The Alpha and the Exile
Chapter 15

"I swear to God, if you say I'm projecting one more time I'm going to knock out every single one of your Goddamn teeth," Mike warned me.

I smiled back at him, despite the fear. I had gotten the feeling Mike was more bark than bite, unless you pushed him. "Perhaps you should focus on why I keep saying it instead of the fact that I'm saying?" I suggest. "Whatever," he growls.

"What's bothering you today?"

"Why the hell should something be bothering me?" Mike snapped back at me.

"I don't know but it is," I tell him calmly, hoping to calm down my wolf instead. He feels like my questions are a challenge to Mike and that goes against our submissive nature.

Mike snarls at me, but doesn't get out of his chair, a good sign. "It's Alice," he says after a long while. "She keeps trying to put distance between us and between me and her pack. Every time I make moves to get more involved she stops me. It's fucking pissing me off."

I want to smile at his frustrated tone. He obviously has grown to care for Alice, but I keep my face neutral. I don't want him to think I'm laughing at him or suggesting that his concern for Alice signs of weakness. "Ah, yes. Why do you think she's doing that?" I ask, though I suspect I know the answer.

Mike leaned forward, his eyes hard as he glares at me. "How the hell should I know?"

"I was asking for your opinion."

He scowled at me as he shot back into his. "That is my damn opinion. How the hell should I know? How is any guy supposed to figure out how a woman thinks," he snapped then worked his jaw as if something else he wanted to say, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to. Finally Mike said in a quieter, less angry voice, "Maybe she's changed her mind about me."

I felt the edge of my mouth quirk up before I forced it back into a neutral position. "Have you spoken to her about it or perhaps it'd be best if you both came to see me." Mike's eyes narrowed at me. "Why do you have such a hard on about getting Alice here to talk to you?" He asked, sounding slightly suspicious.

This time I did allow the smile. "Honestly? I'm worried about her," I told him. "Her entire family was murdered six months ago, Mike. Six months, Alice has gone from being a normal teenage girl to the leader of this pack. She's had no time to mourn or process her grief. No she's pushed it down and is ignoring it, but things like that can't stay hidden forever."

"Maybe that's for the best right now," Mike said. "Everyone already thinks she's weak as it is. Throw mourning into that and she might as well just give the pack away." He got up from his chair. "Well Doc, I'd say it's been fun but you'd smell the lie."

I laughed. I couldn't help it. "We wouldn't want that. Until next time, Mike." I got up with him and showed him out. I closed the door and started to gather my things when I heard the door open again. I glanced around, assuming Mike had forgotten something when I saw it was the beta.

"Another session with Howe?" He asked, smiling, but it didn't reach his eyes. He was tense and his movements were purposeful. Something had upset him or maybe he was worried.

"Yes," I replied, wondering if it was Howe that had him worried. He's progressing well I believe. How many I help you, Beta?"

He looked around the room, licking his lips. "He's progressing well?" I nodded and he scoffed. "Progressing well wasn't part of the plan, Evans."

"Well no," I replied, confused. "The plan was to replace stability for the pack and make it strong again. I don't understand Mario, I thought you'd approve. Mike is showing a lot of improvement. He hasn't struck out in anger in a good while. That includes me, who I know annoys him more times than I don't. I think with some time, Mike could take the position of alpha." Suddenly I was on the floor with the bitter, metallic taste of blood in my mouth.

The beta pulled me up by my shirt and growled in my face. "That piece of shit will never be my alpha," he said. His voice still a rough growl. "The only stability for the pack is me! I have practically been the alpha since Keith's death! It's been me that kept everything from falling apart. Me!" Mario grabbed my shirt and lifted me up off the ground half way. I just stared at him dumbly, too surprised to know what to do.

"Tell me this, you pathetic little shit. Who'd you rather have as alpha, me or that abusive evil little fucker?" Mario demanded. Knowing he wouldn't like my answer I stayed silent. He growled and hit me in the face. Pain flared through me as the bones of my nose crunched under his fist. "You and your meddling have fucked up everything. She was so close to crumbling and giving me the pack!"

He kept hitting me as he spoke and I did my best to defend myself. I wasn't dominate at all and I didn't even begin to have the strength to contend with the beta. So I did the only thing I could think of apologize and escape before he killed me. Mario simply sneered at me as he kicked me, sending pain through my side. Shame and humiliation filled me as I lost control of my bladder.

The beta picked me up again, the sneer still on his face. "God, you're pathetic. You shouldn't be able to call yourself a man, much less a werewolf," he told me and then dumped me into one of the chairs. I kept my head low, trying hard to keep the emotions out of my scent and face. I couldn't help the fear though, as he leaned forward and glared at me.

"To show you that I won't be an unforgiving alpha, I'm going to give you a chance to fix the mess you've created," He said, the wolf glowing in his eyes. "Thanks to you the future ex-luna is going to see just what a kind of man Howe is. How his sheep skin falls as he attacks you, a man who only tried to help him, and beat you so badly that you've fallen into a coma. Sadly, I'll let her know there is no way she could ever accept a man like this as her mate." I held up my hands to protest, but the beta hit me hard, then again and again. He kept hitting me until the pain grew so great and customary that I didn't even feel it anymore as I eventually lost consciousness. XXXXXXXXX