Alpha Divided (Alpha Girl Book 3)

As the vampires and witches advanced, wolves spilled around them, fighting as their allies.

Something slammed into my side and took my breath. A heavy, furred body landed on me. My hands caught around its neck as it lunged to bite my throat open.

From far away, Dastien’s howl rent the night. Finally. I could feel his howl echo through the bond as I tried to get the mass of fur and claws off me.

One of the traitorous Weres.

He started to shift, just enough so he could talk to me as his claws sunk into my neck. “You’re dead, mutt,” Mr. Hoel said.

I choked as hot blood spilled from my body.

***

I shot up from bed covered in sweat. My hands went to my throat, as I gasped for breath.

“Holy shit.” That had felt so real. My muscles actually ached from the fight. I went to the bathroom and splashed water on my face. When I looked in the mirror, I stumbled back a few steps.

Four red slashes lined my throat.

That wasn’t just a dream. That was something else. A vision of the future?

How could things get so bad that something like that could happen?

I didn’t want that future, but how did I stop it? I sat down on the edge of the tub, putting my head between my knees.

What was I supposed to do now? Confront Luciana or not?

My skin was itching. My wolf wanted to be free. Ached for it. She’d been pretty silent since I got here, but this was too much.

I went downstairs in the dark to hit the second fridge. The food was nearly all gone. I’d have to call Mom in the morning. I grabbed some ham, cheese, mustard, mayo, and bread. A few sandwiches later the wolf was okay. At least for now. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could eat her into submission.

My T-shirt was damp, sticking to my skin. I wished I could take a shower, but I didn’t want to wake Claudia and Raphael.

I wanted to call Dastien so badly. I ached to hear his voice. For him to tell me that it was nothing more than a really fucking bad nightmare. That we wouldn’t let this happen. It wasn’t our future.

The panic started back up, and I stood to pace the small kitchen. Five steps across, five steps back.

It was three in the morning and I was going out of my skin.

I flipped on the light on the stove’s hood the next time I passed by it. I didn’t need any light to see by. The moon gave me enough, and my vision was good at night, but the dark house left me feeling uneasy. Or maybe I was just uneasy.

Footsteps sounded upstairs. So much for not waking anyone up.

A minute later, Claudia walked into the room. “You okay?”

“Nightmare.”

“No fun.”

“No.” I stopped my pacing and leaned against to counter to watch her.

Claudia got a glass of milk, and sat at the table. She took a long drink of milk before she spoke. “I think we could’ve been good friends, you know. If we’d gotten the chance.”

“Yeah?” That was surprising. I didn’t think I knew her well enough to know that.

“Yeah. I mean, our moms are pretty similar.”

This was something I wanted to hear more about. I knew pretty much nothing about my mom’s sister. They didn’t really talk. “Where is your mom?” I asked as I sat down at the table.

Claudia shrugged. “My mom and Luciana didn’t get along. There was a lot of tension there, and Mom…well, she’s a little more hippie than anything else. About three years ago, she said she’d had enough. She and my dad were leaving the compound for good. My dad couldn’t really stick around if she was leaving, even if he wanted to. He wasn’t part of the coven. They asked us to go with them. But I was seventeen. I wanted to stay. I felt like I needed to stay. So I did. Raphael wanted to go, but he wouldn’t leave me here…so here I am, wondering if I made the wrong decision. Sometimes I want to call her to come back and get me, but I feel like that would be giving up. I set out to fix things here, and I’m not leaving until I do.”

She sounded like me. Stubborn to the end. “And the guy? You’re supposed to be marrying someone?” She’d mentioned it at Rosa’s house, but only enough to spark my curiosity.

She groaned. “He’s a classic douchebag.”

I snort-laughed.

“What?” She asked.

“You just always sound so proper.”

She giggled. “Yeah. I guess. But that’s he best way to describe him.” She leaned toward me. “He spends hours in front of the mirror. Hours. To make sure that his hair is spiking just the right way. He orders his mother around. ‘Get me a glass of water.’ ‘I’m hungry. Make me a sandwich.’” She scoffed in disgust. “And that’s what I’d have to deal with for the rest of my life?” She leaned back in the chair. “No, thank you.”

I laughed. “You know, I think you’re right. We would’ve really liked each other. I hope we still can be friends. Helps that we’re family, too.”

She grinned. “You know, I was thinking that it’s a good thing you found Dastien. I hear that Daniel kisses like a lizard.”