The Alpha's Shatter Zone ✔️

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2295 words ☺️
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Dearest Chesca, Alpha of Steelheart,

Tears can be deceiving
Scars can tell a lie
Who will you believe
Before your loved ones die?

No signature.
She scrunched up the note and threw it in the trash. She tried ignoring it as she climbed under the covers, like she had with other lame warnings over the years. There were many out there who thought a solitary female alpha mourning her parents' deaths would be an easy target to scare, but she'd proved them wrong.

Not much had gotten under her skin and broken her strong exterior, but for some reason this one was different. For some reason, this note seemed linked to Kaiden and what was currently going on in her life. The last message, the one from his father claiming Kaiden was the runaway Alpha, echoed in her mind. Along with the words from Danella and her siblings.

They were opposite messages, and this most recent note could easily be referring to that.

Tears and scars...
But who knew about all that? Who would know the juxtaposed war in her mind of trusting Kaiden or not?

And who were they really threatening? Chesca had no loved ones left.

Unless.....

No.

She closed her eyes, rolled over, and forced herself to fall asleep.

💛💛

She awoke with an icky feeling. A sense of dread curled in her stomach and a wave of cold washed over her. Chesca stumbled from her bed before a voice shattered across the mind-link.

Chescaaaaaaaaaa!!

She halted for a second then grabbed her robe. She'd never heard this voice before, at least not in her mind. It sounded different yet vaguely familiar.

She could sense a struggle going on down by the lake, the huge reservoirs where the river flowed into and provided the pack with enough water for everything. Maybe someone had fallen in? Maybe some foolish teenagers had been jumping off the cliff and injured themselves? Maybe a pup had wandered too close and was drowning?

But at this time of the morning, none of those options seemed likely. The pale light of dawn guided Chesca's way as she hurried through the pack streets and across the field towards the lake. A flock of currawongs squawked and flew up from the stand of trees that surrounded the southern shore, and Chesca could see a small group of people standing near the edge. As she got closer, she heard laughter and one very angry voice.

Kaiden.
That was who she had heard through the link? Was that even possible?
She absently fingered the mark on her neck.

"I swear, that woman is going to pay!" Kaiden's threat could be heard clear across the field and Chesca finally saw him through the group. He was sloshing his way up out of the lake, his hair flinging water everywhere as he shook his head madly. He was shirtless, wearing only boxers, and his glistening chest had her eyes riveted despite the glare that was now aimed at her.

"As her alpha, I expect you dish out fair punishment!" He growled.

"Oh what, the big bad Alpha is scared of a little water?" Lexi strolled up and put her hands on her hips.

"A little water?" he looked like he was about to strangle Lexi, so Chesca stepped in.

"Woah there, easy boy. Tell me what happened."

"I wake up to a faceful of water—No, make it a lungful! I thought I was drowning! All the while these goons are laughing on the edge—" he leaned over and coughed violently.