Page 22 of Claimed By the Alpha Wolves

Even though I'm wrapped around a man–an alpha–I hardly know, and I’m still terrified of Kurt finding me, I already feel calmer. Safe.It’s just something about his scent. Something I don’t understand.

When we come to a stream, Cayson slows, as though he’s trying to figure out the best way to get across. A picture starts forming in my mind of him just jumping in and getting us both soaked.But he wouldn’t do that. Would he?

“Cayson?” says a familiar deep voice.

We both jump and look up into the tree right next to the stream, where I can barely make out through the leaves an alpha sitting on a thick branch, one of his legs dangling down. Something about him feels familiar, but it’s hard to see him from this far away.Don’t I know this man?

“Ezra,” Cayson says, his tone flat, “what the hell are you doing all the way out here?”

His tone is frank. “Hiding—what the hell areyoudoing all the way out here? And with an omega?”

The alpha in the tree climbs down, dropping from a ridiculous height that makes me close my eyes and wince, but he just claps his hands together, totally fine. I think of my throbbing ankle from the root incident and jealousy climbs up my throat at how easy it is for these guys to do whatever they want without getting hurt. Yet, I can’t see him from around the tree.Who is he?

I wiggle a bit on Cayson’s back and he loosens his hold, letting me get back to my feet. When I come around his side, I startle, shocked, even though I shouldn’t be. If I hadn’t been so out of sorts, I would’ve recognized him right away. The man from the tree is actually the alpha from last night. The one who had reassured me, had been kind to me. Seeing him here is like seeing a dream I wasn’t quite sure was real.

“Ezra, this is…” Cayson trails off, seeming to realize he doesn’t know my name, and Ezra raises an eyebrow at him.

“Faye,” the other man answers for him.

Cayson’s eyes dart between the two of us, and there’s something in his expression I can’t quite read. “Is that really your name?”

“Yes,” I say, unable to take my eyes from the alpha, Ezra, apparently, from last night. Standing here with the two of them is like being torn between two opposites. Cayson’s scent is dark, smoky, reckless like a forest fire, while Ezra’s is clean, like the first rain of the summer.

“You’ve met?”

“Yes, we met last night, at the ball,” Ezra says, matter-of-factly.

I flush, remembering how Ezra helped me back to my room, and I send a quiet thank you to the gods that he didn’t mention my little escape routine. The thing is, I wonder what he’sthinking about me and last night. I’ll never forget what he did for me, but maybe he helps annoying, helpless omegas all the time. I just wish his face wasn’t so expressionless, so I could get any sense of what he thinks of me.

“I don’t know if the ultimas would like the three of us just standing around here, chatting when we have a game to play,” Ezra says, his eyes flicking to Cayson. “Don’t you have an omega to catch?”

“Already got her,” Cayson says, grinning and gesturing toward me.

Wait. What? But I wasn’t playing. I was running.There is no way I’m going to dinner with this alpha, not when I can spend the evening alone in my room, away from The Selection and these terrible games.

I take a step back, shaking my head. “No, you don’t,” I say. “Nobody’sgot me.”

Cayson’s expression is filled with amusement. “Pretty sure a piggyback ride means we got to second base.Andthat I get to claim you for dinner.”

“Cayson…” Ezra says, a warning in his voice.

“Those are the rules: catch an omega, and she’s yours… at least for dinner.” Cayson sounds far too cocky.

“She doesn’t seem towantto go to dinner with you, or are you so dense you’re not picking up on that?” Again, his words are teasing, but there’s a hint of seriousness behind them.

“That’s just because I haven’t kissed her yet,” Cayson says, wiggling his brows at me.

Ezra hits Cayson over the back of the head. But when he tries to hit him a second time, Cayson dances away, his hair only slightly mussed from the blow. I realize there’s an energy between these two, like they’re old friends, and enemies all at the same time. Or maybe that they’re friends who are complete opposites. I’m not sure.

“Don’t be such a buzzkill,Ezzie, me and Faye are just having some fun,” Cayson says, coming over to me and slinging an arm around my shoulder.

I throw it off, instinctually moving closer to Ezra.I’m not the dinner type. This guy has to realize that I’m not an omega anyone wants. Not with how broken I am.Ezra eyes me and takes a step away, which stings slightly, like he doesn’t want to be associated with me.

“I was trying to hide out from the omegas,” Ezra grumbles, his eyes fixed on me. “And here you’ve brought one right to me.”

I glare, a little outraged that he seems to think I so desperately want him. “For the record, I don’t want to be with either of you. I was trying to get away on my own.”

“That’s a weird way to say thank you for saving your life,” Cayson jokes. “I can think of a few, much better ways for you to do that.”

---