The Alpha (The Lycans 4)

“They don’t give a shit about humans that I know of, unless they’re personally connected to us,” Adryan said, clearly not caring about the breakdown Odhran was going through right now. “Must have put two and two together, seeing you with your mate. Wanted to use her to control you, I presume.” He shrugged. “Smart. We all know a mated Otherworlder would do anything to protect his female.”

Cian cursed, and I looked up at him, knowing my expression conveyed one of worry, fear, and a whole lot of what in the hell is going to happen next?

Adryan clapped his hands together and stood. “I have another property close to this one that currently holds all our tech shit to get down to the bottom of this. I’m more of an eye-for-an-eye, hand-to-hand-combat type of guy, real old-school, if you get my drift, but in this day and age, you can’t get past the whole advancement of technology.”

“Do you think these people are still close, the ones who tried to take us?” I asked.

He shrugged. “Couldn’t say for sure. They are smart and stayed hidden all these decades. I assume they were alerted to Cian and Odhran landing and thought they’d be easy targets. But I’m not sure how’d they know about you two coming in. Seems weird, right?”

“But they don’t bother you?” I questioned.

He grinned. “Darlin’, no one fucking bothers me if they want to keep their head on their neck. But I’m assuming they were going for low-hanging fruit when they went after the Scottish wolves.” Cian growled. “Calm down, man. I didn’t mean ’cause you’re easy pickings in that sense. Meant they probably know how secluded your kind stays, so you wouldn’t be on to them. Ain’t no way those fuckers could sneak up on my ass. I’m too paranoid for my own good, and I know about them.” Again with the grin. “I’ll text you the address where you need to be tomorrow night so we can get this shit settled.”

I swallowed, this massive fear suddenly spiking in me at the idea of Cian going up against these maniacs known as the Assembly and the fucked-up things that could happen.

“Stay in the house. It’s mystically protected, so it can’t be tracked by Otherworld or standard means. You’ll be safe here.” Cian gave a nod but didn’t say anything. “Until tomorrow night,” Adryan said smoothly. “Enjoy your mate, Lycan.” Just as Cian growled and went to attack, Adryan was leaving and smiling as he went.

And we were left in the aftermath of all the shit he’d just dropped on us.

18

Evelyn

Only a couple of hours had passed since Adryan left, yet it seemed so much longer. In the past day I’d realized my fate and destiny had changed drastically, that there was an entire world of creatures that had only ever been in folklore and fantasy. And now there was some kind of insane organization that wanted to control, oppress, and subjugate said creatures.

And I had no choice but to embrace it.

I sat in the bedroom I deemed as mine, even though I’d only been here for a day. I hadn’t been able to eat, which Cian hadn’t hide his disapproval about. I’d retreated to the room and had been sitting in the same spot just staring at the wall and thinking about everything and anything that didn’t have to do with my current situation. But that was easier said than done.

The soft knock on my door startled me out of my thoughts, and before I could say anything, Cian pushed open the door. I couldn’t help it—I smiled when I saw him. Seeing him instantly had the stress and worry that plagued me fading to the background. It was as if he was my own personal shot of dopamine.

“How are ye doing, lass?”

I tried not to let that he called me lass warm me, but the way it rolled off his tongue in that Scottish accent, as if he said it in an almost cherished way, was definitely getting to me. In the best way.

He stepped inside and shut the door, but he didn’t move closer. He leaned back against the wood and just stared at me. He looked good, too good to be natural. In fact, I wondered if his kind was meant to be physically attractive and superior in that regard… for me.

He finally came forward, but his steps were slow, almost unsure, as if he was afraid of spooking me even more. He stopped a few feet from me, glancing at the bed, but still didn’t move any closer. I shifted over on the bed and patted the spot beside me in a friendly invitation. The truth was I wanted him close, a part of me needing his presence as stability, an anchor in the turbulent ocean that had become my life.