Alpha Eyes (Alpha Eyes: Book 1)

Chapter 21

Adrian stared at his bedroom ceiling, silently listening to his mate's steady breathing as she slept. Little sparks and tingles skittered along his skin where Sierra was tucked against his side. Each breath tickled his chest, but he didn't mind. For this blissful moment, she was comfortably sleeping without the stress of an impending attack.

She deserved to know everything. After all, the attacks seemed pointed at her so it was probably unwise to keep her in the dark any more. He'd held back the majority and worst information from her, truly believing that he was protecting her. He'd die before intentionally causing her pain. The full extent of the truth about the attacks was no small matter, and he'd need to be strong for both of them when it all came out.

He turned his head and pressed his lips to her forehead. She squirmed in his arms, her face nuzzling into his chest as she slowly woke. The adorable morning whimper he'd come to love vibrated in her throat as she tightened her hold around his waist. After a moment, she laid still and released a sigh of a breath.

"I know you're awake," he chuckled.

She groaned and hugged his body even tighter. "Stupid mind-reading mate bond..."

"It's a new day, sweetheart. Let's start it with five seconds of positivity, shall we?" He kissed her forehead again and rubbed her knuckles against her shoulder blades.

"One: I love you. Two: you love me. Three: I love waking up with you. Four: you are the best mate in the world. Five: it's a new day to try to find the creep who killed my dad. How's that for five seconds of positivity?" She tilted her head up and met his gaze.

He rolled his eyes before clutching her to his side. "Okay, I will accept your five seconds of positivity. Is there anything you'd like to say now?

"You've taken all of the fun out of whining," she mumbled.

"Well, if you're ready for some not-so-positive thoughts..." He rolled onto his side and propped his head on his hand. "I don't want to hide anything from you, so I want to be upfront and honest."

Sierra squirmed onto her side and mirrored his pose with her head propped on her hand. "That sounds rather ominous. I know you've been protecting me by not sharing everything that goes on in the pack. How much haven't you told me?"

His chest tightened as her innocent question dredged up a lot of dark thoughts and fears. Being completely honest was going to expose her a lot of dangers he'd hoped to shield her from. However, she was from a long line of powerful alphas who'd battled far worse dangers than this. He simply needed to trust her.

"I think it's better if I show you."

#

I braced my hands on the edge of the desk and stared at the reports covering the surface. One of Adrian's sweatshirts hung from my shoulders down to mid-thigh, not to mention that the sleeves swallowed my arms and pooled around my wrists. When Adrian said he wanted to show me something, he insisted that he show me right away. He threw on a shirt and gave me a sweatshirt to add an extra measure of modesty. Apparently my little shorts and tank top wasn't appropriate for walking around the pack house.

"How many?" I growled, not exactly angry but extremely frustrated.

Adrian sank into his office chair and rubbed his hands over his face. "Dozens in total. I only told you about the low-key threats, the ones that didn't pose an immediate threat to you. However, there were a lot more threats... Just like your father, we kept records of everything that happened."

A shiver ran through my veins. "Daddy received threats like this too? How long has this been going on?"

"Years," Adrian groaned. "I'm sorry, Sia. I've been trying to find a connection between it all, but so far we've come up empty. Someone is behind all of this, and we can't trace them. I'm a failure of an alpha."

Is he throwing a pity party right now?" My wolf joined me in staring at the papers. Are we supposed to comfort him or scold him for withholding this information from us?

I drew a deep breath and glanced over at my mate. His shoulders were slumped, and his head was down. The fear and defeat was truly eating away at him, and it would only get worse as another day passed.

"You're not a failure," I assured him. "Rogues, even organized ones, are known for hiding their tracks and disguising their headquarters. If they don't want to be found, they won't. It's nothing about your efficiency as an alpha."

"Like I said," he sighed, "I am showing all of this to you because I want to be completely open and upfront. We're stronger together, and I'm an idiot for trying to do this on my own."

I pushed away from the desk and slowly made my way over to my mate. He lifted his head a fraction of an inch as I stopped behind him and massaged his shoulders. As much as I wanted or needed the massage myself, I figured he needed it more. Several minutes passed in silence and Adrian slowly relaxed. After a while, he grabbed my hands and pulled them in front of his chest so I was giving him a hug.

"Do you have any theories about who might be behind these attacks?" I mumbled against his ear, hoping to get back on track.

Adrian groaned so deeply in his chest that the vibrations massaged my hands. "...not really the who or why, but we're getting close to the where."

I smacked a kiss to his temple and nodded toward the desk. "Let's take a look together, hm?"