Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Alpha's Mate: Kabanata 131 - Kabanata 140

STERLINGWhen I wake up, Ayala is back in the dungeon. I’m so happy to see her - I always hate when Coello takes her out without me. “I have an idea,” Ayala tells me once I sit up and blink through the dimness, letting her know that I’m up.“What kind of an idea?”“A spell that might get us back to earth,” she tells me. “One I remember trying with Layla.”“A spell?” I’m curious - we’ve gone over, and over, and over, the entire list of spells Ayala knows from her time on earth with her Star Twin. Plus the spells she doesn’t know, ones she’s only barely heard of or half remembers. I thought we were long past strategizing about spells Ayala might be able to perform.“Yeah,” she tells me. “I just remembered one.”“Are you sure? Is there something you’re holding back?”Ayala shakes her head, but she won’t look at me. Finally, she admits that she has a half formed plan, but thinks it will work better if I don’t know much about it beforehand. “You just have to tru

“What is this?” Coello shouts, pointing at me accusingly. “Are you trying to forfeit your agreement? To trade your life for the child’s?”“What’s going on?” Sterling asks, sleepily rubbing his eyes. “I’m not trying to escape,” I say. I come to the front of the cage, reaching out toward Coello. “But I needed you.”Coello raises one eyebrow. “You needed me? For what reason?”“For all the reasons,” I say. “I need you. I want you. I wish to become your mate.”Coello sniffs. “What about this other mate of yours?” He gestures toward Sterling’s cage. I can’t bring myself to look at Sterling and see the hurt and confusion I know must be plain on his face.“I renounce him,” I say. “I am tired of being mated to someone who shares my captivity, and who has failed to protect me. I see now that with your power and majesty, you’re my intended mate.”“Ayala!” Sterling is screaming my name. I hear himself bashing his fists against the bars of his cage, and smell the singed fl

The bars of his cage are twisted and mangled. The room smells like singed flesh. But my mate is nowhere to be found.I search frantically for Sterling, calling his name as I run around the dungeons.Nothing. Only silence. I scream for him until my throat is raw and scratchy. I run up and down every staircase, every hallway, until my feet are sore and bruised from pounding them against the stone floor.I tear open doors, growing more desperate after each room turns out to be empty. The entire time, I can feel Coello’s hatred and rage emanating from the bundle in my arms. He’s kicking and twisting, and I know that if he ever got the opportunity to escape, he’d absolutely destroy me. But I don’t have time to think about any of that. I have to find Sterling. He’s not in the dungeons. He’s not in the throne room. He’s not in the living quarters. I go outside, circling the strange castle, calling out for him while trying to ignore the endless emptiness surrounding me

Layla and Arnold leave, carrying Coello with them. I feel much safer now that I’m no longer responsible for the writhing bundle, and knowing that all of Layla and Arnold’s expertise will be used to find a way to contain him.I’m more skeptical about their plan to harness his magical power. Sure, I’ve seen Layla do all sorts of amazing things when it comes to creating or using magical artifacts, but the last time we tried to get some of the Moon Rabbit’s magic for ourselves in the form of his pelt, it resulted in me being traded away to become his slave for centuries.I can understand her desire to try, though. If we end up needing that white pelt to continue holding him captive, then we won’t be able to use it to protect the pack. It is that pelt’s magic that has kept the San Diego pack safe and healthy over generations upon generations. Layla won’t want to leave her pack undefended without it. I hope she and Arnold can figure something out. It’s about time that Coello learns

When we reach the top of the tower, I can see that Sterling is there. He’s lying on the ground, looking as if he’s sleeping peacefully. He’s still wearing the moonstone collar that Coello locked around his neck.I start to run toward him, but something stops me - the sight of a woman with massive pale green wings, like a luna moth. She descends from the sky and settles lightly on her feet, standing between me and Sterling.“Who are you?” I ask, hesitant to approach an unknown celestial being but desperate to get to Sterling.“My name is Parvana,” she says. Her voice is gentle and lilting. In some ways, she reminds me of Layla. “I have been watching over the shifter boy.”“His name is Sterling,” Greyson says, stepping up to stand beside me. “And he’s my brother.”“So I see,” Parvana says, her voice calm and light. She looks Greyson up and down with a soft smile. “Is he okay?” I ask. “Can I see him?”Parvana steps aside, dipping one of her wings down in a gesture of