Page 24 of Claimed By the Alpha Wolves

“You can hear my heartbeat?”

He raises an eyebrow at me, and I remember that alphas have heightened senses. The omega on the bus was the only other pack member I ever remember asking about my heartbeat.It’s weird to think about being aware of what the inside of my body is doing.

“Sorry,” I say, not sure what else to say.

“Don’t say sorry, just explain it, because I don’t understand,” he tells me patiently.

I open my mouth to answer, but the words die on my lips. There’s no possible way for me to explain anything to him. If I were to tell him about Kurt, one of two things would happen. In his alpha cockiness, he’d tell the ultimas, which would end in nowhere again, because no one believes an omega. Or hewouldn’t believe me because alphas stick together, and I’d be crushed. Either way, nothing good could come from telling him.

When the silence stretches between us for two long, he fidgets with the oars, still eyeing me. “What are you afraid of? That you’ll have a fated mate? Or the man who wants to hurt you?”

How can I explain myself?“No—well, yes—I mean, I don’t want a mate. But you’re right that it’s more than that. There’s—the person who hurt me the other day. I think he wants to hurt me again.”

“Why?” Ezra asks, and though he’s still reclining causally, looking out into the water, I sense a change in him, a slight tensing of his muscles.He’s angry.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Try me,” he says, not blinking an eye.

“Alphas defend alphas,” I tell him, my voice wavering.

“Not when they’re wrong.”

I nibble my lip. “The thing is–”

“Faye, just tell me. Nothing bad will happen. I promise.”

What’s weird is, I believe him. I don’t know why I believe him, but I do. There’s just something different about this alpha. Something I can’t quite put my finger on.

I take a deep breath. “He…killed my brother.”

He looks confused. “And so he wants to hurt you?” He shakes his head. “And why did he kill your brother? A duel?”

A duel?If only. That would be simple. That my broken heart could make sense of.

“No,” I say and laugh brokenly, before looking down at my lap. “My brother was just a beta who never bothered anyone. It was more like he crossed paths with the asshole at the wrong place and the wrong time. He seemed to want to show off to his cronies, but I don’t really know what was going on in his head.”

Ezra’s eyes have narrowed. “Why didn’t you go to the authorities?”

I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. Tears start to well in my eyes, and Ezra reaches over, placing a gentle hand on my knee.How can I possibly explain this?As an alpha, he could never understand what it means to be an omega. To have your word mean nothing. To have important things dismissed as the result of your fragile mind or weak emotions.

“Why don’t I talk to the ultimas–”

My eyes go wide, and I brush tears away saying, “No, you’ll only make things worse.”

His mouth pulls into a thin line. “Then I’ll talk to the alpha of your pack, and I–”

“Ezra, please, I know you’re trying to help, but this situation can’t be fixed. I tried already and failed.” Wiping my hands across my face, I do my best to wipe away the tears that keep falling.

After a minute, he sighs. “I’m sorry. We don’t have to talk about it. But you should know, once you meet your alpha, or alphas, you’ll be safe. You won’t have to worry about this guy anymore. So maybe instead of running away from an alpha, you should run toward one.” He says it all really gently, but there’s ignorance in his words. He might be a nice alpha, as impossible as that still seems to me, but that’s not how alphas typically are. At least the few that I met while trying to get justice for my brother.

An alpha’s decision is the reason I’m orphaned in the first place, but I don’t share that sentiment with Ezra. He probably wouldn’t think badly of the alpha who got his panties in a twist and attacked my people, resulting in the death of my parents. He might even understand our alpha making nice with that alpha and “forgiving” all the deaths from the attack. I don’t though. I don’t understand or forgive anything they did.

“I don’t want an alpha,” I say firmly.

He looks frustrated. “Why not? You’ll go into heat eventually. You’ll need one, or you’ll attract every beta and alpha in the area… and you really don’t want that. I mean, the whole idea of you doing all of this alone… building your own nesting area. Faye, it’s crazy! There’s no escaping this thing.”

I can’t think of an answer, so I go on the defensive. “Why don’tyouwant a mate? Wouldn’t it be nice to have an omega for your pack? Don’t you want a bunch of babies running around?”

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