Chapter 32

Adrian.

A devious smile crosses my face as I receive the satisfaction I’m looking for when I watch the life fade from the eyes that are staring back at me as my wolf rips his throat out with our claws. I made it to the attack just in time to help my warriors defeat the enemy who attempted to weaken my pack.

But they didn’t have a chance against me.

I shift back into my human form, look down at my hands, and smile at the victory of killing my enemies as I see their blood on my hands.

For a moment, my mind is free from the insanity, and I’m able to think clearly. I’ve done my duty as Alpha of my pack and protected my people.

I feel this deserves a celebration, a party with a few beautiful women of my choosing, and possibly a lucky one to fill my bed later to satisfy my sexual needs.

I smile naughtily at the thought.

My wolf tries to remind me about earlier today, but I force myself to block him out. Is it wrong of me to want to have a good time every once in a while in my life? I want to be happy for a little bit before the crazy thoughts come back to haunt me.

And they will come back; they always do.

Dare walks over to me and says, “Well done, Alpha. Our pack is safe once again.”

“I feel like celebrating our victory,” I tell him as I give him a knowing grin that he knows all too well.

There’s a look of relief that flashes over Dare’s face.

“I haven’t seen you in this good of a mood in a while. It seems like you are back to your old self.”

And for the moment, I do. I don’t know if it’s the victory of the battle that has me feeling this way, but I do hope it lasts through the night.

“Shall I make the arrangements with the usual guests for us?”

Before I am able to give him an answer, I hear someone yell from across the fields.

“ALPHA!”

I look over to where I hear the voice coming from, and in the distance, I see Lola limping across the field.

Dare and I exchange looks before running to her to find out what happened.

“Lola, are you alright? Were you attacked?” Dare asks her when we get over to where she’s standing.

I give Lola a once-over to make sure that she doesn’t have any other wounds besides her limp. She looks disheveled, not like her usual pristine self. A part of me is upset seeing her like this and wants to punish whoever did this to her.

“Yes, but not by the Rogues who tried to attack us. It was by one of our own,” she discloses.

Rage begins to build inside me when I hear that one of our own has betrayed the pack. I clench my fists at my side, and through gritted teeth, I demand, “Who did this to you?”

Lola lets out a whimper before she answers, “It was Poppy.”

My ears perk up when I hear the familiar name I seem to can’t get away from these days, and my impatience grows as my happy mood begins to slip away.

My mind attempts to support the notion that Poppy could do something like this to a girl like Lola. But it doesn’t make any sense.

“Did you say Poppy did this to you?” I question.

Lola nods her head nervously as her eyes shift back and forth between Dare and me.

A growl erupts from my chest, but I’m not exactly sure what I’m growling in regards to.

Am I angry that Poppy hurt a fellow member of the pack? Or am I angry that Lola is accusing Poppy of something she didn’t do?

Typically, I would take what Lola says at face value, seeing nothing but red and demanding blood for the betrayal. But something is telling me to find out more before I go off the rails and punish the perpetrator.

“What were you doing at Poppy’s house?” I inquire.

Lola looks at me with confusion written all over her face.

“I wasn’t. This happened over at Poppy’s shop just a little while ago.”

My brows furrow at this information.

Why would Poppy leave her house when she asked to be left alone? Why would Lola be over in that part of the pack’s town? There’s nothing on that side that fits any of Lola’s interests.

“What were you doing on that side of town?” I question.

Lola’s eyes become doe-eyed, and she seems at a loss for words to support her story. She flutters her eyelashes at me while finding her next choice of words wisely.

“Well, I did buy something from her the other day and decided to take it back. Poppy overreacted and then began to use her freaky witch stuff on me and attacked me,” Lola whines. She looks at me with puppy dog eyes and begins to pout her lower lip at the same time.

I pinch the bridge of my nose as I can feel the irritation and frustration begin to build up inside me. When I think I’m going to have a moment of bliss, drama has to walk back into my life again.

Oh, the perks of being Alpha to this pack, I say to myself.

I turn to Dare and give directions to him, “Will you escort Lola to the pack doctor to have her checked out and make sure there are no other injuries.”

Dare nods his head at the order.

I turn to look at Lola and see a smirk rising on her face when she thinks she’s won this little game I know she’s playing.

“What are you going to do?” Dare whispers under his breath.

“I’m going to go have a chit-chat with our little mystical pack member and see if I can find out the real truth to this accusation.”