I pull myself along the side of the pool.
“We aren’t leaving you here,” Tim says.
“Yeah,” Tom says. “You can’t swim. Plus…” he hooks a hand around my waist and pulls me in against him. “I want to finish what we started.”
Jack lets out a low growl and Tom sighs and lets me go. I cling to the side.
“I’ll get out then,” I say, grumbling. “I’ll just get out and dry off for a minute and rest and then transform.”
All three men eye me, and then Tim and Tom pull themselves up out of the water with smooth motions that make me envious of their athleticism.
“Fine,” Jack says. “I’ll make sure these two get back. But you better come soon, or I’ll tell Lindon where you’re at, and you probably won’t have alone time for some time.”
I frown at him and wait for him to go. “I’m not getting out until you guys get a little ways away.”
They seem reluctant, but then Tim and Tom transform into their wolves, leaving their underwear comically behind, and bolt toward the house. Jack follows after, jogging in human form.
I’m kind of surprised they all left me alone. But I guess the all really do want to make a good impression. When you’re competing with nine other men, you need to not screw up at all.
So why do I keep giving Lindon lots of chances when he doesn’t even try to please me? Easy, because he’s my friend and the first guy I’ve trusted or who has tried to take care of me in a long time.
But in a way, each of the men here has shown care or protectiveness toward me. Even Tom was just trying to warm me up in the spring, and Jack was probably just trying to make sure the brothers weren’t being overly aggressive.
I pull myself up out of the water, awkwardly throwing a leg up over the ground and rolling onto dry land. I make sure my pants are up and pull the belt as tight as it will go. Luckily I have curvy hips and Tim’s are lean, so it kind of works. Except for the length, that is. I sit up, wipe damp hair out of my face, and then stand, pulling my shirt away from my skin and shaking it to get excess water out.
I look up in the direction of the mansion. The sun is getting lower in the sky, and I’m sure they’re starting to get dinner ready and making plans for evening activities. A part of me is nervous and overwhelmed at the prospect of going back to the mansion. Another part is excited, ready to hear from Thor about the book, talk to Lock and see his smile, smell the various scents and endure Fifi’s teasing and Bradley’s quiet nature.
And then hands shove hard into my back, throwing me forward, flailing, into the hot water.
I land with a splash and flail as I sink. I can see a figure above me through the water but can’t make it out. I just know they’re staring. They did that on purpose and they aren’t going to help me. I grasp for the edge of the pool but can’t reach it. They pushed me too far out.
I close my eyes against the heat and try to kick my legs, but I accidentally take water in when I gasp and that just makes me lose control further as I sink in the water, dragged by the heavy, wet clothes and my own thrashing panic.
Float, I tell myself. Float you bastard, relax. But I can’t. My feet brush the bottom and I try to push off them to get up, but my head is going dark, my lungs screaming for air.
Damnit. Drowning. I can’t believe I’m drowning.
I guess there was a reason for Lindon to be protective after all. Too bad no one told me someone was trying to kill me.
My brain goes sort of calm as my lungs give up on breathing, and I let myself sink the water, somewhat delirious.
Maybe it doesn’t matter anymore.
My eyes hear that and fly open, and I make one more thrash for the surface. Then I feel for my wrist, for the watch, will it still work in the water? I press the button as it starts to go dark again.
Lindon, help.
* * *
* * *
To be continued in Alpha Contender 3. Turn the page for the next volume!
Alpha Contender 3
Copyright © 2015 by Terry Bolryder
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover Design by Melody Simmons of eBookindiecovers
Chapter 1
I hear a splash and my body feels vibrations in the water, murky though things are right now. Soft hands brush me, then reach under my arms and drag me toward the surface. When we break, my body sucks in air and I thrash, reaching around for whoever is holding me.
“Calm down, you idiot,” Matt says, as I flail around, dragging him down with me.
He wraps a thin arm around my shoulders, pulls me to the bank, and then drags my thrashing body out. He’s surprisingly strong for being so lean and feminine looking. I flop on the ground, gasping for air and coughing water up as he hits my back.
“What the hell were you doing?” he asks.
“I was. Drowning,” I say, between coughs.
“Well, what the hell were you doing in a hot spring if you can’t swim?”
“Someone pushed me,” I say, turning to him with narrowed eyes. I know he just rescued me, but my heart is still pounding from terror and fear and I don’t know for sure that he wasn’t the one who pushed me.
“Don’t look at me,” he says, holding his hands up, blinking light blue eyes at me. His face really is angelically beautiful, despite nearly always permanently scowling. “I was just coming back from a run to get away from the Neanderthals and happened to scent your fear.”
“Scent my fear?”
“I have strong senses. Your thrashing moved your scent around, even in the water. You’re lucky I came by.”
I try to push to a sitting position but slump back down, body aching and sore, head pounding. Right now I want nothing more than to be back in the mansion, in my room alone, recovering from today.
But someone…someone really did try to push me. I eye Matt, who looks away, a light blush on his pale cheekbones. Do I really trust him?
He turns back, and, not making eye contact, brushes a soft palm over my forehead, looks over my face. “You okay now? We should get you back.”
His voice is soft, melodic, a high tenor. He’s a gorgeous guy, with smooth, lean muscles. But he looks so much younger than the other guys.
“How old are you?”
He gives me a wry grin. “Old enough that you shouldn’t be asking me that.”
“Ah. Sorry, you just look young. I mean, not in a bad way…I mean, thanks for rescuing me.”
One perfect blond brow arches. “Well, you’re welcome.” He stands and reaches out a hand for me. “Come on, let’s go back, you can lean on me.”
Perhaps this means peace between us, at least for now.
“You know, you aren’t what I expected, for a chick who wants ten dudes to compete for her.”
“Ha! I didn’t ask for that. Rowan just found me and started spouting off about duty…and okay, hot dudes didn’t hurt,” I admit begrudgingly.
Matthew laughs at that, soft and low, and pulls me to standing. I wobble and he wraps a hand around my waist and pulls me against him for balance. My hands wrap his waist and I look up into his eyes. Delicately arched brows raise in surprise.
His scent is like honeysuckle, clean and fresh and springy. Floral. I love how each of them has their own scent, and I would know they were coming simply by scenting the air. I think good scenting ability might be one of my alpha powers, but I guess I’ll have to ask one of the others to make sure.
“Um…” Matt bites his lip. “Here, put your arm on my shoulder, I’ll hold onto your waist.”
I do. “Thanks.”
“But don’t get me wrong here. Don’t get the wrong idea.” Ah, his prickliness shows up, finally. “I’m not into you, I’m not here to mate you or be one of the beefcakes on display for the cho
osing.”
I laugh. “I like the way you put that. But yeah, no offense, but I’m not into you either.”
“Hmph,” he says. “Sure.”
“No really,” I say. “Nothing.”
“Really?” he eyes me with interest. “Interesting.”
I shrug. “Just nothing there. I’d be happy to have you as a friend though. Especially now that I know someone is trying to kill me.” A horrible thought occurs to me. “You don’t think it’s one of the men, do you?”
Matt sighs, a long, slow exhale. “Who else could it be?”
“Matt, don’t tell anyone. I don’t want everyone overreacting and jumping to conclusions about one another.”
“Heavens knows I don’t want to be involved,” he says. “The less I interact with those oafs, the better. But I really am here to report back to my father and the Tribunal. So I don’t know…”
“Just for a bit,” I say. “If the Tribunal knows they might do something about it, and we might lose our chance to find out who it is and what they want.”
“And if we don’t act, then someone might be able to murder you,” he says stuffily.
I pat him lightly on the back, too weak to do more. “Aw, Matt, you do care.”
He grumbles something and keeps us heading up the path. “I’m guessing you’re too tired to transform.”
“Yeah,” I say.
“You know, it’s too bad. Back when we were much more pure wolf, it would have been more tiring to be in human form. But now that we’re having such a hard time keeping pure bloodlines, people can barely stay as wolf form unless they’ve been getting used to it all their lives. What is the world coming to?”
“Yeah,” I say, semi-sarcastically. “What would the world be like without men who can change into animals?”
Normal, I think.
“Yeah,” Matt says. “Who would want that world?” I can hear the belief in his voice, and I can’t help but admire that conviction, plus the straightness in his back as he helps me walk to the house, the integrity he had to tell me his purposes and agree to keep my secrets.
He’s only a few inches taller than me but is almost holding my full weight, despite being much more slender than me.
It’s probably good he’s not interested. Someone like him would probably make me feel fat. I frown at that, and then flick my eyes to a bolt of golden silver, racing toward us across the lawn in the distance, past the tree line.
Flying like a bullet on the wind.
I’ve never seen him in his wolf form, but I know exactly who it is, from the long, desperate strides and the glittering beauty of his fur, white and yellow gold with flashes of silver.
Lindon. I bite my lip and watch him approach, folding my arms over my chest and wondering how mad he’s going to be. And yet, a part of me can’t help but think that it’s all because he cares about me. I mean, why would he be so stressed, so upset, over someone he barely knows being with another dude?
Matt’s arm tightens around me, a silent show of support, just another thing making me think Matt isn’t as bad as he tries to seem sometimes.
Lindon stops in front of us, breathing hard. His wolf eyes are bright silver, shimmering in the afternoon light, and he looks up at me with a silent question in his eyes.
I nod. “I’m fine.”
He looks to Matt.
“He rescued me,” I say. “Someone pushed me in the pool.”
He looks down and those silver eyes darken to stormy gray. He walks up to me and gets in front of me. A giant wolf that comes past my waist. He gives me an expectant look.
Wait, he couldn’t possibly want…
“Oh my gosh, I can’t believe he’s going to let you ride him. A human…hell,” Matt says, releasing me and looking disgusted.
Ride? Ride Lindon? Could he really bear my weight?
“I don’t know, Lindon, I’m kind of heavy…”
A low growl sounds from his chest and I sigh and put my hands in his soft fur and pull myself over him, molding myself to his back and wrapping my hands around his neck.
If someone had told me a year ago that I’d be riding back to a mansion on the back of a giant wolf who is actually the man I’m getting a crush on, I’d have told them to stop telling lies too ridiculous to be believed. Now that lie is my life.
“Alright, I’m ready,” I murmur, stroking his fur. He growls again, and I can almost sense the disapproval that’s coming for me leaving my room and running away alone out here and having to press the button. But at least he cares.
He takes off running, and I hold on tight, trying to adjust my body to his smooth but galloping gait. The world around me is a blur, and then I see a red wolf running next to us. It looks over, running the same speed, and I see blue eyes shimmering against the dark red fur. Can that be Matt?
I shake my head and look forward, leaning low over Lindon. He’s so strong, his wolf form is so large, and right now, despite the speed we’re going, I feel completely safe.
I always feel safe with Lindon. Whether he’s kissing me silly or explaining the wolf world or getting mad at me for what I’m doing that he considers stupid, it’s nice to just have one person here that I know I can trust.
One person with no ulterior motives. I hold on tight and close my eyes, enjoying the wind on my back as we make our way back to the mansion.
Chapter 2
When we get there, Lindon gently sits and drops me off, and then disappears around the side of the house for a second. I wait, arms folded around myself as Matt goes into the house. Lindon reappears, fully clothed, but sweaty and damp from exertion, wearing a simple tee shirt that’s tight over his chest and arms and a pair of low slung, designer dark jeans ripped at the knees. An interesting look for him.
He doesn’t say anything, just keeps his lips pressed tight together and bends to swoop me up in his arms.
I’m shivering as he holds me in a ball against his chest, and despite being a curvy girl, I feel vulnerable and small against him. But I also feel like he’d never allow anything to happen to me. A few weeks ago I was so independent and was fine without any man to take care of me. But that all changed when I came to this new and somewhat threatening world.
“Lindon?” I ask tentatively, as he shifts me in his arms to get the door open. He carries me through the living room past the eyes of some curious wolves and up the stairs. He doesn’t stop until he gets to his room.
“Shh…you’re freezing,” he says. The door to his room is slightly ajar and he kicks it and pushes past it. He dumps me unceremoniously on the bed and then locks the door to the bedroom and goes into the bathroom. He comes out and tosses me a towel. “Get out of your wet clothes and put that on.”
“Lindon,” I say, wanting to tell him about the person I saw at the hot spring, wanting to interrupt him to tell him someone was trying to kill me.
“We’ll talk when you’re warm,” he says, not meeting my eyes. “Save your strength.”
“But…”
“Misty,” he says, shoving a hand through his short hair and looking frustrated. “Just wait a damn second, okay?”
I close my mouth, feeling slightly hurt by the terseness. I mean, I almost died. I want to talk about it. And why do I feel like he’s avoiding me. “Lindon…”
But he isn’t listening, I can hear water running into a tub in the bathroom.
“Lindon, you’ve gotta be kidding if you think I’m going to take a bath with you around.”
“I won’t look,” he says. “Tell you what, we’ll put bubbles in and then you know I can’t see either way.”
“I…”
“Oh come on, Misty. Don’t be shy now. Not after what we’ve done together.”
I pout. “Kissing? What does that have to do with you seeing me naked?”
“Nothing, I guess, but I didn’t think you’d be such a prude. I mean, considering you were so happy to kiss someone who you knew wasn’t even in the running for a mate.”
I wince at t
hat. I mean, maybe I just deep down didn’t really believe that he wasn’t in the running. Somehow I feel like I’m more likely to believe it now.
It feels like he’s distancing himself from me.
He shuts the door to the bathroom that connects to his bedroom. When I’m sure no one can see, I slowly start to strip off Tim and Tom’s clothing. I eye the bathroom door resentfully as I change.
He’s just not acting the way he normally does when he rescues me. It’s almost like he’s pretending nothing happened.
Maybe he thinks that’s what drove me from the window. Maybe he’s just too angry to face me right now.
I wrap the towel under my arms and since it’s huge and plush it comes nearly to my waist. I bet it covers a lot less of Lindon. The thought makes me blush.
“You ready?” I ask. “I’m changed.”
The door opens in answer. “Great, come in.”
When I walk in, my mouth falls open at the beautiful decor. Sparkling light granite graces the counters, and white tiles cover the floor, soft and glassy beneath my feet. The fixtures are gleaming chrome and there are little porcelain seashell decorations around the sinks. A beautiful painting of a beach at sunrise hangs over the tub.
Oh, the tub. So huge. Big enough for three people, with bubbles rising up like an extra foam latte. I’ll probably have to move them somewhat just to be able to breathe. The tub is white and seashell-shaped, and probably has jets.
“Are you okay?” I ask. “Do you need to bathe too?”
He laughs, face slightly red. “No, I’m tired, as usual lately, but I wasn’t the one dunked and then running around nearly naked in early fall weather.”
“Or late summer.”
“Potato, Potahto,” he replies.
“Besides, I wasn’t naked. I had clothing from Tim and Tom.”
He turns away (sitting on a chair that he must have brought in) and faces toward the large shower area. “I saw that. But wet clothes are almost worse. You know, for staying cold. Why were you wearing those anyway?”
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