My Forbidden Alpha (The Power of Bonds Saga #1)

Marked

Scarlett

H e is insane; he is completely mad. Does he think I would ever allow him to control me, let alone allow him to continue his evil ways?

His eyes are fixated on me, almost unseeing, as if envisioning a future where he is indeed a god.

“You really are delusional. I will never side with you and your sadistic evil ways,” I spit venomously, staring him down, my eyes blazing a steely silver.

“Yes, you will! I am the reason you are on this fucking earth!” he snarls, his canines elongating as he glares at me with hatred.

I scoff. “Keep pissing me off and I swear by Selene I will tear your heart out!” I counter.

Even my wolf seems on edge, wanting to come forward and attack. I can feel her extreme anger towards Zidane. Although her presence only became known in my head when I turned eighteen, she knows the pain this man has caused me. She has been there dormant from the beginning, unable to do anything. But she sees my nightmares, re-lives those memories and the horror of everything he has done to me. She is a part of me, the only one who truly knows what I have faced.

She knows the abuse I have suffered at this man’s hand, most that I know I have blocked out, but the trauma remains. I don’t think I will ever truly recover from it.

I have kept my silence to protect my loved ones, even Mama doesn’t know the things I’ve experienced. But I will not be afraid of him anymore.

Even now, as he spews nonsense that falls on deaf ears, I stare back. He is just a man, just a pathetic evil man who bullies the weak.

He growls loudly, his aura rolling off him in waves, weighing down around me. He kicks his chair aside, stepping closer to me.

I am not afraid of you. I am not that little girl who will cower in fear and beg you to not hurt me!

But before he can get to me, Elijah is by my side, his powerful aura swirling around him, but Zidane has suddenly stopped, and all eyes are on me.

That’s when I realise they are not the only ones in the room with auras so powerful and I’m not the only one who has realised it. There’s a third. The powerful aura of a third alpha, perhaps not as strong as theirs, but impressive enough to make Zidane stop in his tracks.

“So, it’s true.” Zidane breathes out. His anger suddenly vanishes, and it is replaced with a mad glint of excitement in his eyes. He inches closer towards me, but Elijah growls, warning him to stay back.

Suddenly I sense something behind us, but Elijah is already spinning around, and I turn, seeing the woman and Cade rush towards us holding syringes that no doubt contain poison.

In a flash, Elijah transforms into his huge light brown wolf, slamming Cade across the room with his paw.

“Kill him!” Zidane snarls, “But I want her alive!”

Cade shifts into his own wolf and leaps at Elijah. Although he is visibly smaller, he’s a strong beta wolf. Elijah growls, flinging the woman across the room with one swift swipe. She goes flying, crashing into the wall, but she gets up instantly as if the throw had no effect on her. She may not have her wolf, but she is strong as well.

We need to leave. Elijah’s voice comes.

Yeah. With Elijah keeping the other two away, I glare at Zidane. He’s the most dangerous one here.

“I came here as you wanted, and you thought you could try to double-cross me? Fuck you, Zidane!” I spit.

Why am I even surprised? What was I expecting from him? He is not the kind of person who will ever listen to anyone or have any good intentions.

He has always been a psychotic monster, and he still is. I’m going to end him.

I take a few steps back, but as Zidane steps forward I rush towards him, channelling all my rage.

Be careful, Red! Elijah shouts through the mind-link.

I ignore him, shifting mid-air into my stunning silver-grey wolf. Zidane pauses, crazed awe in his eyes as I lunge at him, but even then, he doesn’t shift. His eyes trained on me. Time seems to slow as I watch the excitement in his eyes. I bare my teeth, ready to rip into him, but he simply raises his hand, grabbing my wolf by the neck. The force of the impact makes him stagger back, but his grip remains tight.

I slash out at him, managing to rip through his sleeve as he partially shifts, his claws digging into my neck, but then he’s thrown to the ground by Elijah and I am free. I turn, slashing into the woman who tries to attack me just as a dangerous growl rips through the room ringing off the walls.

Elijah.

I turn to see his burning eyes glare down at Zidane, who is under him, but Zidane’s calm makes me uneasy. Why is he so excited?

We can just end this now. I will end this.

I hunch down ready to rip Zidane’s head off when Cade, who is clearly injured, barrels into Elijah, knocking him off Zidane just as the door bursts open and several other wolves burst into the room, rushing to their Alpha. Zidane gets up and backs away.

I can’t miss this chance. The men who enter all shift, circling Zidane protectively.

No, I will not lose this fucking chance. I can’t. There are people here counting on me.

I growl, my Alpha aura rolling off them, making them hesitate. I see them hesitate. They can feel the pressure of another alpha’s threat, even if Zidane is their Alpha.

I can feel Zidane’s eyes burning into me. I glance at him, his manic smile that seems to be frozen on his face and has not once faltered remains. Even as I launch myself at him, knocking past his men and ripping my claws through his chest, he remains maniacal.

I will kill him!

Rage that has festered within me for years fuels me as I push aside the wolves that are growing in numbers, my eyes fixated on the man in white. Even with blood dripping down his chest, he welcomes the chaos. Unbothered by the pain, he simply stares at me as if seeing me for the very first time.

Two wolves lunge onto my back and Elijah, who is fighting four others, throws them off as he rushes to assist me.

We need to leave!

No, I almost have him! I shout back. I need to end this now!

I rip through a wolf, killing him as I get closer to Zidane, who simply stands and watches with such confidence it makes me uneasy. More and more wolves are joining, and the room is growing tighter making it harder to get closer to my target.

Elijah kills another two, tearing into the third.

RED!

It’s too late. I see the woman burst from the throng of wolves stabbing me with a syringe. Pain tears through me.

Wolfsbane…

Elijah snarls as he bites into her waist, shaking her body violently before he crushes her bones, tossing her to the ground like a rag doll.

I crumble to the ground, my body forced to shift back to human form.

“Fuck,” I groan, feeling the wolfsbane burn my insides; it feels like an inferno is building within me. I try to push myself to my feet, my vision swaying. I can see Elijah fighting the wolves, growling, his Alpha aura weighing down on them. But their own Alpha’s orders are stronger, and they show no care for their own lives.

I guess failure under Zidane means death, anyway. They will fight for him until they die or until Zidane is dead.

I glare up at Zidane, who now grabs me by my arm, dragging me to my feet.

This is my chance!

“You are mine.” His voice echoes in the room like a sinister promise of doom as his canines elongate.

My claws can do more harm, and after his declaration earlier, he needs me alive.

But just as I raise my arm, ready to claw into him, he pins me tightly, his fingers digging into my face, and I tense, ready for him to rip into my shoulder.

Elijah

I struggle to rip through the throngs, needing to get to Scarlett as Zidane holds her tightly. I don’t think he’ll kill her if he needs her, but he could hurt her.

Just as they come into view, Zidane’s arm pins hers, as her back is to his chest, his other hand pressed over her face as he keeps her in place as she struggles to free herself but what makes my blood run cold is where he’s looking.

And that’s when it hits me, my eyes widening in horror as I realise he’s about to do the unthinkable.

I rush forward, fear like never before enveloping me, but even then, unless there is a miracle, I won’t be able to reach her in time. Her scream of anguish fills the air. I watch helplessly as Zidane viciously rips into her creamy neck, where her mate mark would sit.

My entire body numbs as her shrill scream silences the room.

He’s marked her.

He’s fucking marked his own daughter!

He lets go of her, licking his bloody lips, throwing his head back as he exhales.

Her body slumps to the ground, her scream dying into a whimper.

Something inside of me snaps, blinding me with rage, a deafening howl that even I don’t recognise rips from my throat, echoing through the room.

I rip through another wolf, tearing and slaying every single one mercilessly that crosses my path.

Zidane is fucking mine.

Three more wolves block me, but seeing red, I tear through them heartlessly. My heart clenching painfully as I look at her bloody body, which lays crumpled on the floor. She’s losing consciousness, clearly in pain as she struggles to stay awake.

Her throat is a bloody mess. He didn’t just mark her, but fucking brutally ripped her throat open.

I need to get her out of here!

Zidane bends down to pick her up, but the thought of his hands on her makes me snarl as I launch myself into the air and throw him across the room with full force.

A sickening crunch fills the room and as much as I want to end him now, my priority is getting Scarlett to safety. Now.

I wrap my mouth around her wrist, tugging her up as she flinches.

Sorry, Red…

Nudging her with my head, when she’s half up I slide her onto my back, and she seems to realise what I’m trying to do.

I need you to hold on, sweetheart, I beg through the mind-link, but my words are met with a block. I can’t seem to make a connection, probably due to the wolfsbane they injected her with. But even though I can’t make a connection, she seems to understand what I’m trying to relay to her.

“Mmh…” she whispers weakly. She threads her fingers into my fur, holding on as I fling every wolf that tries to block me aside, ripping through some of them and leaping over some, killing, blocking or injuring any that dare stand in my path. Once out the door, I begin running just as the most spine-chilling growl of a wolf comes from behind us.

Zidane.

I glance back at the pitch-black beast that is now chasing us. He is huge, but to my satisfaction, he’s still a little smaller than I am.

“Faster,” she whispers before I feel her grip become relaxed signalling, she’s fallen unconscious.

I run as fast as I can. I can feel them gaining on us, but I won’t be defeated. As an alpha, it isn’t in my nature to run. My wolf wants to turn and rip them all to pieces, but right now I don’t really have a choice. Hearing howls ahead, I hope Rafael and his pack are near. I burst from the trees of their pack territory, seeing five men standing there with fifteen shifted wolves behind them.

“Elijah!” Rafael calls out, his face filling with worry as he spots Scarlett on my back. He steps closer as if about to take her from me, but I snarl dangerously, remembering she’s naked.

Rafael raises his hands, understanding my possessiveness and instead motions to the jeeps that are parked a few feet behind them, the doors open and the engines running.

“Let’s go!”

I shift back, turning and wrapping my arms around Scarlett’s slender body and lift her into one of the jeeps.

The driver revs the engine, and the moment Rafael jumps into the front passenger seat, ordering his men to retreat and cover the cars, our car zooms off at full speed.

I’m breathing hard, hearing the distant snarls and growls of the wolves I left behind. I look down at Scarlett in my arms, my hands trembling from the adrenaline.

My gaze falls on her neck, which has already begun healing somewhat.

He marked her.

The very statement makes me feel numb.

Fuck.

My heart thumps as I realise that’s another reason I couldn’t mind-link her. He is an alpha, and when an alpha marks someone it breaks their tie to their pack.

The sheer weight of the consequences hits me as another devastating reminder hits me. Only a person’s true fated mate can remove another wolf’s mark. Even Jessica still has Zidane’s mark and because my mom was Dad’s fated mate, there’s no way Jessica could mark him, either.

The only way a fated mate’s mark can be removed is if they have passed away, which is the case with my mom. But Dad would need to mark an unmarked woman, who could then mark him back, to remove my mom’s mark.

Now that Zidane chose to mark someone else, did it mean that Jessica’s mark has disappeared? Maybe… leaving them the possibility to mark one another in the future if they so choose.

I push the thought away, not even wanting to think about that when there’s so much going on here.

Would Dad have felt the pack-link break? He would have… fuck, this is a mess.

I stare into her pretty face, realising there’s no way that I can remove this mark from Scarlett’s neck.

Fuck.

I wanted to mark her and make her my Luna. Now, without her true mate, this mark will always stain her neck and that is something I will never be able to forgive myself for.

It angers me. I hate the fact that we ever walked into the Desert Storm Pack so recklessly. I should have stuck to my instincts.

Fuck!

A sudden thought enters my mind, and somehow, I feel as if it’s my wolf.

Maybe, somehow, we could be mates.

I feel an ache in my chest, just the thought makes a flicker of joy come alive inside of me.

If we were mates, that would be a fucking dream come true. Yeah, this is the same me who never believed in love or mates and now I hope for both.

I feel her forehead. She’s clammy and broken into cold sweat. I look at her neck, frowning again. Why isn’t she healing?

Her skin is growing paler by the second as well. I kiss her forehead tenderly, wishing to take away her pain.

Rafael tosses me a shirt and pants, and I catch them.

“Care to share why the hell you’re on Zidane Malone’s bad side?” he asks, pulling a face. “He’s the last person you want to piss off.”

“I’m sorry for getting you involved,” I say, pulling the shirt that smells of Rafael over Scarlett’s head. As much as I hate another male’s scent on her, I prefer her covered. Still holding her, I put the pants on, struggling a little but refusing to put her down.

“It’s not an issue. I owe you my life anyway,” Rafael reminds me with a grin as he pulls his curly black shoulder-length hair into a ponytail. “I never knew you found your mate.”

“She… she isn’t,” I admit, feeling a pang at the very thought. “But I’m going to make her my Luna.” Rafael looks surprised but says nothing.

He observes me for a moment before I look away and I’m grateful he doesn’t push it.

“What the fuck is that?” I murmur suddenly, my eyes returning to Scarlett’s neck. Rafael turns, leaning over the seat, an eerie silence filling the car as we look at what is now forming beneath Scarlett’s skin.

“What in the name of the Goddess…”

The wound on Scarlett’s neck is closing up, but there beneath her skin, black root-like veins are spreading from the bite mark, going up her neck and around her shoulder, visibly pulsating as if they are alive.

My heart thunders as I try to control my rage.

“The bastard marked her,” I breathe dangerously, my eyes flashing, “and I don’t fucking know what it’s doing to her, but I will fix this.”