Page 28 of Claimed By the Alpha Wolves

While they’re trying to work that out, I use my purchase on the embankment to push our boat in the other direction, quickly gaining a lot of space between our boats. If I can get far enough away from him, I imagine he’ll have to give up and leave us alone.Right?Cayson’s hardly the type to chase a woman.

After a few minutes, when we’re successfully separated far enough from Cayson and Serra, I sigh, setting the oars over my thighs. I hope we can finally drift in peace.

“Sorry about Cayson,” I tell her, not sure what else to say.

“He’s a friend of yours, then?”

“Not tonight he isn’t.”

She laughs, and her laugh is absolutely beautiful. “So, what kind of man is Cayson?”

For some reason, I don’t like her asking about him. “He’s a man who always manages to have a beautiful woman on his arm while simultaneously always being single.”

She looks surprised. “Is that typical for men?”

It’s strange how innocent she is. “For many men.” Then I feel a flash of guilt about the way I’m talking about Cayson. “Although, he’s not a bad guy. You know how charismatic people are, they just pull people to them. They really can’t help it.”

“Like you?” she asks, her big hazel eyes meeting mine.

My face feels hot. “I’m most certainlynota charismatic man.”

She seems confused. “You could have fooled me.” And she’s saying it so matter-of-factly that I almost believe her. Not that I want to keep talking about this.

“Now, where were we before he interrupted?” I ask, because I’d been enjoying our conversation before he interrupted us.

“Well,” Faye says, reaching down and trailing her fingers through the water. “I think you were talking about your pack.”

“Oh.” I laugh, my eyes tracking to the skirt of her dress, and how it shifts around her legs. “I could talk about my pack for ages.”

Her expression is full of interest. “You’re very involved with them?”

Something relaxes inside of me. “Yes, my father has been training me since I was a kid to take over his position as the leader of the pack. It’s about more than power and control, it’s about creating and nurturing a community of people that take care of one another.”

When I see Faye’s eyes start to tear up, I lean forward, offering her the handkerchief from my pocket, which I should have thought about earlier, if I hadn’t been so caught off-guard. Our hands brush when she takes it, and electricity bursts between our fingers. I have to take a deep breath to calm my beating heart.

“I wish—” Faye starts, but stops when we hear whistling.

Cayson is behind us again, gaining speed and closing the distance between our boats. Faye can’t hide the slight smile that graces her lips, and I roll my eyes at his antics. He’s ruining my time with Faye, but if she doesn’t mind, I can hardly punch the silly bastard.

Grabbing the oars, I start to paddle us away, but Cayson must have the wind at his back, because he gains on us quickly. Actually, way too quickly. The idiot needs to slow down.

“Hey, guys,” he says, his fingers wrapping around the side of our boat as he nearly comes crashing into us. “Sorry, got stuck in the weeds back there.”

“Not stuck enough,” I mutter, jolting in alarm when Cayson yanks on our boat a bit.

“Here’s what I think,” he says, setting his jacket and oar to the side, a bright smile on his face. “I think you’ve gotten your share of time with Faye. Let’s switch places.”

“Cayson!” Faye says, sounding shocked.

“You can’t—” I begin, because he has to know there’s zero possibility of us switching places on boats in the middle of a lake.

“No, no, no!” Serra says, her face turning green again as the boat tips.

But Cayson winks at Faye. “Don’t worry!” he says, speaking loudly over the protests. “I’m an expert at this!”

We’re all feeling various degrees of horror when he stands up. As he’s trying to step into our boat, the boats begin to pitch wildly. His arms flail, he loses his balance, and all four of us capsize into the cold water.

Cayson’s a dead man.

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