My Alpha's Mark

183 Lie

The room started to spin as we stared at her. The three of us remained frozen while the three words she uttered began to sink. We waited for her to smile, tell us it was a joke, or to say that it wasn’t true, but none of those things happened. None of it made sense. I had no enemies left living in this world. No one came to mind when I thought of an enemy, not even Clara.

“Hurry! The pack needs you. I was with Delta John for a meeting when it happened. Telling you in person was the best course of action,” Jamie said. She straightened her back.

“How can we be under attack?” I asked.

“There is some tension with the other packs but no one comes to mind when I think of having the balls to attack us,” Jake said. He turned to Viktor but it was as if I saw a mask fall over my mates face.

“What pack?” Jake asked. Viktor was Alpha and had many enemies. It seemed more likely that it would be a neighboring pack.

“None,” Jamie panted. She shook her head.

“It doesn’t matter who is attacking us. What matters is that we are under attack. Where was their point of entry? Is anyone hurt?” Viktor asked.

“The north side. Large clay monsters are destroying homes and killing everyone inside. Women and children aren’t safe from their power. We need to do something and quick,” Jamie said. Her voice choked with raw emotion.

“That’s not far from us,” Jake murmured.

At the mention of monsters I could only think of Jade’s gift. There could be other with their gift. “Do they have witches with them?” I asked.

“Not that I could see,” Jamie said.

“Well… we should talk to the witches. Even if you didn’t see one there could have been one. No, there most likely is one. Jade has a gift similar to the mud monsters you speak of. We should talk to her and see if there’s a way for us to defeat them. She would know what their weakness would be.”

“I don’t—” Jake started.

“Don’t. We don’t have time to think about our feelings. We are under attack, Jake,” I said. I looked up at him and cupped his cheek with the palm of my hand. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. Right now we need to protect our people.”

“How can you be sure it’s the elders?” Viktor asked.

“The elders were spotted closed behind, the monsters were paving their way. There was blood, so much fucking blood,” Jamie said.

“Shit,” I cursed.

“It doesn’t make sense. Why would they do this? We just saw them a few weeks ago. Why wouldn’t they tell us if they had a problem then? Why wait?” Jake asked.

“… They didn’t want to give us a heads up. I don’t know the motivation behind this attack or the need to eliminate us, but this was their plan from the beginning. It had to be. When I went to speak to them about Kacie’s gift they must have made their mind up then. We were smart to welcome the witches in. We at least gave Kacie a chance to become stronger than she had been before we spoke to the elders,” Viktor said.

“One of us will have to go and speak to the witches,” I said as I pulled myself to my feet.

“No, not you,” Viktor said.

“You may be my Alpha, but I’m also Luna of this pack. It is as much my responsibility to protect this pack as it is yours. Without my gift, we will be at a disadvantage,” I said.

“I am Alpha and I will not put my mate and child at the front lines!” Viktor growled.

Jake put his hand to Viktor’s chest. Viktor ripped his gaze from me and stared down at him. Jake looked at him and Viktor clenched his jaw. He closed his eyes as he tried to calm himself down.

“The witches will be a strong ally against the elders,” Jake said. Viktor’s eyes flew open. They lingered on me before he looked at Jake.

“I’ll go to the witches. Jake, I’ll need you to go in my place with Jamie. The witches will prove their loyalty and good intentions with coming to this pack. They’ll fight by our side today,” Viktor said.

“They will,” I choke. “Things are unsure with us and our personal… problems, but they are here to help. They’ll help protect my family, they’ll help us fight,” I said.

“You’ll stay here,” Viktor ordered.

“I will not,” I said firmly.

“You cannot tell me to stay here when there are intruders killing my people. I’ll be careful. Anyone who comes near me will turn to ash. I won’t sit on my ass while they kill and run rampant on our lands,” I said.

“Kacie-” Viktor started but Jake cut him off. He looked like he was close to exploding. He had a crazed look in his eye and I wouldn’t put it past him to try and lock me away.

“We’re worried about you, Kacie. We went through hell the last few days when you were bedridden. We’re not ready to lose you. We’ll never be ready. You can go with Viktor to talk to the witches, but you will not go to the battlefield. Viktor and I will protect you even if you fight us. We need you safe, we need you to keep our child in mind. Let us protect you. Leave it to us to protect our people,” Jake said.

“How are you going to fight the mud monsters? You can’t! I could barely get rid of one and I— !” I exclaimed.

“That’s why I’m putting my trust into you and Viktor to get info from Jade. I’m trusting Viktor to get the witches and bring them to the battlefield. I’m trusting you to stay hidden, to stay safe, so I don’t have to worry about you while fighting,” Jake said. I looked between my mates.

“Okay. I’ll stay away from the fight,” I lied.