The Alphas' Daughter (Alpha Eyes: Book 2)

Chapter 14

I jolted up as a crack of thunder shook the door and windows. The continuing rumbles didn't ease my heartrate at all. The dream I'd been yanked out of only worsened the knot in my gut. I clutched my stomach and took a deep breath.

"Hey, babe. You okay?" Lucas sat up next to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

I hadn't realized I was shuddering until he tightened his hold. Nightmare plus thunder just darkened the worst feelings in me.

"Bad dream," I whispered, running my fingers through my hair. "Something keeps nagging me, and it's creeping into my dreams."

"Tell me." Lucas shifted his arm and slid his fingers into my hair at the bast of my skull. He'd recently learned that massaging my neck muscles helped me open up whatever was bothering me. He didn't really take advantage of this technique, just tactfully chose to utilize it in certain scenarios.

Tilting my head back against his hand, I took a deep breath and tried recalling as many details as I could. The more I shared, the more we could try to unpack the hidden meanings.

"There was an attack on the pack house," I began. Lucas paused his massage for a brief moment but remained silent.

"Uhm, someone had thrown a rock through our bedroom window. There was a note tied to it... telling me that I was upsetting the supernatural balance. We didn't have time to react. The attackers broke into our room and grabbed me. You tried to stop them, but they knocked you out."

I rubbed my forehead as the dream replayed in my memory. The reliving was almost worse than the original dream. Why did I keep seeing such dark things? Why had the emergence of the guardian caused so much tension?

"You're obviously stressed," Lucas murmured. "We know that there's a lot of questions surrounding your guardian. Maybe this is just all that coming together."

"You're probably right," I whispered, leaning into his shoulder. "I hate all these unanswered questions."

Somewhere in the house, glass shattered between the thunder rumbles. Lucas and I froze, waiting for whatever came next. If it was something simple, Lucas would hear via mindlink. If it was something more serious, a guard would come up to the room.

My stomach lurched as footsteps came pounding down the hall. So it wasn't something simple like a dropped water glass. I couldn't believe that my dream was coming true. The door swung open without a preceding knock.

"Alpha... luna..." Lucas' beta bowed.

"What happened, Kellen?" Lucas rubbed circles between my shoulder blades, a little tactic to calm himself.

Kellen held up a lumpy object, and my heart dropped. A rock... wrapped in a piece of paper.

"This was thrown through the living room window," Kellen explained.

"And the person who threw it?" Lucas ignored the object for the time being.

Kellen shook his head. "No sign of them. The storm has washed away any tracks they might have made. I've already sent a patrol out to search the area. The person might have found a place to hide until the storm blows over."

Lucas nodded slowly. We all knew that a smart wolf would use the storm as a cover to get as far away as possible. But Kellen had good instincts, so maybe he sensed something that would justify sending a patrol out in this weather.

"And the rock?" I dared to ask.

Kellen approached the bed and handed the rock to Lucas. In the flickering light, I saw his gaze dart towards me as he did. I was wearing a tank top, but even that made his heart pick up a little. I could hear it. I scooted closer to my mate and half tucked myself behind his shoulder. Kellen would never betray his alpha by making a pass at me, but I could also help by not tempting him.

Lucas peeled the note off the rock and smoothed the crumpled page. "'History is beginning to repeat itself,'" he read. "'Guardians have never guarded anything but themselves. If you want to have peace again, get rid of the guardian.'"

"It's not signed," I noted, reading over Lucas' shoulder.

"Of course not," he shrugged. "That would be too easy."

Kellen motioned towards the page. "Clearly the writer knows something that we don't. What are these guardians?"

"...and what do they have to do with us," I amended, glancing up. "History repeating itself? What does that mean?"

Lucas turned his head towards me. "The rogues from your parents' pack? You think they're behind all this?"

"Behind it? No." I shook my head. "But they're either involved or talking to someone who is. The messages all have a similar ring to them, and they are all starting to emphasize the past. I have to think there's something we're missing."

"I'll have the patrols be on the lookout for anything that might point us to someone." Kellen took a step back towards the door.

"They're already doing that," I muttered under the cover of a rumble of thunder.

Lucas placed a hand on my thigh and squeezed, his usual signal that he'd heard me and wanted me to hush until we were alone. No doubt he'd scold me later for criticizing all the work the patrols were doing...for my safety. I was already scolding myself for being childish.

"Thank you, Kellen," Lucas said. "Please let us know if the patrols find anything."

"Of course." Kellen bowed and left the room.

I scooted back to my side of the bed. "Before you scold me..."

He leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips. "I don't think I need to scold you. Seems like you're doing that just fine on your own."

I huffed and pouted. "I'm sorry."

"I know you are." He laid back down and pulled me down next to him. "We won't know anything until the morning, so let's try to get some more sleep."

I curled into his side and closed my eyes. "Okay."

He sighed and began running his knuckles along my spine, another habit he'd adopted. "I love you, Karina... worrying stress and all."

I smiled at that. "I love you too."