All Chapters of Now The Alpha Wants Me.: Chapter 51 - Chapter 55

The hand never reached Bella.One second she saw movement exploding from the trees, and the next Harry was there. His arm locked around her waist and pulled her hard against his side. The world tilted so suddenly that Bella barely had time to gasp before steel flashed through the falling snow.The attacker who had lunged for her never made contact. Harry's blade struck first. The man hit the ground.Bella's heart slammed against her ribs. Everything happened too fast. Snow flew beneath pounding boots. Voices echoed through the trees. Steel clashed against steel.Harry shoved her behind him. "Stay close." It wasn't a request.Another attacker charged. Harry met him head-on.For a moment Bella simply stared, not because she was frightened, but because she had never seen him like this before. Not at training. Not at pack gatherings. Not even during border patrols. There was something terrifying about watching a man fight when he had something to lose. Or someone.A shout erupted to their

Harry entered the Council Hall without rushing.The moment the doors opened, every conversation inside died. Councilor Varek Stone sat at the center of the long table, his fingers folded neatly in front of him. Several other council representatives occupied the remaining seats, their expressions unreadable.Harry remained standing. Nobody offered him a seat. Nobody expected him to take one."We were informed Bella Quinn has returned safely," Varek said.Harry's face remained blank. "She has."A brief silence followed. Then Varek tilted his head slightly. "Then perhaps you can explain why she isn't being held."Harry had expected that question. The other council members exchanged glances. One of them spoke up. "The investigation into the missing treasury allocation was never concluded."Another nodded. "Neither was the matter concerning the access keys.""The primary suspect has returned," someone else added. "Yet she remains free."Harry's jaw tightened. For a moment he simply looked

Lucas hadn't moved."I think you look familiar," Simon said again, quieter this time, as though repeating it might shake something loose.Lucas let out a short laugh, the kind people used when they didn't know what else to do with a moment. "Maybe I've got one of those faces." He shifted the reports under his arm. "Have we crossed paths before? Some pack gathering, maybe?""I don't know." Simon's eyes stayed on him a moment longer than was comfortable. There was something about the set of his jaw, the way he held himself. A shape his mind kept reaching for and missing."Well." Lucas glanced toward the main house, toward the work waiting for him. "If it comes to you, I'd like to know. Mysteries bother me.""They bother me too."Lucas gave him a brief look, unreadable, and turned down the path toward the house. Simon watched him go until the garden swallowed the sound of his footsteps.The feeling didn't leave.It sat at the base of his skull, not sharp enough to be a memory, not faint