Bitten by the Alpha: The Finale

SKY

I could never have enough nights like this.

Harper and I were nestled under a blanket of stars in a lonely spot upon the citadel. We’d brought along the necessities—cheese sticks, for one. I could never have enough of them.

It felt funny that this was our first real date.

I looked at her as she gazed upon our city, her eyes fixed on something I could not fathom.

“Hey.” I nuzzled her cheek gently. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking I feel really lucky to be here with you,” she replied, turning and meeting my lips with hers.

“Mm.” I sighed and leaned into the kiss.

“It’s so strange that we weren’t fated to become mates. Somehow, this feels more like destiny than anything ever could.”

I had to agree. It was funny that I’d never considered I could find love in such a safe, warm space.

As a matter of fact, after the last encounter I had where the rogues poisoned my mind into thinking I’d found my mate, I felt something entirely different.

There were anxious butterflies in my stomach. Looking back, it was as if my whole body was warning me against rushing into it.

With Harper, though, it felt like I was tethered to stable ground. Like the world was whole and beautiful, and she made everything make sense.

I wanted to hold on to that forever.

If I could, of course.

I didn’t want to ruin the mood with the questions on the tip of my tongue. But they had to come out.

“Harper?” I touched her cheek gently. “I…I know you need some more time to decide. Hell, if I were in your place, I’d feel the same way. I just want us to be together.”

Harper looked away from me immediately.

“Sky.” She exhaled heavily. “You know there’s no one else here for me. The reason I’m still hanging on is because I want to give you, give us, some more time. But I can’t ignore the reality.”

My heart beat faster.

“What reality?” I asked, ignoring the sour taste in the back of my mouth.

“My soul,” she murmured. “Sky, I’m so sorry, but no matter what I do, it’s not here. It’s already ascended to Astria. And being here, it’s like I’m a half-organism, like part of my nature is calling me and asking me to come home.”

I tried to understand, but my mind was only fixed on one thing.

Losing Harper.

And I couldn’t have that.

“I—I don’t see why you can’t stay if you love me.” My voice had begun trembling.

Did I know I was being childish? Yes, of course, I did.

I just couldn’t help it.

“I know you understand, Sky. Even if you can’t show it right now. And it’s okay. I don’t expect you to come to terms with this anytime soon. But I…I have to leave. Even if it’s today, tomorrow, or years from now. This isn’t my home any longer, Sky.”

I didn’t want to listen to this.

Anything but this.

Tears fell down my cheeks as I jumped up, ignoring the hurt look on her face.

“Please try to see where I’m coming from,” she whispered. “It’s not natural, Sky. Imagine being uprooted from here and forced to live in a place, which, no matter how beautiful, you don’t belong to.”

I hated that she was so right. All I wanted was her presence.

Her physical, tangible, beloved presence. Not some abstract bullshit where she’d be around me, only not physically.

I turned and ran toward my room, unable to face her any longer.

ALEX

I found Zara sitting by a small clearing next to the pine forests outside the pack house.

“Hey,” I walked up and sat beside her. “You know it’s unsafe to be here at this time of the night, all alone?”

“I’m not alone any longer, though,” she replied, smiling as she turned to me.

We sat in silence for a while, letting our hands and fingers entwine as I cherished how deeply in love I felt.

Thank Luna the bonds of matedom had returned because I could not imagine life without her.

“I was thinking,” she finally spoke. “I…I want you to mark me, Alex.”

Wheeling my head around, I looked at her. Those eyes. They made me feel like I was drowning in the ocean, but in a good way.

“Are you sure?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever been more sure of something.”

A cold wind blew upon our faces as she moved closer. I pulled her into my arms and kissed her gentle, tender, with all the love I held in my heart.

“I’m so glad this universe brought us together, Zara. I don’t want to do any of it without you, ever.”

She kissed me back, her tongue meeting and casting a symphony across mine. It felt like there were stars exploding within me, bringing all of Astria down to our level.

I moved deeper into the kiss, trailing my tongue across her neck, and then to the sweet spot that would forever solidify us as one.

“Are you sure?” I asked once more.

“Yes,” she breathed, her mouth on my neck.

I bared my teeth and came down upon her nape, sinking them inside her soft flesh. She did the same. The pain was exquisite. My eyes expanded and narrowed.

Time moved like a stallion and then stood still.

There was only her and I.

And we were one.

We finally broke apart, panting for dear life.

“That was…” I grinned. “Perfect.”

“I have to agree.” She smiled and kissed me one more time.

We nestled close, lost in the moment.

“Beta Alex?”

I turned, frowning at the interruption. It was one of our south forest guards, the ones closest to the rogues’ fortress. “What is it?”

“We had reinforcements do rounds of the canyon. The rogues are still scattered without a leader. But there’s one man who could take up the arsenal.”

My heart plummeted.

“We have a new leader?”

“I wouldn’t call him leader. He was the Gamma wolf when Carl was around. He’s about as evil as it gets, and he’s said to be directly related to Jodie. A cousin, from what I hear.”

Fuck. Was there no end to the Vulpes family line? At this point, I’d need a tree to make them fit on all the branches.

“What do we know about him?” Zara asked.

“His name is Marcel. We got information when he attacked our hunters and got ten clean kills. You can’t do that unless you have something pushing you forward. We think it’s magic. We’re not sure if witches are involved.”

The witches had long declared their peace with our kind. We hardly ever crossed paths.

I shook my head. “No, I don’t think it’s witches. This stinks to high hell, but I think it has more to do with Mathieus. Okay. Thanks, Arya. You’ve done well.”

He nodded and made a prompt exit.

I sighed and stood up. “I have to find Jaxon and relay this information to him, Zara.”

She got up too. “No worries. I’ll head back to the room.”

I felt a smack on my ass as I leaned in to kiss her before going to find Jaxon. I laughed.

“I’m gonna get back at you for that.”

“That’s just what I wanted to hear.”

JAXON

“I feel so exhausted.” Quinn lay beside me on our bed, her eyes so big they could have been her whole face.

“You’re carrying a whole being inside you, love. A tiny one, but if he’s anything like us, he’s a stinker for sure.”

She smiled and turned to me. “This gets easier, doesn’t it?”

I had to admit it. I was worried about Quinn. The weeks had been hard on her.

There were dark circles under her eyes. She looked like she’d lost five pounds in the last week alone.

The doctors had assured us this was common in the first trimester, that the morning sickness would take some time to settle down.

They’d even said it was an indicator of a healthy baby.

At this point, all I could think about was how big of a toll it was taking on Quinn.

I touched her face. “Sleep, love. You’re going to feel much better after.”

As if she didn’t need a second reassurance, she was asleep in seconds, her mouth slightly parted as she took long breaths.

I extricated myself from her as gently as I could and walked out into the hallway.

Maybe, the library would have some readings on how I could help her get through this a little easier.

Man, I was never much of a reader, but Quinn was on the verge of converting me.

And I had to admit, books weren’t all that bad. They could be pretty fucking interesting, actually.

“Alpha.”

I turned to see Alex running toward me through the dimly lit hallway.

“Alex?” He fell into step beside me. “What’re you doing up so late at night? Did you say something to Zara and make her throw you out?”

He snorted. “Nothing of the kind. I have information on the pack leader of the rogues.”

I stopped, all senses on high alert.

“I’m listening.”

“They call him Marcel. He’s apparently got more on his side than the regular wolf powers. I think it’s some kind of magic.”

Of course, it was. If Mathieus was still alive in spirit, it made sense that he’d use black magic to do whatever he wanted. At whatever cost.

My mind went to my mate and our unborn child. Come what may, we had to end this.

The lights on the north end of the fortress were lit. I looked out the window. Alex came to stand beside me.

“You know what this means.”

I nodded grimly. “More disappearances.”