The Alpha's Guardian

Ali

POV

I can't even bear to look at Wade. My anger is much bigger than my love right now, and all I can feel is the sting of his distrust in me. I can't very well be angry at him for keeping a secret from me, since I was doing the same. No, I'm upset that he questions my loyalty to him and the good of his pack because of the blood in my veins.

Corbin has done some terrible things, awful really. I can't afford him the luxury of excuses for his blood lust ways, but he is a rogue. And rogues act and react outside the normal realm of a regular werewolf.

"Wade," Samuel says, wiping blood from his knuckles as he appears at the door.

My heart aches for Corbin and my pride is bruised for failing to keep him safe as I had sworn. Wade stands and walks to the door, hesitating momentarily.

"We won't be long and then I will be down to assist you in extracting the information we need," Samuel says.

The door creaks and slams shut. Silence envelops the room as I sit in my anger and frustration.

"Now Ali." He sighs. "We need to have a serious chat, my dear."

Samuel crosses to the other side of the table and takes a seat. He stares at me for a moment and sighs in disappointment. The silence between us is louder than the emotions I don't know how to verbalize. The door opens again, but I keep my eyes locked on Samuel as he leans out and grabs a brown wooden box that is handed to him by his right-hand man. My eyes go wide when I recognize it.

"This is where you keep it, isn't it?" Samuel says, running his hand along the worn-down top of the box. "Your physical guardian oath."

I say nothing as I bring my eyes to match his.

"Ironic isn't it? Housing the oath you made in your only family heirloom. I remember finding you in the woods clutching to this. I've always hated it. You aren't that weak little girl anymore. I saved you. I made you who you are and you repay me like this?" he motions to the surrounding office.

"I'm trying to protect my alpha," I respond, squaring my shoulders and finding my confidence.

"Bullsh!t." he seethes. "They have you convinced you are doing the right thing. I don't know when you went soft and stupid, but I assume that it's to do with Liam being around."

"This has nothing to do with Liam," I say calmly.

My anger is itching to break out and put Samuel in his place, but that would be suicide.?He has my oath, my reason for being here. If he destroys it, then I lose my guardian gifts. No longer will Wade be safe if he gets injured, no longer will I be able to heal him or take his pain. No longer would I be his guardian. Panic rises in me, and the only thing I fear suddenly is losing my place next to Wade.

"Please, all you have wanted to do for so long is get out and find your mate." Samuel rolls his eyes. "Well, you have found him. And now you deny him? Should I break you from your oath so you can finally realize the truth?"

"I have a mission to finish Samuel."

"You already failed it. You brought the enemy into his home. You snuck around and you invited him in. Alpha Wade is lucky I am here to protect him from your rookie mistake."

Guilty burns through me like a raging forest fire. Starting deep in the pit of my stomach as it rolls through and sits heavy on my heart. Of course, I was being selfish and risky by bringing Corbin here. I understand that now. I get I acted foolishly, but my father taught me to trust my instincts and I had.

Samuel stands abruptly, his eyes looking distant as he groans loudly in anger. He must get some news he doesn't like. He rushes to the door, reaching out and grabbing my arm along the way.

"Come." he bites out. "It seems like your Alpha is losing control,"

Samuel drags me along behind him as we take the route to the dungeons. The moment we hit the stairs, the smell of earth mingles with the tinny smell of fresh blood. The sound of pained grunting follows every dull thud that echoes through the small brick hallway leading us back to the cells.

As we continue to move closer, I can make out low voices murmuring angrily. Francis stands at the opening, his back turned away from the cells and flinching with every sound of a fist landing a blow. My stomach falls when the realization hits me that Wade is the one torturing Corbin. I am accustomed to torture sessions, what they entail and why they are done. As werewolves we heal faster, better, than our human counterparts, so torture to us means less. Well, that is depending on the severity of it.

I have often been at the dealing hand of such sessions, though I knew of the perpetrators' guilt and never doubted for a moment their innocence. Right now, I doubt Corbin's guilt in the things he is being blamed for. I am no stranger to blood or the patterns it makes when it splays across a room, but when a drop lands squarely on my cheek, I turn to face the man I love and my only surviving family member, and the bile instantly hits my throat.

Corbin's face is unrecognizable as Wade wails at him hit after hit. Tossing a jab to his stomach and then to his rib. He then finds his face again with his fist. He c***s his fist back furiously, blood flying from it as if my very own sword had flicked it, it may well have been since I'm the one who got him in this position.

Samuel creaks the door open and shoves me in, following closely behind. When the metal door clanks shut, a flash of light hits my eyes and I drop to my knees in more emotional turmoil than I have ever felt in my entire adult life. My eyes flutter open and I see my parents. My father is begging for me to be spared as he is on his knees, his silver cuffs cutting into his skin. A man stands above him relentlessly, striking my father with his fists and Mom lies on the ground in a ball, sobbing my name profusely. "Ali-Ali- No! Please not my baby, don't hurt my baby."

I can feel my body being jostled as they try to hold me still, wrenching on my jaw with a force so strong I can feel the crack of my bone as they pry my mouth open and pour the bitter medication down my throat. I'm yanked from my memory at the sound of a sob. A soft sob, barely audible. I blink and blink again until my eyes focus on the here and now and I see my Uncle Corbin. His eyes that mirror my dad stare right at me through the bloody mess that was his face and I snap.

Slowly, I stand up from my knees, wiping the wet substance from my face on the way up. I proudly place myself between a wild-looking Wade and Uncle Corbin, and I ready myself for the blow that was already flying. I can feel the wind from the fist and close my eyes, waiting for the strike. Instead, I feel a gentle swipe under my eye and the tingle of the contact from his skin. When I finally find the courage to take a peek, I see Wade looking at me, bewildered.

His breathing is labored from his boxing practice, using my uncle as the punching bag. He looks frightening, covered in blood, but his eyes soften when they meet mine. He reaches out, cupping my face as he looks me over. His lips flicker to my lips and back to my eyes. Gently, I reach up and remove his hands, taking a step further back towards Corbin.

"Ali, remove yourself, now," Wade says softly.

"No," I respond, rolling my shoulders back, readying for a fight that can only end poorly for me.

"Aliauna." Samuel says, using his alpha voice on me. "Leave now." He booms.

I hate when Samuel uses the alpha voice on me. It removes all my ability to say no and retaliate. My brain battles with his command but I lose. I spin quickly, looking at Uncle Corbin and lip to him.

"I'm going to get you out of here." Then turning on my heels, I brush past Wade, who reaches out for me. I push his reach away and head for my room. I need to get my weapons if I'm breaking Corbin out of here.novelbin