Page 17 of The Alpha's Fated Destiny

Alex senses my curiosity and explains, "It's the rock. It's a rare mineral found only in the North. When it comes into contact with water, it turns blue and glows."

"Like a firefly," I mumble, dazzled by how pretty it is.

"Kind of," he agrees, chuckling. "In the daytime, it looks a little dull, but at night, this entire area is stunning."

“Is this a hot spring?”

Alex nods, settling his arm across my shoulders. “I thought you might like this. Nobody really comes here since this area is in the free zone. I stumbled upon this place a couple of years ago. We’ve been running all day, so I thought some hot water might help you relax.”

I walk over to the stone pools, rubbing my hand across the surface of the rock. When I touch the water, it’s quite hot. It’s not scalding, but I know when I sink into it, it’s going to loosen every knot in my body. I'm also deeply fascinated by how beautiful and mystical this place looks.

"I find it hard to believe that no one has ever discovered this place," I breathe, running my fingertips across the hot water.

"If they did, it's never been mentioned," Alex tells me. "Karina has made it a point to seize such locations. The North has beautiful places like this in most of the pack territories. Karina has taken control of them."

I grind my jaw, a surge of anger rising in me. "What does she want? To stifle all the packs under her so that they lose the will to live?"

Alex comes to stand beside me. "Control. She wants to control everything. I've never seen somebody so obsessed with power as she is. If I were to compare her and Robert Black, I would still say Robert falls a little bit short of her."

I give him a grim smile. "I want to disagree, but then I'm not the one who's suffered under her rule."

"She can't be allowed to live," Alex looks my way. "You know that, don't you? Now that she knows about you, she's never going to stop trying to get to you. Not after the way she was humiliated. You are her ticket to ruling all three alliances."

"I'm well aware," I reply, fire burning in my veins.

"But for now," Alex whirls me around to face him, his eyes light. "Let's go have some fun."

"Wait." My face flushes as he pulls off my shirt. "Alex, the others…"

"Your magical abilities would come in handy right about now."

"My…" It's hard to think when his mouth is on my neck, biting into my skin, his hot tongue lapping at the salty sweat.

I have to focus. It takes me a few tries to create a barrier. It's not an incredibly strong one, but it'll do.

Alex, in the meantime, has stripped me off my pants and I'm just standing before him in my undergarments. His hand slides across my stomach, leaving a blazing trail of heat. My wolf settles within me. We both need this. The tension between us has been eating at me nonstop, and to have Alex so near me lessens the fear that has been building in my heart since last night.

I thought this hunger between us would lessen after we slept together a couple of times. At least, I assumed that.

It was a very incorrect assumption.

It's almost as if we can't get enough of each other. This is even more true since I gave him my mark.

My claws dig into his shirt, ready to rip it off, and he laughs, a throaty sound. "That's the only shirt I have."

"Then get it off!" I grumble, desperate to get to skin.

"What's the hurry?"

I don't appreciate the teasing in his voice, especially when he has me all worked up. My panties are soaked from my juices. All he has to do was put his mouth on me and run his hands over my skin, which is highly sensitive when it comes to him, and I melt into his arms. My fingers dig under his shirt, my nails pressing against the hard planes of his abdomen.

"Take it off, or I'll rip it," I warn. "Your choice."

My threat has Alex's wolf coming into his eyes. There is an excitement and hunger in them. Every time I show a hint of dominance, his wolf comes out to play.

Without a second thought, he rips off his shirt before picking me up by the waist. My hips lock against the base of his spine. He slams me into the tree behind him, knocking the air out of me.

"Alex…"

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