My Alpha Let Me Die for His Childhood Friend

The acrid smell of gunpowder and rust filled my nostrils as consciousness clawed its way back to me. My wrists burned where the rough rope bit into my skin, binding me to the cold metal pillar. The warehouse around me was a graveyard of shadows and decay, broken windows letting in sickly yellow streetlight that barely penetrated the darkness.

But it was the weight strapped to my chest that made my blood turn to ice.

The bomb was crude but effective—a tangle of wires and plastique wrapped around a digital timer that glowed an ominous red in the gloom. Ten minutes. The numbers ticked down with mechanical precision: 09:59... 09:58... 09:57...

Mixed into the explosive compound, I could smell it—wolfsbane. Even if the blast didn't kill me outright, the poison would finish the job. My wolf whimpered deep inside my mind, already weakening from the proximity to the deadly herb.

"Well, well. Sleeping Beauty finally wakes up."

Damien's voice cut through the silence like a blade. The rogue Alpha stepped into the light, his scarred face twisted into a cruel smile. Behind him, three other rogues emerged from the shadows—all of them watching me with the hungry eyes of predators who'd cornered their prey.

"You know what you need to do," Damien said, crouching down until we were eye level. His breath reeked of stale beer and violence. "Call your mate. Tell him to come play hero."

I tried to speak, but my throat was raw and dry. The second attempt came out as a raspy whisper: "He won't come."

Damien's laugh was harsh and grating. "Oh, he'll come. Alpha Kade Sterling doesn't let anyone take his toys without permission." He gestured to the bomb. "Nine minutes, little wolf. I'd start dialing if I were you."

My heart hammered against my ribs as I reached out through the mate bond—that invisible thread that connected my soul to Kade's. The mental link felt strained, distant, like trying to shout across a canyon.

*Kade.* I pushed the thought toward him with desperate urgency. *Kade, I need help. I'm in trouble—*

The response came back sharp and irritated, cutting through my panic like a slap. *I'm busy right now, Mila. Serena's wolf has been sick for three days, and she needs someone to help take care of her. Can't you handle whatever drama you've gotten yourself into this time?*

The words hit me harder than any physical blow. Drama. That's what he thought this was. Just another one of my "overreactions" that he'd grown so tired of hearing about.

*Kade, please. I'm not being dramatic. There's a bomb—*

*A bomb?* His mental voice carried that familiar note of exasperation. *Mila, your imagination is—*

A soft, feminine voice drifted through the bond—not directed at me, but audible through Kade's connection. "Thank you for coming to take care of me, Kade. You're the only one who really understands how much I'm hurting."

Serena. Of course it was Serena.

"I'll always be here for you," Kade's