Harper’s POV
“I thought I told you not to push the limits of my kindness,” Alpha Lucas growls as he stalks toward me. I move backward, my back quickly finding a wall. He corners me, glaring down at me with those cold blue eyes.
“What are you doing in my office?”
Of course, this is his office. I let my eyes move past his body to scan the room before looking at him again.
Broad shoulders, defined muscles, and a glare that would freeze hell make me hold my breath. He’s a whole head taller than me and towers over my form. If my heart weren’t trying to beat out of my chest, I’d admit that he’s handsome.
He’s all Alpha.
With his status and power, Alpha Lucas could easily kill me if he wanted. And that fact alone sends a wave of panic through me. I take a few calming breaths, not that they really help, and answer him honestly.
“Emily brought me here, telling me she could help me find something. When we arrived, she pushed me in and locked me in here,” I tell him, lowering my eyes in the respectful way a lower wolf is supposed to.
Though, I don’t have a wolf anymore, so do I still have to bow to him?
The resounding rumble that moves through Alpha Lucas’s chest has me dropping my chin closer to my chest. It’s an instinct, I guess, that I have even though my wolf is gone.
“Do you think I would believe such a poorly constructed lie?” Lucas growls. His presence is completely overwhelming and heavy, so I flinch back into the wall. Before I can reply, the door to our side flies open. It bangs against the wall, barely missing me by an inch.
Sierra marches in, her eyes already narrowed on me. The hatred there is worse than it’s ever been.
“I told you she was bad news,” Sierra says, throwing her hand out to motion to me. Lucas pulls back a bit, glances at Sierra, then looks back at me as my stepsister continues talking. “She hasn’t even been here one day and look… she’s already snooping through your office!”
“I wasn’t—”
“Be quiet, Harper!” Sierra hisses, shoving me back to the wall when I try to move. “You’re a spy just like we thought. Why else would you be in Lucas’s office? What were you looking for in here?”
“Nothing—”
Sierra cuts me off with a laugh. “Right. Out of all the offices on this hallway, you just happened to stumble into the Alpha’s office?” She scoffs, and I realize this was her doing. The overexaggerated reaction and the fact that she’s trying to blame me for this gives away her intentions.
She wants me gone, and this was the easiest way for her to convince Lucas to kick me out.
Like always, Sierra will do whatever she can to get her way.
“Lucas, you need to get Harper out of here now.”
I look up at the man in question, wondering if he’ll do as my stepsister says or if he can see past her lies.
“If you don’t believe me,” I start, “You should call Emily in here and ask her. She’s the one who locked me in here, and I’m sure she can tell you who put her up to this. She said she worked in the office with paperwork and has blonde hair and blue eyes.”
Alpha Lucas calls out, and a moment later, another man steps into the office.
“Mason, find Emily and bring her to me,” Lucas orders, and the Beta nods before disappearing out of the office. I stand there, with my back still to the wall and my eyes pinned on the two people in front of me.
An eternity seems to stretch between the time Beta Mason left and the time he returns. When he shakes his head, my heart sinks. He looks at me briefly before turning to Alpha Lucas, who now sits on the edge of his desk.
“I didn’t find an Emily in the offices, and there is no one with her description lingering around the offices,” Beta Mason says, making my heart jump into my throat.
“She couldn’t have just disappeared,” I say, looking at the two men. “Are you sure no one saw anything?”
“There’s nothing and no one to see, Harper,” Sierra says, moving between me and the exit. Does she think I’m going to run? I know it’s what she would do, but I want to get to the bottom of this issue. Running now isn’t an option for me.
Sierra crosses her arms over her chest and glares at me, growling, “There is no Emily, is there? You made her up. Your lies and fabrications are getting too complex for even you to keep up with, Harper. I can tell that you’re making all this up just so you can get away with sneaking into the Alpha’s office, but no one here is going to believe your lies.”
I bite my tongue to keep from snapping on Sierra- not that my weakened state would be much of a deterrent for her. She and her mother are the people who hate me the most in this world, so I wouldn’t put it past them to come up with this farce.
Maybe there’s another way to spin this. I scan the room, my eyes instantly falling on the cameras that are mounted in two corners. If they’re here, I’m sure there are some in the halls.
“You could always check the surveillance cameras,” I suggest, and Sierra pauses. “No matter how I got here, don’t you all find it odd that I was able to get into the office at all? There should be warriors guarding this place, shouldn’t there?”
Alpha Lucas glances at the security cameras as well, and I continue, “If you didn’t call the warriors away, who did? I doubt there are many people with enough power to move them from their posts.”
I don’t need his confirmation on that. I’m right.
Though, knowing I’m right doesn’t stop the satisfaction from filling my chest when he tells Mason to have the CCTV footage sent to his computer.
“Tell them to transfer the footage now.”
Sierra clearly doesn’t like this turn of events, because she clings to Lucas’s arm and flashes her puppy eyes at him.
“For a liar like Harper, there’s no need to look at surveillance footage.”
Surprisingly, Lucas doesn’t look at Sierra. He brushes her off and moves to the computer, turning it on. He basically ignores her, which is odd for a normal mate couple. The sweetness you would usually see isn’t there. Most mated couples would never ignore their partner like he just did to Sierra.
As Alpha Lucas focuses on the computer screen, I watch the two of them closely. Sierra tries to flirt and grab Lucas’s attention, and he completely ignores her again.
It’s strange.
“You were right,” he finally announces. “This Emily did bring you here.”
“So, I have a question for you,” I say, making Lucas look at me again. “What’s more serious than me ‘breaking’ into your office? I think it would be who Emly is and who she’s working for.”
The anger I’d seen in his eyes fades to something softer. I dare not say affection, but it’s almost like he’s proud of me or giving me some sort of approval for what I said. I try not to look to much into it, but the soft look touches my heart and has me feeling strange.
“I’ll find out what went on here today, and for now, Harper, you will be placed in the doctor’s quarters at the pack house,” Lucas says, standing. “You will report in tomorrow.”
Lucas’s POV
Sitting alone in my office, I stare down at my hand.
I flex and relax it, trying to forget the soft feel of her hand in mine. Though, Harper’s touch is almost seared into my palm. Not to mention, I can’t forget the warm feeling of her healing power flowing into me when she held my hand.
It instantly dissipated the unexplained discomfort I’ve been experiencing lately. The discomfort that put my wolf into a coma.
No one else knows about it, and I hadn’t been able to seek much help because if word leaks, danger could come for my pack. There are many people out there who would love to challenge me if they knew I am in a weakened state right now.
I haven’t been an Alpha for long, and the struggle between spies and other packs coming for me has been intense. I haven’t had much time to dig into my condition or find a healer who is able to help me. Each one that I sought out recently hasn’t been effective.
I’d heard one of the former Beta’s daughters was a witch’s child, but I’d never met her… until now.
We’ve always been worlds apart because of our status and blood.
Rationally, it’s difficult to trust her, seeing as she was cast out last year.
Sighing, I return my focus to her file. Mason had been able to get ahold of it and sent it to me, and as I read through it, I pause.
Reason for exile: Harper Lewis, daughter of Beta Henry Lewis, was marked by a stranger on the night of June 12, 2024. As a result of her disgrace to the family and pack for this marking, she is sentenced to live as a rogue starting June 13, 2024.
I reread the short description again, surprise filling me.
Harper was kicked out of the pack for being marked by a stranger, and the very next day, I found out my fated mate was Sierra?
