All Chapters of In Service of the Alpha: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Mara“The humans are coming for us, Mara,” Johnathan says. “They want to eradicate us. We have to be ready.”I look at the Alpha with new eyes. He sounds a little unhinged. Downright paranoid. But he believes it. I can see it in his eyes. I don't. The world is a big place, and I’ve never seen the humans working together to achieve anything. They hate each other as much as we seem to hate each other, and they're always at war with one another. “Are you going to say something?” Johnathan asks sarcastically. “Or did you swallow your tongue again?”That stings a little. Can he not see that I'm trying my best? “I mean...I don’t know what you want me to say. I don’t think humans are capable of wiping all of us out.”“You should speak to Susarah,” he says. “Find out what happened to the wolves where she lived.”“That’s one place. Red Ridge is safe.”“Red Ridge belongs to your father. Like Haven’s Crest belongs to me.”I press my lips together, afraid that I'll say something stupid. During

JohnathanMara isn’t at the pool. I follow her scent to a shrub on the edge of my property. There’s a low fence to stop anyone from falling over the cliff, and she managed to roll up against it where she fell asleep in the shade.Thank fuck I had the forethought to put the fence up when Greg started walking, or she’d be at the bottom of that cliff now. I kneel next to her and take in her appearance. She’s healing slower than most humans I know. The last bruises Lucas left on her skin are still dark blue and purple. If anything, the bruises are much worse today than they were yesterday. There’s a particularly bad one on her forehead, and greenish-blue one on her jaw.She's just bruises on top of bruises. I can’t even begin to imagine what her body must look like. She keeps hiding herself, even in the stifling heat, by wearing long sleeves. Last night, she pulled the sheet all the way up to her neck so I couldn't see her arms and legs.Today, she’s dressed in a hoodie and jeans. Sweat

Mara“I feel fine,” I say.I don’t really. The buzzing inside my skull is getting worse, the world blinks in and out of existence, and for whatever reason, I’m terrified.The fear is the worst of it. I’ve never been so scared in my life. It’s as if the grim reaper is standing next to me, squeezing my heart.And I can’t breathe.I sag to the floor, still keeping my breasts covered. Johnathan kneels in front of me and almost roughly forces my hand away from my chest. “Stop fighting me,” he orders. Still frowning, he places two fingers on my pulse. “Your heartbeat is weak,” he says. “I can barely feel it.”This has happened to me before. The first time, Lucas sent for a healer, the second time he told me to stop being so fucking dramatic. “My blood pressure,” I say through little gasps of air. "Sometimes it drops."“What blood pressure?" Johnathan asks with a smirk. "It’s not there.”I’m vaguely aware of the Alpha turning his head in the direction of the door and calling out, “We’re in

JohnathanI spend the rest of the day sitting outside Greg’s room, listening to him as he throws an epic tantrum. It hurts my heart, but I force myself to stay where I am. Giving it to him will send the wrong message.I can hear the crashing of toys and furniture, but I don’t go in until he quiets down. I find his room in ruins. Broken toys and furniture strewn all over the place. My exhausted boy is lying in the middle of the mess where he cleared a little space for himself, fast asleep.He pulled all the linens off his bed, and shoved the heavy mattress almost halfway off the frame. I rearrange his bed, pick him up and gently lay him down, making sure that the aircon is blowing directly on him.He’s covered in sweat, and his cheeks are bright red.People sometimes think Alpha boys are just regular children. They’re not. They’re stronger than children twice their age, smarter than most adults, and stubborn as all get out. They can take a punch that will knock a grown human male flat o

JohnathanThere’s a storm brewing inside me. It’s like a hurricane slowly building over time. Growing bigger, stronger, deadlier. It scares me sometimes, the sheer magnitude of it. I'm afraid of what will happen when I finally break open and start to rain blood on everyone.I’ve never told anyone about my past. My past, like everyone else’s in Haven’s Crest, is off-limits. It’s too painful. Humiliating. Especially for an Alpha.Keeping our pasts where they belong is one of the reasons everyone feels so welcome in Haven's Crest. It's a place where they can start over, where they can leave their demons behind.I wouldn’t have told Mara anything at all, but the gods are talking to her. That has to mean something. If nothing else, it means she didn’t come to Haven’s Crest because of me. She came here because she is supposed to be here.I will tell her only what is important. The things she needs to know to believe. I'll tell her about Minos and what he showed me. Maybe the part about ho