Page 26 of Claimed By the Alpha Wolves

“Slow down!” Ezra says, as the boat comes hurtling toward us, only to swerve at the last minute. The boat rotates, and Cayson comes into view, a huge, goofy grin on his face as he glances between the two of us.

“Thought you two could use a chaperone,” he says, just as his date coughs and throws up over the side of the boat.

TWELVE

Ezra

“Oh, gods,” Faye says, leaning out of our boat a bit, like she might be able to put her hand on the girl’s back, even though she’s too far away. Our boat rocks precariously and I lean in the other direction to balance it out.

But it’s hard to even focus on the sick girl with Faye this close to me. She is without a doubt the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Her long blonde hair flows in wavy lengths over her shoulders and down her back, and her big, hazel eyes are absolutely captivating. She’s wearing a blue dress that almost looks like it’s made of denim, with little spaghetti straps and a gap before her long sleeves, which fall over her arms. The dress reaches to her ankles, but it’s tugged up on one side, giving a painfully alluring view of her long legs.

Any man would lose his wits around her.

“Are you okay?” Faye asks gently, her soft, feminine voice doing strange things to my blood.

“I’m fine,” the girl snaps, righting herself, a blush rushing over her cheeks.

I feel sorry for her. It can’t feel good to throw up in front of the alpha in your boat, especially when he’s paying more attention to a different omega.

Speaking of which, what the hell is Cayson doing?He has a whole lake to paddle around on. Why is he over here, nearly crashing into our boat?Something is going on with him, something I haven’t figured out just yet.

“Here,” Faye says, reaching into the pocket of her dress and pulling something out. A small bundle of herbs. “I have some mint. If you chew on it?—”

“I don’t want your nasty plants,” the girl says, tossing her dark hair over her shoulder and grinning at Cayson, who’s still trying to maneuver their boat closer to ours.

“Okay,” Faye says, her voice impossibly soft, and I watch as she tucks the herbs back into her pocket.

I can’t help it–my heart swells, watching her. Trying to help others, even when they’re rude to her. Doing something like carrying mint leaves in her pocket, and offering them to someone else. It’s… sweet and unexpected, but then it shouldn’t be, not with her.

Faye is many things: interesting, beautiful, smart, and thoughtful, most certainly. At least that’s been my impression of her so far, from our brief meetings. But there’s also something so fragile about her. Every time I see her, I just want to gather her into my arms and help her to feel safe, even if it’s only for a little time.

And I think she’s starting to trust me.

I’m grateful that she opened up to me. Ever since the night I found her hurt, I’ve been plagued with a desire to rip the person who hurt her to shreds. My thoughts had become obsessed with who it might be. Each time an alpha spoke to me, some voice in the back of my mind whispered that he could be the one who hurt that sweet omega, and rage flowed through me. Each time Ifollowed her gaze to see who she was watching, I felt a deep need to protect her from the man.

It’d gotten to the point where when the ultima had teased me about which girl I’d want in my boat, I’d given him Faye’s name without hesitation, not expecting him to actually make it happen. But I guess it makes sense that he’d want an alpha from such a powerful pack to be happy.

When he’d paired us together, I’d felt instantly nervous and excited at the same time. It’d been hard to even look at her. I felt scared she’d catch me blushing and label me a fool.

Yet, I was still glad I was paired with her.

The thing is, I’d thought we’d at least have a nice boat ride getting to know each other. I might notwantan omega, but I saw nothing wrong with getting the answers to some of my questions and making her feel at ease, keeping her away from the other alphas who were pursuing her.

Too bad Cayson’s here to spoil our peaceful moment.

Cayson. The playboy. The blond-haired perfectly muscled alpha with the kind of smile that sends the ladies falling all over themselves. He wanted to make his way through all the omegas. He wanted to have fun.So what does he call ignoring his pretty date for Faye?

Not that I blame him.

I catch myself gazing at Faye adoringly and shake my head a bit, trying to snap out of it.What am I doing? I’m not here to spend time with omegas. I’m here to make it through this ridiculous event and go home to my people.

The other woman dry heaves again, leaning over the edge of the boat, before she gains control once more. “Sorry, I thought I was going to throw up again.”

“I have that effect on women,” Cayson says, winking at the girl in his boat. “Don’t worry, Shay, it will pass soon.”

“It’s Serra,” she says through her teeth, looking as though she’s trying very hard not to roll her eyes.

Then Cayson pulls out a cigarette and begins to roll it between his fingers.

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