Chapter 24

Suddenly, Nate, had Brent pressed against the logs, the weapons around falling from their post at the impact of his body slamming into the wall. The Alphas hand was wrapped around the man's throat, his knuckles white and hot, his jawline becoming more prominent and deep. Allie noticed the veins in his neck were protruding as his eyebrows were furrowed together to create a crease, eyes low but piercing into Brents angrily through long eyelashes.

The other Alpha's face was beginning to turn blue under the cut off oxygen, his hands gripping Nate in an attempt to get Nate off him. But the football Captain barely moved a muscle or even flinch. He stood there, his body as rigid and powerful as Allie ever witnessed before.

She didn't understand how they got in the situation initially, but as she began to put the puzzle pieces together, the omega realised. When Brent touched her, Nates inner hellhound must've reacted in a way to protect her without his mind fully registering his actions. To have another Alphas touch on his soon be born pup must've triggered something in the Hellhound to the point where he grew possessive, even aggressive to the point where he felt it was necessary to protect what was his—or what his inner animal thought was his.

They haven't even known each other long enough, and here Nate was, fighting for her. They weren't bonded, for crying out loud. It was just that one night that created a connection between them—the powerful one that kept them connected in a way no one else was. It was who they were and who they were, were a kind made to fit perfectly together without wanting to.

"Nate, stop!" Allie roared with all her might, hands balled into fists as she picked herself up quickly to face the pure Alpha. There was no sign of stopping from Nate. His intentions were blunt to the omega; he was never going to let go. Not unless someone pried him off.

The omega was aware that she wasn't the strongest out there without her weapons. Also, they were in the territory of Hellhounds. Not an appropriate place to display her skills. She was not the meanest either, but when Allie looked at the scene and realised how familiar it was, her blood began to boil. The way Nate held Brent automatically reminded her of the day her family was attacked and removed from her life, of how the Hell hounds pack had unrightfully stormed into the camp and took them without warning.

She remembered the hand gripping around her father's throat, just like the way Nates was around Brent. Not letting the other have any fighting chance. It was too familiar to her, but this time, Allie couldn't let the attacker win. She had the skills equipped to make a change.

Allie pushed herself forward, not thinking enough about it as she shoved all her body weight into the Alpha. That was enough to make him stumble in sideways and lose his balance in the process. As soon as his eyes fell on her, his glare transitioned from hard to soft, shoulders slumping down.

"Please stop!" The omega cried out again.

Without another word or moment of eye contact, Nate swiftly walked towards the door and flung it open with all his might. His nostrils were flared, and his face was a deep crimson while his chest rose up and down in quick reps. Those long, bony fingers found their way to his hair as he disappeared through the doorway.

He never bothered to look back at her.

***

After the Alpha had stormed out and Brent was confirmed to be okay with close examination from the other members, Allie was able to breathe. She had bolted out the cabin door, hinges screaming at her to be careful as she flung herself out onto the deck and stopped suddenly at the top of the staircase. The omega was regretting coming out to meet his pack before resolving their issues. Leaning against the wall, she scanned the grounds in front of her hoping to find the Alpha who retreated from the building just few minutes ago.

There were no signs of Nate. Where did he run off to?

On her way back, she met Kay, one of the pack members who also happened to be an omega. Not a werewolf kind, but still, that counted for something. Nate, happened to be her cousin, so they hit it off after Allie told her what went down.

"What I don't get is why?" Allie let out a sigh, the crease between her eyebrows becoming more apparent as she thought deeply.

"Me neither," Her new friend was quick to agree, standing at the edge of the barstool. "Brent and my brother are great friends too, which makes me even more shocked."

Allie turned her head Kay, a shocked expression crossing her face as she parted her lips slightly. "I didn't know that?"

Kay walked to the shelf of the kitchen, craning her head. "Yeah. The same year as well. Only Brent chose to stay back and be helpful to the pack."

She sounded bitter. Allie chose to ignore that in favour of staring at the table in front of her. An unlabelled bottle was held up in front of her face, the liquid looking dark inside the brown glass as it revolved inside the bottle. The omega watched it as Kay brought it back to her side, a lazy smile filling her.

"Enough about that, let's have a drink. Get wasted," Nates cousin slung an arm around her shoulder as she stumbled to pull the glasses from the other side of the table.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I can't drink," She drew her friend's arm away from her neck, cringing.

"Oh, but why—"

Before she could question Allie about it, the door was pushed open, and two men entered. The moment Kay saw them, she yelled excitedly, the sound of her hand slapping the wood, jolting the omega. Allie narrowed her eyes before sniffing the air. Both of the men were betas, but their vibe was peaceful. Happy, even.

"Isn't it too early to start drinking?" The brown-haired beta teased, motioning Kay to sit across them. "Go on, sit down before you break something."

The black-haired beta laughed as he stretched his hand out to Allie once he situated himself in the seat across her. She took it gently and cautiously, her hand small and overpowered by the other as they shook hands.

"You must be new? I've never seen your face around here before," He asked, his head tilting a little.

The omega just nodded in response, her hair bouncing and lips pressing together in a tight line.

"I am Finn, the head doctor of the pack," The beta eyes crinkled before turning to the other one, his smile never failing to falter as their eyes meet. "And this is Derek, my mate, who's the lead hunter of the pack."

Oh. She raised her eyebrow and let a crooked smile crawl onto her face. It explained the lovingly looks they kept sending each other and the small touches or the brushes of their hands against each other that she noticed within the short span. "I'm Allie from the University. It's a pleasure to meet you both."

"Right...Nate told us he was bringing someone."

Allie twisted her face, cursing under her breath. "Yeah...someone."

"Did you say something?" Finn raised his brow.

"Nothing"

"Okay"

They sat down together for a while, drinking while Allie sipped on the cucumber water. She wanted to get back to her dorm, feeling uneasiness seep into her. Quite common for pregnant omegas. Most of them avoid going outside as soon as they find out about their pregnancy. Not Allie, though.

As if seeing the bored look on her face, Derek suddenly spoke up. "Hey, if you want to be with Nate, he's in the woods. You'll need to take a shortcut through the back door, but he can be easily located."

"Oh, thank you!"

Relief flooded her as soon as those words sank in. She abandoned the glass of water and stood up, excusing herself before storming out of the room.

***

No amount of bracing in the world, however, could have prepared Allie for the sight she saw—a massive Alpha male black Hell hound. Massive. She could feel the power come from him in waves.

Allie stepped over a fallen log while her eyes were pinned on scanning over the Alpha Hellhounds every move. A gasp slipped out of her as she recognised those bright emerald eyes as the Alpha ducked under a fallen tree, snapping a twig that was in his way in the process.

The bear-sized Hell hound casually prowled out from the bushes that impressively concealed him and padded his ginormous paws into the clearing while approaching her. She went rigid, whining in the back of her throat and falling to her knees.

Pure Alpha. Those are the only words resounding in her head as Allie squeezed her eyes shut.

***