The Alpha’s Guardian Chapter 24
Wade POV
Her anger crashes like waves in a tumultuous sea, violently slamming into my barrier. It becomes almost painful trying to keep it up, but I refuse to take it down. Instead, I throw all my thoughts into the tingles on my arm as I hold her away from Frank. A laugh breaks from my lips at everything unfolding. It's not appropriate to laugh, I know. But I can't help it. She looks so damn cute when she is angry. "Calm down I whisper in her ear" she just looks up and scowls.
I focus again on Trudy. Trudy, who is so desperate to be something she isn't destined to be that she destroyed her own mate and poisoned my entire pack. This woman has no idea of the suffering she will endure in these cells. Especially after the news Francis just got. After 4 years of trying to get pregnant, Sammy was finally able to tell Francis that he was going to be a dad.
That excitement was short-lived after the doctor informed them that Pansy is extremely toxic to unborn pups. Sammy was just told to expect severe deformities, and that there is a high probability that the child will lose their wolf before they were even born. Which can be fatal to a newborn.
I know that breaking this bond hurts Frank. The losing of a mate is extremely painful, but rejection by who Trudy deems unworthy seems like the only type of torture that will leave a lasting impression without having to physically harm her.
I knew Ali wouldn't agree with me, that she would find it repulsive, find me repulsive. But this isn't about Ali or for Ali. This is a pack issue. And if I am damned to hell for allowing the break of a spiritual bond, then at least I burn knowing I did my best for my people. Ali breaks free from my grip and makes it to Frank's side, and looks up at me with hatred burning in her eyes. I knew she would be upset. She respects the bond above all else and here I am demanding one of my omegas refuse the very thing that would make him whole. And though I feel bad for Frank, I feel nothing for Trudy.
"Frank." She says, bracing his face with her hands. "Frank, look at me. Hey. You are going to be ok."
Trudy is sobbing in her cell, calling for Frank who doesn't respond to her. After a minute of bone-chilling silence, he stands and straightens himself. Clearing his throat, he steps to the bars, looking down at Trudy.
"That pain you feel now is nothing compared to what you have made me feel for 2 years. Every time you touched another man, I felt it. Every time you felt pleasure I felt unimaginable pain." He seethes.
“Oh, well, I suppose now for you it's not so unimaginable. Outside of the bond, you are nothing to me. You are unworthy of me.” He says, straightening his shoulders. He looks bigger, stronger.
"Frank," Trudy whispers
Franks looks at Trudy with no emotion. He watches her sob in pain at the emotional hole in her chest where his love should be.
"I wanted to love you, to give you everything. But you wouldn't let me. I begged you, Hell, I would have happily died for you." Frank says, his voice breaking. "Without the bond, I see just how sad and pathetic you have always been. And how gross and desperate I was under it. Goodbye Trudy." and he walks off.
Ali chases after him and I stay rooted in place. Is it truly that easy? To reject them and feel nothing?
"Wade. Please. Now we can be together." She says through gritted teeth.
This is the reassurance I need to reaffirm I did the right thing. This woman holds nothing sacred other than her potential status in the pack. Convincing Frank that she was beyond saving had been the right thing to do as an alpha.
"Do you not care that your mate rejected you?" I ask, astonished.
"He didn't deserve me," she says sitting up.
"Wrong. You didn't deserve him," I seethe at her angrily. I turn to walk out of the room and find Ali in the hallway, looking at me strangely.
"She doesn't even care." She says, completely shocked. "I've seen evil men care more than she does."
"Apparently even psychopaths get mates," I say. "Still upset with me?"
"Of course I am. You interfered where you had no right,"
"I did what was best for my pack members,"
"No, you sacrificed a pack member's happiness to get back at another."
I stop her when we exit the building, spinning her to face me.
"This is more than a personal vendetta. She endangered this entire pack because of her selfish desires. And Frank is so much better off." I try to defend myself.
"It is not your place to decide that for him!"
"Did I use my Alpha voice? Did I demand he rejects her?"
"You encouraged it." She retorts as she turns to walk away.
"That is not the same as making him do it." I holler after her, chasing her down.
"You laughed about it!" She turns her angry gaze to me. "How could you laugh at the tearing of two souls? I know you don't value the bond very much, but I didn't think you actively sought to break it for others."
I knew my laughing would be misconstrued. I run a hand over my face in weariness. I couldn't help but laugh at her scrunched nose and surprised face. This damn bond is making me notice tiny things like that.Belongs © to NôvelDrama.Org.
"I was laughing at you." I breathe. She stops in her tracks, and whips around, stalking towards me with fury on her face still.
"Oh, pray tell, what did I do to earn a maniacal laugh at such a heartbreaking moment?"
"You looked cute," I answer honestly, and she freezes. "You said it would take time to get used to this damn bond."
"You're going to blame the bond." She says, scoffing at me.
"I'm just telling you how it is, Ali. Whether it is the bond or not, I don't know. But there is an attraction to you I am fighting against. Hell, it's been there from the beginning."
"It's just the Pansy in combination with the bond." She explains.
"Are you sure about that? Because I don't think you are."
She swallows hard as I take a step towards her, closing the gap between us. I know for a fact she is struggling with this attraction as well. I can practically see her mind working, looking for any excuse so she can continue to deny the growing pull between us. After another moment of hesitation, I step again. She places her hand up, pushing slightly on my chest, stopping me.
"Alpha Wade. That is enough. I am here to protect you. Your physical being. I am not tasked with taking care of your heart. So do yourself a favor and keep your emotions in check. You are nothing to me but a mission. A stepping stone to finding my true mate. No longer will I tolerate your advances." She says firmly.
Her words are like bullets straight to my heart. I regain my composure and look into her eyes. She has gone stoic again. Gone is my chance to see any genuine emotion from her. She pushes me and I step back slightly, removing myself from her walking path. Ali walks away without so much as a look over her shoulders to check on me. Is all of this really as one-sided as she claims it is, because if it is, I'm in for a pretty sh!tty couple of months with her here. Unless I can make her like me of her own accord...