Maid for the Alpha

Chapter 39

The shock at seeing Leland there was enough to bring her to her feet. But as the fated lovers gazed upon each other, her supernatural senses came back to her... and what she surprisingly divined caused anger to boil in her veins.

She recognized the blood of her people, felt their spirits hanging from the Lord Alpha's mane in spectral unrest. They chanted to their leader, called to her for justice and freedom. Their voices grew louder and louder in her ears, blinding her vision to nothing but red rage. And it did not matter that she saw in the werewolf's mind the depth of guilt he felt for the atrocities he committed nor how deeply he mourned for those he butchered; as they cried out, she shouted along with them, "MURDERER!"

With her power now fueled by fury, she rose to hover over the ground. Her loosened hair whipped wildly about her face as hatred surged to the surface, "YOU SLAUGHTERED MY PEOPLE!!!"

Liz was taken aback. She covered her ears against the shrill war cry, but the soul-shivering sound pierced down to her core. As Madam Corauni's hostile energy filled the room, Liz's own power rose to answer. But it was not the enraged Romani that spurred Liz into action – it was the snarling werewolf with burning blue eyes that caused her to leap between the two supernatural beings. The Alpha's instinct to protect his Mate fought with the Madam's duty to avenge her people.

The two energies dueled as they slammed into Liz, nearly knocking the air out of her. Had her own power not shielded her, she would have been on the floor gasping in pain. But she was getting a handle on herself, and as the two other powerful beings in the room challenged each other for dominance, Liz had had enough.

"STOP!" The walls trembled with her order, and to her surprise they both obeyed – barely. The suffocating presence of their supernatural forces subsided as their attention fell upon her.

Liz's joy at seeing Leland was now replaced with dread. Did he really murder people? Turning to face him, she asked, "What have you done Leland?" And that was when she finally noticed his disheveled appearance. Blood was splattered and smeared upon his dirty fur. How did she not see this just minutes ago? Was it the shadows of the darkened room that hid his shame? Or was she so blinded by love and relief that her eyes glazed over the truth?

Leland shivered slightly at her question... but remained silent. He was not ready to acknowledge this, not to Liz. But she needed to hear it, and she needed to hear it from him. After all she had been through, she needed her Mate to bring her back to sanity, to peace. His silence, however, was like a stab to her heart. And she was so done with being hurt.

Anger quickly rose within her and in a flash her body hummed with energy as she snapped, "I asked you a question! Now ANSWER ME!" Her eyes became an incandescent gold as the power within her lashed out to her Mate. It slammed into him with such surprising force that the Lord Alpha did not have the chance to brace himself. He flew back and landed on the debris littered ground with a crack!

"Leland?" Liz gasped. What had she done? What had come over her?

Sprinting to him, she bent down to gingerly touch his side. His instinctive flinch caused her to jolt as guilt gripped her. "Oh Leland," she breathed.

Confused and humiliated, the wolf retreated in remorse and Leland finally was in full control of himself again. The man emerged, lying on his side hugging his knees, naked and disgraced before the two women. Never before had he felt this way. He had always been a proud Alpha, but at this moment he was ashamed as he realized he was no better than the Rogue – and was slightly afraid of his Mate... who had supernatural powers?

But before he could even begin to process all he felt, Madam Corauni was ready to perfect her punishment for his crimes. "Move away Liz," she commanded, "He must pay for what he did!" As she raised her arms, with energy building in her palms, she readied herself to pay blood with blood, but Liz rose to once again stand between them.