Alpha Divided (Alpha Girl Book 3)

“Non. You can’t—”

The fight started to grow around us. Wolves crashed into the invisible barrier, bones crunching as they hit. The witches threw potions into the pack. Some sparked in blazing fire. Others were more subtle, casting shadows or fog. But every vial sparked a chorus of whimpers. Pain rippled through the pack bonds and for the first time, I could feel each wolf—and every injury.

I had to stop this before it got out of control. I grabbed Dastien’s hand. “We get through the Tribunal and in a month, we’re right back here. Nothing will change, except this fight.”

He pulled me close, running his nose along my cheek. “I don’t trust them,” he whispered in my ear. “If we don’t press this now, I could lose you.”

I pulled back. “Impossible. We’ll get through this.” I cleared my throat. “We’ll wait,” I said to Mr. Dawson.

Sebastian shook his head. “Let us handle this.”

One of the coven members yelled an incantation in language I didn’t know. The ground exploded off to my right and howls rent the night.

At once, Sebastian shifted. A spell flew his way and he dodged it, but a blast of light hit another wolf who collapsed to the ground.

Wolves were getting hurt. Arguing about this was a waste of time.

I spun to Mr. Dawson. “We have to stop this.”

“I’m with Dastien. That’s a huge mistake. You give in now, you’ll be giving in to them forever.”

Non. Please. We have to do this now. You can’t let her affect our actions. Dastien protested through our bond, but I tuned him out.

It was too much. Spells flew, crisscrossing the night in streaks of jagged light. Wolves circled the coven, slamming their bodies into the barrier. It was chaos, and all because I couldn’t wait one month?

“Stop.” I yelled the word as loud as I could and backed it with alpha powers. Every wolf froze in place.

I held my breath, hoping that the brujos would stop, too. When no one moved, I said, “This isn’t worth fighting over. I’ll promise not to finish the bonding ceremony tonight if you’ll leave now.”

“Are you sure?” Mr. Dawson said softly to me, but every Were heard the question.

The night was quiet as everyone waited for my answer. I knew that what I was doing was right. I couldn’t let any more wolves get injured because of me. But that didn’t make this any easier. “Yes,” I said finally.

Mr. Dawson gave me a solemn nod before turning to Luciana. “You’re getting this much from us, but nothing else.”

She raised her head in the air, like she thought she was the queen of the universe, and I wanted to strangle her. “I need your word. The spell please.”

Spell?

Fur sprouted over Mr. Dawson’s face. “We won’t finish this bonding ceremony tonight. You have my word. I shall break it only on punishment of death by the gods above and below.” His voice was growly with the wolf. “Leave now, Luciana. Or we will remove you from our land.”

The fire went out of Luciana’s hands. “That’s all we ask.” She grinned, and my stomach flip-flopped.

I knew that smile. The feeling of dread that it invoked in me. That was what my premonition had been about. This moment.

She and the rest of la Alquelarre walked away, but I knew whatever they were plotting was far from over.

“Oh God,” I muttered. My heart was racing so fast that my hands shook. Dastien hugged me to his chest. “Did I do the right thing?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “I don’t think we had any good option, but I was ready to fight for you. For us.”

“I know.”

“You gave up.” His sadness and disappointment flowed freely through the bond, and my eyes welled.

This wasn’t what I wanted to happen. “Did you hear the wolves in pain? It wasn’t about giving up. It was about not causing a huge blow up if it could be prevented.”

It took a while for everyone to calm down. A few wolves shifted back and Dr. Gonzales led them as they took the injured to the infirmary. I hoped whatever spells had been cast could be easily removed.

“Lass,” Donovan said beside me.

I pulled away from Dastien enough to see Donovan.

He looked shaken, with his skin a little paler than normal and his eyes glowing bright blue, signaling his wolf was ready to take over. “It was a hard choice, but I think it was the right one. Even I was ready to fight, and it wouldn’t have been pretty. The last war with the witches…suffice it to say it took a few centuries before the world recovered. Thank you for keeping your head when no one else did. You’ll be a good leader.”

“Thanks.” But I was still hung up on war. It was such a strong word. “Is that what’s going to happen now? War?”

“You may have stayed it for a while, but it could be unavoidable if Luciana calls the other covens for aid.” He clasped Dastien’s shoulder. “Hang on, you two. If it’s you they want, they’ll have quite a battle in store for them.”