Chapter 380 380
Maurice POV
It feels like my eyes have barely closed before they’re being dragged open again.
“Alpha.”
Maxime’s voice cuts through my mind, sharp and urgent.
“Alpha!”
“I’m awake,” I groan internally, forcing consciousness to the surface. “What is it?”
“You need to come to the southern border. Alone.”
“Can it not wait until morning?”
“I’m afraid not, Alpha.”
The link snaps shut.
I blink a few times, my vision adjusting as I reach for my phone.
2 a.m.
Shit.
I’ve had what two hours of sleep? Maybe three at most.
Beside me, Bee stirs as I slowly slide my arm from beneath her. A soft smirk tugs at my lips when she instinctively turns toward me, even in sleep, chasing my warmth.
“I won’t be long,” I whisper, pressing a gentle kiss to her lips.
My fingers brush her hair aside, exposing the fresh mate mark on her neck still slightly swollen, still tender.
She was mine.
And I was hers.
The bond between us was complete, stronger than I ever imagined.
What I hadn’t expected was the possessiveness to intensify. I thought marking her would calm my wolf.
If anything, it had made him more obsessed.
“What time is it?” she murmurs sleepily, not even opening her eyes.
“Go back to sleep,” I whisper, pulling the covers back over her.
A low growl rumbles in my chest my wolf furious at leaving her in the middle of the night.
This better be important to drag me away from a goddess like that, naked in my bed.
The southern border is quiet when I arrive too quiet.
But just beyond the fence, I spot several guards clustered together.
“Maxime?” I call, pushing through thick branches as I step deeper into the wooded edge of the pack lands.
“She was caught trying to sneak back onto the grounds,” he says, stalking toward me. His expression is tight with anger something that instantly sets my wolf on edge. Maxime was usually calm. For him to look like this…
The guards shift aside, opening their circle.
And there she is.
Odette.
Curled in a heap on the cold, damp ground.
“Odette?” My voice hardens. “What are you doing here?”
My gaze sweeps the area instinctively.
“Hugo?” I snap, scanning the trees. “Where’s Hugo?”
“He’s not on rota tonight, Alpha,” Maxime answers immediately.
If she wasn’t here looking for Hugo, then
“Fetch him. Now.”
The command leaves me sharp and heavy.
Something wasn’t right.
Two guards sprint off.
“What was she doing?” I demand.
“We caught her trying to return unnoticed,” one of the men says. “She had this on her.”
A small brown packet is tossed toward me.
I catch it without looking away from Odette.
Slowly, I unfold it.
Hundreds of tiny pills spill into my palm.
Identical.
The same ones Bee used to take.
I pick one up carefully
Pain sizzles against my skin.
Wolfsbane.
It takes a second for reality to sink in.
She wasn’t just carrying them.
She was smuggling them in.
Rage explodes through me.
“You would dare go against me?” I roar, unleashing my alpha aura without restraint.
The force of it slams into her.
“I”
“Answer me!”
She whimpers, body trembling as she struggles against my power.
“She’ll get us all killed,” she gasps weakly.
“Who gave these to you?” I snap. “Who?”
“A woman…”
“What woman?” I snarl. “What did she promise you?”
“That the Luna would die.”
My blood runs cold.
“Alpha?”
Hugo’s voice reaches me from behind along with the hurried footsteps of their parents.
“Odette?” Hugo whispers, devastation clear as he takes in the scene.
“This is high treason,” Maxime states grimly. “The punishment is death.”
“I don’t care,” Odette spits. “She’s unwanted. An abomination to the pack.”
That’s it.
I haul her up by the throat in one brutal motion, lifting her off the ground.
“You would betray your Alpha,” I growl, “your pack… your Luna?”
“She’s not Luna yet,” she smirks weakly.
“Odette,” her father gasps in horror, “the Alpha has marked Bee. She is Luna now.”
Shock flickers across her face.
Of course she hadn’t felt it she’d been off pack lands.
“Please, Alpha,” her mother sobs.
I slam Odette back onto the ground, releasing her so she collapses coughing, clawing at her throat.
“I want to know who gave you these.”
“No!” she wheezes.
“Then I’ll pull it out of you,” I snarl calmly. “One finger at a time.”
Fear finally flashes in her eyes.
“Father… Mother…” she cries, crawling toward them, grabbing at their legs.
But both step back.
Away from her.
Closer to the border.
“Hugo, please…”
“Odette…” His voice breaks.
“Hugo,” Maxime warns, “your sister is accused of treason. Choose your next move carefully.”
My wolf is barely contained.
So is his.
“Tell me,” I roar, throwing the packet at her feet. “Who gave you these?”
She shakes her head.
Then laughs.
A cold, twisted sound.
I crouch before her, disgust churning inside me.
“I know who’s behind this,” I say quietly. “I know her games. And she won’t have my mate for her power plays.”
Her smile falters.
“You chose the wrong side, Odette,” I continue coldly. “Now you’ll rot in a cell until your execution.”
Her eyes widen in terror.
“You will speak,” I add. “Because it’s the only thing keeping you alive for now.”
I stand.
“Take her away.”