Page 32 of Alpha Reid

She turns to mount the ATV and I deliver a swift slap to her ass as she does, unable to restrain myself. Serena lets out a little yelp and I chuckle, walking around to my own ATV. I tie a black bandana around my face and yank a helmet on over my head, tightening the chin strap. I know most other shifters would forgo a helmet, but given what happened to my mom, I figure you can never be too careful.

I give Serena a little crash course on how to ride the four-wheeler, pointing out where the key rests in the ignition and explaining how to turn it on and where the throttle and brakes are located. She’s practically jumping out of her skin the whole time, raring to go, but she waits until I give the go-ahead to fire up the motor and give it a little gas, lurching forward.

I take the lead, steering toward a wide trail and watching in my mirror as Serena follows on her ATV. There are several trails in my territory wide enough to take the four-wheelers on, but I take her on a nice easy one to start with so she can get used to riding. As we advance deeper into the forest, I keep an eye on her in my mirror. The girl seems to be a natural- she takes to riding the ATV like she’s done it a million times before.

As we approach one of the territory borders on our first trail, I slow to a stop, cutting the engine. Serena picks up on my cue, pulling up beside me and hitting the brakes, turning the key in the ignition.

“You sure you haven’t done this before?” I ask as I yank the bandana down from my mouth.

Serena giggles, reaching up to pull her own bandana down and flashing me a bright smile. “Pretty sure. It’s easy, though!”

“That trail was easy,” I admit. “Figured you should get the hang of it before we take on one that’s more challenging. You up for it?”

“Definitely!” she grins, reaching to turn the key and fire up the engine of her ATV again.

I grab for her arm, chuckling. “Not so fast, Red. I stopped here for a reason.”

Serena looks up at me, equally itchy to keep going and curious as to what I have to say.

I turn, gesturing to the treeline. “This is the border of the territory,” I point out. “Even if you wander off one of the trails, you can tell where the borders are by natural markers, like the dropoff beyond this treeline or the stream on the opposite end of the territory.”

She nods, eyes scanning the treeline. “Got it.” She reaches for the key again, clearly eager to continue on, so I pull up my bandana and fire up the engine of my ATV, pulling ahead. Serena follows suit, tailing me as I continue on down the trail. If she wants something more difficult, then I have another trail in mind that’s sure to excite her.

It takes some time to reach it, but when we near the border of Riverton, I veer off onto a narrower trail and watch in my mirror as Serena follows. This trail is bumpy and winding as compared to the last, but even as we start out onto it, Serena’s whipping around tight corners like a pro, fearlessly cruising down sharp inclines at full speed. After a while, I’m checking on her in my mirror less and less, confident that she’s got this as I navigate the trail.

As the trail leads to lower ground, the dirt underneath our tires starts to get looser and it’s a bit muddy in spots from an overnight rainstorm a couple nights ago. There’s one spot in particular where the mud looks particularly thick across the trail and I slow to carefully navigate around it, figuring Serena will follow suit. Of course, that wild redhead either misses or ignores my cue, plowing right into the mud. I hit the brakes, watching over my shoulder as her ATV grinds to a halt, tires spinning and unable to find traction.

Great.I heave a sigh, cutting the engine of my own ATV and climbing off, watching as Serena keeps trying to hit the throttle, digging the tires of her four-wheeler deeper into the mud.

“Stop!” I call out, waving an arm while I unsnap the strap of the helmet with the other, pulling it off overhead. I leave it on the seat of my ATV and yank my bandana down to my neck, striding in Serena’s direction as she keeps hitting the gas and digging herself into a deeper hole.

“Serena!” I call, cupping my hands around my mouth. She finally looks up at me, her shoulders slumping. I continue toward her as she pulls off her own helmet and tugs her bandana down, her lips drawn into a frown.

“I didn’t mean to…” she starts defensively, but I just shake my head, holding up a hand.

“Hey, it happens. No big deal. Let’s just get you un-stuck, huh?”

Serena sinks her teeth into her lower lip, nodding.

I walk around the mud pit she’s driven into, surveying the situation as I come up behind the ATV. She got it stuck pretty good- the tires are halfway sunk in.

“Alright,” I exhale, my eyes returning to Serena’s. “I’m gonna push you out. Give it a little gas, but not until I say so.”

She nods, dangling her helmet off of one of the handlebars and placing her hands securely on them, looking over her shoulder and waiting for my signal. I step forward, placing my hands on the back of the ATV, rocking it forward a few times. I look up at Serena, ready to give it a good shove, when she must take my eye contact for a signal to hit the gas- the engine revs, the tires spin, and sticky mud spraysAll. Over. Me.

I stumble back, gritting my teeth in frustration as I hear Serena draw a gasp. She cuts the engine of the ATV and hops off quickly, bounding toward me.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!”

“Thought I told you to wait to hit the gas until I said so,” I grumble, wiping a clod of dirt from my cheek.

Serena stares at me, her own cheeks reddening. “I…”

Shit, I should be more gentle with her. It clearly wasn’t intentional; I don’t want to make her feel like…

I freeze as I hear her burst into laughter, watching as she clutches her stomach and bends at the waist.

Unbelievable.

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