The Possessive Alpha
Chapter 46

ELLE POV

As we ascend the carpeted steps to the upper levels of the theater, the pounding in my head is unrelenting. I feel eyes watching me from all over the room as if I am the prey in a forest being hunted by a pack of wolves. Ironic, isn’t it? The scent of other wolves is heavy in the theater, but since the Diamond Claw pack owns the place, most in the community would venture here, making it a safer option.

The higher we walk, the longer it feels like a claw is being dragged along my brain; wincing, I lean into Theo for support by wrapping my arm in his. The ropes of a mindlink tug at my brain, allowing them to take root. I hear Theo’s voice clearly through the link, ‘Are you okay?’

‘Yes,’ I reply tersely, my jaw tight and my teeth clenched, ‘does the energy feel weird in here to you?’ I ask Theo. My eyes strayed around the room to find the culprits and count the number of men caught observing me too closely. Anytime I catch the look in their eyes, my skin crawls with revulsion.

‘Since the minute we walked in,’ Theo replies, and I can see his eyes darting around the room like mine as subtly as he can assessing the situation. ‘How many have you counted? I got ten so far,’ he sends through the link simultaneously with Charity in another mindlink with me. Whatever she says, it gets lost in the conversation I am having with Theo.

I quickly respond, “Twelve. Two-person teams, six different posts, but the leader is on the move, and I haven’t spotted him since.”

‘What leader?’ Theo asks, clearly having missed the middle-aged gentleman standing next to a young woman. ‘The middle-aged man with black hair was standing next to a girl around our age on the second balcony, watching my every move. As soon as he walked away, the others appeared.’

‘s**t,’ Theo says, his hand tugging at his hair violently as he rakes his fingers through his wavy brown hair. The fear and anxiety are clearly on his face, but he keeps his aura in check, not wanting to let others know what’s happening when I feel Charity pushing on my mind again.

Letting her in despite the pounding ache, I let her in, ‘Sorry about that, Charity,’ I tell her before she can say anything. ‘It’s fine, but is the energy in here weird, or is it just me?’ she asks, her eyes flicking back to me, her arm intertwined with Beta Eli, who keeps glancing at Jonah anxiously.

‘No, it’s not only you. This entire trip has been weird,’ I tell her truthfully as we walk past two men leering at me openly without any worry they might be called out for their actions. As I say the words, Jonah leads us to our box, and before we can turn around to thank him, he is gone from the door, leaving a mumbling Beta to make half-assed excuses for his actions.

Ignoring the Beta’s half-assed excuses, I take my seat in the front row center of the box, with the girls taking their seats beside me, their skin lightly brushing against mine as they adjust themselves to get comfortable.

Looking around the theater, I see the same black-haired man staring at me, watching my every move, the same young woman sitting beside him. I have caught the same look in Damon’s eyes when he looks at me. The only difference is when he does it, I don’t want to vomit in disgust. The way his eyes watch me makes me think it’s no coincidence he is here, sitting directly across from us.

DAMON POV

Walking into the theater, my gaze instantly finds Elle walking up the stairs with Theo, holding her steady as if he is a life raft. The jealousy in my stomach slowly rises through my b***d, setting every nerve on fire.

Following Matt and Andrew as they move across the lobby’s marble floor, our shoes echo quietly until we reach the main bar. Matt orders our drinks, seeing where my attention is. Slade demands to be set free, and an undesirable itch to punch Theo crawls around my skin. One minute he is telling me he doesn’t want her, and now she’s clutching him like some white knight.

I finally let my eyes scan her body, nearly buckling while my b***d rages in an uncontrollable firestorm. Dressed in a black satin dress with spaghetti straps and material scooped at the neckline, showing off her delectable cleavage. The fabric bunched around the waist shows off every curve in her hourglass figure ending in the middle of her long legs. Which doesn’t help matters any.

Watching them make their way down the hallway to the box seats, a part of me can’t help but wonder if this was his plan all along. To gain my trust, then stab me in the back at the first chance he gets. The aura I have kept tightly wrapped in control becomes too much to hold, slowly leaking from me like a balloon losing helium.

“Get it together, Alpha,” Matt mutters, handing me the scotch he ordered me. I put my lips to the glass, drinking the three fingers of alcohol in one gulp. I feel a stiff jab in my side, jolting me from my intense focus on Elle locking arms with Theo for the entire world to see. I could see the bartender wince from the corner of my eye, but I could give two f***s. Who cares what some pretentious liquor snob thinks?

“I asked Theo why he has his arms all over, Elle,” Andrew states dryly, but there is an underlying emotion in his tone that I can’t quite decipher. “Of course you did,” Matt mutters grumpily before sipping his drink. I give him a warning look but say nothing putting my drink down before signaling the bartender for a refill. Matt seems to understand my meaning and doesn’t say anything else.

“He told me that men have been watching them since they stepped into this theater,” Andrew explains, grabbing our attention. Matt stands at attention, the Gamma in him comes alive, his eyes scanning the room for threats.

“How many?” I ask, my jaw clenching, my instincts telling me to get Elle out of here and back to the pack as soon as possible, maybe stopping at the hotel first, not wanting to miss the opportunity of making her scream my name before the journey home.

“Twelve, teams of two. The leader is a black-haired male and a younger female around our age,” Andrew says, but a grim expression on his face tells me he is about to say something I won’t like. “I know you want to get Elle out of here, but she refuses to leave. Theo tried to talk sense into her, but she was adamant about staying.”

“Of course she won’t,” I utter, my hand running down my face, exasperated at the stubbornness Elle can display at the worst possible times. “Tell Theo I demand he makes her leave.”

“I already tried, Alpha,” Andrew says, “but as Theo has said numerous times, his wolf is loyal to Elle and will not go against her express commands.”

“While I applaud his loyalty, can he not see the danger she is in?” I snap, flinging my anger at Andrew like a toxic couple throwing plates. “Of course, he can, but his wolf has chosen Elle as his Luna and Alpha; there is nothing he can do against her command like there is nothing we can do against yours,” Andrew whispers, but the truth of his words sinks in. Still, they do nothing to calm the worry overcoming my body, slowly growing out my senses.

“Andrew is right,” Matt says, “Now that Cerebrus has declared his allegiance to her, nothing you say will allow him to go against her. Elle has been dying for answers about her situation, and dragging her out of here might complicate things, putting her at a greater risk.”

After contemplating his words, I nod in agreement. “We need to stay alert, all of us.” Matt continues, the general his father trained him to be shining through. “Andrew, tell Theo not to leave Elle the entire night. He needs to go with her everywhere. I saw the twins with their mates. Who was that man with Charity? It didn’t look like Hunter.” Matt says, showing more interest in Charity than I was expecting from him. Andrew must have noticed it also because he throws amused glances in the gamma’s direction.

“The Beta of Diamond Claw,” Andrew explains, his face becoming more serious when Matt’s eyes meet his, but the mischief in his radiates in his words and eyes. Matt doesn’t respond, rolling his eyes before finishing the rest of his drink, setting it down on the bar with more force than necessary.

“Where are they now?” I ask Andrew, “Why haven’t Jonah’s men noticed the group of men watching her?” I continue to question Andrew as I realize Jonah is an Alpha in his own right and should have noticed the countless people watching their group make their way through the theater. So why hasn’t he done anything about it?

I see Andrew’s eyes glaze over as he asks Theo the questions I want answers to. Despite the difficulty, I wait patiently for their silent conversation to end. “In the box, with the Beta and Gamma of Diamond Claw.”

“And Jonah?” I ask, a low grow rumbling through my chest, causing some people around us to give me wary glances. “He ran off the second he escorted them to the box. Theo tells me he has been on edge this trip and acting strangely.” Andrew explains as his eyes

continue to scan the room, keeping his guard up in case this whole experience is a trap.

As I am about to ask more questions, the lights in the lobby flash, letting guests know they have five minutes to find their seats. Knowing Elle won’t leave now that the show is starting, I drag Andrew and Matt up the stairs to the upper-level general admission section. If I can’t get Elle out of this situation because of her own stubbornness, I’ll do the next best thing to keep her safe. Slade is on high alert, looking for any possible threat from the guests around us. Finding our seats easily, high up in the rafters, I am grateful for the werewolf eyesight, which gives me the perfect view of Elle in the box seat section directly ahead of me.

Instead of focusing on the stage where the show has already started, her eyes are staring intently into the eyes of a middle-aged man like a strange battle of wills only the two know about. Who is that man, and what does he know about Elle?