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Chapter 22
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2024-10-14 23:52:20Related chapters
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 23
MaraDespite sleeping most of the day and half the night away, I have no trouble falling asleep. I only wake when a bell rings through the house. I found out yesterday that there are two different bells - one to wake the house, and one to summon everyone for breakfast.The waking bell is loud, shrieking like a fire alarm, and it's impossible to miss. I grunt and rub my hands over my face. My eyes feel swollen and my head fuzzy. I glance at the clock on my nightstand. It’s six. I vaguely hope that Johnathan relaxes the early waking hour over weekends. I can't imagine waking this early every single day.I stumble to the bathroom and go through my usual morning routine. Twenty minutes later, I am standing in front of my wardrobe, surveying the clothes I bought. Most of the items have long sleeves, but I did buy a few sundresses - mostly to please Rhoda, but now I’m glad that I listened to her.The light green dress brings out the colour of my eyes and only shows the vivd bruises on my a
Last Updated : 2024-10-15In Service of the Alpha Chapter 24
Johnathan The car ride into town is quiet. The air between us thick and heavy. Gregory is sulking in the back seat, his bottom lip quivering, but he’s trying his best to be brave. Mara’s quiet presence helps. She’s good with him, and he takes the things she says to heart. I’ve never seen him pay that much attention to anyone. I don’t know how Mara does it, but she’s not doing it on purpose, she just seems to have a way about her that makes Gregory stop and think. I’d get jealous of her ability to have an impact on my son, but right now I am just quietly grateful that someone managed to get through to him. She stays with Gregory while I talk to Joshua, the school master. I watch them through the window that overlooks the long hallway. She's sitting on the bench with Greg on her lap, whispering something to my son. He looks just like me when he gets anxious. His little jaw is set and his lips pulled in a grimace. “Don’t worry, Alpha,” Joshua says when I’m done explaining the si
Last Updated : 2024-10-16In Service of the Alpha Chapter 25
JohnathanThe rest of the week passes smoothly. I can’t bring myself to tell Mara about that night I fled my pack, and she doesn’t ask any questions about it. I can't put it off forever, but I keep finding excuses not to do it.Within days, Mara settled into my routines, and upon my request joins me for meetings and discussions with the town's leaders. Despite Joshua’s job offer, I still want her to learn pack business and politics. When the time is right, she can decide for herself where she wants to be. Here with me, running the pack, or at the school, wrestling with the pups.Most of the day, she aimlessly wanders around the house, or I can find her in the garden, puttering around in the dirt. She found a little patch of land and asked me if she could plant some seeds.I agreed, although I have no idea what she planted. She’s happy out there by herself, and growing more confident by the day. She doesn’t care who sees her bruises anymore, although they have now faded to the point w
Last Updated : 2024-10-17In Service of the Alpha Chapter 26
Johnathan“Douglas,” I start, then realise I don’t know what to say next. It’s not as if he can exert any influence over his Alpha. There is one thing I want to know though. It's been nagging me for a few days now. “Why are you still at Red Ridge?”"Kyson only agreed to dissolve Mara's marriage if I promised to stay here," Douglas says."So that's why you won't leave?""Not exactly, no."“Are you looking for a new pack?” I ask on a whim. "A way out? I can help you."“You don’t seem to understand,” Douglas says. “If I leave... they are coming for me. They will kill my daughter. She’s all I have. She’s the only thing in this world that I love.”“You have a funny way of showing it. Marrying her off to that rabid maniac.”“Kyson made the match. I didn’t know that Lucas…he seemed like a good kid. I did what I thought was best for Mara.”“Good job,” I say dryly.“Yes. By the time I realised I made a mistake, it was too late.”I actually feel sorry for Douglas. I don't want to, but I understa
Last Updated : 2024-10-18In Service of the Alpha Chapter 27
MaraAs I shower and get ready for supper, I realise that this will be my first weekend at Haven’s Crest. I’ve been here since Monday afternoon, and the week flew by in a blink and blur of activity.It amazes me how quickly I settled in and how comfortable I am. So much so that I plan to ask Johnathan if I can go into town tomorrow. I want to treat Rhoda to lunch. I haven’t seen her since they brought me here, and I want to thank her for all her help.There’s still a little money left on the card Johnathan gave me, and while I'm in town, I want to buy a swimsuit. The Alpha was right, I regretted not having one. I watched the father and son sliding down the smooth rocks, splashing into the deep, cold pools below, and I wished I could join them. Johnathan already saw my scars, and I think Gregory will just accept them the same way he accepted my bruises.I think I'll be okay if it's just the three of us.I saw a different side of Johnathan today. A playful, fun side. I saw a man who kn
Last Updated : 2024-10-19In Service of the Alpha Chapter 28
MaraI sit on the edge of the pool, dangling my legs in the cool water. It's another warm night, and the urge to simply slide into the water is powerful.The wind is blowing from the direction of the town, carrying with it the sound of laughing humans and a cacophony of different kinds of music. The air smells like barbeque fires, alcohol, and suntan lotion.The town is alive tonight.It sounds, smells, and feels like the summers at Red Ridge when I was a little girl. Before life came around with a series of blows that almost robbed me of the will to live.“Oh God, what a day,” Johnathan says from the patio doors and walks out onto the deck. “Did you tell Preston he had to beat Ally?”I nearly dislocate my neck when I whip my head around to look at Johnathan. “What?” I ask, alarmed by his question. “No! I would never do something like that.”“According to Ally, you did.”“I told her that I was spoiled too, until Lucas beat it out of me.” I pull my legs out of the pool and shake the wa
Last Updated : 2024-10-20In Service of the Alpha Chapter 29
JohnathanThe panic that rises up in Mara is palpable. Not that I blame the girl. I don’t feel much better about the whole mate issue and rushed mating ritual. We have another two weeks until the next full moon, and I did plan to ease Mara into it. If it weren’t for Douglas’s plea to mark his daughter still ringing loudly in my ears, I would have told the whole lot of them to go to hell.This is not the right way to do it. Mara is still terrified of me. There are moments, glimpses, when she lets her guard down and shows me her true strength. And then there are nights like tonight, when I snap at her and instead of fighting back, she pulls back into herself, shutting me out."Answer the girl," Felicity urges me. "Does she have to be marked tonight?"“Yes,” I finally say, wondering how much of my conversation with Mara's father I have to relay to her. “Your, uh, your father also requested that we do it as soon as possible.”“My- my dad?”“Yes.”“Why?”I look at Felicity who is regarding
Last Updated : 2024-10-20In Service of the Alpha Chapter 30
JohnathanFelicity returns just as the curfew alarm jangles in the town.Tourists are told that the curfew is for their own safety. We put notices up in all the bars, pleasure houses, clubs, hotels, and the mountain resort. The official excuse is that the town attracts wild animals, and we don’t have enough rangers to patrol the town.No one ever questions why said wild animals don’t enter the town during the day. The promise of stiff fines and the possibility of being eviscerated by wolves and bears is enough to keep them in check.Sometimes, fear, or the threat of danger alone, is enough to keep humans compliant. “So?” I ask the vampire.“She’s still alive,” Felicity says. “I couldn’t get close enough…the witch put up some kind of barrier.”“What?” I snap and jump to my feet. “How is the spell-”“It is a powerful spell. A dangerous one. You knew that. Sit down and relax.”As if it’s that easy. My mate is out there. Alone and in peril. The desire to protect her is all-consuming, and
Last Updated : 2024-10-20
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In Service of the Alpha Chapter 93
MaraOnce outside the town, I easily trace Preston’s scent. He doesn’t bother to hide himself, and the newer wolves are afraid of him. He smells of despair and sorrow. body odour and blood.I find him close to the foot of the mountains, staring up at the peaks he will never be able to reach. When he sees me coming he turns to run away, but I quickly hold him in place, using my new magical talents.Elemental magic can harm or heal. Earth elements heal. I’m still not sure how it all works, or what it really is, but I know how to wield it, and that’s the only thing that matters now.Preston freezes and slowly turns to look at me. He is a mess. Dirty, smelly, his unkempt beard covered in twigs and the dried blood of the animals he killed to survive.“What is that?” he asks, his voice hoarse and low.“My magic,” I answer. “It’s new.” And I'm getting really good at it too. I'm often surprised by my own abilities.“I know it’s your magic.” Preston huffs, his voice laced with anger. “I was th
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 92
JohnathanGregory sits quietly in his car seat, staring out of the window as we drive into town. The two of us haven’t had a lot of father-son time lately. Maybe he’d open up more if I gave him my undivided attention for a few hours. “Hey buddy,” I say on a whim. “How do you feel about ditching school and going to the waterfall slides instead? Just you and me.”“Really?” he asks, his eyes widening with surprise, and his face lighting up with delight.Mara spent the last several months teaching him how to say his Rs properly. I have to admit I sometimes miss the way he used to speak - it was sweat and innocent - but they grow up fast, and as much as we want to, we can’t keep them babies forever.“Yes. Let’s swing by the cafe, get some snacks and drinks, and head out. Winter is around the corner, and this could be our last chance before the rains come.”“Yes,” Gregory says and claps his hands excitedly. “No one else? Just you and me?”“Just you and me.”I just want my exuberant boy back
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 91
JohnathanThe days bleed into weeks, the weeks into months. The wheels at Haven’s Crest keep on turning, the world keeps on spinning. If it weren’t for the wolves that showed up here every day, reporting about the vicious attacks that befell their packs, I could go on in blissful ignorance, believing nothing’s wrong.Every night, the vampires search the town and surrounding forests, looking for the assassins and spies who fled when we started our interrogations. We caught two in my house. One of them was Susarah.Gregory was heartbroken when I arrested his nanny. After all the work he put in to be a good boy for her, her betrayal crushed him. I can't get over the fact that I blamed my son for mistreating Susarah, but after Kahn spent ten minutes with my boy, he declared that Gregory could see her true intentions - he just didn’t understand what he was seeing. His violence was a direct reaction to her true heart. It wasn’t an excuse for his actions, but my son fought against his inst
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 90
MaraI find Donovan at the old pack house where a crew is busy cleaning up, carrying decaying furniture and debris from the crumbling building. “What is going on?” I ask the Beta.Donovan straightens and wipes sweat from his brow with his forearm. “Well, yesterday, before everything went tits up, Beta Preston told us that Alp- King Johnathan wants to fix this place up for the Alphas. "Preston left before he could put a crew together, so I decided to do it.” He gives me an uncertain look. “I- I hope I didn’t overstep. You gave us a home. Safety. We just want to be helpful.”Much as I hate to admit it, Donovan would be a good second Beta. He has all the leadership skills and training for it. The crew consists mostly of the Gammas and Deltas from our old pack, and a handful of Omegas I’ve seen around the town and new pack house. I don't know who we can and can't trust anymore, but I doubt anyone can do much damage while they're busy cleaning up the massive pack house. The ones we need
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 89
JohnathanIt’s business as usual at sunrise. The weekend is drawing to a close and our visitors are leaving, none of them even aware of the drama that unfolded around them over the weekend.I sit on the ridge overlooking the road, watching the humans drive in and out of Haven's Crest. “We have to close the town,” I say to Kahn who decided to join me on my morning excursion.“Those humans bring the money. They're the reason your Omegas have jobs.”“They could also be spies, assassins.” I don’t care about myself, but anyone who knows just a little about me, knows how much my son means to me. How much Mara means to me. They could just as easily kill them to get to me.Kahn snorts loudly. “No human would ever be able to get close enough.”“A sniper could.”“And kill you with what?”“A silver bullet.”Again the vampire lets out a derisive little snort. “Please. Nothing so pedestrian. It will take more than a little silver to kill you, Johnathan. They need to get closer than that.”“In Mara
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 88
JohnathanThe only reason I decide to leave the mountain is because I can feel Mara waiting for me. Her emotions are carefully controlled, and she refuses to let the sadness in. She keeps it at bay, allowing it to nibble at the fringes of her mind, but all her attention is focused on me now. She's watching me. I can feel her eyes, even from a distance. Her concern is for me, not herself or the pack, or even my son.There have been moments throughout the day when I felt pangs and stabs of intense sorrow from her, and every time she purposefully pushed it all away. First so she could take care of Preston, then Gregory, the pack, and now me. She had a very busy day, doing my job, keeping everyone and everything together. And what did I do? I hid in the mountains like a proper fucking coward, wallowing in self-pity.Half an hour later, I find her at the foot of the mountain, sitting in a clearing with her legs outstretched, leaning on her hands, face turned to the moon. For now, she is
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 87
Mara It’s a long walk to Johnathan’s mountains, and I’m not as fast as he is. By the time I reach the place, I’m exhausted and it’s full dark. It’s a clear, beautiful night, with the moon lighting my way. The air is crisp and clean here, the stars beautiful and bright, the majesty of the universe laid out before me like a painting on the canvas. What a magnificent place. Here, I can’t see Haven’s Crest, or hear the sound of people partying in the brothels and nightclubs. I understand why Johnathan likes to come here. It’s peaceful. Like I’ve been wrapped in a bubble of warm quiet, calm. I stare up at the mountain’s sheer cliff. How the hell Johnathan can climb this thing is beyond my comprehension. There's no way to get to the top. Not that I can see anyway. I can feel him up there, though. His presence. But there’s no way I can reach him. He won't even answer my mind link. “Good evening, Queen,” an unknown voice says next to me. I squeal and jump to the left, away fr
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 86
MaraTime slowly ticks by. I can’t seem to distract Gregory, and more than once he has a meltdown that leads to a lot of crying, screaming, kicking, and biting. The third time it happens, I sternly stop him, and hold on to him the same way Kahn held Preston. “I know you are very scared, but you can’t hurt other people because of how you feel.”“I want my daddy!” he screams at me and tries to wiggle free of my grasp“I know, big boy,” I say. “So do I, but do you see me kicking and screaming about it?”He tries to bit and scratch his way out of my arms, but I refuse to let him go. “Stop!” I say and remarkable feel the warmth of my aura slipping out. Gregory calms down and goes almost limp in my embrace. “I know you are feeling some big things right now. Scary things. Use your words. Tell me what scares you.”“What if Daddy’s dead?”“He’s not dead, sweetie,” I say. I put my head on his brow and start to hum a lullaby I remember from my childhood while I gently rock back and forth with hi
In Service of the Alpha Chapter 85
MaraPreston struggles free of my grasp, but Kahn manages to hold on to him. He pulls the Beta tightly against him, wrapping his arms and legs around the battling Lycan. And even then, the vampire still has to fight tooth and nail to hold on.The Beta is no longer just a wolf. His new strength is unbelievable and terrifying to behold.Preston is as white as the summer clouds that always float lazily along the blue sky. He’s covered in sweat, and biting so hard into his own lip that I’m afraid he’ll tear it clear off.He arches his back, nearly slipping from Kahn's grasp, and roars, “Let me go!”I try to take Preston’s hands again, but he twists free and continues to fight against Kahn. “My mate!” he screams, and his eyes flash dangerous. “I need to save my mate.”He is going to shift. Any moment now, he's going to shift and kill us. “Do the thing,” I say to Kahn.“What thing?” the vampire asks. His voice is remarkably calm and even.“The thing you did for Yarrick. When you touched him,
