Sold To The Alpha
Hated Ties That Bind Chapter 42

Stepping out of her own fireplace, Ariana marched around her room, her hands itching to strike something as she muttered to herself. 'How could they? They allow that man to enter my beloved's home? Traitors! They spit on the grave of my love, and they call themselves his brothers' she fumed. 'Ariana' came a croaky voice behind her, spinning around, the sorceress's gaze fell on the warrior who was on his hands and knees on the hearth coughing.

Eyes widening Ariana stepped back involuntarily, 'how did you get here?' she gasped, her eyes looking around in terror, 'who else is here? Did you bring him too?'

Nathaniel shook his head as he continued to try and clear his lungs of the smoke from the fire, 'no, just me, I tried to grab you as you left.'

Ariana growled angrily, 'you transported on the tails of my magic' she grumbled, 'that powder was only enough for me unaffected, that's why you are struggling to breath, you inhaled all that damn smoke! Are you crazy? Why would you do that? You could have been killed! I only just get you back and you.. The sorceress cut off her rambling, her lips snapping shut, cutting off the rest of her thought.

'You are worried about me?' Nathaniel asked, his eyes roaming over her face hopefully.

'Of course not' Ariana snapped, 'you are a friend of the murderer, why would I worry for you' she demanded.

'Rowan is a good guy' Nathanial started as Ariana waved her hand furiously, using her magic to seal his mouth shut.

'Rowan is a cruel and heartless murderer; he takes the lives of innocent people and you and your pack are stupid enough to believe his lies and act of being a good man' the sorceress shrieked as she started to pace the floor in anger.

Nathaniel tried to prise his lips apart, but Ariana's magic was strong, finally giving up, the warrior crawled toward the young woman, climbing to his feet and reaching for her.

'What are you doing?' Ariana whispered as she watched the werewolf grip her arms gently and pull her toward him, 'don't touch me, you have no right to touch me!

Looking down at her warmly, the warrior encircled his arms around her waist as she stood still, letting him.

'Why do you affect me like this?' she murmured as she leaned her head into his chest, 'you feel like.. home.'

Idly waving her hand, Ariana removed the spell from Nathaniel's lips, relaxing as he instinctively tightened his hold on her, 'you are my mate Ariana, deep down you know it' he said quietly.

Ariana shook her head as she absorbed his warmth, 'I can't be' she replied sadly, 'I don't understand how it could be true.

Nathaniel chuckled, 'you don't have to understand it sweetheart, it just is' he said lovingly.

'What happens now?' the sorceress asked, her small voice soft and innocent.

'You come home with me and be my Luna' Nathaniel replied quietly.

Ariana stiffened at his words, instinctively stepping away, putting distance between them. Her body immediately felt cold from the loss of the warrior's warmth but she pushed it aside as she glared at the Alpha. 'I cannot go with you werewolf' she growled, 'I can never come with you whilst you house and support that devils spawn.

Nathaniel's face fell as he reached for her once again, pain rippling across his features as she evaded his touch, her arms crossed in defiance.

'What can I do to get you to come home with me?' he asked desperately.

Ariana straightened up, her eyes flashing dangerously, 'you can kill the Ghost' she replied simply, 'once his head is in my hand I will happily return with you, until that day, I will remain here plotting how to take him down.

Nathaniel shook his head in horror, 'I can't do that' he gasped, 'he's my sister's mate, he has a son!'

Ariana's features hardened, 'we will be doing her a favour by removing that cancer from her life' she growled, 'her son may have a chance to grow up as a better man without the poison of his father in his life.'

'Ariana please' Nathaniel started in desperation.

'No!' the sorceress yelled in fury, 'you will not protect him from me, if you insist on standing in my way, I'll just have to remove you from my path.

Creating a ball of light, Ariana threw it at Nathaniel, engulfing him from view momentarily, when the light cleared, Nathaniel was now stood in a metal cage. Grabbing the bars, he hissed in pain as he released them immediately, looking down at his burning hands. 'I am sorry warrior' Ariana whispered softly, guilt and longing in her eyes, 'I don't want to hurt you, but I can't let you stop me from avenging my fiancée!

'Ariana please' Nathaniel called out, 'I love you, you are my mate, you can be happy again with me. Please, let me go and come home with me.'

Ariana shook her head as she turned away, 'I'm sorry' she murmured sadly, 'I just can't let go.

*********

After Rowan had left her room, Alessia had fallen asleep on her bed, exhausted from the tears. She woke up a few hours later, rubbing her bleary eyes to the sound of someone pounding on her door. 'Alessia? Open up, its Rowan' came the warrior's voice through the barrier.

'Just come in Ro, it's not locked' the she wolf called back as she remained curled up in a ball on the bed.

The door clicked open and the ex-Rogue stepped inside, closing the door behind him quietly. Alessia felt the mattress dip as the warrior sat down beside her, placing his rough hand onto her arm as he spoke. 'How are you feeling little sis?' he asked softly.

Alessia shrugged, 'OK, well not Ok but you know, I'll be fine' she mumbled.

Rowan pulled at her arm, rolling her over to face him, the she wolf's angry comment dying on her lips as she saw his worried expression.

Scooting herself up into a sitting position, Alessia grabbed Rowan's hand in her own, 'what is it? Did something happen to Terri? Is my brother OK?' she asked panicked.

Rowan nodded, 'they are fine Lessi, it's just.. he swallowed, unsure how to continue.

'What? Tell me' Alessia demanded,

'Ariana' the warrior continued thickly, 'she was in Cassius' office, I ran in and she fled.. she took Nate with her, we don't know where he is.

Alessia paled at his words, a knife stabbing though her heart at the knowledge that Nate's mate had been with him and that he was now gone.

'We have to replace him' she whispered, scrambling from the bed and blindly reaching for her belongings, stuffing them in her backpack. 'Do we have any clues? Where she would have taken him? When do we leave?'

Rowan grabbed her hands in his, pulling the she wolf back to the bed where she sat cautiously. 'Lessi' he said quietly, 'you don't need to come with us, we found your brother, there is no need to leave him and put yourself in danger.' Alessia stared at Rowan incredulously, 'what are you talking about? Of course, I need to come!' she shouted.

Rowan smiled down at her sadly, 'why?' he asked carefully, 'we are going to replace Nate and his mate Lessi. When we replace them, we'll take them both back to Silver Cross where Nate will marry her. You said earlier that you need to pull back from him, what is going on between you will only lead to your own heart break. The warrior sighed heavily as he squeezed her small hand tightly, 'I think it's better that you stay here, your brother is here and your niece. You have found what you were looking for and then some, spend some time connecting with your family, I promise that we will replace Nate and get him home!

Alessia stared down at their joined hands, tears pricking the back of her eyes as she avoided the warrior's gaze.

'OK' she mumbled, 'I'll stay behind,' raising her eyes to the Rogue's, she gave a watery smile, 'it's not like I was ever part of Silver Cross is it, your Alpha is not for me to worry about.'

Rowan nodded as he pulled her into a hug, 'hey, even if you are not Silver Cross, you will always be my little sister, don't you ever forget that' he grumbled.

Alessia laughed as she pulled away, 'you better go' she sniffled, 'being around me seems to be bringing out your soft side and your mate is going to be very upset if she replaces I've destroyed her rugged bad boy!

Rowan laughed as he stood up, 'I'll always be Gabby's bad boy, I know how much she loves to tame me' he replied with a wink. Placing his hand on her shoulder, Rowan added, 'don't be a stranger Lessi, just because we are apart doesn't mean you can't ring me or something'

Alessia shook her head, 'you forget, if I stay here, there's no outside contact, I think this is goodbye.'

Rowan growled angrily before pulling the she wolf to her feet and engulfing her in a hug, 'this is never goodbye Lessi, I will see you again, even if I have to sit in one of the surrounding towns waiting for the Vamps to come and get their mates so I can follow them. Alessia laughed through her sobs as she gently pushed him away, 'go' she said wiping her eyes, 'go on, before I really ugly cry on you!

Nodding, Rowan walked toward the door, looking back one last time to give her a small smile before he stepped out of the room and shut the door, heading back to his own room to pack. Alessia sat for a moment trying to work through her warring emotions, 'I need to talk to someone' she muttered as she dragged herself up from the bed and headed out of the door. Hurrying down the corridor, the she wolf made her way to the front door and pushed it open, rushing along the stone pathway until she reached the now familiar log cabin.

Knocking loudly, she stood back, waiting impatiently for the door to open, when it finally swung backwards, the resident's mouth dropped open in surprise before a grin plastered itself to her face.