Rise of the Alpha
Chapter 12

Magnolia

“Wake up. Come on, Magnolia. Wake up, baby.” I hear through a haze. What the f**k happened? My arms feel like lead when I try to move them. What the f**k kind of spell did she cast? Because that’s the last thing I remember other than bone-wrenching pain.

Strong arms embrace me and help me to sit up. Inhaling deeply, I smell the most delicious cedarwood scent. Blaine. But there’s another scent assaulting my senses. Mango?

My eyes finally come into focus as I scan the room. True to what I thought, Blaine is holding me, and being in his arms feels like home. Confusion fills me with why I feel so comfortable in his arms as if I were meant to be in them. Could my wolf and him be right when they say he’s my mate? I don’t know…maybe.

Wylla is looking intently at me, concern etched on her face as Brick helps support her standing body. My wolf immediately begins to growl, not liking the sight of it, but unsure of why it bothers her. Hell, it’s even bothering me.

She breaks free from his grasp and rushes over to me, dropping down to the floor with me and Blaine. “F**k, Magz, I didn’t know that was gonna f*****g happen. Are you okay?”

“F**k, the way her back arched back like that, it looked like a f*****g exorcist. Hell, she even looked like those kids from that horror movie Mama.” Disbelief and shock coat Brick’s features as he talks. “Then the three of you screamed and knocked the f**k out, dropped to the floor with a splat.”

“Shut the f**k up, Brick,” Blaine shouts at him as he and Wylla help me to stand.

“F**k you, Blaine. I let you do your asinine spell here, and I get freaking psycho shit instead. Look, the three of you need to get out of here. Ain’t no way no one else felt that power surge, and I don’t want to be here when they track it.” Nervously twitching as he speaks, Brick’s eyes flick between us and the door.

“C-c-can we just go back to the room, please, Wylla?” I beg her, my body weak, knowing I’m going to need help.

“Can I come with you guys? What were y’all trying to do with that spell?” Brick bounces around like a kid in the candy store, eager to get the new flavor.

“No, and shut the f**k up. Speak about this to anyone and I’ll kick your f*****g a*s,” comes from Blaine in a voice so forceful and commanding I want to drop before him and worship his body. What the hell is going on with me?

“Let’s go,” Wylla whispers as she begins to lead me toward the door. My steps falter as we go, feeling like rubber underneath me.

“I got you.” With his words, Blaine takes me from Wylla and swoops me up in his arms, cradling me close to his chest. The beating of his heart soothes me as it beats a melodious rhythm. Snuggling deeper into his embrace, I allow the music of his heart and the swaying of my body in his arms to lull me.

I feel content in his arms. But there’s an urgency in me that needs to know if the spell worked and what Wylla senses now.

They talk back and forth in hushed tones, words I should’ve been able to hear, but I can’t. All I can think of is cedarwood and mango.

We are moving, but time seems to stand still until suddenly Blaine comes to a halting stop, which has me lifting my head. The dorms. Wylla opens the door, allowing Blaine to move past her and enter with me in his arms.

“Where are you going?” I hear her ask when he turns to the left, in the opposite direction of the elevators.

“Stairs. I don’t want to run into anyone.”

“Ohh,” is all she replies, soft and short.

We move up the stairs in complete silence, no one uttering a word, the only thing you can hear is our breathing and beating hearts. Once we get to the third floor, Wylla holds open the door for us, and once again, Blaine steps through it into the hallway, not stopping until he reaches our room. I almost forget for a moment how he knows it is ours until I remember he walked in on me in the nude earlier.

Wylla opens the door, and we step inside.

“Set me on the bed, please.” His large strides have us across the room in no time, and he sits down with me still in his arms. “Not quite what I meant. Please, let me down. I need to think, and I have some questions.”

Wylla takes a seat on her bed as Blaine places me on my bed beside him, but doesn’t move away.

“Magz, I am so…” Throwing my hand up, I cut her off.

“I know, Wylla. Can you do that scan thing again and tell me what you see now?” I ask, holding onto the bed and feeling as if I’ve been on an all-nighter drinking binge. Well, what I think one would feel like after doing it anyways. Bucket list: get drunk and find out what a hangover is like.

She stands, moves over to the bed, and begins to rapidly chant words so quickly that I can’t understand them. Her eyes go white as she speaks, which is something I really need to ask her about because it happened last time as well.

Her eyes come back to the beautiful shade of deep green that has quickly become my favorite, Wylla’s face is drawn, and her eyes are wide with worry.

“What is it, Wylla? What did you see?”

“Umm, the designation block is still there. That means we can do the spell to remove it and find out what you are. It’s strong, so I need to research to make sure we do it right. But umm…” She stutters the last part as if she is afraid to say it.

“Well, there’s a couple of other blocks as well. One I can’t tell what it’s trying to block out, it’s weird. I’m not getting a clear read on it. But the other thing I see is a mate bond block.”

“We already know who the mate bond goes to, and that’s me. We are mates. So now you see it’s true. We should be able to easily remove it.” The pride in Blaine’s words makes it seem like it’s more important for him to be proven right than the fact that he is my mate.

“No, it’s not that simple. The mating block is powerful, really powerful.” There’s a hint of awe in her voice mixed with bewilderment. “The spell isn’t hiding one mate bond. It’s hiding five or six, at least.” Five or six mates?

“What the f**k did you just say?” Flies from my mouth as I stand quickly, causing my balance to falter and fall into Blaine. “You’re saying I have multiple mates, not just one?” Holy f*****g guacamole!

“Yes, the power on the block is far greater than what would be needed for just one. I can’t see who the bonds lead to. It’s hazy and just out of my sight. So sorry, Blaine.” She directs her gaze to him as she speaks. “I can’t tell if she is indeed bonded to you.”

“I don’t need you to confirm shit for me. I feel the bond pull and so does my wolf. Magnolia is our mate,” he growls out.

“So if it’s multiple, then I could be mated to the Alpha’s son and his Beta’s, and everything is going as planned by my pack. I am supposed to be with them. So even if it’s true and we’re bonded, it really doesn’t matter. My father won’t allow it, my pack will make me bond to who they want no matter if there is a bond or not, and it won’t be with anyone outside of our pack.”

“No!!!” Both Wylla and Blaine shout out in unison.

“Over my f*****g dead body are you bonding with anyone else. I’ll kill them first. You belong to me and my wolf,” he snarls viciously.

“I am not a piece of meat. I’m no one’s prize to covet. I may feel a pull to you, and my wolf may claim you’re her mate but I don’t know for a fact that you are my bond. I won’t know until this block is removed.” Stepping in front of him, I stick my finger out and poke him in his chest. F*****g men thinking because they have a p***s, they can f*****g control you. Blaine’s little outburst proves it isn’t exclusive to the Exodus pack.

Wylla must sense my rage as she steps in between the two of us, pushing Blaine away. Oddly, he doesn’t respond aggressively to her, instead, he allows her to back him up to the door.

“Blaine, I think it’s time for you to get out of here and cool off. Go run or lick your balls, whatever it is you wolves do. Let me and Magz talk, and we’ll see you tomorrow, so we can try to figure this shit out.” He looks between the two of us as she speaks, opening and closing his mouth over and over until finally, he relents.

“First thing in the morning, I’ll be back. But Magnolia, I am your mate. And I will fight to the death for you.” He turns quickly, opens the door, and steps out into the hallway, allowing it to slam shut behind him.

I drop down on the bed, picking my feet up and placing them on the comforter as I slide my body back to the headboard. Wylla moves over and crawls up beside me. Her body is flush with mine as she reaches her arm around me, placing it on my shoulder. God, why does my body tingle with just her touch?

“Wylla, you don’t understand. My life was planned for me. I have no control over it. I either do what my father and the Alpha want, or I risk being exiled. Hell, who knows, they may even kill me if I go against their plans. So maybe what you’re seeing with the bonds are them, and when I go home I’ll see them and feel it.” Tears slowly stream from my eyes, hoping like hell I’m not mated to them.

“It’s going to be okay.” Her words comfort me as she pulls me closer to her.

“How do you know?” I know I sound like a spoiled bitch at the moment, but I don’t want lies, I want the truth. Because if I’m forced to mate, it’s not going to be okay. I will live the same miserable life as my mother behind a false facade.

“We will do everything we can. I will do whatever it takes. First, we will find out what you are and who the bonds are to. If they are to the wolves from your pack, I’ll contact every elder in my coven to see what we need to do to break the bond. F**k it, if they exile you, then you can come with me.” God, I love this woman, but she doesn’t understand. Without a pack, I’ll go rogue; I’ll be a wild, feral animal. If I was to even think of joining another pack, mine would declare full out war on them, and that’s not something I could ever live with.

“Wylla, do you know what happens to wolves who aren’t part of a pack?”

“Honestly, no,” is all she says, turning her head to gaze into my eyes. I could get lost in her deep, emerald eyes. I have no clue why I’m drawn to her. Prior to the spell, I had a pull, but now, it’s even more intense.

Could I be mated to her, too?

No, that’s f*****g insane. Wolves only mate with wolves. In all the books I’ve read, there’s never been one story of a mate bond between different species. “We go mad if we aren’t in a pack. We lose our ability to think logically until we finally shift and our wolf takes over, becoming feral. Once that happens, we can never shift back.”

Tears stream down her face as she pulls her arm from around me and shifts her body. “Look here, Magnolia Holloway, that will never happen to you. We’ll find you another pack to be with. Just please don’t give up yet, let me find a solution. There has to be one, you are not giving up your will or who you are, to be one of the mindless women of your pack, no offense to your mother.”

Laughter erupts from me at her words, and it only increases with the confused look Wylla tosses me. “Funny you should say that. My mother left me a letter without my dad knowing, hoping I never came back. She wants more for me than to be trapped in our pack.”

“Well, I take back what I said, she’s not so mindless. Maybe we can find a way to get her out, too.”

I jump at her, wrapping her up in my arms. Hope radiates through my body that we could potentially save not only me but my mother from the hell we were born into. “Do you think you really can?” I ask when I pull back from her.

“I’m not promising anything, but I can try. I will do my best.” She holds her hand out in front of her, sticking out her pinky. “Pinky promise.”

Doing the same, I interlock my finger with hers. “Pinky promise.”

“Come on, lay down beside me, and let’s get some rest. Something tells me a wolf is going to be beating down our door in the morning,” she tells me, standing up and pulling the comforter back, climbing underneath it. Following her lead, I do the same and curl up to her body.

She reaches across, allowing the tips of her fingers to trail up and down the exposed skin of my arm as she places a soft k**s on the side of my forehead. Warmth pools in my stomach at her touch, it’s familiar and wanted. Turning my head to face her, I lean in and k**s her lips. She eagerly returns it as she lets her tongue dart along the seam of my lips. Without thinking, I part them, allowing her entrance.

Reaching out, I wrap my arm around her and slip my leg between hers, grinding my p***y against them, causing me to m**n softly. She reaches her arm around me, cupping my a*s in her hand, squeezing it as she aids in grinding my heat against her.

“Magz, are you sure? I don’t want to scare you again. You’re everything I could want, and I can’t fight this intense feeling I have for you. We can do this and just sleep in each other’s arms.”

“I’m so confused with my feelings and everything. There’s a pull to you, I can’t deny and don’t want to fight, but can we take it slow? Can we just hold each other and sleep?” There’s so much more I want, but I need to take it slow. What if these mates she says I have wouldn’t approve of this? What happens if my feelings grow, and I have to give her up?

“Stop worrying, we’ll figure it out together. I can hear your mind running a hundred miles a minute. Sleep. These are questions for tomorrow, not tonight.”

And that’s what I do. I sink into her arms, horny as hell from not getting an o****m, and dream of mates I can’t see clearly.