All Chapters of Alpha Mordecai: Love & Obsession: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Willow’s POVI turned to look at Hela.She was staring at me.The usual flat expression was still there, but something in it had shifted. Her eyebrows had moved slightly. That was the most surprised I had ever seen Hela look, it didn’t look much, but coming from her it was significant.I became self-conscious immediately. “What?”Hela blinked, and her expression reset.She looked back at the fight.“Continue.”So I found myself explaining more about their shoulder movements, their footwork, and the little tells.After the match ended, she tilted her head in the direction of two other warriors who were warming up near the edge. “Watch those two.”I turned.A man with short grey hair and a younger warrior with wide shoulders. They stepped into the ring and started moving.This time, I stayed quiet, but Hela didn’t.“What do you see now?” She asked.I sighed.It took a little longer this time. The grey-haired man was more controlled, and harder to read. He didn’t have any obvious tells f

Willow’s POVSomeone was carrying me. I was too deep in sleep to be completely sure.I could sense it through the fog of sleep, like it was happening far away.I could feel strong arms and warmth. An intoxicating scent drifted into my nose, something dark and warm. Cedar and something else I couldn't name. It felt familiar in a way I couldn't explain through the haze of sleep. I sighed and instinctively turned toward the warmth without thinking, pressing in closer, because it was warm, and it felt safe, and everything felt far away. Then the warmth was gone, replaced by the softness of a bed, then something heavy and warm was pulled over me.I opened my eyes slightly to see a dark shape standing before me, then my eyes closed again before I could make sense of anything, and I slept. * I woke up staring at the ceiling and for several seconds, I simply lay there.Then something felt wrong.I frowned, slowly sitting up."What?" I mumbled to myself as I looked around.I was in my roo

Willow’s POVWhen I stepped out later that evening, I immediately noticed a few people looking at me.They were staring, but our eyes would meet, they would look away.The first time, it was an older woman carrying a basket.The moment our eyes met, she quickly looked away and hurried off.It happened three times before I even reached outside the building. Another woman near the entrance glanced at me, then immediately started staring at the ground as she walked past. Two warriors standing by the entrance stopped talking the moment I passed, and when I looked back, they were both watching me with unreadable expressions.I frowned but kept walking.A strange thought crossed my mind.Did this have something to do with the punishment this morning?No.That would be ridiculous.Maybe I was imagining things. After everything that had happened in the last two days, my nerves were making me feel paranoid for nothing.I shook my head and kept walking.Instead of heading towards the training g

Willow’s POVI went to the garden early, before the sun had risen.I hadn’t slept properly. Every time I had drifted off during the night, those pale eyes came back, and I had woken up each time with my heart pounding too fast. By the third time it happened I had given up trying to sleep at all and just lay there staring at the ceiling until the sun started to rise.So I came to the garden tired, because I needed the routine more than usual.The garden was the only place that made sense in my head, so I went there before the rest of the pack fully woke up.I knelt and started checking the soil the way I always did to feel how much moisture was already there before adding more. The purple flowers closest to the entrance needed less water than the other plants. If given too much water, the roots rotted from the inside, until the whole plant collapsed without warning.I reached for the watering can to water it.“You’re overwatering that one.”A calm flat voice came from behind me.“No, I

Willow’s POVThe next few days settled into something close to a routine.I split my time between the two gardens. The first one was easy now. I knew every root, every plant, every flower, but the apothecary garden fought me at every step.Most of the plants there looked very alike. Some had identical leaves, with only a faint color difference or a different vein pattern to tell them apart. I spent entire mornings kneeling in the dirt, turning leaves over, comparing one to the next, trying to make the differences stick in my head.Progress was too slow. All I could do was clear out the dead plants to make the garden look less like a battlefield.Mordecai started showing up.He never announced himself. He simply appeared whenever he wanted to.Sometimes I looked up and found him standing a few feet away, watching. Other times I didn’t notice him at all until a flat voice answered a question I had been muttering to myself, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.He never stayed long. I woul