Page 24 of Alpha Chase

I yank my hoodie over my head and nod solemnly. “Positive. The scent was the same.”

When the rest of them got here, we immediately crossed over the border to track the rogue. We were able to follow his scent all the way to a road several miles away, but that’s where the trail went cold again, the scent of motor oil and tire tracks in the gravel on the shoulder of the road evidencing his method of escape.

Gray tugs on a navy crewneck sweatshirt with the Cedar Ridge ski resort logo emblazoned across the front and scratches at his chin, deep in thought. “What could he have wanted? And why here, and not at the lodge again? There has to be a common denominator.” His eyes flicker over to me as I trudge back toward the group.

“Me and my boys,” I grumble, picking up on what he’s insinuating. “Or…” my voice trails off as they look to me expectantly.Fuck.Do I want to open this can of worms? I don’t want to explain why I was out here with her tonight, but this is bigger than the shot my ego took from her rejection. I swallow hard, raking a hand through my messy hair. “Vienna. She was working at the lodge that day, she’s the one who actually saw him and alerted us to his presence. And she was out here tonight, too, when we smelled him.”

“Vienna Vega?” Brock asks, brows shooting up. She’s one of his; part of the Riverton pack.

I answer him with a curt nod.

They’re all silent for a moment as I mentally prepare myself for an onslaught of questions I don’t want to answer, but they never come. Instead, Gray heaves a sigh, considering for a moment. “You and your friends should stick to the territory until further notice. We’ll beef up security at the ski resort for the time being so this fucker isn’t able to give us the slip again.”

“I’ll continue to keep an eye on the lodge,” I offer, tugging my hood up over my head. I’m exhausted, so the cool temps are starting to get to me, the cold air biting at every sliver of exposed skin.

Gray nods in agreement. “And Vienna?”

I stare at him, blinking. I’m so fucking tired and already feel a hangover setting in, so it takes a second for my brain to process his question. “What?” I scowl, shaking my head. “Fuck no, I’m not a babysitter. That girl is a pain in the ass.”

Gray exhales slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. I’m not the only one who’s worn out from tonight’s events. “Fine. I’ll see if I can put one of the squad fighters on her then.”

“What about Q’s friend Logan?” Jax suggests. “Those two are friendly. Used to date, I think.”

Gray opens his mouth to respond, but a wave of white-hot possessiveness scorches my veins and I head him off.

“No!” I snap, my sudden outburst drawing everyone’s attention back to me.Fucking great. My face burns and I swear I can feel the ghost of Vienna’s slap on my cheek. I uncurl my fists and draw a breath, reaching into my hood to tug at my hair. “I’ll fucking do it,” I grumble, trying to play it off. “If he’s truly targeting one of us, then the best chance we have at drawing him out again is to stick together, right?”

A flicker of amusement crosses Gray’s features. For a second, I wonder if I’ve given myself away, but he doesn’t call me out. That’s not his style. “Good. Now you’re thinking like an Alpha,” he says approvingly, stepping over to clap me on the shoulder. “Sometimes we’ve gotta step up and do shit we don’t want to do for the greater good of the packs.”

I roll my eyes, shrugging his hand off. If he’s taking this as a step toward me accepting my Alpha position, he’s going to be sorely disappointed. “Yeah, whatever,” I mutter, kicking at the ground underfoot. “Don’t read into it too much. I just wanna catch this fucker.”

“So we’re grounded to the territory?” Callum grumbles, pushing open the door to the lodge. He glares at me over his shoulder as I step in behind him, sweaty hair sticking to his forehead after a long morning of boarding. “What are we, twelve?”

After we dropped our snowboards off at the trucks, the guys asked me to fill them in on what happened last night with the rogue. Cal’s clearly not thrilled with Gray’s recommendation that we stick close to the territory for the time being.

“It’s not like we leave much as it is,” Levi shrugs. He doused himself in so much body spray after changing out of his gear that it’s making me slightly nauseous. “When was the last time we went anywhere off-territory anyway?”

“I mean, we’re technically off-territory right now…” Miles points out as the six of us pile into the lodge.

Levi waves a hand dismissively. “Whatever, the resort doesn’t count.”

“What about the brewery?” Miles presses, like it’s his mission to get under Levi’s skin today. Not that I mind- I’ve been irritated with Levi since he invited Vienna to the party at the packhouse without telling me. I can’t say anything about it, at risk of him questioning why her presence aggravates me so much, but it hasn’t been easy to go on pretending that everything’s cool between us.

Levi groans, shooting Miles an annoyed look. “Okay, fine. When was the last time we went anywhere off-territory thatwasn’towned and operated by the six-pack?”

Nobody responds, because he’s right, we don’t venture out much. There’s no need to. Sticking to the territory isn’t an imposition, Cal is just being a dick about it.

We round the corner into the restaurant, bound for the large bar in the center. Vienna’s standing behind it, wiping off the top of the bar underneath the taps with a white cloth, and her gaze lifts as we stride in her direction, annoyance immediately evident in her eyes. My heart stutters in my chest when I see her and my hand subconsciously grazes my cheek, remembering that fiery defiance in those same brown eyes when she smacked me. It shouldn’t have excited me the way it did. Guess I’m just wired all wrong, because thatslap? It had a direct line to my dick. A hectic exhilaration snaps through me just at the thought of it.

“Couldn’t stay away, huh?” Vienna asks, all fucking sass as she recycles the line I used on her last night when we approach.

So I use one of her own back on her. “Take it easy, ankle biter. I’m not here for you.” I smirk, pleased with the creativity of my latest dig at her tiny stature and the scowl it earns from her.

I slide onto a stool across from Vienna and she tosses the bar towel down, leveling me with an irritated glare as she throws a hand on her hip. “What do you want?”

“How about a beer?” Callum grins menacingly as he takes the stool beside me.

“Knock it off, Cal,” Levi interjects, giving his shoulder a shove and taking up the space on his other side. He looks over at Vienna and beams like he’s a fucking hero. “Hey, Vee.”

---