Chapter 11
Sion watched her from the window, a low growl rumbling deep in his chest. Safi was a contradiction, a human spitfire who could get his wolf’s hackles up with a single look, yet the scent of her was a constant, irresistible pull of their bitter past. She was his mate, a fact his wolf had known for years, even if she didn’t. The rejection was painful and she needed to pay a price for it.
***
Safia found Levis at a table, a genuine smile on his face. The air was a mix of human chatter and music, thick with the scents of wine and food. Levis's scent, however, was off tonight—a little too sweet, a little too strained. What happened?
“Safia, you made it!” he said, giving her a hug that felt more like a cage than a greeting. His kiss on her cheek lingered a moment too long for Safia’s acceptance.
“How could I say no to my oldest friend?” she replied, forcing a smile and getting rid of his embrace.
“It’s been so long. I didn’t realize how much I missed you until now.”
Levis reached for her hand across the table when Safia pulled away and hastily occupied the seat opposite him like something bit her.
“Two plates of fish fingers and club soda,” he told the waiter. “I’ve had too much wine. Feeling a little tipsy.” He gave her a wink, but his eyes were a little too sharp. “What can I get you?”
“The same,” Safia said, her senses on high alert. Something felt wrong. “If you’re feeling drunk, I can drop you off.”
“Thank you, but we have a lot to catch up on first,” he said, the predatory gleam in his eyes growing. “I was thinking, what if we ask the bank for an extension? I can pay the first installment tomorrow—I’ve got a few thousand left. We can figure out the rest later.”
Safia’s instincts screamed at her. She caught a scent on him she couldn’t place, something acrid and strange, a mix of alcohol and something else.
“Levis, you’ve helped me enough. You have your own restaurant to run. Please don’t get tangled up in this.”
Levis reached across the table, taking her hand. His touch sent a shiver of warning down her spine.
“I want to marry you, Safia. If we’re getting married, your problems are mine. Soren told me everything—about your contract wedding. You can pay back every penny of that brutal alpha and be free of him forever if you wish. Just give me your word. It’s enough.”
She started to object, but he cut her off.
“I know what you’re going to say. Just think about it. Give me a chance, and I’ll make you the happiest woman in the world.”
After they ate, Levis led her to the dance floor. The lights dimmed, and as they swayed to a slow Christmas song, a powerful wave of dizziness hit her. It wasn’t the wine; she hadn’t touched any. It was the strange, sweet scent on Levis, she realized with horror. It was a drug.
Levis guided her away from the crowd, down a narrow, dark path. His hands roamed her body, and he leaned in.
“Levis, stop! I’m a married woman! If Sion comes to know, it will be a huge problem to convince him,” she warned, her voice thick with fear and the paralysis spreading through her.
He ignored her plea, his eyes dark with lust as he reached for her again.
“You’re drunk. You’ll regret this tomorrow. Get your hands off me!” she cautioned again, but Levis just sneered.
“Your wedding is a sham, Safia. A piece of paper. You and that alpha Sion have nothing in common. Your wolf knows he isn’t your mate, and mine has been waiting for you for years. Guild Wade isn’t coming back from the dead to claim you. Forget him. Be mine.”
He tried to force a kiss. Safia closed her eyes in fear, as if that alone could keep him away. Contradictorily, his lips never reached her.
A hand suddenly shot out and pulled him away from her.
“Safia, are you okay?”
The voice was familiar thunder, the scent of fresh pine and cold steel—her mate, Alpha Sion. She wanted to scream his name, to tell him what Levis had done, but her throat was tight, her body numb. Her mind was a fog.
Nevertheless, despite the drug consuming her, she felt a primal sense of relief inside her. She was safe in the hands of her mate. With that thought, Safia closed her eyes peacefully and welcomed darkness.
***
An hour ago
It had been fifteen days since Sion’s wolf had last been sated, and it wanted only one female: Safia. She had branded him as hers for years, a claim she was completely unaware of. The alpha who could command any pack to his heel was completely wrapped around her little finger.
It had been an hour since she left, and Sion was staring blankly at the ceiling, his wolf restlessly pacing in his mind. Part of him urged him to follow her, but another part told him to trust her, to give her the freedom she craved.
After another hour with no word, the worry grew into a full-blown roar. The alpha command to protect his mate overrode all other thoughts. He had to know she was safe.
Instead of calling, he tracked her phone to a wine festival across town. The scent of her—sweet and familiar, tinged with something else. She was too close and in some sort of danger.
He walked inside, his phone leading him to a dark, narrow hallway. His wolf’s heartbeat hammered a warning against his ribs. He prayed his gut was wrong.
Then he saw her.
The scene in front of him made a volcano of fury erupt in his chest. A human was trying to force himself on his mate.
His legs moved on their own, carrying him to her in a blur. He grabbed the man by the shoulders, a ferocious snarl escaping his lips, and threw him far away like a piece of trash.
The blaze in Sion’s eyes was wild, the burning rage of an alpha defending his mate. No one touched what was his.
Safia was muttering something as she slid down the wall, her eyes closing, her body clearly drugged.
Sion caught her before she hit the floor.
“Safia… open your eyes! Look at me! Are you okay?”
There was no response. Her body went limp in his arms, still and silent, her familiar scent now laced with the sickness of a foreign chemical.
“Whoever this human is, he is going to have it,” Sion said, staring down at the bruised form of Levis with venom.
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