The Alpha's Exiled Mate Chapter 10

Freya's POV

I looked at the glass with dread. My body, weakened from years in the Wilds and the lingering effects of the moon-silver collar, couldn't handle strong alcohol well. But I had no choice. I took the glass with visibly shaking hands and brought it to my lips, my eyes unwillingly meeting Thorne's as I did so.

The liquor burned down my throat, making my eyes water and my stomach clench. I could feel my wolf recoiling from the sensation—alcohol affected our kind differently than humans, heightening our emotions while dampening our control over our shifts. Already I could feel a dangerous loosening in my limbs, a haziness at the edges of my control.

"Not enough," Thorne said when I'd finished, his eyes never leaving my face. I caught a flicker of something in his expression—not just anger, but something more complex, something he was trying to hide.

Another glass appeared before me. I drank it too, feeling the heat spread through my chest and into my limbs. My vision blurred slightly at the edges, and I felt my control slipping. My scent would be changing now, becoming wilder, less guarded.

"Again," Thorne ordered, his voice lower, almost intimate in its command.

By the third glass, I was struggling to remain upright. My wolf was whimpering, our newly restored bond fraying under the assault of the alcohol. I could feel tears threatening at the corners of my eyes, not just from the burn of the liquor but from the humiliation of it all. My lips felt numb, and a dangerous heat was building in my core—the alcohol stripping away my careful defenses.

"I think that's quite enough, Grey," Jasper's voice cut through the haze. "You're damaging my entertainment for the evening."

I felt a hand on my shoulder—Jasper's—steadying me. His touch felt different now, warmer through the alcohol's effect, and my traitor body leaned into it slightly.

"She's with me tonight," Jasper continued. "I don't appreciate having my chosen companion incapacitated."

Thorne's eyes flicked from me to Jasper, something dark and possessive passing across his face. I caught the subtle shift in his scent—a spike of aggression quickly masked.

"You claim her then?" Thorne asked, each word precise and weighted. "An interesting choice of company, Stone."

"I've always had eclectic tastes," Jasper replied smoothly, his hand sliding from my shoulder to the nape of my neck in a deliberately provocative gesture. "And she should thank me for my intervention, shouldn't she?"

I knew what was expected. With my head spinning from the alcohol, I crawled awkwardly toward Jasper, my movements uncoordinated and clumsy. I was acutely aware of how I must look—disheveled, flushed, eyes glassy from the alcohol. I felt Thorne's gaze on me, intense and unreadable.

"Thank you, Alpha Stone," I managed to say, the words slurring slightly. My wolf, confused by the alcohol, was responding to Jasper's Alpha status, making me more pliant than I wanted to be. "For your... protection."

Jasper reached down and attempted to help me to my feet, but my legs wouldn't cooperate. "Come now, little wolf. Stand up."

I tried, but the room tilted alarmingly. I fell back to my knees, my wolf's distress making it even harder to focus. The alcohol had stripped away my careful control, and I could feel myself trembling, my scent broadcasting vulnerability and confusion.

"I think I should leave," I whispered, feeling the alcohol churning unpleasantly in my stomach. My lips felt swollen, my skin too sensitive. "Please."

"Running away again?" Thorne asked, his voice cutting through the noise in my head. There was something in his tone—not just anger but accusation, perhaps even hurt.

I didn't answer him. I couldn't. Instead, I focused on trying to stand once more, aware that my body was reacting in ways I couldn't control—my pulse racing, my skin flushed, my wolf responding to the presence of two powerful Alphas.

---

Jasper took my arm and pulled me up, his grip firm and possessive. "I'll take care of her," he told Thorne, his hand sliding to my waist in a deliberately provocative gesture. "You seem to have a strange effect on her."

"Stone's claws reach too far these days," Thorne observed coldly, but I caught the slight elongation of his canines, the almost imperceptible flare of his nostrils as he scented the air between us. "First my territory, now my... jurisdiction."

I struggled to make sense of their words through the alcoholic haze. Were they arguing over me? No, that couldn't be right. I was nothing to either of them—just a pawn in whatever game they were playing. Yet I couldn't ignore how Thorne's eyes kept returning to me, or how Jasper's touch seemed designed to provoke him.

Before Jasper could respond, a phone rang. Thorne pulled out his cell phone, glancing at the screen before answering.

"Kaelin," he said, his voice instantly softening. The sudden change in his tone sent a spike of jealous pain through me that I hadn't expected. "What's wrong?"

The name cut through my fog like a knife. Kaelin. The woman who had framed me. The woman who had cost me three years of my life. The woman who now had everything that should have been mine. My hands curled into fists, nails lengthening slightly with emotion.

"I'll be there soon," Thorne was saying, his tone concerned. "Have you taken your medication? Good. Just breathe through it. I'm leaving now."

He ended the call and stood. "It seems our discussion will have to continue another time, Stone. My mate requires my attention."

"The famous moon phase syndrome acting up again?" Jasper asked with thinly veiled skepticism. "How convenient for her to have such a devoted Alpha."

Thorne's eyes narrowed dangerously, the gold in them brightening. The air in the room seemed to thicken, and I felt my breath catch in my throat as his Alpha energy filled the space. "Watch yourself, Stone. You may be an Alpha, but you're in my territory."

"And you have a mate now," Jasper replied with a mocking smile, his hand still on my waist, fingers digging in slightly. "How fortunate for you both. I'm sure the Grey Alpha has no interest in other females now."

I felt the tension between them ratchet up another notch, their scents clashing in the air like storm fronts. My body responded involuntarily, a shiver running through me as I stood caught between them, my wolf confused and overstimulated.

"I need to leave," I mumbled, pulling away from Jasper's grip. My skin felt too tight, too hot. "Please excuse me."

I staggered toward the door, barely registering the shocked faces of the other wolves as I pushed past them. The hallway outside spun in disorienting circles as I stumbled along, searching for the staff bathroom.

My legs finally gave out just outside the VIP room. I collapsed against the wall, sliding down to sit on the floor. The last thing I remembered before darkness claimed me was the scent of Thorne's cologne growing stronger, as if he had followed me out.

Through half-closed eyes, I thought I saw his tall figure looming over me, felt strong arms lifting me. His scent enveloped me, achingly familiar despite the years apart.

"Stupid wolf," I thought I heard him mutter, his voice rough with an emotion I couldn't identify. "Always making things difficult."