The Alpha’s Forced Mate
Chapter 10

Veronica

Blake left without sparing another glance. His aggravating and invasive scent—that daredevil patchouli and comforting pine—stung my nostrils as if he was standing right in front of me. It was irritating. It was maddening.

It was the most intoxicating thing I had ever inhaled. I wanted more. And I also wanted to forget about it.

Carrie elbowed me. “He was really giving you the daggers, huh?”

“Yeah,” I agreed without meeting her gaze. “I don’t think he likes me.”

“He wouldn’t be the only one,” Marianne piped up from across the table.

I didn’t meet her gaze either. “It’s beneath me to disagree with fools.”

Carrie broke into uncontrollable giggles while Marianne stammered over a rebuttal.

Norma dropped her scissors. “You don’t have to be rude, you know.”

“My statement still stands,” I reiterated. “You done with those?”

She sneered. “I’m not sharing with you.”

“Suit yourself.” I reached across the table and swept the scissors from her before she could react. I didn’t even need them. I was trying to let my anger out on someone who wasn’t Blake since he wasn’t around to take the heat. “Carrie, would you mind grabbing me that poster board?”

“Not at all, bestie,” Carrie replied merrily.

Indignant g****s rose from the other side of the table. Like I cared.

Once I had a poster board in front of me, I grabbed a spare magazine and started cutting up photos, words, or whatever caught my attention. I didn’t care about this task. Just like I didn’t care about the others. Or Blake.

“This is just busy work,” I complained. “You all realize this is demeaning, right?”

Marianne squinted suspiciously. “He gave you the option to leave, you know.”

“He did,” I agreed. “But that would mean you have a better chance of winning, and I don’t like those odds.”

“So, you’re just doing this for spite?” Norma challenged.

I grinned. “Honey, all the best things are done out of spite. Now, pass the damn glue if you’re done with it.”

When the bottle slid suddenly across the table, I caught it. Carrie opened her hand and I carefully handed her the scissors, handle first. I held my hand out in the same gesture and she passed me a few colored pencils. The two of us seemed to be in sync, oddly enough.

“Don’t worry about them,” Carrie whispered. “They’re just sticks in the sand.”

I chuckled. “What a handsome observation, Carrie.”

“I think he likes you more than anyone here.”

The statement made me recoil. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“You just flinched. That tells me you noticed too.”

As much as I’d tried to hide my reaction, it was impossible to do that with this woman. She seemed to notice just about everything. Even the things I wasn’t saying.

I cleared my throat twice. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“I think you do.”

“And you’re telling me because…?” I dabbed glue on the poster board and slapped a car in the middle. “You should be fighting for his hand, too.”

She shrugged, glanced at the two women across from us, and then focused on me. “I’m pretty sure none of these trials are supposed to be individual.”

“That doesn’t make sense, Carrie.”

“Think about it. Why would he put us all in the same area? Why wouldn’t he test us separately where he could actually study what we’re doing?”

I raised my eyebrows and twisted my l!ps together as I reflected. “Because he’s a pervert and he just wants to see some titties bouncing around. Maybe he’s even trying to get us all into a wolf fight or something.”

“Nah, I already checked his browser history. He likes softcore stuff.”

“Carrie Greer, did you snoop through his porn collection?”

Her forehead turned a rich shade of scarlet. “Well, I…” She scratched the back of her head. “I just wanted to know what I was up against, you know?”

“And what are you up against?”

She peeked at the women who were far too absorbed in their tasks to notice what we were doing. Or saying.

Thankfully.

“Busty lesbian cheerleaders,” she reported in a low voice. “They’re all redheads too.”

I blinked away my embarrassment. And why the hell was I embarrassed? All guys watched porn. Even Melvin had admitted to his tastes. It wasn’t anything new or unusual.

But somehow, it seemed like a piece of information that I didn’t need to know.

Carrie elbowed me again. “Wow, I didn’t think you could get that pale.”

“It’s a b***d condition.”

“Does it have something to do with the fact that you want to jump his bones?”

I waved away her question. “Don’t be silly. He literally hates me. But you?” I winked. “He seemed really concerned about you when Dr. Windsor whisked you away.”

She smiled gently. “No wonder they say love is blind.”

“What?”

“You’re gorgeous, you know? And you’re talented. You have a personality. You’re not trying to impress him.”

I shook my head. “I can’t be matched with him, Carrie. It has to be you. He needs someone sweet and compassionate.”

“That’s why you’re going to win.”

“Don’t be silly.”

Her grin stretched across her features. “That’s the real test here. We’re supposed to be working together.” She glared at the others. “Not acting like dog-eat-dog bitches.”

“Some people just can’t be helped.”

She touched my forearm. “Believe me when I say you have more of the skills he needs than anyone here.”

“Why would you be telling me that if you want to win?”

She huffed with amusement.

But she never did give me an answer. Instead, she poured her attention into her project, inspiring me to do the same. The sooner it was over, the sooner I could assassinate Blake and get the hell out of dodge.

The only question left was—how was I going to kill him in my dreams?

---

Cars and bold letters made up my name. Nothing about my poster board was serious—unlike the others. Carrie had created a pineapple collage out of various images that she had pasted in the center of a painted heart. Marianne drew seashells on a timeline. Norma pasted some words describing her personality on a sheet of blue construction paper.

Their effort was evident.

And mine probably showed much the same.

The others went ahead of me, as I had insisted. I knew Blake would get tired of their droning by the end and would hardly give my presentation any attention. His mother and grandmother would likely do the same. And seeing as no one else was present, I didn’t have to worry about making a fool of myself.

Unlike the other trials, these were done individually. It was as Carrie had suggested—Blake wanted to see how we worked together, or if we would work together. Only now did it feel entirely intimidating to face his scrutiny. Everything else was simple.

This? It was far too complicated. I didn’t want to do it.

But I didn’t have a choice.

As I stood at the other end of the table with my silly poster board and my shaking fingers, my throat dried up. My l!ps parted to release a croak. I looked down at my feet and mumbled a bit, trying to get the words to leave my mouth.

A chair screeched against the tile. Footsteps casually approached. Another chair squealed, though the sound was much less impressive than the first.

I scented him before I saw him. And that was when I really got nervous.

“Take your time, Veronica,” he whispered. “I’m right here.”

Rage cracked my heart open.

Why was he being so kind? Earlier, he’d had no issue berating me in front of everyone else. In fact, he seemed to take pleasure in it.

What made right now so different? The fact that no one else was watching?

My eyes flickered to his mother and grandmother. Both of them waited patiently with their hands folded on the table. Neither of them gave any indication of their true feelings. They were observing. That was it.

Blake scooted toward me. “Ignore them. Just talk to me.”

The sound of his voice lured my gaze before I could do anything about it. Resistance didn’t seem like an option anymore with him.

I swallowed the lump in my throat. Well, he did claim me, didn’t he?

My thighs ached as I thought about the den. Had that really happened last night? Or had it been some feverish wet dream?

“What are the cars?” he asked. “And why are they all red?”

The poster board came into view. I had forgotten all about it. “My father was a mechanic in our pack. He liked tinkering with stuff. He taught me about it.”

“And the bold letters?”

“My name. Duh.”

He laughed. “Duh. But what about your mother? Is she in those letters?”

“No, she…” The lump returned. “They both…”

Sympathy echoed through the room. I felt the distinct shift in the air, that slimy and undeniable scent that comes from shifters and shifters alone.

Pity.

Tears welled in my eyes. This wasn’t how I’d pictured the presentation going. I had a paragraph planned in my head, all the easy and important stuff that he needed to know. The daughter of young parents who worked on cars and then had their lives end abruptly in an accident. That was the whole story. Nothing special about it.

Except for the trained assassin part.

Blake reached for my hand. His fingers felt like lava when they made contact. “Tell me a memory you have of your mother.”

I sniffled and squeezed his hand. “We were on the beach counting the turtles that crawled to the ocean.”

A twinkle in his right eye caught my attention.

“They were so small,” I whispered. “It always made me feel so big.”

“Most people go to the beach to feel small.”

I shook my head. “Oh, no. I wouldn’t dare. I already feel small.”

“Why’s that, Veronica?”

“Because life is so vast and wondrous. How could you not?”

The air fled the room. Even my own lungs wheezed from the lack of oxygen. Was it him? Or was it me? Or was it the two women silently watching whose hearts had just skipped a beat?

It paid to be a wolf. And sometimes, it paid a little too much.

I released Blake’s hand. “I should head up to bed. That’s it.”

“But what about—”

“I’m done talking about my parents.”

There went the rest of the air. As soon as I snatched the poster board from the table, I marched from the dining hall and retreated to the stairs. I took them by two’s, three’s, four’s if I could manage. I sprinted to my suite, locked the door, and tore the poster board in half. The remnants were tossed in the fireplace.

“This is stupid,” I said shakily. I tore off my army jacket. “I don’t care.” I tossed it aside. “He doesn’t care either.”

I flung myself on the bed. Hot tears stung my eyes and stained my cheeks, soaking into the fabric of the sheets beneath me. They poured like a broken dam, rivers of pain carving sorrowful paths in my face. The stickiness came next. And then the heaving gasps for air.

It was terrible.

The others hadn’t suffered like this. They still had their parents. They had leaders in their packs—even alphas—who were more than willing to back them up. I had a boulder on my back and a target to hit. That was the best life had to offer me. One crummy apartment and a best friend to go with it. He wasn’t even a friend of the same gender.

Not that it had ever been a problem. But Carrie had a way of putting things in perspective that made sense. She could see my perspective easily. Melvin couldn’t.

More tears streamed from my eyes when I closed them. My lashes stuck together, refusing to release my lids. And that didn’t exactly matter. Nobody could get into this room and nobody could get out either. I was all alone.

And I might be alone forever.

---

Shifters were everywhere.

Though the floodlights illuminated their paths, nothing could shed light on the situation I’d been thrown into. To the wolves, much like Raymond would say, only the wolves were bigger, scarier, with rippling shadows that set them apart from typical shifters.

No, those weren’t shifters. Those were monsters. And they were coming for me.

Like all dreams, my feet refused to move. It felt like I was stepping through thick mud, a visceral liquid that warbled through the air and prevented me from speaking, breathing, or even thinking. Shadowy figures moved around me. Many of them were dressed for battle.

But none of them were prepared.

B***d spattered in every direction. Wet, hot streaks of it splashed my face. Terrified cries pierced my head and forced me to my knees, causing me to cover my ears. It was just a nightmare, just a trial. It had nothing to do with my actual life or the man who needed to die.

My eyes widened.

He needs to die.

When my head popped up, I located Blake without much effort. He fought valiantly with a great sword, swinging it wildly as he wielded a dagger in his free hand. He gritted his teeth and growled fiercely as he shoveled through wave after wave of monstrous beasts.

And then his icy eyes swept to me. Love poured from his expression. In an instant, the muddy landscape cleared up and light filled the space between us.

Veronica!

I stood up from the ground. “That’s my mate.”

A gaping wound opened in the earth. Stones fell into the chasm as lava rose to the edges, a rickety bridge appearing between us. I shook my head as I reached for the handles. They turned to ash under my fingers.

“No,” I grunted. “No, I won’t let this happen!”

He has to die.

I shook my head. “He can’t die. He’s my mate.”

This was ridiculous. This was a dream. I knew Blake wasn’t my mate. I knew we weren’t connected. All we had done was have s3x. End of story. There was nothing spectacular or impressive about it.

Other than the fact that it felt like my world had finally gotten clearer.

I gripped the railings of the rickety bridge and stepped forward. Lava washed over the boards, disappearing between the slats. I could make it. I just had to run.

Unlike before, my feet now moved quicker than I could command. I made it across the bridge and lunged toward Blake, trying to save him from the beasts that were now circling him. But he just kept getting farther away.

Why couldn’t I reach him?

Why was this so frustrating?

“Blake!” I shouted. “Hang on!”

Vicious snarls and resonant roars reverberated around me. My vision was clogged with tears. My heart skipped more beats than I knew was physically possible. The mud came back, sucking my feet into the ground.

I couldn’t reach him.

I couldn’t save him.

And that enraged me more than anything I’ve ever experienced.

The beasts converged on him like a track being sped up. They pounced on his body, tore into his flesh, and ripped his limbs away one by one. B***d puddled under the unrecognizable torso that remained.

My world shattered. The ground opened up beneath my feet and swallowed me, carrying me into a black abyss that didn’t seem as frightening as what I had just seen.

After all, what could scare me more than losing my mate?