Rise of the Alpha
Chapter 40

Jude

What in the hell just happened? The guys came back to the room, giving Wylla and me the all-clear that we could go back to our mate. Wylla flew from our room like her a*s was on fire. While the guys changed, I slid on some real pants and not just some sweats. I’ve no sooner stepped out of the elevator when I hear Zeke and Blaine start snarling behind me and fighting to be out of the doors.

They run past me, bolting toward the girls’ room before I even know what’s going on. Looking beyond them, I see Wylla at their bedroom door with Maggie, cowering behind her. When I notice the two large wolves getting in Wylla’s face it instantly pisses me off. The fear is radiating off Maggie. Blaine starts to shift when the larger one of the wolves in front of him does as they stand toe to toe, fighting over our girl. I’m thankful the other night that the girls powered up my reserves because I’m going to need it if this goes sideways. She quickly snapped into her new Alpha wolf and yelled at all of us to stop and told those two cocksuckers she was not theirs, nor will she ever be.

I want to know how they even got here and what happened to the Jeremiah dude giving us a heads-up. We were just totally blindsided by their arrival and only Wylla was with her. I’m not even sure of her fighting ability or power level. We need to f*****g discuss what our capabilities are and strengthen our weak points. F**k! They could’ve just snatched our woman.

Jeremiah wasn’t with them, so perhaps he didn’t know or they found him out. More than likely, his whole spiel was a ploy, and we played right into his hand by trusting him. Blaine pushes the girls inside the room, and we head in behind him quickly before he slams the door. “I knew we shouldn’t have trusted that f*****g wolf, but we were so quick to side with the girls and now look what happened. Maggie was here with Wylla alone, and she could’ve been taken, or worse. Thank Goddess, we showed up when we did,” I roar at him, anger coursing through my veins. I feel like I’m frothing at the mouth, I’m so upset.

“How f*****g dare you think I couldn’t protect our mate, demon! You know nothing about me or my abilities. I could kill you right now with a flick of my sexy wrist, so keep talking shit. What were you gonna do? F**k the enemy into leaving us alone?” Wylla snaps back, clearly pissed that I insinuated she couldn’t protect Maggie.

“Everyone needs to calm the f**k down! Fighting with each other isn’t going to help anyone. We don’t know if Jeremiah betrayed us. Let me find my phone, and we’ll know for sure,” Maggie scolds us, moving to the corner of the room where her discarded clothes are from last night and pulling her phone out of her pants. She’s scrolling through it, looking at it intently as she does, and her head suddenly snaps up to look at all of us. “There are calls and texts from Jeremiah last night, a lot of them. He tried to warn us, warn me, but we were busy with the spells and mating. I knew he wouldn’t betray me; call it a gut feeling or whatever you want, but I just knew he wouldn’t.”

“Maggie, you can’t go anywhere without one of us. I’m dead serious, this isn’t the last we’ll see of them, and you know that as well as I do,” Zeke pipes up, his tone laced with concern and love, so she doesn’t think he’s trying to control her, but I can tell he’s f*****g worried about her.

“I called my dad when we were upstairs changing, and he said he had a lead on a rental property we could have, so we could all live together if that’s what we want. I was going to bring it up later in a better setting after our chat this morning about the beds, but it seems like it might need to be brought up now,” Blaine admits. He looks nervous, like he’s afraid we might be upset about him jumping the gun and calling his dad about getting a place together.

“I’m for it,” I tell him. “It will be safer if we’re all together and not floors apart. Plus, now that they’re marked, Zeke and Blaine will want to be with you as much as possible, Magnolia. Being apart from each other will be painful at first until you’ve settled into the bonds.”

“I agree, I want to live with you all. Being apart from y’all isn’t an option anymore. This bond was fought and denied for too long. Can we go see it tomorrow?” Maggie asks, and I love seeing her smiling and excited about getting a house we can all live in together.

“Sure can, babe,” Blaine says, looking around at the rest of us, and we all nod our agreement. We order food to the dorm, not wanting to leave, and head upstairs to our room where we stay the rest of the day cuddled up between our three beds, watching movies and just trying to be together before the shit hits the fan. Yep, we definitely need to figure out a way to have one huge bed for all of us to share.

We all wake up stiff and sore, but thankfully since we are all supes, a good stretch and we’ll be good to go in fifteen minutes or so, ready to start the day. Our bodies heal faster than humans, so while it wasn’t ideal for the five of us to sleep in our room last night, it was worth it to make sure Maggie was safe. After a lot of tossing and turning on our single beds, we decided to push them together, making one semi-large bed that offered slightly more room.

We quickly get dressed, then escort the girls to their room to change, so we can head out to look at the property Blaine’s dad has a lead on for us to rent. He apparently has an agent from the pack waiting to show us around and give us the keys today if we decide we want it.

The girls are dressed and ready to go in under ten minutes, so we make our way to Blaine’s truck quickly and efficiently. Guess they’re excited to see what could be our new home while we go to school here. Blaine leads the way with Maggie behind him and Wylla close behind her. Zeke and I are in the back, and all of us have our heads on a swivel, making sure we aren’t attacked or being followed.

Piling into the truck, we barely fit, and with more mates out there, we’re going to need to upgrade to an SUV, so we can have that third-row seating. Pulling out onto the road, I keep checking behind us to see if we’re being tracked. Catching Blaine’s eyes in the rearview mirror, I see he’s doing the same thing.

Toxic by 2WEI comes on the radio, and Wylla squeals in excitement and reaches in front of her, hitting the volume dial and turning it up. She’s singing along and dancing in her seat, and Maggie giggles beside me in the backseat, watching her best friend, now mate, dance to her favorite song. When the song comes to an end, Wylla quickly turns the radio down, and the tension-filled silence once again fills the cab of the truck.

“How much longer until we’re there?” Maggie asks.

“Like ten minutes, according to the GPS.” She sighs at Blaine’s answer, and I see her squeeze her thighs together.

“Maggie, do you need to use the bathroom?” I ask teasingly.

“Yes, I’m sorry. I should’ve gone before we left, but I was too excited, and, well, drinking that bottle of water didn’t help.”

Blaine pulls off the main road, following the signs to the gas station. Pulling in, he parks at a pump closest to the entrance of the gas station. “As long as we’re here, I’m gonna fill up.” He gets out and swipes his card at the pump, pulling the nozzle so he can fill the truck.

Wylla and Zeke jump out, announcing they’re going to get snacks since we didn’t eat before we left. Magnolia climbs out and power walks to the bathroom, her a*s jiggling with every step as she squeezes her legs together. It’s funny and cute all at the same time. The bathroom to this gas station is apparently on the outside of the building, very nineties of them. Standing outside the truck watching my woman hurry to the bathroom, I laugh. “We sure are lucky, huh?”

“Sure f*****g are,” Blaine growls as he reaches down to adjust himself in his pants. We make small talk while waiting for the pump to finish and for everyone to get back to the truck. “We can’t let them get her, man, no matter what it takes. Actually, I was thinking this weekend we should take her home to the pack and have my dad mark her officially as a member.”

I open my mouth to voice that’s a great f*****g idea when a b***d-curdling scream has me whipping my head back towards the gas station. Wylla’s standing at the entrance to the building and the drinks she has in her hands fall to the ground, exploding around her. She’s staring off to the other side of the parking lot where a large white pickup speeds out of the lot, and I see Magnolia’s gray hair through the back window with the creepy f*****g Beta from yesterday petting her hair and whispering into her ear.

Blaine and I jump into his truck, and the other two are right behind us, barely shutting the doors before Blaine roars the truck to life and speeds after them. Tires squeal as we turn out onto the road and gain on them fast. No way in hell are they getting away with our f*****g mate. We’re hot on their tail on this country-a*s road when suddenly they veer right, driving under a large arch that covers the road. Wylla is chanting, and her eyes glaze over as she focuses on the truck in front of us.

Half a mile later, they cross a bridge, and the truck disappears instantly on the other side. “What the f**k?” everyone screams. Blaine hits the brakes, and we come to a screeching stop.

Wylla is out of the truck and running across the bridge, screaming so loud I think my eardrums are about to burst. She turns around, and her eyes are pitch black. She looks absolutely feral right now. “She’s gone. Our mate is gone!”