Chained By The Alpha By Jessica Hall
Chapter 41

I quickly agree to meet him when the front door bangs open and my father is glaring at me from the front porch. Great, now I have to deal with him, and he’ll be furious when he learns who I was with last night. Climbing out of the car, my father storms down the steps toward me with a furious look on his face

His eyes flash with anger as he confronts me, his voice laced with disappointment. “Cleo, what the hell were you thinking? Spending the night with Zayn, of all people!”

Of course, Lydia couldn’t wait to throw me under the bus. His words pierce through me like hot iron, igniting a mixture of fear and defiance

“Dad, it’s not what you think,” I stammer, attempting to defend myself. But he doesn’t seem interested in hearing any explanation

“Not what I think? You’re fraternizing with the

i”

enemy!” he growls, his face turning red with.

anger

“I know, I know,” I stammer, my heart sinking at the disappointment in his voice. Once again, I’ve let him down, great, thanks Lydia

“But it wasn’t like that, Dad. I was in no state to drive, and Zayn found me outside the club. He brought me back to his place to make sure I was safe. That was all. Nothing sordid, I swear!” I try to explain myself, hoping he listens

My father’s expression softens slightly, but his disapproval is still evident. “And where was Deacon during all this? He should have been the

one taking care of you, not Zayn.”

I swallow hard, my throat dry with guilt. “T don’t know, Deacon left me at the club earlier in the night. I haven’t seen him since.”

His eyes narrow as he studies me, searching for any signs of deceit. “You expect me to believe that Deacon just abandoned you in that state?”

“IT wouldn’t lie about this,” I say firmly, meeting his gaze head-on.”Deacon disappeared, and we need to replace him. Ask Lydia, we just returned from his house; can we argue about this after we replace him please?” And for the first time ever Lydia comes to my defense against my father, even though she is the one who clearly told him where I was

“She’s right Joseph, Deacon wasn’t home. We can’t replace him,” Lydia adds, and he peers

over

his shoulder at her then looks at me

“And nothing happened between you and Zayn?” he questions. My brows furrow in confusion at his words. “No, I just told you that!”

“So you didn’t fuck him?” my father accuses, and my eyes widen, appalled at his question

“Excuse me?” I splutter

“Answer the question Cleo or I will have the doc check you. If I want this alliance to go well with Alpha Dane, you best still be pure.” I stagger back at his words, and even Lydia seems disgusted at his question, which says a lot because that B revels in my discomfort

“For your sake, I’m going to pretend you did not just ask about the state of my virginity. And

Alpha Dane can go fuck himself if he thinks I will marry his son,” I snarl angrily, stomping off toward my car

“Where do you think you’re going?” my father yells at me, and I stop flinging my car door open

“To replace Deacon, my boyfriend and future mate!” I yell at him before climbing in my car. I start my car and slam it in reverse, tearing out of the driveway and back toward the city

28K ok

~Zayn~

After Cleo leaves, I head home to the packhouse where my brother, who’s also my Beta, Vance, is waiting. I groan, I was on high after seeing my little mate, not so much now seeing his concerned face

Toeing my shoes off, I kick them beside the door and wander into the living room where he is sitting on the leather armchair by the window

“Spying on me now?” I ask, knowing he just witnessed everything outside with me and

Cleo

“Not spying, I’ve come to speak to you about Deacon.” I raise an eyebrow at his words

“What about him?” I ask, falling onto the sofa

Vance scratches his chin nervously before

leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees

“His body?” Vance questions

“In the freezer in the basement,” I answer with a shrug, and Vance nods slowly and sits

back

“What is it?” I ask, cocking a brow as I lean back in my seat

“Nothing major, just thought you should know.” He sighs heavily like the weight of the

world rests on his shoulders

“Alpha Grayson put out an alert this morning when he didn’t show up for patrol duty.

He knows Deacon is missing, and he felt the pack link sever.”

“Well, that’s to be expected,” I state

“You sure he didn’t mind link anyone?” Vance questions

“Positive, he was too intoxicated. And every time he tried I handled it, I’m not stupid

Vance

He isn’t the first wolf I’ve killed,” I remind him

“What about his car?”

“Burnt out, I had Harry pick it up earlier and crush it. They won’t replace it.” I nod with

confidence

“So nothing to worry about then?” It’s obvious he’s still concerned

“Video footage I took care of last night, bouncers won’t speak, you know that. But

apparently the kid was pretty reliable, he never misses patrol. His Alpha was quite concerned about him; he’s worried he’s dead, or was forced

to be a rogue for some reason.”

Vance gets to his feet and heads toward the door, only to stop at the threshold. “What

do you reckon he was taking the photos for?”

“Nothing good, what I want to know is why he

would send them to her step sister,” I question

Vance seems to think for a second

“She’s Alpha Samuel’s daughter, right?” he asks, and I nod

“Yeah, why’s that?”

“Alpha Samuel won’t hand the pack to her because that means Linda has access to it

Makes me wonder if she is trying to get Cleo removed as the next Alpha, and what better way to do it than embarrass her father and hurt her reputation.”