fate of the alpha - episode 3 by Tasha Black

water to the hole, to the tomb, to Julian, disappearing into the red light under the grate.
    The broken key seemed to ache in Ainsley’s hand, reminding her of the mate she would never regain.
    “Let’s go, sweetie,” Cressida said kindly to Grace. “He didn’t do that so that you could sit around moping.”
    Suddenly, Grace was on her feet. She blew past them both, looking like she was ready to punch one of them in the face.
    “Take care of her,” Ainsley said softly.
    “Somebody’s going to pay for these boots,” Cressida muttered.
    Ainsley trotted ahead to Grace. She couldn’t leave things this way.
    “I’m so sorry for what happened to Julian,” she said helplessly. “And that you got caught up in all of this.”
    Grace kept walking.
    “I have to go to Ophelia,” Ainsley said. “But I will find you when this is over. I can’t make things right, but I’ll find you anyway.”
    Grace didn’t even blink.
    But Ainsley didn’t have time to negotiate.
    “Hold this for me,” she said, tossing the shard of the key to Grace.
    Without waiting to see if her friend caught the key, Ainsley shifted into her flame colored wolf, shredding what was left of her tattered clothes.
    As it always did, her focus narrowed to a simpler plane. The shivering misery of her conflicted human was replaced with the singular purpose of a wolf seeking her alpha, and the tingling burn of bunching, stretching muscle as she sailed through the woods.

                                   

    CHAPTER 14
    M  ary was confused.
    No matter how many books she read about grown-ups, or how much she longed to be treated like one, sometimes, the things they did still puzzled her.
    Tonight, she knew that what Erik was saying, and what he was doing, were very different things. She just couldn’t quite figure out why.
    “What’s he doing?” she said, almost to herself.
    “He’s going to fix things,” her mom whispered.
    “How?” Mary asked.
    “There’s a very bad thing in those mines,” Miss Bonnie said. “Erik is going to make sure it never gets out. It’s what your daddy was trying to do when he brought down his branch. He’s going to finish what your daddy started. To protect us.”
    Mary could hear the comforting words they were saying, fix and protect , but the set of Erik’s jaw told her there was another way to describe what he was doing.
    To protect us.
    “What about him ?” she asked, turning to the librarian, who had less reason than her mother to protect her feelings.
    Miss Bonnie averted her eyes, and suddenly, everything was clear.
    “No!” Mary cried. “He can’t do that!”
    She had spent her life listening to her grown-ups, mostly, and doing the things that ought to be done. But she couldn’t stand by and let this happen.
    She leaped up off the gravel. She only needed to get past these women and get to Erik before it was too late.
    If the thing was too strong for her dad with his crew, it was too much for Erik by himself. And that made this a waste — whether the grown-ups saw it that way, or not.
    But the librarian grabbed her. She was stronger than she looked.
    “There’s nothing you can do, honey,” she whispered in Mary’s ear.
    “Remember what he said, Mary,” her mother added. “We need you to be strong. To take over your new role in the pack.”
    “I can’t,” Mary cried, struggling hopelessly against Miss Bonnie’s strong arms. “I won’t. I don’t want this. I just want him to be okay.”
    Her mother joined in, holding her fast. It was hopeless.
    A rustle in the air caught her attention, and she turned to the ridge overlooking the mine to find it thick with wolves and people. Half the town must be there. The ones in human form headed down to join her family on the mostly empty lot.
    While her mom and Miss Bonnie were distracted, Mary pictured her sleek gray wolf. It lowered its snout to her and instantly she felt herself change.
    She hadn’t shifted many