Mating the Female Alpha
Chapter 11 Assassin's Attack

Bernice POV

The knife cuts through the air straight towards me. I struggle in my bonds, twisting enough so that the knife plunges into my shoulder instead of my chest. Pain explodes in my body and I clamp my mouth shut against a scream - I will not show weakness.

There's a snarl from the doorway - I turn my head and see Landry, standing tall and imposing, shoulders back and hands in fists, eyes narrowed at the assassin. His eyes betray how close his wolf is to the surface. He looks nearly dangerous. As the assassin draws back to try and stab me again, I catch her scent. It's definitely a female, and there's a familiar edge to her smell, one I remember smelling just hours ago.

It's not the natural scent of the killer, as assassins always mask their natural scent, to hide who they are. But the scents are sweet and floral, very girly and innocent, and I realize I have smelled them before.

On Jessie! The assassin carrie's Jessie's scent with them, they must have been around Jessie just recently! If I let this killer win, Jessie could be in danger!

"She smells like Jessie!" My throat hurts with the volume of my shouts, but I can't risk this information being lost in the noises of our scuffle. Landry jerks in surprise, so I know he hears me. "Don't let her get away! Take her alive!" I can tell that the assassin knows the game is up, that her identity is revealed. She raises her knife once again, aiming directly for my heart, but before she can even attempt to stab me, she is batted away by a huge wolf paw, claws out and ready to draw blood.

The assassin falls hard to the ground, dazed, coughing up blood from the impact. She gags, a terrible sound, and vomits more blood, betraying how powerful Landry's hit must have been. As she vomits, her mask falls off revealing a very familiar face.

"Jessie's maid!" I cry, recognizing her instantly. It's the maid that looks just like Jessie - I would recognize her anywhere. She came with Jessie to Landry's palace to meet me, and, according to Jessie, helped cause the diversion to get Jessie into the palace when the guards blocked her entrance.

I look at Landry, who has transformed back into his human self. His chest is heaving and his eyes are flashing with anger as he looks the maid-turned-assassin over, and I know I have to explain everything before he kills her. "She's a spy," I say. "Landry, she must be a vampire spy. Take her alive so you can get some answers."

Landry POV

"She's a spy," Bernice tells Landry. He can hardly focus on her words - anger courses through his body, making his heart race and sweat run down his back. All he can see, over and over, is the knife stabbing into Bernice's shoulder, an injury she wouldn't have gotten if Landry hadn't handcuffed her to the bed.

"I'll kill her," the would-be assassin snarls, when Bernice finishes exposing her as a spy. "I know she's the Alpha of Sunset Pack, secretly an Omega. I know exactly who she is, and I will make sure everyone knows it unless you let me go." "She won't say anything," Bernice says. How is she so calm about this!! She's been stabbed, and it's Landry's fault! Bernice could have won in a fight with this maid, easily, but Landry locked her up like a common criminal!

"Don't worry about me. You need to get the information out of her. She must have been in the Palace a long time, who knows how much information she has. If we don't get rid of her, Jessie will definitely be in danger. Torture her if you have to."

Landry knows Bernice is right. Bernice has years of experience commanding troops and fighting in battles, finding spies and dealing with them. She is the expert, and he should follow her instructions.

But he can't stand the thought of her in danger at all, not after she's already been stabbed! She's still bleeding onto the bedsheets, but her gaze is steady as she stares Landry down.

As if sensing that Landry can't bring himself to do anything, Bernice takes matters into her own hands. She twists to face the spy and bares her teeth at her.

"You're so pathetic," she goads, taunting the spy as she struggles to her feet. "You know you can't possibly beat me so you attack while I'm tied up."

"I could beat you," the spy says, spit and blood flying from her mouth as she snarls. She's clutching her face, clearly still in pain from Landry's strike, but advances on Bernice anyway. Landry's heart races in his chest, but he feels frozen to the spot he stands in.

"Oh yeah?" Bernice says, baring her teeth. She looks like a wild thing, untamable and fierce, and it makes something in Landry desperate to free her, to run his hands over her body and make sure the rest of her is alright.

"Yeah!" The spy shouts, raising the dagger, but quicker than even Landry can spot, Bernice kicks her leg up, catching the assassin's hand where she holds the knife with her foot. With a hard kick, Bernice forces the silver dagger, already coated in Bernice's own blood, to drive into the spy's own hand, drawing a howl of pain out of the vampire spy.

As the spy collapses to her knees, clutching her hand that is gushing blood, Bernice looks at Landry.

"Kill her!" she says urgently, and it would be the best time to land the killing blow, when the vampire spy is so weak and unable to fight back, but Landry can't bring himself to do it.

Instead, he rushes to Bernice's side, ripping the handcuffs off her with one strong yank,

his werewolf strength nearly breaking the headboard, too. He cradles Bernice's wrists in his hands, looking her over in worry.

He sees the spy move out of the corner of his eye and, by the time he looks up, she has slipped from the room and ran. He could give chase and likely catch her, but he won't leave Bernice's side. Bernice bites her full lip.

"She guessed who I am. You shouldn't have let her go."

Landry shakes his head, leaning forward to press his forehead to Bernice's, her gorgeous eyes widening in shock as he does. He takes a deep breath of her strawberry milk scent, a scent he's starting to become addicted to.

"No, Bernice," he says. He realizes now that it's regret he feels he regrets handcuffing Bernice and wishes he never did it. Until just then, when he broke the handcuffs and freed her, he was filled with regret, and only now is he relieved. Bernice frowns at him and Landry inhales her strawberry milk scent again.

"There is nothing more important than you."

Bernice looks puzzled at this proclamation, studying Landry like he's a mystery she is trying to unravel. He meets her gaze steadily, but is unprepared for her next words.

"I don't understand. What do you mean?"