Page 4 of Alpha's Promise

“I’d have to agree with them.”

His blatant teasing threw her, and then her smile widened just enough to make Landon’s pulse kick. Damn, she was beautiful. And fierce. The kind of woman who could run circles around a man if he wasn’t careful.

“Then maybe I’d better take that ride,” Dakota said, brushing off her jeans. “But no funny business, cowboy.”

He chuckled, holding up his hands in mock surrender. “Scout’s honor.”

There was something about Dakota, a fleeting whisper of recognition that defied logic. It was a feeling he'd heard described in hushed tones around the pack, a harbinger of destinies intertwined. He shook it off, attributing it to the charged atmosphere and the secrets she carried with her like a cloak.

Landon’s wolf rumbled in approval, sensing something in her—something wild and untethered, just like him. She was trouble, no doubt about it. The best kind of trouble. And for thefirst time in a long while, Landon felt the flicker of possibility stir in his chest.

CHAPTER 3

DAKOTA

Dakota followed in Landon’s wake, his figure looming tall and powerful against the fiery backdrop of the afternoon sky. The four-wheeler sat squat and silent, an iron beast awaiting its riders. She watched his hands as he checked the ATV, strong and sure, capable, she supposed, of both gentleness and ferocity. It was those hands that made her trust him, against the instincts that told her to run from the danger she knew followed her like a persistent shadow.

Dakota hesitated for just a heartbeat, uncertain yet compelled by the magnetism that seemed to radiate from Landon. His name was a whisper in her mind, evoking images of untamed wilderness and unrestrained passions. She smiled as she climbed onto the four-wheeler behind him, her hands sliding around his waist. The heat of him rolled off him like a brand straight out of a fire, and Dakota worried for an instant if it might burn and mark her forever.

The air between them was thick with unspoken words, laden with the scent of earth and man. With her body pressed against his broad back, she felt a shiver that had nothing to do with the coolness of the evening. Wrapping her arms around his waist, her fingers brushed against the firmness of his abdomen. Thecontact sparked a heat within her that rivaled that from the midday sun.

The engine roared to life, and they took off across the prairie, the wind whipping around them as the ranch stretched out ahead. Her hands stayed on his sides, light but steady, and Dakota felt every inch of that connection like a live wire running through her veins.

The tension between them seemed to crackle like electricity in the air, a storm brewing on the horizon. As they rode, a sense of fate seemed to cling to her skin, almost as tangible as the soft layer of dust that rose from where the wheels kissed the earth. It was as if the universe had conspired to bring them together, their paths destined to cross on this dusty path under the blazing sun.

"Everything all right?" Landon asked, his voice low and rough, as if it had been shaped by the wind that swept through Copper Canyon.

"Yes," she lied. Nothing was all right; everything was charged with an intensity she hadn't known she could feel.

As Landon turned his head slightly, she caught a glimpse of his profile—sharp angles defining his chiseled jawline, a stern brow softened by the dark locks that fell carelessly over it. His eyes, intense and unreadable, were like pools of obsidian, holding within them secrets and mysteries untold. They seemed to reach into her very soul and stirring something deep inside. He exuded an otherworldly aura, blurring the lines between human and something more. His presence was both alluring and unnerving at the same time.

A curious sense enveloped her—a premonition that whatever lay ahead was irrevocable. As they surged forward, the wind tugged at her hair, whispering of change, of endings and beginnings entwined. In the embrace of speed, Dakota leaned closer to Landon, seeking an anchor in the maelstrom ofemotions that threatened to consume her, amidst the rush and the wildness of it all. She found herself wondering if she might finally belong to something greater than her solitary flight from the past.

A simple life, yet one so far removed from the transient existence she'd known since her grandfather's cryptic last words. From the time she’d left New Mexico, Dakota had been chasing the east, seeking the wolves he spoke of—a metaphor that felt more elusive with each passing mile. Her life had become an unending road, her destinations dictated by the prickle of intuition that warned her whenever her former fiancé was near.

The wind whipped through Dakota's hair, carrying whispers of freedom that enticed her restless spirit. Riding with Landon, she felt a momentary release from the weight of her anxieties, the relentless pursuit that haunted her steps. Here, in the embrace of the wilderness, with the thrum of the ATV beneath them, she could almost believe she was just another soul seeking adventure, not a woman on the run.

Landon maneuvered the vehicle with an ease that spoke of years spent mastering the rugged terrain of Copper Canyon. The muscles of his back shifted under her cheek, a silent testament to the strength that lay beneath the surface. She couldn't help but lean into the curves with him, their bodies moving in unison, a dance dictated by necessity yet charged with an energy she dared not name.

With every mile that passed, Dakota felt herself more drawn to Landon than she had any reason to be. It made no sense, and she was sure he didn’t feel the same. Even if he did, what could explain it? She had no words for the pull between them, but every so often, she thought she caught a flicker of something in his gaze. He didn’t feel like just some guy passing through her life. No, he was more like a storm on the horizon—fierce, unpredictable, and impossible to ignore. And as much as shetried to fight it, she wasn’t sure she wanted to let him pass without seeing where it might lead.

“You ever ridden a horse?” Landon’s deep voice broke through her thoughts, and Dakota glanced at him. He glanced over his shoulder, watching her again, his eyes intent as if trying to read her. She caught the way the sunlight played on his dark hair and the confidence, almost swagger, in the way he carried himself. There was something rugged about him, a raw strength that made her pulse quicken despite what she knew would be the safer, saner course.

She arched a brow, a wry smile tugging at her lips. “Once or twice.”

His grin was slow, his voice low and rough. “Stick around long enough, and I’ll show you how it’s really done.”

A laugh escaped her, light and unguarded, surprising even herself. She saw the way his expression shifted, just slightly—how his confident smile softened for a heartbeat. Dakota thought she saw something flicker in his gaze, something that sent a strange warmth fluttering through her chest.

“I might just take you up on that,” Dakota said, her voice laced with challenge.

"Seems to me you're a long way from anywhere," he said, his tone light but eyes searching. "Sure hope you weren't planning on walking this whole stretch alone."

Dakota’s laugh was like the sound of rain on a parched landscape—unexpected and refreshing. "I guess I didn't plan that far ahead."

"Must admit, that's a rare kind of bravery—or recklessness," he said with a mischievous grin.

"Maybe a bit of both," she conceded, feeling as though her unguarded honesty might have given him a glimpse into her private thoughts.

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