Page 49 of Feral Alphas

She pulls away and rests her head on my chest and we sit like that, everything else fading away.

Chapter nineteen

Rose

Colt’s heartbeat thumps under my ear, and it’s the sweetest rhythm I’ve ever heard. His scent both excites and soothes me, and I lose track of time as I run my fingers over his muscled shoulder and neck. Fairytales can happen to omegas like me.

I don’t know what reaction Leslie was looking for, but I literally couldn’t help throwing myself onto Colt, just like the first time I saw him. Nothing in my life has ever been as sure as this man. I said the stupidest thing to him about being late, but he went with it like we’d known each other for a hundred years.

Scent matching is real, and it’s powerful.

Leslie clears her throat, reminding me I’m not supposed to spend too much time with him until all the I’s are dotted and T’s crossed, whatever they are. I also have another alpha to meet yet, but I’ve made up my mind I’ll choose Colt—if I have to choose.

I hope I don’t.

I wait awhile longer, to prove Leslie’s not my boss, and then pull back. With a conspiratorial whisper, I tell him, “I’m not supposed to stay long.”

He sighs, and presses his forehead to mine, regret lining his strong, squared face. A short ginger beard frames his jaw, running up tomeet his ears as well as forming a goatee over his pronounced lips. “We’ll have plenty of time to linger in the future.”

It’s the best promise I could hear, and I nod, drop another kiss on his lips, and climb off his lap.

Leslie rests a gentle hand on my shoulder. “Rose, can you go with Max? I need to discuss a few things with Agent Colt.”

“When will you come back?” I ask my match, already missing his touch.

“Tomorrow,” he promises before Leslie can speak.

“Alright.” I grin and wave before following the security guard out of the room. “I need to pee,” I tell the beta as we pass a public bathroom, and I take my time, thinking over everything that just happened.

I’m flicking my hands dry when I realize I forgot to ask about the feral alphas. I gasp and clap my damp hands to my cheeks, dismayed at my lack of loyalty.

I rush out through the door. “Hey, Max, I forgot to ask something,” I call as I scurry back the way we came.

Hand on the door, I hesitate, hearing Leslie’s voice on the other side. “She’s also been asking incessantly about the wild alphas from the ring. They were her only company for weeks, so it’s possible she’s formed an unnatural attachment.”

Colt hisses. “The Alpha Lodgings team said most of them will likely be euthanized.”

I throw open the door and it bangs against the doorstop. “No!” Tears burn around my eyes and a flash of terror sets my blood on fire. “Don’t you dare! They’re people, like me.”

Colt leaps to his feet, alarm spiking in his hazel eyes. “Rose!”

I stalk into the room and grab his shirt with both hands. “You can’t let them, Colt! You can’t!” Tears drown me and I splutter and cough, shaking with fear. “It’s not their fault!” I scream.

Colt pulls me into his strong arms and presses my head against his shoulder. “I know, sweetheart! I know.”

“Not their fault,” I sob again before burrowing into his neck. Not even his scent can calm my frantic heart, but my tears gradually subside as he walks the room, carrying me on his chest like I’m a child. He murmurs into my hair, saying, “Don’t cry,” over and over.

When the sobs subside to hiccups, he sits down on the sofa, gently turning me to lay across his lap. “I understand they’re precious to you, Rose. I really do. But those men are dangerous.” He rolls up his sleeve, showing purple bruises turning black around the edges. “I spent most of yesterday helping move them to the special facility for criminal alphas.”

I gasp. “Were they all there? All twelve?”

“Yes.”

I press my hand to my throat and suck in a bellyful of air. After Mufasa tore off Groman’s fingers and was dragged away, I was so scared he’d been clubbed to death then and there. Maybe the OCB raid saved his life too.

Colt rubs my back. “They’ll get a chance to see if they can be saved, but they’re some of the worst cases. Sometimes people experience things they can never come back from.”

I wipe my snotty nose on my sleeve jerkily. “So, we give up on them? Don’t even try to give them the chance?”

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