Alpha Erased (Alpha Girl 9)

She pulled her phone from her back pocket and checked the text. “Great. What time?” She asked as I watched her save my contact.

I was in. This was happening.

Now. Dinner right now would be great. “Maybe about six? Or if that’s too early, seven? Although if you want to come over sooner, I’ll be around.” And now I sounded desperate. “Just text. It’ll be casual.”

“Okay.” She unlocked her car. I hadn’t noticed until I was standing next to it that the car was the same one she had in Texas. Same color—black. Same model—Tiguan. But most likely a different year.

Weird, but it definitely wasn’t the weirdest part of all of this.

I reached past her to open the door for her. “Great. I’ll see you tonight.”

“Okay.” She sounded a little unsure, but I couldn’t see her face. She’d turned to throw her backpack on the passenger seat.

If she didn’t show, I knew where she lived, and I had her number. I’d convince her to come over.

I closed the door and then walked up the ramp to the pedestrian exit. She waved as she passed me in her car.

I sent off a quick text to the Wayfarers’ number to keep a close eye on her. I warned them about the possibility of collapse before I took off running down the sidewalk.

I didn’t have my AirPods for a real run, but I didn’t care. I needed to get out of there before I did anything crazy. Like chase her down and beg her to move in with me. I needed to run off all the fear and anger.

So, I ran. I ran until my heart was pumping with exertion instead of terror. And then I started to slow until I was walking.

I turned back toward the building and opened my contacts on my phone. I needed to know what was going on with Tessa. Was she just not eating enough? Or was the magic killing her?

In a few rings, Cosette answered. “What’s the latest? Did you talk to her?”

“She’s starving.” I took a shaky breath. No, it was worse than that. “She’s dying, Cosette. She’s dying.”

“Wait. What?” Cosette’s voice got louder. “What do you mean she’s dying?”

“I don’t know if it’s the magic or that she’s human and doesn’t remember how much we’re supposed to eat. But…she scared me just now.” My hands shook as I remembered it, and I dragged my free hand down my face. “Her stomach growled, and she said something about how she was losing too much weight and being hungry all the time, so I touched her again and the magic kind of—I don’t know, popped? I’d seen her before, but now I could see deeper.”

I closed my eyes, wishing I could unsee it or make it untrue, but I couldn’t do either. I would never forget what she looked like.

“Tessa’s a skeleton—skin and bones and nothing else. She says it doesn’t matter how much she eats, she’s always hungry and always losing weight.” I swallowed down the fear to get the rest out. “It’s her wolf. She’s fading. She’s going to die if we don’t do something. Fast. I honestly don’t know how her heart hasn’t given out yet.”

Cosette was quiet, and it wasn’t comforting at all.

“I can’t get this close just to watch her die. I need you to find a way to break your mother’s magic. Please. I—”

Cosette hissed. “I saw through the magic. She looked okay, but…I was just trying to break the magic. I saw her, but maybe I didn’t see her.”

I knew what she meant. “I had to really push to see through all the magic.”

“Did you touch her again? Or was it just the one time?”

“It was more than one time. There was this pop, and it hurt, and then after that, every time I touched her, I could see the real her under it all. What does it mean?”

“I don’t know. My mother’s magic is…it’s tricky. It’s why she’s the queen of the most powerful fey court and has kept her throne for thousands of years.” I heard some tapping, like she was flicking her fingers against something hard. “If what you saw is true and not some other illusion, then maybe what you’re doing is working? Maybe having you close is allowing Tessa to break through the magic. Have you felt for your bond yet?”

“No.” I stopped walking and reached for it, but my tie to Tessa was still gone. “It’s not there.” There was more growl to my voice, and I fought to push my wolf down again.

Apparently, I was doing a terrible job of it. I was waiting with a group of people for the light in front of me to change color, but they suddenly all backed away, letting me cross by myself.

“Look. It could be the magic that’s eating away at her, but maybe it’s not the magic. Maybe it’s just that she’s trying to eat like a human.”

If it was just a food problem, then fine. But what if it wasn’t? “What do I do?” I yelled. The few people on the street were staring at me, but I ignored every one of them. Let them stare. I didn’t care if I looked crazy as I stormed down the sidewalk.