The Forbidden Alpha

Chapter 4

Asher

The moment I stepped into that pack house I smelt her. Lavender and sea breeze. It engulfed my senses, causing my chest to rumble loudly because of Ares. I had to force myself to act as if nothing had happened but Tessa and the guys noticed the change instantly. They just didn’t realize what had been the cause of the sudden shift in me.

I wasn’t sure who she was at first until she rushed past me after Alpha Allen made his announcement. Her soft scent hit me like a tidal wave and I quickly made up an excuse to go after her. What I was going to do when I found her I had no idea. I was going off of instinct and probably desire from finding her tonight. When I found her talking to the moon, I couldn’t help but smile. Little Human looking to the Goddess for help that wasn’t coming. It was cute, I have to admit.

I have never desired a mate. The thought of finding one never crossed my mind. We were not safe, and until we could be certain that we were no longer being hunted, I had dismissed any plans for a mate altogether.

Yet, I cannot ignore the longing that both my Lycan and I feel for the small human. It was more intense than I could have imagined, and leaving her behind inflicted a strange pain in my chest and an unparalleled fury simultaneously. I suppressed these feelings, locking them away as much as possible. It was the right thing to do. My kind is still being pursued, and she is defenseless should someone target her. The risk of that happening is already significant, but if the hunters discover my true identity and her significance to me, it would spell disaster for everything.

“Where did you run off too?” Tessa whispered in my ear as she slipped her arm back into mine when I returned.

“Research” was all I said, and I noticed a glint in her eyes. She knew something was up. They all did and they were not going to let this go so easily. I maneuvered my way through the dense crowd looking for the alpha. "There he is," I said, taking Tessa's hand in mine. Ares immediately growled at the intimate contact had Tessa raising her brow at me in a silent question.

It had been hard enough to convince my beast to leave the human. Now he is growling at the merest physical contact from another female. "Want mate" he ground out.

"That's not going to happen and you know that. Now is not the time to let a mate bond cloud our minds. There are lives depending on us."

"We will see about that." was all he said before he blocked me out.

"Asher?" Tessa asked softly.

"I'm fine." I replied in a mindlink as our group reached the intended target. Alpha Allen Riggins.

“Ah, it’s Alpha Shade, right?” The middle-aged man says as he steps in front of me the moment I was close enough to him.

I raised my brow at the man before me and gave a small nod. Alpha Allen Riggins smiled with the young woman that was supposed to be his son's Mate standing next to him. She had short blonde hair and a pixie-like face that made her look like one of those porcelain dolls. Brush it too hard and she would crack into a million pieces. Her pale blue eyes seemed lost and a bit broken as she did her best to keep her eyes cast down to the floor.

“That’s right sir. Thank you for allowing us to join in the festivities tonight on such short notice.” I said as Tessa now stepped up next to me. “This is my Mate Tessa.” I said, wrapping my arm around her waist and pulling her in close.

“Hello, Yes thank you so much for allowing us to partake.” She said, putting on her soft and demure act. “And congratulations on finding your mate tonight,” Tessa told the young woman.

The poor thing looked terrified to have the attention solely on her as she fidgeted with her lace gloves before looking up just enough. “Thank you.” She said barely above a whisper and forcing a smile. She seemed almost like she was terrified of being there, next to him.

“For someone who supposedly just found her mate, she isn’t very excited.” I told Tessa in a mind link.

“Nonsense, we are honored to have the four of you joining the valley.” The Alpha said, his gaze never leaving Tessa as his eyes raked over her body. “It’s good to have the valley grow, adding in new blood.” He added, as he visibly licked his lips at Tessa like she was his next conquest.

It was not hard to force a small growl out, Ares didn't like the way Alpha Riggins was looking at Tessa any more than the rest of us. The man was openly eye f*cking another she-wolf that was 'supposed' to be claimed, yet he had no care at all if anyone noticed his actions. He apparently doesn’t hold the bond to high standards.

Just then, there was a commotion that came from the entrance of the ballroom, drawing everyone's attention.

“Chandler, just stop it and just leave me alone.” a female voice came from the doorway. Even by only hearing it for a few minutes earlier, I would be able to pick her out of any crowd. I carefully moved closer to see just what was happening to have her all worked up. She marched across the ballroom floor with her back to the Alphas' son. Her once soft features were contorted into anger. She was pissed. I could feel it coming off her in waves now, calling to me and Ares, but I forced myself to remain rooted in my spot. I couldn't risk our cover being blown before we even had a chance to really get started. Ares clawed at the surface to get out and go to her, but I forced him down before blocking him all together.

“Layla, what’s going on?” A different she-wolf said as my mate stopped in front of her and what appeared to be her mate. Layla was a beautiful name.

“Dustin, can I have your keys please?” I heard her ask as she held out her hand to him.

He pulled a small set from his pocket and handed them to her but didn’t let go. His gaze flickered between my mate and the Alpha's son who was standing just a few feet behind her. “What’s going on, Layla?” He asked, and I watched her shoulders sag as she leaned in, whispering in his ear.

I could tell that she had also been crying since I left her in the small sitting room with him. Ares's growl caused my chest to vibrate when I saw her tear-stained face. He had caused this, hurt her again in that short amount of time that I had left them alone. "And yours too. You should have never left her alone in there with him." Ares yelled at me as he returned to clawing in the back of my mind.

The guy that she had called Dustin's face turned murderous from whatever she had just whispered into his ear. “You f*cking piece of sh*t.” he snarled, advancing and drawing back his right hand before driving it into the face of the would-be Alpha. The hit was so hard that the sound of bones crunching echoed around the ballroom. “Stay the hell away from my sister if you know what is good for you.” He growled before spitting on the alpha's son.

Gasps erupted all throughout the room. It was one thing to hit the next Alpha so openly, but to spit on him was seen as the ultimate sign of disrespect and could land the guy in the cells if not banished from the pack entirely.

“That is enough Dustin. You will not disrespect your next Alpha like that, especially in front of others.” Alpha Riggins said as he stepped in before his son's wolf could take control and the ballroom turned into a mess.

“He is no Alpha of mine if he thinks he can use my sister,” Dusting said loudly as he glared daggers at the would-be alpha.

“Holy sh*t” Alec whispered, along with many of the others that were gathered around watching the whole scene.

“To my office now. The both of you.” Alpha Riggins ordered. The two men marched off as far from one another as possible while Layla and her friend were cornered by two guards. “Take them to Layla’s house and do not let them out of your sight.” He ordered again. I had to swallow my growl as the guard put his hands on Layla and carted her out of the ballroom roughly.

They weren’t the only ones to exit the ballroom either, I noticed. A small group of three men followed shortly afterward when the room started to return to normal. They were all dressed in expensive suits and were looking over their shoulders as they exited the room.

I pointed them out to the others. “Alec your up. Follow them and see where they go. We will ask around here and see if anyone has any information on them.” I said, and Alec nodded before slipping out the same door following after them.

“That girl, the one in the mauve gown, she sure seemed special to the alpha's son even though he supposedly found his fated mate earlier?” Tessa asked as she sipped her champagne. "They sure are a striking pair together, aren't they?"

Ares growled lowly as Tessa gave a smug smile at my reaction.

“You notice that she is human, right?” Damien said and I nodded. “And she is obviously part of the Moon Stone and apparently within the Betas family." he continued as he pulled the file up on his phone with the high ranking members of the pack's information. "She would be a great asset to our investigation.”

“No” I growled at both of them and was just about to walk off when Tessa reached out, grabbing my arm to stop me.

“Asher, hear me out first before you bite me in two. She has access to things that we wouldn’t be able to get to. She is a part of the Beta Family and until recently seems to have been dating the next Alpha."

"So" I said seriously, not liking the direction she was going with that.

"So, she would likely have had ample opportunities to overhear things that she might not realize are important." Tessa said. "Not to mention that she would be able to ask things without it seeming as strange as it was one of us asking the questions."

“I said no. It’s too dangerous for her and you know it. What if someone starts to put two and two together after seeing her talking with us?” I said once again.

"It wouldn't be that strange if the two of you seemed to develop a romantic relationship." Tessa smirked as she heard Ares purr at the idea.

"It's already been established that you and I are mates. Remember?" I retorted. It was incredibly hard to think now that Tessa had put the idea in my head and my Lycan was not helping either at the moment, picturing all the different scenarios that could be used to get the needed information from our little human.

Our little Human. F*ck I'm already a goner and it hasn't even been an hour.

"Alec, what's your status?" I asked through our mindlink.

“No luck, Alpha. Their scents vanish almost as quickly as they did. I have searched the entire lower floors and I can’t track them anymore. Sorry Alpha.” Alec says suddenly through a mind link to all of us.

F*ck I didn’t like this idea at all, but it looks like it would be our best option to get the information we needed. I just had to make sure that i didn't let the bond take over completely.

"Good luck with that." Ares snickered in the back of my mind.