Alpha's Dark Desires Chapter 181: Resisting

Dean POV

Elena shifted under the sheet, rolling onto her side as she propped her head on her hand, completely unbothered by the chaos she had just caused. She was watching us like we were her next al.

It didn’t sit right.

The woman beneath that sheet—the woman who had just drained Ace to his last breath—wasn’t our Elena.

Not entirely.

I exhaled sharply, raking a hand through my hair as my mind raced. We needed another witch. Fast.

"Fuck." I turned to Kane, who was still leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest, muscles taut, his breathing still ragged. He was trying his best to ignore the way his mate—our mate—was currently stretched out on the bed, oozing sin and temptation.

"You’re the Alpha. You’ve got connections. Any leads on witches in this region?"

Kane scoffed, finally looking at . "If I had a witch in my pocket, do you think we’d be standing here with our dicks in our hands while Elena turns into so kind of fucking succubus?"

Good point.

Behind , Elena giggled.

Giggled.

It wasn’t her usual laugh—the soft, mischievous one I’d heard before.

No.

This one was dark. Dripping with amusent. Sinister.

"You boys are so tense," she purred, stretching like a cat. The sheets barely covered her, teasing glimpses of smooth, bare skin. "Why don’t you just co back to bed and let help you relax?"

My jaw locked.

Kane’s entire body went rigid. His fists clenched, his breathing hitched—the mate bond was fucking with him hard.

"Elena," I said, my voice low, warning.

She sighed, pouting. "You’re no fun, Dean."

I ignored her and turned back to Kane. "We don’t have ti to waste. We need a witch. Now."

Kane dragged a hand down his face, exhaling. "I might know soone. But she’s not exactly friendly."

I arched a brow. "Neither are we."

He grunted, then pushed off the wall. "Give a few hours to get in touch. Until then..." He glanced at Elena, who was still watching us, licking her lips like we were fucking prey.

I grimaced.

"We need to contain her," Kane finished.

I frowned. "What, like lock her up?"

"Just until we figure out what the fuck is happening to her."

Elena smirked, eyes dark and knowing.

"Boys," she murmured, voice dripping with seduction. "You can try to cage , but we all know you’ll co crawling back."

Kane growled, his wolf pushing through, eyes flashing pure gold.

Fuck.

We needed to move fast.

Because whatever was happening to her...

It was getting worse.

"Elena, stop," Kane gritted out, his fists clenching at his sides.

She just smirked, stretching her arms above her head, making the sheet slip slightly, revealing just enough skin to test every ounce of restraint we had left.

"Oh, Alpha," she purred, voice thick with seduction. "You don’t have to be shy. I’m yours, aren’t I?" She tilted her head, black eyes gleaming. "Co claim ."

Fuck.

I saw it—the way Kane’s muscles tensed, the way his nostrils flared as his wolf howled through the bond, desperate, needy.

For her.

For our mate.

But this wasn’t our mate—not completely.

I forced my gaze away from her, focusing on Kane instead. "We need to go. Now."

Kane exhaled sharply, shaking his head as if trying to clear it. His jaw tightened, his golden eyes still locked on Elena like she was a drug he was struggling not to take.

Then, without another word, we turned and walked out, locking the door behind us.

I didn’t breathe again until we were outside.

"Fuck," I muttered, dragging a hand down my face. "That was close."

Kane was pacing, running a hand through his hair, frustration radiating off him in waves. "I would have suggested one of us stay with her, but that’s—" He cut himself off, shaking his head. "That’s too dangerous."

No shit.

He suddenly stopped, his eyes lighting up with an idea. "I’ll call Stella. She can keep an eye on her while we go deal with the witch."

I hesitated. "You sure about that? Elena is..." I trailed off, because what the fuck was Elena right now?

Kane clenched his jaw. "She’s strong, yeah. But she won’t be able to seduce Stella the way she can us." He tilted his head, already mind-linking his warrior.

I hoped to hell he was right.

Because sothing told that Elena was only getting stronger.

"I highly doubt she’s into girls," I muttered. "And last ti I checked, Stella’s straight."

Kane shot a look. "That’s the fucking point."

I huffed, rolling my shoulders. "Still doesn’t an she’s safe."

Kane didn’t respond right away, just exhaled sharply before linking Stella. His expression darkened slightly, his brows furrowing.

"She’s on her way," he finally said. "And she’ll keep her distance if things get out of hand."

I wasn’t convinced.

Sothing about this situation—it was all wrong.

I ran a hand through my hair, glancing back at the cabin. "We should’ve just tied Elena up."

Kane gave a dry look. "She’d probably enjoy that."

Fair point.

Still, sothing about leaving her behind, even with Stella guarding her, made my gut twist. Not because I thought she was in danger—no, it was the danger she posed to everyone else.

And we still had no fucking clue how to fix it.

"We better move," Kane said, already striding forward. "Before I change my damn mind."

I followed, but not before casting one last glance at the cabin.

Whatever was happening to Elena...

*********

Tracking witches was a pain in the ass.

We arrived at the spot where the witch was supposed to be—so abandoned hut at the edge of the territory—but it was completely empty. No scent, no lingering traces of magic. Nothing.

Kane let out a low growl, scanning the area. "She was here. Probably didn’t get far."

I wasn’t so sure. Witches didn’t just vanish without a trace unless they wanted to. This one had hid her scent and any lingering act of magic, aning she was powerful enough to cover her tracks if she felt threatened.

"We’re wasting ti," I muttered.

Kane clenched his jaw. "Then what do you suggest?"

I exhaled sharply. "I’ll check on Elena."

He frowned. "You just left her. You think she’s going sowhere?"

"I’m not talking about physically." I tapped my temple. "I’m going to check through the mate bond."

Kane’s scowl deepened. "You think that’s safe?"

I didn’t.

But I wasn’t about to sit here, wasting ti while Elena was back there, turning into sothing we didn’t understand.

"I just need to see what’s happening to her," I said. "Maybe find out if she knows what’s causing this."

Kane crossed his arms, clearly not liking the idea, but after a long pause, he finally gave a short nod. "Fine. I’ll keep looking around."

Without another word, I leaned against the nearest tree and closed my eyes, focusing on the bond.

I needed to sleep.

Not an easy feat, considering I was in the middle of fucking nowhere, but I forced myself to relax, slowing my breathing, sinking deeper into the connection.

Reaching for Elena.

Her presence was like a wildfire in my mind—hot, consuming, dark.

And then, suddenly...

I was there.

Inside her head.

And what I saw made my blood run cold.