t argue with fate. True mates must be accepted by the pack, no matter what.

Wouldn’t help in my case, of course, if my wolf decided she wanted anyone other than Noah. I’d be exiled if I was lucky, and killed if not. As would my true mate.

“I know,” I lie, because it’s easier than saying all that to Diana and worrying her even more. “I just want to make sure he’s safe. Kat Morrison seems to have her claws in pretty deep.”

She only looks more concerned by that, unfortunately. “You know it’s not worth it to risk upsetting her, Alina. Until your wolf awakens, she's stronger than you. You’re not going alone, are you?”

“No,” I lie. When did I get so good at lying? “I’m bringing Alice. But… I should really go.”

She gives me a reluctant nod at that, but stops me one last time before I make it out the door. “Hey, Alina?”

“Yeah?” I ask, turning back to face her.

“Your mother loves you. You know that, right?”

“Yeah,” I tell her, forcing a smile.

The biggest lie yet.

- - - - -

When I get to his house, I see Kat’s car parked out front.

Shit.

Is my heart pounding because I’m scared for Wren's life or because I’m scared of what they might be doing together? After all, if I broke into his house to save him, only to find him boning her…

The thought sends shivers down my spine. I never really had to deal with envy before I met Wren, and I'm not a fan of it.

I decide to get a closer look.

There are only two cars in the driveway—Kat’s BMW and Wren’s Camaro. (Did I mention he has the exact kind of old-school Camaro I was fantasizing about earlier? I mean, really, is the world playing a sick joke on me, or what?) Meaning, I don’t think his mom’s home at the moment.

I can’t make out much of anything in the upstairs windows, but there are some figures downstairs. I creep to the edge of the tree line and peer through the living room windows, trying to make out the shapes. Once I get a good vantage point, I deduce that they aren’t boning or even kissing; in fact, they seem… agitated.

I should be relieved, but I’m not—at least, not entirely. An agitated Kat is not a good thing.

I try to focus my hearing toward them, but I can’t make out much. When my wolf awakens, my strength, speed, vision, and hearing will all improve, along with, of course, my ability to shift at will. In the meantime, though, I only have the early stirrings of those gifts.

I can tell they’re yelling, though.

Should I interrupt? Should I knock on the front door and pretend I’m just here to say hi? Should I—

My hand flies to my mouth when my thoughts are interrupted by the worst possible thing that can happen: Kat’s teeth find Wren’s neck.

Now, I may be looking at them through a window, and it may be in the realm of possibility that she’s just kissing his neck. But given the fact that they were just shouting, and that she’s a bloodthirsty killer, I’m not taking any chances.

So I launch myself dramatically through the glass door and tackle her to the ground.

“You b***h!” she shrieks as she shoves me off her. Her lips are soaked with blood. I don’t have to look at Wren to know that I was right; I can already hear him writhing from the first pains of the transition.

“Take it back!” I scream at her, refusing to let myself look at him. This can't be happening. The one guy I've ever thought I might really care about cannot be turning into a vampire. “You know the rules, Kat. No one unwilling.”

She laughs. “I can’t take it back. Surely you know me better than that, don’t you, Alina?”

She means she lacks the willpower to stop—that attempting to suck her own venom out of him would just result in her draining him dry.

Which also means that, had I not intervened, she would have killed him.

Not that she won’t still do it. Like my Aunt Diana mentioned, Kat is a lot stronger than me; if she wants to, she can kill us both.

“So?” Kat asks me with a maniacal grin. “What’ll it be? Would you rather your little boyfriend be dead, or a vampire?”

God, I loathe her. And yet… why hasn’t she killed me already? Surely she’s wanted to a thousand times before, but never had me alone like this. It’s the perfect opportunity.

“If you’re going to kill me,” I growl at her, “I’d rather you just get on with it than play your little games, Kat.”

She cackles at that. “A nice thought, to be sure. But unfortunately, I can’t do that.”

She can’t? Why? The laws governing the “peace” between the Winder Pack and the Winder Coven are very particular, but they don’t outright forbid our killing of each other—not in situations like this.

“Last chance,” she tells me as she starts to move toward the door. “Leave him here to turn, or finish him off? Your call, Marks.”

My fist curls up so tight, I feel my fingernails penetrating my skin. “I’m not a killer, Kat. Unlike you.”

“Right.” She winks at me. “Then I guess the Winder Coven just got one vamp bigger.”

And with that, she leaves me alone with Wren as he transitions into my mortal enemy.