Alpha Luke and His Unwilling Mate
Chapter 35

~Nyla~

Rachel wasn’t thrilled. She wanted to take a lot of silly pictures with me and her dolled-up friends while we rode in her fancy car. We were instead in a black SUV with boring seats and grumpy guard wolves.

The atmosphere was charged. Live music, lots of food, kids running around or taking a dip in the ocean, and adults enjoying their drinks by the beach. It was as if we arrived at some carnival celebration.

I tried to push my poison-filled thoughts to the back about how to end their smiles and laughter right away. The power of the full moon coupled with the latent energy of the stone was making me restless.

“Oh yes! Looks like their boring meeting ended early today!” Rachel said and jumped out of the car when she saw her dad coming out with a few others.

Alpha Caine’s eyes locked with me as if I was his next task on his to-do list for the day. He was over six feet tall, just like Luke, but with hazel eyes and copper hair. He walked towards me with a purpose and told Rachel he needed to talk to me.

“Let me grab some fried Oreos before the kids eat them all. I’ll be right back.” She disappeared into the crowd with her friends while Ren and the wet nurse followed them with Ari.

I walked behind Luke’s dad and some ten men who trailed him. Eric and the other three guards followed me closely, more attentive now than ever.

“It’s too noisy here. Let’s go back to the estate.” He walked towards his car, but Eric stopped him.

“With all due respect, Alpha Caine, we got strict orders to keep the future luna here at the venue today, amidst the crowds.”

Alpha Caine narrowed his eyes and raked me up and down.

“What’s your name again?”

“Ny… Riley?”

“Look, Riley. I don’t know what kind of mind games you are playing with my son—“

“Alpha Caine, I also have orders to not let anyone disrespect the Alpha’s chosen mate.”

He flashed a dangerous look at Eric for interrupting him and then turn to look at a man standing to his left, slightly behind him.

“Kill him.”

“W-What?” I wasn’t sure if I heard him right.

“And the others as well. Including this slut here.”

Things escalated too quickly. Even with the werewolf hearing abilities, no one at the gathering heard us over the loud music. Eric and the other three men drew their guns out at the same time as Alpha Caine’s men. We were outnumbered.

“Alpha C—“

“Do you think I lost my own mate for nothing? She was a fool and wanted to protect Leah.”

“Drop your guns.” Alpha Caine said in a commanding voice, and Eric and the others had no choice but to agree.

“Finish them quietly, don’t fire any shots unless needed.” He turned around to leave but stopped when he saw Rachel walking towards us. “The same kind of fool as her mother was.”

Eric wasted no time shifting into a giant coffee-colored wolf but was instantly pounced on by two equally large wolves. I couldn’t watch him die while he was fighting to protect me. All hell broke loose.

Strength coursed through me as I charged towards a man with broad shoulders and thick arms before he could shift, hitting him in the chest and throwing him backwards in surprise. Landing powerful blows at him, I knocked him to the ground in seconds. A guard wolf or fighter wolf was no match to my strength on a full moon night.

“What’s happening here?” I heard Rachel’s panicked voice as I broke the man’s neck by twisting his head.

“Nothing you should be bothered about.”

Alpha Caine said in a stern voice and tried to pull her away from us while another man flung himself onto me in his wolf form. I struck him on the side, causing him to slam into nearby driftwood. He sprang back to his feet and lunged at me while Rachel’s bones began to shift, sprouting grey fur in light patches.

Emitting a loud growl, she charged at the wolf that was in the air, leaping towards me. She was faster than an average wolf and put up a tough fight while an agonized cry filled the air from somewhere else. Eric was fatally wounded. Rage flooded my veins and my canines elongated, thirsting for b***d. Latching myself into the throat of one wolf who was ripping Eric off, I tore through his flesh.

The other wolf slashed at my arm, causing me to whimper before I could quickly roll him onto his back. Pinning him to the ground after slamming my knee into his gut, I reached for his throat but was taken aback by pain coursing through my back.

Alpha Caine had shifted and attacked me from behind, digging his claws in. He slashed at my stomach this time while the other wolf also zeroed in on me when I was still recovering from the mind-numbing pain.

Dodging their claws and trying to land my own blows at them, I rolled on the ground until I hit the ocean waves. The cool waters lapped at my bleeding skin as I continued to block the whirlwind of attacks from the alpha and the guard.

“Did my son tell you how Leah was killed?”

The alpha’s lengthened nails neared my throat when I was busy reaching for the silver dagger fastened to my thigh. Slashing through the guard’s neck and taking the alpha by surprise, I attempted to get back on my feet. He was stronger than I expected. Aging hadn’t slowed him down one bit, and he fended me off into the water after tearing into the skin on my arm.

I swam further into the water, with him following closely behind in his human form now. The wind burned the back of my lungs as I waited for him to lunge towards me again. Snarling at me menacingly, he took predatory steps into the shallow waters. I was ready for him, with the silver dagger slick in my bleeding hand, and my heart rapidly thudding in my chest.

I was sure I could kill him. It might be at the cost of losing my own life. The gashes in my back were draining my b***d and protesting when I rolled over my back to dodge his attack. I swam further in so that I could change into my siren form. He leaped at me while shifting again.

A slender body with a long fishtail and glowing hair lunged itself at Alpha Caine’s wolf, holding his hindlimbs in a death grip.

Maya!

She took the dagger from me and stabbed it straight through the heart of the immobilized alpha, hissing fiercely at the dying wolf. Guilt swarmed me for killing my mate’s dad, but it lasted only for a second.

Rachel howled in pain at the loss. She growled aggressively and charged at Maya.

“Maya, she’s just a kid. She—“

I had drawn power from the stone when fending off my attackers, and its influence on me had grown stronger now, chasing away every emotion other than vengeance. I couldn’t remove it from around my neck. My willpower had weakened as I succumbed to the dark, alluring force. I saw red as Rachel growled again and reached us in the waters. She had already attracted her folks.

“Nyla, you are too injured to fight. Bewitch them! I’ll buy you time if you need.” She pushed me to the side as Rachel barreled into her.

The pack warriors skidded to a stop as they were about to shed their clothes. I shifted to my siren form and focused all my mental energy on them. Instead of attacking Maya, they took slow steps towards me in a trance.

With strong and steady flutter kicks, I performed a backstroke without breaking eye contact with them. Not caring about the crashing waves, they all followed me, including the non-warrior wolves and children. I was too preoccupied to think about Ari.

Rachel cried in pain as Maya was about to finish her off. Deep growls with a powerful intensity emitted through the air as a large black wolf pounced on Maya and shielded Rachel.

As expected, my mate was unaffected by my siren song.