The Alpha’s Forced Mate
Chapter 19

Blake

I insisted on carrying Veronica back to the mansion by myself. Even when Jermaine and Tanner attempted to interfere, I snarled at them, snapping my jaws like a threatened wolf protecting his mate. She had attempted to run—and I knew she would do it.

I just didn’t want any of it to happen.

Underneath the moonless sky, I marched back to the mansion with Veronica strapped to my back. We walked into the mansion, bypassed the other security guards, and descended into the basement where Jermaine shifted and locked the doors behind us.

No one was allowed in or out. Just as I had instructed.

Jermaine sighed as he drifted toward the lockers on the other side of the room. Tanner’s fur fell away to reveal his glistening skin. Silver eyes widened, absorbing as much of his surroundings as possible. Slated black cloud-like hair framed his angular face.

He followed Jermaine to the lockers. The silence was thick enough to witness, almost horrifying in its stagnation. Veronica lay motionless on the ground save for the telltale rise and fall of her ribs. She wasn’t injured. Just knocked out. For the time being.

I shifted into human form. “Only guilty people run.”

“You’ll replace out soon enough,” Jermaine stated. “I’m leaving you here. If she ran, she might have alerted the Gilberts.”

“I don’t think she’d do that.”

Tanner clicked his tongue with clear disappointment. “Man, you just said only guilty people run.”

“Because she tried to kill me,” I corrected. “I don’t think she’s involving anyone else.”

“So, that guy who just jumped out of nowhere,” Jermaine snapped, “was just a happy coincidence, huh?”

I growled. “Don’t start.”

“I’m already started,” he snarled. “And I’ll finish it too.”

Tanner held up a hand between us while struggling to pull up his pants. “No pissing contests while the assassin is still in the room, please.”

“She’s not going to hurt me,” I claimed.

Jermaine threw his hands in the air. “I give up.”

“On what?” I snapped.

“On you.” He yanked his shirt over his head and reached for a pair of socks sitting neatly on a pair of sneakers. “You want to risk your life for this chick? Go ahead. Don’t let me stop you. I’ve only been protecting your as*s since I got here.”

I frowned and changed tactics. “Jermaine, take a breath.”

“No, I’ve had enough of you defending her. She tried to kill you. Twice. And now you want to sit here and act like she won’t try again?” He shoved his feet into his sneakers without tying the laces. “I’m checking the perimeter with my team. If I come back to a body, so be it.”

My temper flared as my right-hand man left the basement. The door upstairs clicked shut and then beeped, indicating that the lock was activated. If anyone tried to break in, an alarm would go off and the entire pack would be notified. Security teams and volunteer soldiers alike would show up in front of the mansion ready to defend their alpha.

I had defense teams up to my eyeballs. I didn’t need that much. But Jermaine was under the impression that I wouldn’t survive.

Or maybe that I couldn’t survive.

And maybe his worries weren’t entirely misplaced.

My gaze fell on Veronica. Still sleeping. Still breathing. Still gorgeous with all that fiery red fur.

Tanner stepped forward. His black khakis hung low on his h!ps, revealing star tattoos. “He’s right, you know. You’re gambling your safety by bringing her back here.”

“She shouldn’t be harmed.”

“But she tried to harm you.”

I shook my head. “I’m telling you, Tanner. We’ve been alone a million times. She had plenty of chances. She didn’t even try.”

“She wanted to earn your trust. She wanted to make you think you were safe with her.”

“She’s not a killer.”

In just a matter of hours, my mind had changed. It was that k!ss. The way she’d received me, the way she k!ssed me back, told me she had no intention of destroying me. Leaving me, sure, but not murder. She had wanted to save my feelings by taking off. I could see it clearly now.

Tanner sighed and slapped his arms at his sides. He had given up too, it seemed. “I’m not leaving you alone with her.”

“You don’t have to.”

“Well, Jermaine is mad and somebody needs to talk his as*s down.”

I shrugged. “Bears have pretty bad tempers. You’re the only wolf around who knows how to get him under control.”

“I can’t leave you alone with her.”

“Under whose orders?”

Concern flashed in those silvery eyes. His thick brows knotted together over the bridge of his nose, creating new worry lines that deepened by the second. He blinked a few times, shook his head, and then sighed heavily.

“I’m going after Jermaine,” he told me while heading to the door. “You two better behave now.”

As soon as Tanner was gone, I walked over to the lockers and rummaged around for some spare clothes. There were two t-shirts that would be suitable, along with a baggy pair of jeans and a pair of daisy dukes. Socks and shoes were available as well, but shoes seemed silly at this point. I would likely end up shifting again.

Either to defend myself or my love.

Veronica stirred. She whimpered and rolled to her belly, lazily lifting her head while prying her eyes open. Yellow-hazel glazed with gray and sleepiness peered up at me. Her eyes rounded instantly and then she skittered back, backing herself under a desk.

I held up my hand. “It’s alright. You’re safe. I’m not going to hurt you.”

She shifted, the sound of bones creaking and skin stretching making me sicker than usual. What should have been a familiar sound made me feel odd. Because I knew it might be the last time I heard her shift near me.

I held out the clothes. Veronica frowned fearfully and slid the backpack from her shoulders, opening it up to reveal a collection of clothes inside. So much for the daisy dukes.

After getting dressed, the two of us settled at a table near the doorway. Veronica kept glancing over my shoulder, watching the doorway as if she was expecting someone to barge in at any second. Had she called the Gilberts?

I bowed my head as I rested my palms on the table. It was to show her that I meant her no harm, but it was also a sign of my exhaustion. I was tired of holding myself up by myself. “I know about the assassination attempt.”

“Why haven’t you killed me?”

“I can’t kill someone I care about.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. Instant protection. Was it something that actually worked or was it a force of habit at this point? “That sounds stupid.”

“Yeah, well, I’ve done some stupid things in my life, Veronica. I’m sure you have too.”

Her arms slacked a bit. “Yeah, I have.” She swallowed hard. “So, what are you going to do next?”

“I have no idea.”

She looked confounded.

“I could have you killed like your friend.”

She paled three shades before covering her mouth.

“He was your friend, wasn’t he?” I whispered. “You knew him personally, right?”

A few tense seconds passed before she nodded. “How did you know?”

“It was a guess. I figured it out later—after I saw the scar. Raymond would have sent a backup to make sure the job was done.”

“He never liked loose ends.”

I nodded. “Exactly.”

“But you killed Mel—”

I stared at her, my senses flaring. “What’s his name?”

“Melvin. Melvin Gilbert. He is—he was Raymond’s nephew.”

“That’s fantastic, Veronica. Just great. Your cousin got killed by your mate.”

She glared at me for a long time, disbelief stealing her features. “What did you just say?”

“I killed your cousin. Not directly. But it was my order, so I’m responsible for the call. Is that what you needed to hear?”

“No, after that. You said…You called me…”

Mate.

The word sat on my tongue like saltwater taffy. A rich cascade of flavor coated my mouth with the sensation of it as it repeated in my head.

I took a deep breath and nodded. “I said what I said.”

“You don’t mean it.”

“I think I do, Veronica.”

She stood up and walked across the room, staring at the monitors above the desk. She wasn’t really watching them. She was just trying to put distance between us. And I didn’t blame her. This wasn’t exactly easy for anyone to hear.

“I’m not your mate, Blake,” she whispered. “I can’t be. I tried to kill you.”

“And so have both my Harleys. But do you see me trashing either of them for that?”

She laughed suddenly. The sound was void of humor, more of a shocked reaction than anything. “I’m not a bike you can ride.”

“That didn’t stop me in the den.”

“Blake, don’t be so vulgar.”

I smiled. I couldn’t help it. There she was—the woman who had enchanted me from the moment she stomped up the steps of my porch. She had tried to breeze right past me. She had tried to ignore me. But it didn’t work.

The moment our hands met was the moment I knew she was mine.

I shrugged. “What do you want me to say?”

“I don’t know.”

“I can’t give you what you want if you don’t tell me.”

She lowered her gaze as a blush bloomed on her cheeks. “You won’t like it.”

“My feelings don’t matter.”

“Yes, they do.”

I stood up and walked toward her, leaving enough space for her to breathe. “What do you want, Veronica?”

Her lower l!p trembled. The sight of it made me ache. All I wanted to do was give her comfort. Embrace her, k!ss her, make love to her. Wash, rinse, repeat until the earth explodes. Or implodes. I didn’t care as long as I had her with me.

What was she so afraid to say?

A flurry of emotions washed over her features as she played with a lock of hair. “I want to leave.”

The air around me boiled. Anger worked through my body, followed by fear and then adrenaline as I realized that the woman I cared about wanted nothing to do with me.

It would be easier to strike her down. But I didn’t have it in me.

I breathed shakily. “The trials were useless. I shouldn’t have done them.”

She searched my eyes without saying anything.

“I never believed in it, the mate sh!t,” I admitted. “I just did it to make my mother shut the hell up.”

“But you just said—”

I held up a hand. “I know what I said, Veronica. I think I just got lost in the heat of the argument.”

“So, you don’t think I’m your—?”

I squinted, critically assessing her sudden opposition. Either she wanted to be my mate or she didn’t. She couldn’t have both. Why was she playing games with me? “You don’t have to pretend anymore, Veronica. You can leave whenever you like.”

“What about your pack?”

“They’ll understand.”

She brushed her fingers through her hair. “You’re supposed to kill me.”

“I know.”

“But you’re not going to do that.”

I shook my head. “I can’t.”

“But why? If I’m not your mate, then why would you spare my life?”

It was a good question. If I didn’t feel that strongly for her and I saw her as a threat, then it would be understandable to put her down. It would send a strong message to Raymond that I wasn’t the kind of guy to break under pressure. I could fight a war—and I could win it too.

But something told me not to hurt Veronica. Any time I thought about taking her life, my wolf howled as if her death would bring a thousand years of pain and suffering. It wasn’t in me to snuff out the very essence of her soul. That wasn’t an option.

I shoved my hands into my pockets. “I love you, Veronica.”

There was no other explanation for it. I could deny my feelings all I wanted, but the idea of losing her made me sick to my stomach. It made me feel weak to think of anything other than defending her life. Nothing could get in the way of protecting her.

Even the possibility of her destroying me.

She looked horrified for a second. And then, she looked relieved. While holding the scarred side of her stomach, she whispered, “Blake, I have something to tell you.”

An alarm went off on the computer. I brushed past her while inspecting the screen, noticing the mountain of activity exploding along the perimeter of the estate. Wolves lined up at the tree lines, in the front yard, around the gardens. Large wolves, small wolves, every kind of wolf that was possible for a shifter to turn into appeared in great numbers.

Among them stood the very man who would soon replace out what it meant to f**k with a Hayden.

My features darkened as I turned to Veronica. “Looks like your uncle came to play.”

She rushed to my side and stared at the screen. “You’re kidding.”

I ran my fingers through her hair, drawing her gaze to mine. “Do I look like I’m kidding, sweet rose?”

The way she trembled under my touch broke my heart. She was scared, but she wasn’t defenseless.

“How can you joke at a time like this?” she croaked. “You’re such a j3rk.”

“A pompous as*s.”

“An egotistical pr!ck.”

I grinned tightly. “All that and more.”

She shook her head. “What are we going to do?”

“We’re going to figure it out, okay?”

She started to argue but I shushed her, placing my thumb over her l!ps.

“Together,” I assured her. “We’ll figure it out together.”