Chapter 4

Adelia’s Point of View

The moon was high again. Gleamed in through the curtains. The aching in my chest had also subsided to barely a trickle.

Although my mood would have been better if I hadn’t been woken up to a struggle.

“What are you doing?” I asked, already sitting up in bed.

At the edge of the room, Siya’s chains were being loosened. His snarls and snaps had woken me up. The rustling of chains came second. Four men held him to the floor with all their strength.

None of them came from Lover’s Quarrel. None of them sparked my memory.

Dargan, to my surprise, stopped what he was doing and looked at me. Paused just enough that the rest of the men followed in his footsteps. 

“Ciaran asked us to bring him down to the holding cells.” He said, sheepish. Color bloomed across his cheeks as well. From embarrassment. “And I’m sorry that I-”

I shook my head. “Why the fuck are you taking him away without my order? We weren’t done talking!” I screeched. Clawed at the tubes stuck into my arm. They ripped out and left droplets of blood right before closing up.

Dargan’s wide eyes grew even wider as I marched towards him.

“Ciaran said-”

“Fuck what Ciaran said. This is Lover’s Quarrel. I’m the Alpha here, last I checked. Get your hands off of him.” I exclaimed and clamped my hand down on one of the men’s arms. 

He spun on me, nostrils flaring. 

I hadn’t seen it coming. Couldn’t have predicted it. So, I recoiled out of instinct. Drew my hand away from him. 

This enraged Siya to the point where he was pulling on the chains himself. Strained and groaned but pressed on. 

“Fuck. He’s going to break loose. Adelia, get out of here. He’s going to-” 

“All of you, get fucking off of him, now! Or I will hold you in contempt to an Alpha and imprison you.” I sneered. 

They all stopped moving. Glanced at me as if seeing me for the first time. But all of their hands fell away from him. One of his chains was loose but that still left five others. 

“Adelia, we have to take him to Ciaran. You spoke to him enough but you didn’t get anything out of him. It’s our turn to ask.” 

I leveled a long look at him. Stared at him down my nose, despite him being taller. “How do you know I didn’t get anything out of him?” 

This caught Dargan off-guard. “We… We just know.”

“The room is soundproof. You couldn’t have known a single thing unless you were listening in.” I accused.

I wouldn’t have put it past Ciaran to bug the room. The man loved control and anything out of his control freaked him out to no end. 

“I tapped the room,” Ciaran said from the door. He was leaning against it with his arms crossed. Eyes dead-set on Siya.

Despite our conversation or lack thereof, I would have talked to him later on. I had been tired earlier. Deathly so. But I would have spoken to him eventually.

Especially when it came to my father. 

“That was an invasion of privacy. And in my own pack, no less.” I hissed, letting all of my venom soak into my words.

“You have grown too close to him already. I couldn’t let your misguided views get in the way of getting answers. And that should be your first priority as well, seeing as he admitted that he wanted to kidnap you. That your father was involved.” 

What part of tired didn’t he understand? If he had listened to the whole conversation, he would have known that I was down on my luck. He also would have known that I had omitted things from them.

And logically I would want to speak with him alone. Grew close to him in the span of a few hours. He was my fucking mate and I knew well enough how Ciaran got people to talk.

“You still don’t have any jurisdiction here. Alvara signed her rights over to me temporarily. Only a cancelation contract can break it. Which, I might add, she never wants to sign.” I threw.

Siya huffed beside me. And when I looked at him, his chest was puffed out. Smirk pulled the corner of his lip up. 

He was proud. 

Bastard.

“Do you want me to convince her to sign that document?”

“Do you want me to tell her that you bugged my room?” I asked in reply.

His eyes widened. Panic fluttered in his eyes. 

I was right, then, to assume she didn’t know about his little bug. Alvara would be livid if she found out. Thought Ciaran was undermining not only me but her judgment in making me Alpha of Lover’s Quarrel.

“Now, kindly get the fuck out of my-”

Before I could finish, Maverick darted into the room, alongside Ulrich. Both men looked haggard. Flustered. 

Maverick spoke with a strained voice. “Someone is attacking the pack. The civilians are scattered and dying. Whoever it is has zero regard for life. We need to act, fast.” He rushed out. Scanned the room, only for his eyes to settle on Siya. “Those are your fucking people, aren’t they?” 

Siya remained silent. Brooding.

Our earlier conversation sprang into my mind. 

He had warned me that this would happen. And I had shrugged it off. All the lives lost would be on my hands. 

“Mobilize my personal guards. Take the civilians to the western mountain. The first block of the road leading into town is rigged with explosives that you can detonate remotely. Keep them there and when I give the order, evacuate the guards.” I instructed, going into Alpha mode without so much as a second thought.

“Why do you have-” Ciaran started but I was already brushing past him. 

“There is no fucking time for that. People are dying. They want him and me. So, I’ll give them what they want.” I said again.

Behind me, a feral growl erupted from Siya. Bounced all around the room.

“You can’t go out there! They will fucking kill you!” 

I paused. Twisted just enough so that I could see him clearly. 

“But I thought they wanted me alive.” 

“Not everyone knows how you fucking look, Adelia! Let me out of these chains and I can-” 

I shrugged him off. Rolled my shoulders and turned back into the hallway. “You stay fucking here. You have done enough. Dargan?” I called over my shoulder.

“Yes, Alpha,” 

Because that’s what I was right now. Their Alpha. Every last soul in this pack fell on me. Even the Alpha of Eiecrunt. 

They were in my territory now.

“Send for Melissa. I need to be suited up and she is the only one who knows the combination to my walk-in safe. I’ll meet all of you out front in five. Get all of our best guards ready.” 

I might not have been good with physical fighting. Could barely hold my own in the sparring ring. But on the gun range? I was a fucking god and I barely ever missed.

“Adelia!” Siya screamed again.

I could hear him screaming my name, even as I made my way up the stairs to my bedroom.

Mate or not, I couldn’t let him out. Not when they would cause a war just to get him back.