Avoiding Alpha

Donovan stood over her. His dark wavy hair was tucked behind his ears. His blue eyes shone with a touch of wolf. He wasn’t pissed. Or even upset. But hurt. I couldn’t feel what he was feeling, but I could tell from the slight frown on his face. The way he shoved his hands in his pockets.



“I can’t. You have to go,” Meredith said. She crossed her arms and scowled at him. She looked mad but she wasn’t. She was sad. Really sad. It made my heart ache.



He knelt by her but she rolled on her side, giving him her back.



“Please, don’t do this,” he said.



I could feel her pain as if it were my own. She didn’t want to say that. She didn’t want to hurt him, but she didn’t have a choice.



“It’s what’s best,” she continued. Donovan couldn’t see her face, but I could. Tears fell freely down her cheeks, but her voice was steady. “You don’t really want me. Not like this. And I can’t…I won’t…” She took a breath. “I won’t be a burden to you.”



“You’re not a burden. I’ll not have you say that.” He rolled her on her back. “Ach. No. Please, don’t cry.” His Irish accent thickened with his emotion.



God. This was not something I wanted to see. This was such an invasion of privacy.



“So you do have feelings for me.”



My heart was breaking for these two. They should be together. It didn’t have to be this way.



Meredith squeezed her eyes shut. “It doesn’t matter what I feel. You’re one of the Seven, and I’m broken.”



He sat down beside her, cupping her face in his hand, wiping her tears away with his thumbs. “You’re not broken.”



“Yes, I am. My wolf…she’s gone. That means I’m broken.”



“She’s not broken. She’s right there.” He tapped her sternum. “I can feel her for myself.”



Meredith’s eyes opened, and hope filled her face.



“If broken’s how you feel, then we’ll get it sorted.”



A car honked in the distance.



“I have to go, but I’ll be back as soon as I can. It isn’t over. You’re mine, and I’ve waited too long for you to give up over something silly.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Goodbye for now, a ghrá.”



Meredith didn’t say anything as he left. When he was gone, she started crying. Gut-wrenching sobs.



That’s what I’d been hearing.



Still in the vision, I knelt by her. “Meredith.”



She didn’t make a move.



I moved forward to shake her, but my hands went right through her.



Damn it.



“Meredith!” I’d never tried to see something other than what someone wanted to show me. I needed her subconscious to wake up enough to show me what I needed to see. “Meredith! Listen to me!” I backed power in the command. “I need to see what happened. I need to know how you got cursed! Show me!”



Instead of seeing the light, the vision rewound. Everything happened in reverse until Donovan stood over her again. Then it replayed. The same heartbreaking scene.



Meredith was torturing herself.



“No! Meredith! Stop this!” I pulled more power through Dastien. “I need to know how to help you. Please, show me what Luciana did so that I can try to fix it.”



She turned, just a little, and looked at me.



“Focus, Meredith. What happened with the curse, Meredith? What did she do to you?”



The scene rewound.



Christ. This wasn’t working.



I watched it unfold again. I yelled at her. Throwing my power around, trying to get her to listen, but nothing worked.



Why was she showing it to me so many times? What was I missing?



When the scene unfolded for a third time, I got a little crazy. My wolf started rising as the need to change burned my skin. I felt power roll through me from my bond with Dastien. I knew it was meant to help stabilize me, but it gave me an idea.



I took it and threw his power at the vision. “Meredith! Stop it! I know he’s your mate, but we can’t get to him. We put out word, but he’s not back yet.”



I wasn’t sure if I should give up yet. She could hear me. I knew she could. She kept changing the scene every time I asked. But now she was stuck on this.



I had to try and reason with her. Sensing the pack beyond Dastien, I pulled even more power. “You’re so sick, Meredith. You’re going to die if I don’t find a way to stop this. I need you to show me what happened with Luciana. Please. Show me. I won’t judge you. I only want to help!”