Page 19 of Claimed By the Alpha Wolves

“Oh, no,” she says, twisting a lock of her dark hair around a single finger. “There are definitely a few I’m interested in, though.”

A few already? I don’t even want one.“How will you choose?”

She looks at me like I’m crazy. “Choose? I’m hoping to leave here with at least eight mates. One for every day of the week and two for Sunday.”

“Eight? I thought seven used to be enough for you.” I accidentally let my voice rise, and Addilyn quirks an eyebrow at me, amusement playing over her face. “Oh,” I say, “you’re joking.”

“Only partially. That’s the record, you know—eight alphas for a single omega.”

“Gods, can you even imagine? Trying to please eight alphas at once?”

“I do. Imagine it, I mean.” She flutters her eyelashes, making a seductive face.

I mime gagging at her and she giggles back, but we’re interrupted by the sound of hoofbeats against the grass as the ultimas approach our two groups. The same ultimas who’d never even bothered to look into my brother’s death.

Addilyn and I get to our feet, and as I’m standing, across the field, I see Kurt standing with a small group of alphas. When I meet his eyes, a slow predatory grin spreads across his face. He makes a show of licking his lips, his gaze running up and down my body. He points to me and mouths "You're mine."

My stomach turns and I immediately look away, even knowing that Kurt saying such a thing means he wants to hurt me. Not that he actuallywantsme. At least for anything more than something bad.

“Fucking hell,” Addilyn says, having glanced over and apparently seen what’s caused my distress. “He can’t hurt you. You just need to stay the hell away from him.”

If only it was that easy.

“Attention!”

Addilyn falls silent and we all crane our necks, looking up at the three older men atop horses in the middle of the field. They’re huge and gorgeous—almost too perfect to look at, with sculpted bodies and tall, confident postures. I bow low, feeling a deep need to be submissive to the most powerful wolves in our society. Every omega on our side of the field bows, and when I glance over, I even see the alphas lowering their heads in deference.

To the ultimas.

I shiver.The ultimas who didn’t care about Miles.They barely even bothered to hear my side of the story before deciding that Kurt was innocent and closing the case. Instinctually, I would always bow down to them, but they didn’t have my respect after what they did.

The blond middle-aged ultima flashes all of us a smile. “Good morning, everyone. I’m Lance, and this is Hector and Brock,” he says, first indicating the gray-haired rugged-looking man, and then gesturing to the huge dark-haired man. “We’re here to overlook the festivities and help you celebrate The Selection. We’ll be guiding the omegas as they get to know the alphas for now, and we’ll continue to guide them when the ferals arrive later on in The Selection.”

Everyone cheers, but I just feel sick. The alphas are bad enough, but once they get enough time with us, the ferals get a chance to bond with us too. The wild, unpredictable creatures, most of whom were thrown out of their own packs.

I shiver, not wanting to think about it.

Lance continues. “We hope you had a good breakfast, because today’s activity is going to involve some exercise.”

Lance’s blond hair glints golden in the sunlight. He looks like he could be a bit shorter than the other two ultimas, but his shoulders are broad, sturdy. And there’s something about him that seems a little gentler than Hector and Brock, but I could be wrong. In all likelihood, they’re all assholes.

The ultima to Lance’s left with dark hair and deep brown eyes, Brock, continues talking. “This is the first of many experiences designed to help alphas and omegas get to know one another. As we’re all aware, fated mates will feel the connection immediately, but chosen mates will need to nourish a connection. These activities are our attempt to do just that, which means all omegas and all alphas are required to participate.” He takes a deep breath, his dark eyes intensely sweeping across us as he does so. “During this activity, the omegas will get a ten-minute head start, running?—”

“—surprise, surprise—” Hector, the ultima with gray hair mutters, which makes some of the alphas laugh.

A knot forms in my stomach at Hector’s harsh tone. I don’t need him to say more to know he’s the kind of ultima who looks down on omegas. Who sees us as only vessels to carry children.I’ll stay away from him, if I can.

“So,” Brock continues, looking annoyed. “The omegas will have a ten-minute head start running towards the woods. Alphas, your goal is to catch an omega of your choosing. The omega you catch will be your dinner partner tonight. This is all about tapping into your animal nature, then using your instincts to find the right omega for you. Donottake any liberties with omegas during the experience. We will be monitoring this game. Alphas, after you’ve caught your omega, bring them back here to the lawn so we can take note.”

“Oh no,” Addilyn mutters as the ultimas move closer to the alphas, directing their instructions to them. “I think my ankle is sprained.”

“What?” I ask, turning to her, my eyes wide. “Oh, no, Addy?—”

“Yeah,” she mutters, running a hand over it. “I probably won’t make it that far. This sucks. I guess I’ll just have to wait and see how many alphas catch me. Poor me.”

“Oh, gods,” I say, rolling my eyes. “You are the worst. I believe you every time.”

“Hey,” she says, bouncing on her heels and stretching her arms above her head, like she’s preparing for an Olympic race. “You don’t want a mate—I want several. We can balance each other out.”

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