Read Bound to the Alpha: Part Two for Free Online Page A

Cain called out, “Clean and portion the meat, Meadow. You too, Clover.”
    Meadow stuck her tongue out at Clover before sauntering from the room.
    The teenager didn’t budge, and gave Cain a sullen look. “That’s not fair. Why do I have to help? She never does anything.”
    Cain didn’t respond to her. He simply folded his arms over his chest, affecting a resolute stance. Clover muttered something under her breath and followed Meadow, dragging her feet as she went.
    For the first time, Sarah noticed lines of fatigue beneath Cain’s eyes. She had a feeling that between hunting and dealing with his pack members, he hadn’t had any time to rest.
    Before she could ask as much, she heard Clover’s voice from the passageway.
    “It’s about time!” In a sing-song voice, the girl said, “You’re in so much trouble.”
    Cain’s lip curled, and he stepped away from Sarah, heading towards the passageway as Clover reentered the room. She was skipping alongside two men, and Sarah had to do a double take when she saw them.
    Given what Lotus had told her, they could only be Hale and Alder, Cain’s wayward brothers. From across the room, Sarah couldn’t make out their faces, but she could make out blonde hair and recognized that they shared Cain’s tall, muscular build.
    The male on the left was swatting playfully at Clover’s head as he looked up to see Cain stalking towards him. Sarah didn’t have to be able to see the alpha’s face to tell that he was pissed, but she was still surprised when Cain pulled back his fist and punched his brother square in the jaw.
    In a thunderous voice, Cain commanded, “Outside. Both of you. Now.”
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    C ain paced in front of his brothers, who wisely sat silent and waited for him to begin speaking.
    Since the twins had been pups, Cain had adopted the policy of allowing his anger to cool before he dealt with their antics. He had never struck them as pups, or even as juveniles, though he had wanted to on many occasions. As they had matured into adulthood, Hale in particular could no longer be reined in with a long speech and a firm tone.
    The object of Cain’s ire was sitting on a large stone, gingerly rubbing his jaw. Unlike Alder, who had adopted a slumped, submissive posture beside him, Hale sat with his spine erect. Catching Cain’s hard stare, he matched it defiantly.
    Cain said, “I told you the last time that if you ran off again, you were out of the pack.”
    Alder’s head shot up. “Cain…”
    Hale held up a hand to silence his twin. “You don’t speak for me,” he told Alder. Fixing Cain with a glare, he said, “Are you even going to ask me what I was doing, or are you just going to assume that I was fucking off?”
    His words did nothing to sway Cain’s anger. “Fine. Tell me what was so important that you saw fit to leave the pack—to leave my son and Snow unprotected.”
    “The females were here to watch after them,” Hale protested, though his voice lacked some of its earlier conviction.
    Cain did not bother dignifying that with a response. The females, Clover and Meadow notwithstanding, were capable hunters and each could hold her own in a fight. They were by no means weak, but if another pack, or even a capable alpha male had come along, they could easily have been overpowered. There were no laws in the realms of werebeasts, as the humans referred to them. Nothing stood between the dangers of the wilderness and Cain’s small pack, except for him and those whom he trusted to keep it safe.
    “I’m sorry, Cain,” Alder said, remorse in his eyes. “When Hale left, I was supposed to stay and guard the pack. If anything, you should be mad at me.”
    Alder always knew the words that would ease his older brother’s fury, and right now, it wasn’t what Cain wanted. He wanted to be angry and to fight, but he knew that this was not the time.
    Between the humans encroaching on his territory and the possibility of having a pregnant mate, he could not afford to