Sold To The Alpha
Hated Ties That Bind Chapter 16

'You' the black haired woman snarled furiously, 'what are you doing here, how did you replace me?'

Rowan stared back at the woman in shock as his companions stood next to him staring between the two, even Nathaniel rendered speechless by the woman's venomous tone. 'Uhh, do I know you?' he asked confusedly.

The woman threw back her head and laughed mirthlessly as if unsurprised by his words. 'Of course not' she muttered to herself, 'of course the great and terrible Ghost, terror of the dreams of the supernatural world, doesn't remember me, he only ruined my life, nothing that would disturb his sleep let alone ingrain me in his mind, but then I was just one of many wasn't l

Rowan closed his eyes momentarily at the sound of his old name, his jaw ticking as he reigned himself in. 'I assume that you were one of my victims when I worked for the council' he asked sadly.

The woman snapped her gaze back to him, her lips pressed into a thin line of hatred, 'oh no Rowan, you hurt me long before the council got their hands on you' she spat back. Tilting her head, she smiled viciously, 'you really don't remember me do you? Tell me Rogue, did you ever replace your precious mate?'

Rowan stiffened at the mention of Gabriella, 'yes I did' he replied guardedly.

The woman's smile widened, 'is she pretty Rowan? I bet she is the most beautiful girl you ever laid eyes on isn't she?' she asked sweetly.

'Yes she is' the warrior growled back, his eyes darkening.

'Tell me Rowan, how long did she hang around while you stood there like the useless specimen you are, how long did she wait for you to mark her as your own until she ran into someone else's arms?' the woman whispered, triumph dancing in her eyes. 'Did it hurt Ghost? Did your heart break when you realised that you could never claim her as your own? That you were destined to be rejected?'

The warrior's eyes widened, 'how did you know I couldn't... he started before a growl ripped from his body, 'you!' he snarled, 'you helped them didn't you! You made me into that monster that they used like a damn puppet for their own disgusting agenda. The woman laughed in delight, 'I see you caught up' she teased, 'yes Rowan, It was I that bound you to the council, and as a personal gift to myself in return for my help, I decided to add my own little extra seasoning to your particular spell. Tell me, how painful is it when she makes love to another wolf Rowan? Does it kill you a little bit more, each and every time she allows another into her bed?' she asked, her face hopeful.

'No, not at all' Rowan replied, a smile creeping across his own face, 'as she only makes love to me. Pulling back his jacket, the warrior revealed his mark as the woman's face changed from euphoria to one of unimaginable fury.

'NO!' she screamed, 'No! she can't have marked you, HOW? That spell was perfect!'

Rowan's smile widened as he released his clothes, 'an act of selfless love' he replied quietly.

Stamping her foot, the black haired witch screamed in anger, balling her fists as she tried to control herself, 'how could you know that? You are a selfish bastard, anyway, how did you manage to perform an act like that' she muttered more to herself than her audience.

The rest of the group just stood in silence, watching the exchange in shock before Daniel finally found his voice, 'if you put the curse on Rowan, how are you still in your twenties? This was nearly 30 years ago!'

The woman rolled her eyes, 'I may have made the unusual decision to use my own blood in the concoction of the spell, which in turn may or may not have had the unexpected result of me also being frozen in age' she muttered.

'The spell has been broken for four years; did you not feel it?' Landen asked curiously.

Glaring at the warrior, she replied, 'I'm a witch, mongrel, we live for over three hundred years, I haven't changed much in four years and to be honest, after the first decade I stopped keeping such a close eye on him. He was suffering, that was enough to keep me happy and I figured, with immortality, I would get to watch him suffer for eternity' she added.

'What the hell did he do to make you try and take his mate?' Alessia asked in horror as she tried to keep up with the conversation.

The witch flicked her gaze momentarily to the stony faced warrior before growling out, 'he killed my beloved in cold blood.'

Nathaniel let out a possessive growl as he heard her speak of another love, startling the witch who returned her gaze to him in confusion a small flicker of guilt crossing her face before she masked it and returned her gaze to her enemy.

'I killed a lot of people' Rowan growled, 'but I never did it in cold blood, under the council, I was forced, before that, I only took the lives of those that needed to be eradicated.'

'NO you didn't!' the witch replied forcefully, 'you killed my beloved for no other reason than you wanted too, you hated him because of what he was!

'Who was your beloved?' Alessia asked softly.

Tears filled the woman's eyes as she whispered, 'Vincenzo.

Rowan's face paled as he stared at the woman as if seeing a ghost, 'the Vampire?' he croaked, his eyes widening as he took her in, 'Ariana?'

The witch nodded, 'oh so you do remember me?' she spat, 'you remember how you left me huddled on the floor, covered in my beloved's blood as I held his decapitated corpse to my chest? Do you remember how I pleaded with you for his life as he kneeled in front of you, your claws to his throat? How I begged you to take me instead if you would only spare him?'

Rowan swallowed as he nodded, his eyes on the witch who had tears of both anger and sorrow rolling down her cheeks, 'I didn't have a choice Ariana' he mumbled sadly.

The witch's temper flared, 'yes you did! You had a choice! You always have a choice! You chose to let me live a waking death of heartbreak for the rest of my life, over sparing the soul of an innocent man. You were power hungry and unremorseful, and I will never forgive you for what you did' she yelled.

'Ariana, I had to do it' Rowan shouted back desperately, as he took a step toward her.

'No! Stay back, stay away from me' the young witch screamed, holding her hands out defensively, 'I should have killed you all those years ago, but I wanted you to suffer! But like a cockroach, you crawled out of hell into the light. You don't get your happily ever after, dog, I won't let you return to your mate when mine was taken by you so cruelly! Balling her hands together, Ariana sculped a sphere of blackness, her eyes manic as she glared at the warrior.

'Ariana no!' shouted Nathaniel desperately, running forward between the two before anyone could stop him, the witch had already lifted her hand, releasing the spell toward the motionless warrior. The group watched, rooted to the spot as the black ball hit the future Alpha squarely in the chest, Nathaniel gasping slightly in shock before he fell to the floor, his breathing erratic as he struggled for air, his hand still reaching out desperately toward his mate who stared down at him in horror. 'No no no no no' she whispered, her hands going to her mouth, 'not him, I didn't mean to hit him, no!'

Stumbling backwards, Ariana could not tear her eyes from the young man who was still staring up at her pleadingly.

'Aurora! What did you do?' Rowan yelled as he dropped to the floor beside the warrior, snapping out of her trance, the witch looked around in terror before grabbing some powder out of a pouch that was slung by her hip and throwing it at the floor. Smoke billowed from the ground enveloping her, before clearing to reveal that she was gone.

'Can you help? Please?' Rowan called out desperately to the girl behind the counter who had remained frozen from the beginning.

Shaking her head, the girl whispered, 'I am not a witch, I don't know what she did.

Riley, Daniel and Landen kneeled beside the Alpha, stricken as they tried to help him to breathe.

'Get out of the way' Rowan growled as he gathered the warrior up and clambered to his feet, pushing through the group angrily as Riley tried to stop him.

'Put him down, he needs help' the Luna ordered.

Shoving the older man out of the way with his shoulder, Rowan yelled, 'do you think I don't know that? Stop holding me back if you want to save him.' Not waiting for the Luna to reply, the warrior kicked open the front door heavily and stormed out into the street, the rest of the group trailing out behind him.

'What about one of the witches that were shopping?' Alessia offered worriedly as she half ran to keep up with the male warriors long strides.

'They won't be able to save him, Ariana is too powerful for an everyday witch to combat her spells, we need someone skilled' Rowan muttered back distractedly, his arms gripping the now unconscious body of the future Alpha tightly as he hurried back along the street toward where they entered the village.

'Where are we going?' Landen huffed as he ran alongside the warrior, glancing down at his Alpha in fear.

'A friend' was the only reply he got from the ex Rogue as he ran as fast as he could through the fields without looking back to make sure the others were following him.