Page 18 of Alpha's Claim

“I need a safe house–out of the city. Can you hook me up?”

“Yeah. Where are you now?”

“Hamptons.”

“Roger that. You have transpo? Is Rhode Island too far?”

I let out a breath. “That’s perfect.”

“Texting a location.”

“Great. Thank you.”

“You need protection?”

“No, I got it.”

“Care to tell me what’s going on? I know your kind like to go solo, but–”

“I’m good.” Wolves. Theirpack or diething is just way too much. “I’ll be in touch if I do need an assist. I appreciate the offer.”

“Yep.” Sully ends the call without further niceties. I appreciate a guy who values efficiency over bullshit.

Paloma stares at me with wide, brown eyes. “Safehouse?” she demands. “Whoareyou?”

I flash her a grin. “Darius Medvedev, at your service.”

“Service? Is that what you call snatching me from my bedroom in the middle of the night?” She looks down at her miniscule satin PJs. “With no clothes?”

I don’t mean to, but I glance at her incredible, full breasts shifting beneath the thin pink satin of her cami. The corners of my lips kick up. “I fail to see that particular aspect of our adventure as a problem.”

“Oh is that what you’re calling this?”

“I had to get you out of there.”

She looks back over her shoulder, but I’m driving over a hundred miles an hour. The headlights from the SUVs behind us grow smaller and smaller. “You have to take me back.”

“Not happening, princess.”

“You don’t understand. Thom is not a nice man. He will kill you. He’ll kill us both if he thinks I’m a part of this.“

“Yeah, I gathered. He had youlocked in your roomlike a prisoner. Men werebidding on your virginitytonight.” I know my eyes are glowing again because I can feel my bear clawing to get out. He wants to dismember every man who thoughtto deflower her.

She alternates staring at me and looking back at the pursuing vehicles.

“Also, how can a woman as beautiful as you still be a virgin?” I give my head a hard shake. “Nevermind–I know. Because you’ve been locked in that tower your whole life.”

I try again not to look and fail. Her nipples have hardened to stiff points under the flimsy fabric. Even in the darkness, I can see a flush of color travel up her neck and spread across her gorgeous cleavage.

“You didn’t know about the breeding part until I told you at the ball, did you?”

My bear nearly erupts to the surface then. I don’t know whether it’s from anger at the idea of her being bred or a base animal interest in breeding her myself. Before I can stop it, a low growl emits from my chest.

“No,” my bear snarls before I have him on leash. I need to get control of him before I do something even more reckless than stealing a fair maiden from her tower high. What is it about this woman that makes me nearly come unhinged?

“Is that why you crawled through my window to save me?”

“I was already trying to piece together why Thompson had you under constant guard. But yes, that was enough reason to risk my standing in Thompson’s world to get you out of there.”

---