The Alpha's Daughter (Un-Edited Version)

The Alpha's Daughter - Chapter 34

 I left the living room, satisfied that Radleigh would be fine, going out into the hallway. I was met by absolute carnage.

Sierra was tending to Jase, who was lying curled up on the floor, the bone in his shin sticking out through the skin. There were tears spilling down her tears as she spoke soothingly to him, dabbing at the bloodied mess with a tentative hand.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Ade supporting Zane’s head. I turned to get a proper look, and instantly wished that I hadn’t. My normally cocky and arrogant best friend, was lying draped on the stairs, bleeding heavily from his neck, as Ade frantically tried to stem it, his face desperate.

“Zane,” he hissed, trying to hold back tears, “you die and I’m going to piss on your grave every single day!” I could’ve sworn that Zane smirked, his face pure white and his eyes closed.

I shook my head, trying hard to shake the feeling that, if it hadn’t been for me, they wouldn’t be in this mess. Instead, it was replaced by the fact that I hadn’t seen Cal or my dad. I glanced about, hoping to God that they were just going to pop out of nowhere.

They didn’t.

“Where’re Cal and dad?” I asked, my voice echoing through the house. No-one looked up. Not that I blamed them of course; they were too busy tending to their significant others. A lump rose in my throat as I walked towards the front door.

“Don’t, Annie,” Radleigh wheezed, coming out of the living room.

Too late.

The front door was flung open, and I looked out onto the driveway.

There were bodies lying on the gravel, too sliced up to identify without getting close. I sniffed, taking in the scent of blood. It was strong. It lingered in the air ominously, as though it were a warning, a sign that lives had been lost.

Was Cal lying there among the fallen?

My legs buckled underneath for me, and I sat on the porch, sobbing against the white wooden railings, a hand pressed against the bulge of my stomach. I shook, waiting to see his face coming out of the woods, bloody and wounded perhaps, but alive at least.

“Annie, y’need t’come in now,” Radleigh mumbled, crouching down beside me. I shook my head silently.

“Go and lie down, Radleigh,” I breathed. Cal was going to be fine. I could feel it. Afterall; I was his mate. Surely I would know already if he was dead. And I wasn’t going to leave this place knowing that he could come back at any point. I wanted to be right here.

“Annie.” His tone was brisker, and I turned my head to look at him, my eyes wide. He had never spoken to me like that, as if he had some sort of authority over me. I smiled half heartedly and went back to gazing at the trees, waiting for some sort of absolution.

He was going to be fine. Sure he was.

He had to be.

Radleigh:

She didn’t move from the porch all night. Even when the temperature dropped and darkness fell, she didn’t even budge. For some of it, I sat out with her, before the need to sleep became too much, and I had to go back inside. Sleep didn’t seem to be an option for Annie right now; she seemed to be completely focused on waiting for Cal to come back.

The fight had been brutal. There was no other word for it. At some points, it had been like I was watching the whole thing from a different perspective, as if it had never really happened to me.

I had only stopped when some arse floored me, his claws digging into my chest. It had been a moment distraction, a head rush, but it had rendered me completely useless as the blood pumped from my body.