Page 25 of Claimed By the Alpha Wolves

My words strike true as his entire body goes rigid and all gentleness leaves his expression. It’s strange, as much as I don’t want an alpha, he seems in equal agreement that he doesn’t want an omega, yet he can’t understand where I’m coming from.

“There’s no room in my heart for romantic love,” Ezra says somewhat stiffly, as though this is a line he’s practiced before. Beneath the rigid delivery is a note of truth, something steeped in grief that I sense right away.

“Losing someone does that to you,” I murmur, reaching down and trailing the tips of my fingers through the water.

Ezra watches me closely. “What have you heard?”

I snap my gaze up to his. He doesn’t sound mad, but he’s shifted his body away, less relaxed now, his eyes intense on mine.

Swallowing hard, I say, “Nothing. I just know what it feels like to lose someone. To be hardened. After Miles died, it felt like a brick wall went up around me, and it’s been there ever since.”

Ezra nods tersely, then puts the paddles back in the water, moving us further away when we hear other boats approaching. It seems to me that whoever he lost, he doesn’t want to talk about. I don’t exactly want to be stuck on a boat feeling intensely awkward, so I try to think about something else to talk about.

“So,” I say. “What pack are you from?”

“Pack Azure,” he answers, sounding proud.

“They’re a pretty powerful pack, aren’t they?” I already know the answer, but for some reason I’d rather talk than sit silently together.

Ezra’s eyes light up immediately. “Yes,” he says. “We’re one of the largest packs in North America. We’ve been fortunate enough to have many females, who bear strong and healthy children. Taking care of our young is our greatest privilege and challenge. Our lands are also in an amazing area, right along Dragonfly Creek in Blue Valley. Although we face some issues, our territory is fertile and lovely.”

“You sound really proud of your home and your people,” I say, a warmth radiating through my chest as I listen to the pride he has in his pack and the deep sense I get that he cares about his people.

It’s been a long time since that was the case for me. Iwonder if he’s a good alpha to them.

“I am.” A smile lights his face that’s absolutely dazzling. “And let me guess your pack…”

I decide to give him a couple hints. “We’re a small pack located in the mountains with very few females.” I don’t say we have the least power and pull among the packs, but it’s implied.

He grins. “You’re from Pack Ivory, right?”

“Yes, I am.” Something I think I might have been proud of once upon a time.

“I should’ve expected as much. Your females tend to be smaller and–” He stops himself from saying, “weaker,” but I knew what he meant. It’s not exactly a secret.

“Oh.” I clear my throat, thinking of the pack mates I haven’t really spoken to since my brother died. “Yes. We’re in the mountains by the White Peaks, so everyone is kind of spread out. I’m further away from our pack town, high up in the mountains, a good fifty miles from the closest shifter.”

He seems surprised. “Do you travel to town often?”

Often? No. When I absolutely have to, yes.“No, not really. I have everything I need at the cabin.”

His expression twists into one of disbelief. “Isn’t it hard to maintain a connection with your pack if you’re all the way out there? Don’t you get lonely?”

Lonely.Just the word makes my whole chest ache. But there’s no amount of loneliness that can make me want to reconnect with my pack, because that part of me is permanently broken. Destroyed.

“I like the space. I like the freedom. And, if I’m being honest, it’s kind of hard to feel connected to the people in my pack when they looked the other way after Miles’ death. When it didn’t affect them directly, nobody seemed to care.”

Ezra clears his throat, rubbing a hand under his chin.

I change the topic before it can get too deep. “What is your relationship like with your pack?”

“My pack is very close. I love them all, but I have to admit that having some space every once in a while would be nice.”

I can’t even imagine what that’d be like.

“Well, I?—”

I’m cut off when we hear the slap of a paddle moving quickly through the water, and a boat comes around the tree, entering our space. The girl sitting on the end is gripping on tightly, looking green. Her pretty pink dress spread around her like flower petals, and her sleek black hair looking messy from the wind.

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