The Alphas And The Orphan

Saturday 27th January

Star’s POV

Eying the man with suspicion, he says he was sent to find the enemy, which he did, but he did nothing for nearly 19 years? Living with the people who killed his family and friends? And he did nothing? I’m not buying it, but right now we have more than I’m potent things to worry about.

Saffron is quiet, but I can feel the tension in her. Her hackles are up and she is poised and ready for attack. Looks like she feels like I do about the stranger.

“Look, I’m sorry, but we have a lot today, things that can’t wait, as your story has already wanted for nearly two decades. It can wait a little longer.” my voice, along with my facial expression, is frigid.

I feel Lex stiffen beside me. His whole demeanour changes, hardens into my warrior.

Both Ace and Ash move closer to me. Strengthening my position.From NôvelDrama.Org.

“As I am sure you can understand, as a stranger here, you will be free to move around the pack, but only in the presence of Liam and Campbell, if that is not agreeable then you are free to leave our borders and find lodgings in town.”

My dad stares at me in confusion, but nods in agreement. But Caster is angry, he stands up, “why am I being treated like this? Like I am under suspicion?”.

I stand and stare him down. “The people you have lived with for almost 19 years attacked and wiped out my mother’s pack. They have attacked us on three separate occasions, killing and injuring MY PEOPLE.”

I am getting so angry now, I never get this angry

“The bastards you have spent your time with, are determined to take me so that they can rape me and impregnate me to use my child to give them power, and you expect me to accept your version of events and allow you full access to my pack? As an ex-Beta, I would expect you to be smarter than that. Now you are in the home of the Alphas and the Luna of this pack, so show us the respect we deserve.”

My allow my aura to wash over him lightly, just giving a hint of the power at my disposal. “I wish no disrespect to you, but what I have to say is important. Perhaps I should discuss this with your Alpha’s. They are more prepared for dealing with the issues at hand.”

The four other men in the room growl in warning at him. Mary-Beth whispers, “oh dear, you’ve done it now.”

Lex stands and moves behind me, “my brothers and I trust the instincts of our Luna above anyone else, even ourselves, we will lead our pack as one, and in this instance we stand behind our mate and follow her lead, if you are unwilling to follow her orders then you will be ejected from our pack.”

His face contorts in disgust, “you stupid children, you have no idea what you have, but if you won’t control her, then I will.” He pulls his hand from his pocket and throws it towards me. It hits me full in the face, making me sneeze. The powder burns my eyes and nose. My vision is blurry, but I see shapes and the sound of fighting around me.

Hand grab me and I hear Anne-Marie chant in my ear, then a feeling of beings squeezed, my lungs feel like all the air is being pushed from my lungs, I try to fight the darkness, but it’s getting harder and harder to stay awake, my last thought is of my mates as I succumb to the black.

Ace’s POV

I have never seen Star act this way, yes I’ve seen her angry, but not cold, her whole demeanour shows the distrust, that she feels towards this man, Maximus growls in my head, “it’s not just Star, Saffron is ready to pounce, they must sense something we can’t. I trust their instincts, so we must follow their lead.”

“You right Max, Star would only act like this if she was sure there was something wrong with him.”

Everything happened so fast, the fucker threw something in Star’s face, I lunge at him, Lex gets there first, throwing him to the floor, from the corner of my eye I see both Liam and Mary-Beth fall to the ground, neither of them are moving, turning to where I last saw Star I see Anne-Marie grab her, and they disappear, I stare shocked and shout to my brothers, “they have taken Star!”

Everything goes quiet. I turn to my brothers. The same look of anguish and anger is written on their faces. Lex punches the bastard Caster in the face, knocking him out cold.

Ash and I rush to Liam and Mary-Beth. They are both groaning, regaining consciousness. Satisfied they are ok, I link our warriors to come and take the prisoner to the cells.

Once Caster is safely in custody, I turn to Mary-Beth. “what the f**k just happened? Where has Anne-Marie taken Star?”

Tears run down her face, “I don’t know, I need to follow her magic, she will have left a trail, We also need to question her people, she must have left some evidence of what she was planning, but our best bet is to question Caster.”

Lex is ready to kill someone, he turns his anger to the witch, “she is your friend, you arrived here together, so you are going to tell me every f*****g thing you know or so help me…..” Ash puts a calming hand on his shoulder.

“Please Mary-Beth, tell us what you know. There must have been some clue about what she had planned, and Liam we ask the same to you. You said she was a friend, right?”

Liam shakes his head, “no, the mother of her coven that I knew was Called Raine, Anne-Marie replaced her eight months ago, after Raine’s death, I had met Anne-Marie before, but only once, I have a deep respect for her coven, I can’t believe she would do this.”

Mary-Beth looks crestfallen, “there were questions when Raine passed so suddenly, yes she was not a young witch, but she still had so much life in her, she was one of the most powerful witches I have ever known, and a great friend.”

She sighs, “when Liam first contacted me, asking for help in finding the pack responsible for the attack on you, I was looking forward to spending time with her, there was always an excuse for me to visit before, she was very friendly when she arrived at my coven.”

She puts her head in her hands. “I’m sorry. My head is still fuzzy. I am struggling to put things in order, trying to look back and see if there were clues I missed.”

Campbell comes barrelling through the door, followed closely by mum, all our friends and Stars Scottish family. Dad puts his hand on my shoulder. Ash filled me and your mother in and asked us to get everyone here, what are our orders, son?”

I gather my thoughts. The only way we are going to Star is to keep calm and use our brains. We need information, and we have four people in the cells that could give us the lead we need.

I look at my brothers and lift my chin at them. They return the gesture and straighten their shoulders. They will now follow my lead, dropping into the roles we have honed since childhood.

“Okay, Suzie, Nat and Sofia, I would like you to stay here with me while we hear what Mary-Beth has to say”

“Yes Alpha”

“Mum, Mamo and Max, please join Ash while he questions Evelyn Jessop.”

“Yes Alpha”

“Dad, you, Lex and Liam will take three teams, one for the rogue we captured during the attack, another for Kia Jessop and the third for the new guy Castor. Lex, you should interrogate him.”

“Yes Alpha”

“Kurtis, Jonah and Blair, strengthen our borders. It would be the best time to attack us again when they think we are distracted.”

“Yes Alpha”

They all head out to complete their tasks. Mary-Beth looks at me. “Alpha Ace, please, may I contact my coven? I would like to send our warriors to Anne-Marie’s coven to search for answers.”

I nod at her and excuse myself. I head to our bedroom. Mum is close on my heels and as soon as the door closes, she pulls me into her arms, and I break. Tears fall down my cheeks, “I failed her mum, she knew there was something wrong, I could tell and I could save her, I keep letting her down.”

Mum sits me on the bed and grabs my chin, turning my face to her, “now you stop that right now, Ace Ravenwood, Star is one of the strongest most capable women I have ever met in my life, she has never and will ever, be a damsel in distress, do you really think that wherever she is she is just sitting in a cell feeling sorry for herself? Or do you think she is making a plan to kick the f**k out of whoever has found her?”

I look up at my mother. She is right. Star has never needed someone to fight her battles for her. I need to stop thinking about what I did wrong and make a plan on how to help her get out.