Page 16 of Fall of the Alpha

Then Cora studied Bella closely before turning to look at the others again.

“She’s going to be in heat soon,” she remarked, tilting her head at the Wolf..“She’s nearly there already.”

Alek tensed, pulling Bella more tightly against him. On the dais, the Omega suddenly appeared nervous, looking back and forth between Cora and the other Alpha.

“I know.” The Wolf answered, but Cora wasn’t looking at him. She was still looking at the other Alpha.

“Does she remind you of someone, Trace?”

The question hung in the air, and the entire room went silent with a tension Alek didn’t understand. He stepped back, pulling Bella with him. The expression on the Wolf’s face had frozen, but menace suddenly emanated from every fiber of his being.

Trace must be the big Alpha on the dais with the Wolf, but he didn’t answer.

“Don’t, Cora,” the Wolf growled.

She turned to face him, and Alek could no longer see her expression, but whoever Bella reminded her of, it remained a mystery. Cora shrugged one shoulder.

“We’d love to play with your… toy, was it?” she asked. On the dais, the little Omega relaxed as if she’d been worried that Cora would choose Bella instead. “He can come with us for the afternoon. We’ll return him at dinner.”

“Good. Come here, Pet.” The Wolf’s green eyes gleamed as he stared down at Bella, not looking at Alek as if he’d ceased to exist. Alek’s arm tightened around Bella again, but she was staring back at the Wolf as if enraptured. A subtle purr reverberated through the room, and suddenly, everyone was staring at the Wolf.

Bella took one step forward, then another. Alek moved with her, but Cora turned, putting her hand on his chest. Her dark eyes stared up at him, meeting his, and he froze in place as if her hand was a wall he couldn’t move past. His arm dropped as Bella kept moving, passing them both on her way to the Wolf.

Bella

The hypnotic purr reverberated through her bones, swirling her insides and consuming her thoughts. She felt as though her mind had become cloudy, the vibrations of the purr drowning out everything except her growing need and the Wolf’s green eyes.

Her body had already been on edge, even after everything that had already happened to her… she felt… needy. Achy. Unsatisfied. As if there was a humming undercurrent to everything.

She needed to be touched.

Held.

Filled.

Leaning against Alek had helped, especially with all the overwhelming scents of the Alphas they’d passed in the hall, but only because his singular scent had masked the others, at least as they passed by. The big room had been even worse. So many Alphas. All standing in one place.

The air was thick with their scents. Alek’s couldn’t obscure them completely.

Bella couldn’t focus. Couldn’tthink.Could barely pay half attention to the conversation happening around her as the female circled her and Alek.

Cora?

Yes. That was the Alpha female’s name.

But Bella couldn’t keep her attention on the female. Her eyes locked with a jade green gaze that filled with heat as he looked at her. Green flames threatened to consume her.

And he called to her.

Purred to her.

She was aware of Alek’s arm falling from her shoulder as she moved away from him and toward the Wolf. The deep purr vibrated along her bones, sending a hot pulse of need through her body.

The Wolf raised his hand as she approached.

“Come, Pet,” he murmured, his already raspy voice even lower, darker. Bella reached out for him, sliding her hand into his. “Come with me.”

Hypnotized by his green gaze, Bella stepped up onto the dais with him. The Wolf slid his arm over her shoulders. She didn’t even realize he was leading her away, without Alek, until they stepped out into the hall, and the assault on her senses was no longer so intense. Now, the only Alpha on her radar was the Wolf, though he was overpowering enough.

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