Two Alphas for a Luna

Chapter 10

Watching Crystal leave without another backwards glance, had Brad seething with anger. As if her flirting with Tertius all the while wasn’t enough, now she was just totally disregarding her own safety as well! He was her mate, her Alpha, and she was just ignoring him! What the hell?! At the same time, he knew that he couldn’t just leave with her, he was, as she had mentioned, still the rogue on stranger territory. He was dependent on them and in a way, he was still the prisoner.

The admiration for the beauty of her wolf, wasn’t enough to calm his frustration at having to share her with someone and having her deviant and rebellious ways battle with his own wants. With a low curse, Brad swung around when his eyes felon Tertius.

With deliberate steps, he marched to the other man. “Maybe it’s time for us to sort this out, man on man!”

The other man straightened up. Although he didn’t step right up into Brad’s face, meeting him head one, it was clear from his change in stanch that he wasn’t backing down either, which added more fuel to Brad’s fire. What frustrated brad even more was the way Tertius never seemed to be bothered by anything. Never letting emotion show through. With a growl of pend up frustration, he launched himself at the other man.

His charge was however stopped mid stride by both Jasz and Aiden stepping in between the two men. The strangest of it was the fact that, at the same moment they stepped in between them, his body suddenly didn’t want to move. No matter how hard he tried, there seemed to be invisible bonds holding him back. Slowly his eyes shifted to the only other person in the room, Vanessa.

Vanessa sat quietly in her wheelchair, not a hair out of place or even a sign of any stress visible. Her eyes however seemed to bore right into his soul.

“You’re a witch!” His voice must have betrayed his surprise because with a slight nod to her brother he was quickly contained before the bonds on him finally fell away. With the soft moving of her wheelchair, she rolled towards him.

“No, I’m not a witch. I’m a werewolf-shaman. Now, if you value the bond you share with Crystal, you will not harm Tertius.” With a slight softening of her eyes, she nodded towards the stairs. “I know your frustration, but it will not help your case. Why don’t you rather go upstairs and visit your sister in her room. She could probably use some company.”

Then in front of his eyes, the color in her cheeks slowly changed to a grayish color. In a flash of movement, the restraining hands of Jasz disappeared as he crouched in front of his sister’s chair. Glancing around, Brad realized that Tertius and Aiden had moved out of the room and with a sigh he decided to follow her advice and go to Loise’s room.

Walking down the hallway upstairs, a frown on his face. In his childhood days shaman’s was referred by his father, but witches were cursed and spat on. Although, Vanessa had claimed not to be a witch, the power she used to hold him back from attacking couldn’t be described in any other way than magic. A memory intruded, a man in a dark cowl, holding him against a wall by a power unnatural even by the standards of a wolf, flashes of dark purple in his eyes. A purple cloud filling the room around them.

“Brad is that you?” A soft voice filtered to him, and with a slight shake of his head, he cleared the memory away before entering the room.

“Hey Sis! Haven’t seen you in a few days. How are you?”

“So typical my extra serious and moody brother. What has got your feathers in a twist?” Her soft voice was filled with curiosity and a hint of laughter and he could only rub is feet uncomfortably on the carpet, feeling like a naughty little boy under her eyes, even when he was older by five years. “I heard noises that sounded like growls and fights, please tell me you weren’t making a scene?”

Running a self-conscious hand through his hair he had a seat on the bed next to her. “Sorry Sis. Seems like my temper is running away with me again.”

Shaking her head with a slight smile, she took his hand in hers, giving it a slight squeeze. “You really are the worst, aren’t you?” Her voice however was gentle and took him back to the days as a little boy on his mother’s lap, touching her protruding belly. Then her voice turned a little more serious before she continued. “I’m not sure if you know, but the wolf that brought me in, he’s my mate.”

“I’m glad for you little one, you need the joy and everything after all these years.” Cupping her face with his hand he lifted her chin so their eyes could meet. “And the little one is going to need a dad to look after him or her.”

Suddenly the door behind him flew open, banging against the walls. “Brad! We need you! It’s Crystal, she’s in trouble! She’s going to need your help!”

Inside, Crystal was pissed. How the hell had she let this happen?! The fire had cut her off from the rest of her pack. She was encircled and the only thing that offered her any kind of shelter was a small barn that was clearly falling apart.

Quickly grabbing hold of the doorknob, she tried to open the door, but a large lock was preventing it from opening. With a curse and rush, she threw her body against the door, while watching the flames coming towards her, fueled by a wind the heat was creating.  With the use of her werewolf strength, the door cracked before bursting inwards. Crystal caught herself right before crashing into the ground.

With a quick glance around, she realized her mistake. This was no shelter but a death trap! Made only from old rotten and dried out wood, the barn would be engulfed in flames within seconds. There was no way out. And a look behind told her that she wasn’t going anywhere. Smoke was billowing over and around her, choking her worse than the day with the hotel and saving Tertius and the werecat-child!

The first crackles of flames on the dried timbers confirmed her fears. She was trapped! Rushing inside, she tried to find a spot, anything, anywhere where she could hide, where she could be safe. Her heart was pounding inside her, fear racing through her veins. How could she have let this happen?! In her rush to get away, in scoring a point against Brad, she herself hadn’t taken her safety gear, how foolish could she have been?!

Glancing upwards, her heart gave way. The barn’s entire roof was engulfed in flames. Swinging around, she tried racing back towards the door, but her path was blocked by flames. Turning around to the other side, Crystal tried to make a run for it when with a crash load enough to make her ears bleed out, the roof over her head collapsed. Throwing her arms over her head, Crystal tried to shield her face from the collapsing and burning roof beams falling all around her.

The heat was searing hot, even on her wolf healing skin. One of the beams must have hit her, because she was struggling to maintain consciousness and she could feel blood dripping between her fingers down her face. This is the moment I’m going to die! And I never even told Brad and Tertius that I loved them both!

At the last moment before blackness claimed her, she could have sworn she saw a black figure racing towards her and a roar of fury filling the air.