"Adrienne?" I recognize the Alpha-to-be, Nathan, approaching me. "Where the hell have you been?! Here," he takes his jacket off and tosses it at me.
"Shift back."
He says it so demandingly, and with a pang of irritation in his voice. As if he's actually angry with me for making him go through the trouble to find me. Like it was my fault the tyrant picked me to carry off into the woods.
I glare at the jacket in disgust: the same way I look at him.
As repulsive as the idea of wearing his clothes is, I don't have much of a choice. I have to find out what he and his father are planning, and to do that, I'd have to speak.
After taking the jacket in my teeth, I glower at him pointedly until he takes the hint and turns around. The familiar sensation of my bones breaking, reshaping, then fusing back together overtakes my body. In the matter of a couple seconds, I'm standing on two legs again, my windblown blonde hair hanging down to brush the small of my back.
The sound of the zipper signals for Nathan to turn back around. I have to bend and pull at the jacket to get it to reach far enough to cover everything, leaving me in an awkward half-standing, half-crouching position.
"Problem?" He asks with a dumb smirk on his face. He, at least, has the luxury of pants.
"Looking at it," I snap without hesitation, making a point by staring him dead in the eye.
He growls, his cocky mood suddenly changing to one of vexation.
"Don't even give me your fucking attitude. Get your ass over here so we can go. The wedding was rescheduled to three days from now and I can't stand up there alone." His expression suddenly darkens, becoming more frighteningly seriously.
My jaw drops. After all that's happened, and he's still pushing this?
I notice him progressively coming closer, but at a slow pace, reminding me of a snake watching its prey. "I was promised certain things, Adrienne. And I fully expect to get those things."
My skin starts to crawl with the thought of whatever "things" could be running through his sick head.
"I already told you, there's not gonna be a wedding," I growl out, a shadow overlaying my own irises now.
He smiles, a devious gleam in his eye. "And my father already told you what would happen if you didn't. I wouldn't be able to visit you down there— nobody would."
My stomach drops at his words. I had forgotten about that threat until now. There truly isn't any winning scenario to choose from. One way I'm being forced into a depraved marriage, and the other I'd be stuck with a psyched out mate who may only want to sell me back to my pack for ransom. And then I'd be back to square one.
Nathan is just a few yards from me, making me tense with vulnerability. On normal circumstances, it wouldn't be an issue. As kids we went through the exact same training, learning and exploiting each other's weaknesses. But now, one wrong move and I'll be the equivalent of naked.
Right as I begin to feel panic set in, we both jump at the sound of a snarl so powerful that it shakes the ground beneath our feet.
YOU ARE READING
The Exiled Alpha | ✓
Werewolf"It's like he's a different breed of werewolf. Something... beyond us." • • • Adrienne Gage has spent her entire life being shunned and punished for her mouthy attitude, and being loyal to a pack which doesn't deserve her loyalty. It's been a year...
