Alpha's STOLEN Mate Chapter 108

Elowen

The journey back to my pack felt surreal. I deliberately slowed my pace, my eyes scanning every pack territory I passed. The paranoia—the fear that had been lurking in my chest since all those messenger reports—was proving justified.

Every single pack I encountered had their gates locked tight. Not just closed. *Barricaded*. Like they were preparing for siege warfare. Guards stood at triple their usual numbers, weapons drawn, eyes scanning the treeline with desperate vigilance.

The atmosphere of terror was suffocating.

*Jesus. This is bad. This is really, really bad.*

My heart began pounding harder the closer I got to home. What if something had happened while I was gone? What if—

The moment I crossed into my territory, I broke into a run.

My pack house loomed ahead, and I burst through the doors, sprinting down the corridor. My eyes flew over every face I passed, mentally cataloging, counting—

"Mars is still here," I muttered under my breath. "Thank God. And Jenna—okay, she's fine. Thomas is on guard duty, looking exhausted but alive." My pace quickened. "Lily's in the kitchen. Owen's with the patrol rotation." Each familiar face loosened the vise around my chest just a little. "Garrett's training the younger wolves. Sarah's—"

"BOO!"

I nearly jumped out of my skin as hands grabbed my shoulders from behind.

I spun around to find Evelyn grinning at me like a mischievous cat, her red hair wild around her face. Scarlett stood beside her, trying and failing to suppress a smile.

"Relax!" Evelyn patted my shoulder with theatrical reassurance. "I'm still here! Not kidnapped, not transformed into some creepy pet wolf! You don't need to worry about little old me!" She leaned in conspiratorially. "We've all heard the rumors, you know—disappearances getting worse across the packs lately. Word is there's a witch behind it all. But clearly, I'm fine!"

I couldn't help but laugh, some of the tension draining away. "Trust me, I wasn't worried about *you*." I turned to Scarlett, immediately moving into her space, grabbing her face and turning it left and right, checking for injuries. "The Flesh-Weaver has zero interest in witches. *You*, on the other hand—my best Beta—*you're* the one I've been losing sleep over!"

"Ow! Elowen!" Scarlett squirmed as I squeezed her cheeks, checking her neck, her arms, looking for any sign of harm. "Stop it! I'm fine! God, you're worse than my mother!"

"Our pack is fine too," she added, finally managing to bat my hands away. "Not a single wolf has gone missing recently. Everyone's accounted for."

"God, thank you." I pressed a hand to my chest, feeling like I could finally breathe properly. "You have no idea—these past few days I've been out there, and I kept thinking—"

"Out there getting all cozy with a certain Alpha King?" Evelyn's eyes sparkled with malicious glee, her gaze raking over me with obvious speculation. "How are things developing with Kaius? Any juicy updates?"

My mind immediately flashed to everything that had happened—being captured, tortured, nearly transformed, Frost attacking me under a curse, discovering Kaius's father was Morgath's puppet, that final desperate escape—

And this witch thought I'd been on some kind of romantic vacation?!

I opened my mouth to tell her exactly where she could shove her assumptions—

"Well!" Evelyn cut me off smoothly, grabbing my arm. "Don't just stand out here in the hallway! I know you have *so much* to tell us. Let's go somewhere comfortable, shall we?"

Before I could protest, she was steering me toward my office, Scarlett following with an amused expression.

---

The moment we were inside, Evelyn produced an enormous spread of snacks from God knows where—chips, chocolates, dried meats, fresh fruits, pastries that were still warm.

"When did you have time to—" I started.

"Shush. Eat. Talk." Evelyn arranged everything on the small table by the window, then plopped down cross-legged with a bag of candied nuts.

I found myself sinking into my chair, suddenly exhausted. Scarlett settled beside me, and for a few moments we just ate in companionable silence.

Then I started talking.

I gave them the abbreviated version—carefully edited, skipping over the most traumatic details, hitting only the major points. But even the sanitized version was horrifying enough.

Evelyn's eyes got wider and wider. Scarlett's grip on my hand tightened until her knuckles went white.

"God!" Scarlett grabbed both my hands, turning them over, checking my wrists, my arms, anywhere she could see for injuries. "You're okay? You're really okay? Because if that bitch Morgath had hurt you—if you hadn't made it out—" Her voice cracked. "I swear I would have hunted her down myself and made her regret ever being born."

The fierce protectiveness in her voice made my throat tight.

Evelyn, meanwhile, had gone suspiciously quiet. She was leaning back in her chair, one leg crossed over the other, a contemplative expression on her face. Her eyes had taken on that distant, analytical look she got when something fascinated her.

"What?" I demanded, recognizing that expression.

"She's a truly mysterious woman," Evelyn said slowly, almost admiringly. "I'm genuinely curious what lies beneath that mask of hers."

I stared at her. "Are you *serious* right now?"