Page 88 of Alpha's Rejected Warrior
She nods. “She was unsure of herself through most of it. And it was worse for her because a lot was expected of her before she even knew what she really was.”
“She’s right,” Conan says. “She was like a scared rabbit most of the time.” Xander shoots him a look of warning, but Conan doubles down. “She was! Just because she’s a warrior now—”
“Sorry,” I chuckle. “Did you saywarrior? Thea? I mean, I keep hearing that about her, but it’s just a little hard to believe she could move like the rest of the Lycan soldiers when she looks like a beach ball right now.”
“Just wait until that whelp is born,” Akila says. “Then try challenging her in the training yard. She’ll wipe the floor with you.”
“That’s not exactly a flex,” I say. “I’m half as strong and at least a quarter as fast.”
“You’re faster than youwere,” Conan says. “And you can anticipate your opponent’s moves. You’re a warrior, all right. Just a different kind.”
That makes me smile. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
As we round the corner and reach the door, Xander stops and turns to us. “Let me and Ethan go in first to speak with him,” he says. “I don’t want him to think there is any aggression—”
The sound of a thump behind the door stops him, and then a crash of glass rattles the wood of the door. Xander goes to open it, but it’s locked.
“Stasio!” he calls out. The roar of a wolf answers him.
Oh, shit.That doesn’t sound like a Shaman.
Xander kicks the door down with the rest of us behind him, just in time to see a large, dark brown wolf with patches of red lunge at Stasio. It’s Jayme 2.0 — the monster version.
Stasio’s guest chamber looks like a tornado tore through it, with overturned chairs and glittering fragments of a vase scattered across the floor. Broken furniture is splintered and strewn about like discarded kindling.
The Elder Shaman is on the floor, his face bloodied and bruised, a stream of red staining his white hair. He throws a hand up and a translucent wall of light forms in front of him just as Jayme reaches him. Jayme bounces off the shield, but not without hurting Stasio. His arm bends upon impact, and he winces in pain. The shield flickers.
Xander, Akila, and Rhiannon all transform at once, their bodies contorting and shifting into large black wolves. They all pounce on Jayme, devolving into a ball of teeth and fur as they battle. Conan and I rush over to Stasio and try to help him stand, but the older man winces in pain with every movement.
Conan hoists Stasio’s limp form over his broad shoulders. In one fluid motion, Conan’s body erupts into the familiar transformation, bones cracking and reforming, muscles rippling beneath skin that gives way to golden blonde fur. Within seconds, Stasio is draped across the back of the wolf. With haunches coiled tight, Conan launches himself through the doorway and into the corridor beyond, disappearing from view.
There’s no way in hell Stasio is behind this, not when he’s lying there broken and bleeding like a discarded rag doll. He’s lucky to be alive, assuming Conan manages to get him to Dr. Olcan fast enough.
All I know in this moment is that I still believe that Jayme’s a puppet. But if Stasio isn’t pulling the strings, then who is?
My brain kicks into overdrive, sorting through fragments of memory like shuffling through photographs. That first night.The dinner. Holden walking past me with that sharp, medicinal scent clinging to him like cologne. I’d written it off then, just another strange detail in this impossible world.
Blackroot.
The pieces slam into place with brutal clarity. Holden brought the Blackroot to Dr. Olcan. He chose to go right up to Jayme’s cell when he was attacked. Jayme has attacked all three of the Shaman by now, but Holden walked away with the least-severe injuries.
Holy shit.
The wolves snarl and snap in a chaotic mass of fur and teeth as they try to pin Jayme down. Xander’s black form collides with Jayme’s flank, sending them both crashing into what’s left of a dresser.
I need to tell them. But how the hell do I get their attention when they’re in full wolf mode, fighting for their lives?
“Holden!” I shout over the snarling chaos. “We need to get to Holden!”
Rhiannon’s wolf head whips toward me, golden-brown eyes bright with understanding. She glances back at Xander, who’s got Jayme backed into a corner. The Alpha’s wolf snarls at Jayme. They must be talking through mind-link, though, because Xander gives her a quick nod.
“Alpha, keep Jayme contained until we get back!” I call out, already moving toward the door.
Rhiannon and Akila bound ahead of me, their wolf forms eating up the distance in powerful strides. My human legs pump hard to keep up, my muscles burning as we race through the corridors. Servants press themselves against walls as we thunder past.
We skid to a stop outside Holden’s chambers. I grab the handle and twist. Locked.Of course it’s locked.
But Rhiannon and Akila are already in motion. They charge the door together, three hundred pounds of muscle and momentum each slamming into the wood. The door explodes inward, hinges screaming as they tear free from the frame. Splinters scatter across the floor.
