The Alpha and The Vigilante novel Chapter 58

He swung his fist toward my jaw, and I dodged the blow, but sent a punch of my own at his chest. I heard a slight crack in his sternum, and smirked when he growled angrily in response.

I attempted to send a kick to the same location, but he pushed my leg to the side, knocking me off my feet due to the sheer force throwing me too off balance to recover.

I fell on my butt, and was soon pinned down by Alpha Cain. His wolf was in control, judging from the darkness of this eyes and the feral way he was snarling at me.

"You need to calm down, Ares," He commanded, and I continued thrashing underneath him. "If you don't calm down of your own volition, I will force you to."

I laughed at his threat. He couldn't make me do anything.

"Oh? You want to play, pup? Fine, let's play," and my heart stopped when his canines extended. He was going to reclaim me so I would be forced into slumber.

I frantically struggled underneath him, trying to escape the bite I knew was coming. "Don't worry, little mate. I'll make it painless," he promised.

Before I could register what was happening, I felt his teeth sink into my throat as I cried out. He was right though. The pain was mild, and pleasure soon replaced the feeling.

When I stopped moving under him, he released me. Alpha Cain picked me up and walked me upstairs, knowing he was going to put me to bed.

I tried moving my arms, but my body felt like it was drowning in tree sap. I couldn't move, and I could tell that I was about to pass out.

"Before you wake up angry at me, remember that you forced my hand," Cain chided me gently, and the rage that filled me was replaced with exhaustion.

Alpha Cain set me gently down on the bed, placing the comforter and pelt over me. He kissed my forehead and whispered, "Goodnight, mate. I'll be there when you wake up."

Surprisingly, I woke up alone. When I was no longer in the groggy state of semiconsciousness, I noticed that there was a note on the bed in place of Cain.

Sorry to abandon you, Ares. I had pack issues that had to be dealt with. There's water on the dresser for you

On the night of the poisoning, Cain was mindlinked by Beta Jax because him and a few other men on patrol had captured two rogues trying to sneak into their territory.

Alpha Cain went to the prison to question the rogues, and it wasn't too long after that he felt my pain through our mate bond, and came rushing back. He found me nearly dead on the floor.

When I recovered, he told me that he found the note, and informed me that he did not write it. Whoever left the note left no scent or traces that could be linked back to them.

When I suggested to Cain that it may be one of his pack members who poisoned me, he went into a rage, telling me that no one from his pack would ever harm their Luna. The way I saw it, only a pack member could have snuck into his Pack House undetected and leave the note. Alpha Cain and his Pack Leaders disagreed. They thought it was related to the two rogues they caught sneaking on to their territory.

Even though they tortured the rogues in every way imaginable, neither of them confessed until the day they died, about two weeks after my poisoning.

Cain was smothering me in attention and affection since the attempted assassination. He rarely ever left my side, and when he did, he assigned 3 guards plus a Pack Leader to watch over me. Typically, the Pack Leader was Gamma Axel, because Axel was not only the third strongest in the pack, but swore to the Alpha that he would rather die before letting anything happen to me. I suspected he felt guilty about my whipping, and wanted to make it up in this way.

I could tell that Cain felt extremely guilty for the poisoning, and blamed himself for leaving me alone in the Pack House. I knew I would never be without a guard for the rest of my life because of the incident.