Page 3 of The Alpha's Bounty
The first two are faces I’ve seen before, names I’ll track through the usual channels.
But it’s the third that catches my bear’s attention.
The picture is grainy but clear enough.Dark hair.Gray eyes.A stubborn tilt to her chin.She’s not smiling, but something about her face pulls at me, sharp and sudden.My bear perks up, ears pricked like he’s scented something important.
Pretty.
I ignore him, scanning the details.Mina Carver.Eighteen at the time of the charge, nineteen now.Theft.Skipped her court date.Bounty posted.
“What’s her story?”I ask casually.
“Stole money from her foster parents,” Rhodes says, flipping through his copy.“Or so the charge says.Could be more to it.You know how that system works.”
I do.I’ve seen enough good kids chewed up and spat out by humans who only took them in for the monthly check.
I tuck her face away in my mind and close the folder.The meeting moves on to other topics, a budget for the next quarter, and some holiday planning.I zone out a bit, my mind still on Mina.I can’t get her silvery eyes out of my head.
“Cyrus?”
I blink at Foster.“Sorry, what?”
“We asked if anything else needed to be discussed,” Camden answers.
“Oh, no.Not from me.”
“Great, then the meeting adjourned.”
We all gather our things, and I trail after the other Alphas, drifting out into the pale winter light.I turn to head home, trudging along the well-worn path to my cabin.
On my way back to the East Pack’s land, my bear won’t shut up.He’s pacing hard now, pushing at me, restless in a way I can’t explain.
Halfway down one of the side trails, I see movement.Small, quick, slipping through the trees like she’s trying not to be seen.
Every instinct sharpens.
I jog forward, keeping low and silent.She’s ahead of me, walking fast, a worn backpack slung over one shoulder.Dark hair spilling down her back.
Recognition slams into me like a freight train.
Mina Carver.
“Hands up,” I say, using my Alpha voice.
She reacts instantly, her back snapping straight.She turns her head slightly, tension radiating off her in waves.
My pulse kicks hard, but I clamp down on the rush, focusing on the job.She’s a bounty.Bringing her in will mean cash in my pocket, money I’ve been saving for months to take a trip and search for my mate.
Except now… I don’t need to.
She’s right here.
My bear’s reaction is instant.Loud.Unmistakable.
MATE,he roars.
My bear paws at my ribs, ready to shove his way out and claim her right here in the snow, but I lock him down, eyes fixed on the girl who’s turned my whole damn world upside down.
I gulp, my heart racing out of control.I can’t believe this is happening.
