The Alpha's Mate Who Cried Wolf novel Chapter 30

My Dad is yelling in the distance, "Astrid!' 

"Daddy!"I scream. The wolf looks right at me. I'm terrified. He walks toward me like I'm his prey until the sound of a gunshot rings out. Bang! The wolf retreats. 

"Astrid?" My Dad calls out again, this time much closer. Another shot rings out. Bang! 

"Dad! Over here!"I scream. The wolf turns and runs, knowing Dad is approaching. When the wolf is gone, I climb down the tree. 

"Astrid! What's wrong? I heard your screams. Where is your mother?" he asks, in a panic.

"W-wolf... wolf... wolf...," I cry, shaking in fear and sobbing. 

"A wolf?" Dad asks. I point in mum's direction. 

"The wolf got her, Dad," I say, bursting into tears.

Dad's face pales. He grabs my hand, and we wonder cautiously toward my mother's body. Dad drops to his knees, lifts her head to his chest, and cries. "My love! My beautiful love!"He cries. I crawl over to my mother, take her hand, hold it up to my face and cry. We stay like this for a while until Dad says something. 

"Astrid, you need to tell me exactly what happened," he says firmly. 

"We were playing hide and seek. It was my turn to find her. I thought I had found her, but it wasn't her. It was a wolf. He growled and came out from behind the trees. Mum wanted me to hide in the shrubs. Even though I was so scared, I stayed as still as possible, but the wolf came close and scared me again with an angry, loud growl. I didn't mean to scream, Daddy. The wolf chased me, and I ran. Mum yelled out at the wolf. She said it was her the wolf wanted. She screamed for me to keep running. When I turned, the wolf was hurting her. So, I ran to that tree and climbed it. Then I screamed, and you came here," I say, crying. I look at Dad. I've never seen him look at me that way before. It's a look of pure hatred.

"Daddy?" I say, crying. Dad grabs me by the hair and drags me back toward our house. 

"Daddy, Daddy. What are you doing? Why are you hurting me?" I yell.

"It's your fault she is dead! It's your fault the wolf killed her! If you listened to her, obeyed her and stayed still, she would still be alive," he yells. "Daddy, please! I didn't mean to kill her! Please! I didn't mean to!"I'm dragged upstairs to my room and thrown inside. My Dad slams my door closed, and I hear a key locking the door for the first time.

"Mum!"I scream, sitting up drenched in sweat. I look around the cell and let my eyes adjust. My breathing is heavy, and my heart races with panic. It was just a dream, the same dream I always have. Huddled in the corner of the dirty cell, I rest my chin on my knees. I jerk my head up when I feel a presence. 

"Who's there?" I ask, sniffling. Footsteps come closer. Alpha Zenith has a grin on his face. I glare at him. 

He laughs, drags an old rickety chair in front of my cell door, and sits.

"Well, aren't you in for a big surprise?" He says with a smirk and crosses his arms.

Alpha Zenith

"I'm going to tell you a story, Astrid. And you're going to listen to every word," he says. I glare at him but give him my full attention because I know he can make me listen if he has to, and I've been through enough.

"Twenty-two years ago, Moonstone Crest was the strongest pack around. They hosted an annual mating ceremony, where packs would be invited from around the world to potentially find their mates."

"Unexpectedly, my pack, Shady Crest, had been invited. Unfortunately, my father was the Alpha and did not get along with the Alpha of Moonstone Crest. My father was willing to put his hatred for Alpha Bane aside, though, as he hoped I'd find my mate there. I could finally take over as Alpha if I did."

"We attended the mating ceremony, and it was a spectacular event. However, not long after arriving, I was hit with an alluring scent of vanilla and honey. I followed the scent to no avail. I didn't understand why my mate's scent kept disappearing. Surely, she could smell my scent too, which should make her want to come to me."

"Confused, I told my father I could smell my mate but couldn't find her. We spent most of the night searching for her. The scent finally led me to the front of the Moonstone Crest packhouse. I looked up to see the most beautiful girl I had ever seen looking out the window. She is frightened when she sees me. "Please! Wait!"I yell as she backs away from the window. She slowly re-approaches the windowsill, and we stare into each other's eyes.