In Reach?

Mira’s POV

What is going on? Not only did Alex find me, but he’s here trying to ‘negotiate’ with Liam as the ‘Alpha’. How does he know that Liam is an Alpha? Does he know about werewolves?

The tension in the air seems very stiff though. I can Theo and Noah giving me side glimpses every now and then, and I don’t know who the other two are walking behind Alex and I.

When we get to the house, Liam directs us to the living room. I would think he would want to take this to his office, but then again, I think he’s in a rush to have this discussion. I’m just glad they all decided to put some pants on.

He stands on the far side of the room and looks between Alex and I. I’m worried he’ll want to do something to Alex. I’ve seen what he did to Ashton for just standing near me. What will he do to Alex for holding my hand? So, I grip Alex’s hand tighter, to stop him from trying to let go.

But he looks at me with such a sincere look as he guides me to sit on one of the couches and slowly lets go as he stands back and faces Liam.

I can see the annoyed and even angry look in Liam’s face. Noah and Theo are standing next to him and the other two people are standing near Alex. I guess they must know Alex.

Third POV

“So you’re Alex?” Liam starts off.

Alex smirks at Mira. “So you know about me?”

But Liam doesn’t reply to this and just gives a low growl, getting Alex’s attention again.

“But yes. I’m Alex, and these are 'colleagues' of mine.” He points to the man and woman standing next to him. “I think there must be a mistake here. I don’t know what the full story is, but all I know is that I’m here to take Mira back with me.”

“She’s not going anywhere.” Liam says with finality.

“Look. Mira has nothing to do with any of this.” He takes a small step forward. “Yeah, we’ve all heard about all the shit you wolves got yourselves into with witches up here. But she," he points to Mira, "has no role in any of this. I’m sure there is just a misunderstanding for her being here.”

Mira looks at Alex dumbfounded. Alex seems to know more than what she thought.

“Your presence alone is suspicious enough. First we figure she might be working with Dahlia, and now a hunter is making his way to save her. Do you really think that you can talk your way out of this?” Noah says annoyed.

“Dahlia?” Alex is confused. “You think she’s working with Dahlia?” He starts laughing. “I bet she doesn’t even know what’s happening here.”

He looks back at Mira, who is still very lost with what is happening.

“Alex? Did he say you’re…….you’re a hunter?” Mira practically whispers to him, hoping the others don’t hear her.

Alex sighs. “And by the change in your aura I guess your wolf finally awakened.” He sees her eyes widen. “Yes I know, and there is so much 'you' don’t know.” He says softly, but turns back to Noah. “Listen up, coz I don’t like repeating myself. The day I met Mira, I knew she had a dormant wolf, and I knew she didn’t know about it. She didn’t know that I was a hunter either. And I intended to keep it that way, for her safety. But about a month ago, she just disappeared. I didn’t hear from her until a few days ago when she called me. So I don’t know what ridiculous conspiracy it is you guys think she is a part of, but I can assure you, she is no mastermind.”

“How did you find us then?” Noah is definitely not convinced.

Alex is starting to get annoyed with him asking all the question while the Alpha is just standing there looking at him and Mira. “Well, I couldn’t get an exact trace from where the call came. But just locating a general area of the call, I got this area. And thanks to the size of your pack I figured she had to be here. Not to mention, someone in this location seemed to have gotten quite nosy and very persistent in hacking files I worked very hard in trying to wipe.” Alex looks around the room to find the guilty culprit, but only Noah seems to fit.

“So it was you?” Noah seems a bit confused. “You were the one that hid her records? So you know about all her name changes.”

Alex can sense the unease and distrust in the room. He sighs as he looks at Mira again.

“You got yourself into a real pickle here, huh?” He looks back at Noah. “Yes, I know about all of it. But what does her personal life have anything to do with any of you?”

“Well how else are we supposed to know if she’s a threat to our pack or not. She just appeared here out of nowhere.” Noah takes a step forward.

“She isn’t a threat to anyone! She can’t even hurt a fly.”

“That’s not what her record says.” Noah looks at Mira with disappointment.

“Record?” Alex huffs. “If you were as efficient as you are nosy, you would have read that the final ruling for that case was accidental. Not that the fucker didn’t deserve it, not after what he tried to do to Mira.” Alex is starting to pace from annoyance now as his own body starts heaving. “All you people here are just trying to pin all your shit on a clueless and defenseless woman. And if you really want to know, her name kept changing because of the foster system. Yeah! When she finally turned eighteen and was legal to get out of it, she officially changed her name to Mira Johnson. Since when is that a crime?” Alex is raising his voice from the anger he’s feeling now.

He’s starting to realize what kind of people Mira was surrounded with.

But now everyone is quiet in the room, and staring at Mira as realization hit.

Liam is happy with the thought that Mira really has nothing to do with any of this, but he feels guilty and hurt knowing that he hurt her for suspecting her in the first place.

“So are there any other questions you guys might need answering to? If not I’ll be taking Mira with me now.” He reaches his hand out to Mira for her to hold.

But Liam, finally steps forward. “You can’t take her.”

“What?” Alex looks back angry and confused.

“She can’t leave. This is the only place she'll be safe.”

“Excuse me Alpha. But I’m sure I can handle us out there.”

“As cocky and perceptive as you seem to be, I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out yet, but she's mine.”

Alex looks back to Mira, but specifically looks at her mark and only now realizes just how big it is.

“You got marked by the Alpha?” Alex asks Mira, but she doesn’t really know how to answer that.

“But that’s not the only reason she needs to stay.” Liam continues. “Like I said, she will be safe here. Especially now that it seems like Dahlia is aware of her existence. They may just try again to come after her.”

“Shit.” Alex seems worried. “So what’s the plan then?”

Liam gives him a confused look.

Alex sighs. “If she’s staying and she’s in danger, then I am staying too. 'We' will stay and protect her.” He points to the other two with him.

“You expect us to let hunters stay on pack-grounds to ‘help’?” Noah crosses his arms.

But Alex is really getting annoyed with him now. “Well you can’t change my mind, nor can you do anything about it, unless you’re the type to just lock people up.”

Noah’s eyes widen a little at hearing from an outsider’s perspective just how unreasonable his tactics may just have been, especially with Mira. He looks at her, but she refuses to look back at him.

“Besides, I definitely don't trust you guys to keep her safe. So. Where will we be staying?” Alex looks confident in his words.

Liam knows that there is no reason to stop Alex, especially since he’s here to help keep Mira safe. He isn’t sure of their current relationship with each other, but he can’t let that bother him right now.

“Aiden, take Mira to the infirmary and give her a check up and make sure everything’s fine. Theo, see if you can find some spare rooms for our….. ‘guests’ here. Noah, get a report on all our casualties from today’s attack.”

The room is filled with ’yes Alpha’s as people start moving around. But Alex walks towards Liam with a serious look. When they are close enough for others to not hear them, Alex says, “We may be allies in keeping Mira safe, but don’t for one second think I won’t go up against you if I have to,…….if she asks me to.”

Liam knows this is a threat. He knows that this man will go up against an Alpha for Mira. His loyalty lies in her, and he knows now why she trusts him so much.

When Aiden comes to take Mira, she looks at Alex to go with her. Mira is still too scared to be around these people. She knows they’re tricky people when it comes to them trusting her. She’s just happy that Alex is there.

That’s when Mason walks in with Liz. But he suddenly freezes in the room, looking around at everyone in the room as he sniffs the air. He sees them, he sees the hunters in the middle of the room.

He stalks towards them, pushing everyone in his way aside. When he reaches the woman, he goes in to grab her arm, but she pulls and twists it, pinning him on his knees. But he trips her, throwing her over his shoulder and onto the ground.

The others are watching this in awe, and trying to get Mason’s attention by shouting at him, but he’s too focused on his target.

Just as she gets up from the ground he rushes to her again. But Noah is already at his side, trying to pull him back, as the other hunter rushes to her side. “Mason enough. They’re not intruding.”

But Mason growls at the other man now, as he sees him touching her. “Mine!”

That’s when everyone in the room goes quiet, realizing what's happening. The woman, she’s Mason’s mate. He wasn’t trying to attack her, he was just rushing to her side.

“What?” Her soft voice breaks the silence. “No, no. This is not happening.” She shakes her head as she's staring at Mason.

But she looks at Alex who seems to be finding this very funny with his laughing fit.

She’s annoyed with Alex, but she still can’t believe this situation. “There is no way I’m the mate of a wolf.” She says before she walks out of the front door.

And Mason actually seems heartbroken about it. His mate just walked away from him, after finding out she’s his mate. He feels rejected. But he loves how she’s a fighter. For a human, she caught him off guard with her quick reflexes. This is somehow exciting him even more now. He’s a fighter too, so he’s not going to give up fighting, especially if it's for her. He smiles as he slowly makes his way after her, and no one seems to want to interfere in that as they let him walk off alone.