The Alpha (The Lycans 4)

“Huh,” Adryan said, and I growled, unable to stop the auditory threat. “You’re still alive, bitching about it, so clearly they didn’t succeed, so I’m not sure why you’re telling me any of this.”

I closed my eyes and grappled for control. “Of course humans couldn’t take down a Lycan, but they weren’t trying tae fooking kill us. They were trying tae take us.” I saw Odhran looking at me in the rearview mirror, his eyes narrowed, ready to jump through the phone and take down Adryan for his clear disrespect. “I need a place tae take my mate, tae care for her. I donna kno’ what the hell is going on, but given this is yer territory, I figured ye’re the one who’d have the answers.”

There was a long silence from the other end, and I could picture the bastard sitting behind his desk in a chair that was like a fucking throne in the underworld. The arrogant prick.

“And you say you had a hard time taking them down?” Adryan finally asked in a flaccid voice.

I growled low, having no time for this. “Aye. I fooking told ye already. They’d been trained… trained to fight an Otherworld. Knew weaknesses, how tae fight, even if they didn’t stand a chance, no’ hand-tae-hand anyway. Had fooking tranq guns.” More silence, more tenseness. “He also had a tattoo,” I tacked on, remembering the mark on his chest, the one that seemed out of place, tightening the skin on the back of my neck as my instinct climbed higher that something was really wrong.

There was a low rumble on the other end, what I presumed was Adryan’s anger in verbal form. I assumed it’d probably have less dangerous males shitting their pants. It just annoyed me.

“A tattoo? Describe it to me.”

I felt my hand tighten around the phone, the plastic and metal and glass creaking, threatening to break at his fucking order. I told him what I remembered about the marking, my eyes never leaving Evie’s face. “Adryan.” I said his name hard. Final. “I need a fooking place tae take my mate. We can discuss this once I’ve cared for her.”

The bastard exhaled as if I was wasting his time. I gnashed my teeth and held in a retort. The last thing I needed was to piss him off, even though on any other occasion I wouldn’t have given a shit.

But I had a mate now and had to think more clearly, rationally. Putting her in danger because I couldn't control myself wasn't something I’d ever risk.

“Text me your coordinates, and I’ll let you know one of my properties close by.” More fucking silence. “And Cian?”

I tensed as the tone in Adryan’s voice changed, shifting to something harder, more dangerous.

“I’ll meet you at the property tomorrow. If what I think is happening really is… then we have a big fucking problem.”

15

Evelyn

I’d never been woken up by pain before, not something so soul searing, to where it felt like my skull had been split in two. It was breathtaking, so concentrated that I actually woke with a start, a gasp being pulled from me. I squeezed my eyes tightly but then immediately regretted it, as the motion had a sledgehammer crushing the side of my head.

I heard a deep voice, the words muffled, my ears feeling like they were stuffed full of wool, like I was trying to hear them underwater. But with each passing second, things started to become clearer, my hearing returning to normal.

“Tha thu sàbhailte. Cha leig mi le duine do ghortachadh.”

At first I thought I was losing my mind, that I no longer understood English, or maybe I was dreaming. But could you feel pain in a dream? The deep voice kept speaking, the tone deep and masculine, the words soothing as they wrapped around me.

I realized I hadn’t lost my mind, and as a stab of pain pierced right behind my eyes, I knew I wasn’t dreaming. Whoever was speaking wasn’t doing it in English.

I opened my eyes and blinked a few times, so thankful that the light was dimmed, knowing the harsh glare would have been excruciating.

“I kept them low, because I figured the light would be too much.” The deep voice wrapped around me again, and I realized it was Cian.

“Thank you,” I whispered, my lips dry, my throat tight.

“Ye’re safe. I will no’ let anyone hurt ye.”

I blinked rapidly, my vision blurry at first, but it started to clear. I groaned and lifted my hand, touching my temple. Memory of what had happened and why my head hurt came crashing back.

“Oh God,” I moaned, my eyes closing on their own again.

The feeling of something cool and wet touching my forehead had me snapping my eyes open and looking over at Cian. He sat beside the bed, this severe, fierce expression on his face as he stared down at me, his worry clear.