Page 23 of Alpha Geek

Amelia stayed close to him, making sure he was no further than arm's length away. He could see the worry marring her pretty face. Her eyebrows pressed together in worry. Her sensual, cat-like eyes floated from him to a summit they had yet to see. Tripp flashed her a thumbs up to reassure her. Her pouty lips tilted downward in a frown.

Amelia snapped her head toward the front of the group. Her movements were so fast that he barely followed them. A chill came down his spine, freezing him in place. Nothing good would have put Amelia on alert like that. He followed her eyes, but chaos blocked his view.

There was a flurry of bodies running and pulling each other away from the unexpected danger. The sound of screams filled his ears as he frantically searched the snow. Two large black and gray wolves burst through the throng of people and headed straight for them.

Tripp was yanked back by a steel grip. Amelia was half pulling, half dragging him back down the mountain.Wolves?He had known enough from the research he had done on Mt Everest to know there were no wolves in Nepal.

“Faster!” she screamed.

Tripp's heart slammed against his ribcage. His muscles screamed, riding the hard edge of uselessness. The wolves were gaining on them quickly. Tripp was certain Amelia could have outrun them if she was by herself. As strong as she was, carrying the bulk of another person was bound to slow her down.

The wolves howled, snapping their jaws right behind Tripp's heels. His acute fear spiked as he put the pieces together.Fucking shifters!He remembered John's accident. How none of the pieces made sense. They still didn't, not completely, but at least now he could be sure of one thing. Someone did want him dead.

“No!” Amelia screamed.

Before Tripp could turn his head, he was sent spiraling down the side of the mountain. His body bucked helplessly as it repeatedly slammed on the ice and snow. White powder clouded his vision. The quick descent threatened to bring up his breakfast. He skidded to a halt. Coughing, he gasped for air as he struggled to open his eyes.

Howls filled his ears, followed by a low guttural hiss. Tripp forced his lids apart. Flashes of fur clashed in a flurry of wind and snow. Amelia’s leopard stood between him and two wolves. She exchanged blow for blow, her lithe, powerful body knocking one of the wolves on his back.

The familiar burn of the mountain filled his lungs. He patted his chest and side frantically. Darkness swept over any hope he might have had. The oxygen tank was gone. He tried taking slow breaths, but the force of the wind left him gasping, and Tripp struggled onto his feet. He tried to look around and get a sense of where they were.

Snow assaulted his eyes as the rising speed of the wind dulled his senses. He didn't want to risk keeping his sight away from the fight for too long. He stood in the deeply sloping belly of the cavern they had fallen into. Stretching his neck, he peered as hard as he could into the white blanket of the storm. There was only one area of Mt. Everest with geography like this one.

They were in the death zone.

Just like that, this whole day got a whole lot worse. The death zone was exactly what it sounded like. Tripp could already feel his lungs straining with every inhale.

Amelia's growl ripped across the snow as she pounced on one of the wolves. She turned to her side, beautiful and deadly, and she struck with equal parts force and precision. Holding him down with her massive paws, she dug her claws into his unprotected side. His piercing howl wound through the snow.

The movement to the left of him caught Tripp's attention. The second wolf kept his head down, and he torpedoed through the snow heading straight for Amelia. Without thinking, Tripp's body began to move. He would never forgive himself if something happened to Amelia. His heart strained inside his chest.

He was weak. He wasn't a fool. He knew there wasn't much he could do. His body was running on fumes, desperately gripping the small fragments of oxygen. The wolf was closing in, and he was too far out to reach her in time. But he was close enough to be heard.

He may not have been strong enough to fight, but he didn’t need to.

“Hey!” he shouted, putting all the strength he had left in his voice.

The wolf’s head snapped to him. As if remembering he was still there, he veered and changed course, charging full speed at him. His throat became a desert. He was frozen still, standing in the middle of the death zone as the wolf cut through the storm.

Amelia growled, pulling his eyes away from his reaper. Her leopard was several feet behind him, ruthlessly pushing to close the distance. The sight of her, unharmed and furious, sent a shot of adrenaline throughout his body.

He turned to run, slipping over his numb legs.This is it.His body was slowing. The cold began to take root in his tendons. The sound of snapping jowls drew closer. The steady rising of a drum.

The world went quiet. White noise filled his ears as he was slammed into the ground. Teeth sunk into his flesh, the pain causing his arms to shoot up on instinct. He was yanked to the side, his body left facing the sky.

The wolf pinned him down. Tripp had imagined what it would feel like to die. It was part of the reason he made his life an adventure. But he never would have imagined dying like this.

At least Amelia would be safe.

The wolf met his eyes with a look far too human to be an animal. He lunged at his throat, sinking his sharp incisors into his neck without mercy. His scream died under the mass of blood flooding his mouth.

Amelia's pained cries were somewhere in the distance.

THIRTEEN

AMELIA

Amelia slammed into the wolf tearing into Tripp's limp body. She forced her eyes to stay on her opponent. Positioning her body between the shifter and Tripp, she ducked her head low, preparing to strike. Her nostrils stung with the coppery scent of his blood, a sick reminder of her worst fear.

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