Page 41 of Claimed By the Alpha Wolves

I don’t know how it happened so fast, but within seconds the entire ballroom descends into madness. It’s a food fight that no one can escape from. I get hit by cake from every direction, untilEzra and Cayson pull me under the table, and we all hide out as the war rages.

Looking at them in horror, I ask, “What were you thinking?”

“Those guys were asses,” Cayson tells me nonchalantly.

I look at Ezra, expecting more maturity, but he just shrugs. “Big asses.”

“I just–I–”What am I even supposed to say?

But instead of saying anything, I picture Robin’s and Jace’s faces when they were covered in cake and icing, and I start laughing. And once I start laughing, I can’t stop. Reaching over, I pick cake out of Ezra’s hair, and then some off of Cayson’s face.

“You two are absolutely insane.”

Cayson grins at me. “And you love it.”

Maybe I do.It certainly makes life more interesting.

EIGHTEEN

Cayson

It’s the next morning after the food fight, and our subsequent lecture from the ultimas about proper behavior at The Selection.The weather is absolutely perfect outside, I can’t help but think as I walk through the stables, stopping in front of a particularly beautiful black horse.It seems like a great day to seduce a beautiful woman, but sometimes, seduction takes planning.

Glancing around and pulling an apple from my pocket, I say, “Here you go, girl.”

I took the apple from the breakfast table, knowing we would be riding today, and knowing these horses don’t get nearly enough love.If I wasn’t a wolf, I’d think horses were my spirit animal.The horse looks at me skeptically for a moment, then takes the apple in a single bite, chomping it noisily. I grin and pat her neck, wishing I had stolen more apples.

“That girl is actually a male horse,” a man says, coming around the side of the stable.

I direct my grin at him instead, holding up my hands to him like we’re long-lost friends. My smile instantly puts him at ease and the short beta’s face relaxes, and the tension in his body calms, if only by a little bit. I actually don’t blame him for beingimmediately on edge after seeing an alpha in his territory. A lot of us are complete shitheads.

“Reginald,” I say casually, even though we’d only met once before, “My man, thank you so much for meeting up with me.”

“Come on,” he says, glancing around impatiently, probably nervous about getting caught. “Let’s just get this over with before someone sees us.”

“No worries, my man,” I say, pulling out the money from my pocket. I slip it to him, and he quickly hides it away in his jacket. “Discretion is key. I get that. Listen—Faye, got it? She’s the one wearing the yellow blouse. With the flowers.” Reginald nods and starts to pull away, but I reach out and grab his arm, wanting to express how important this is to me. “No, listen, there’s another girl here named Felice. Do not get it mixed up, alright?Faye.”

Reginald yanks his arm away from me, a look of disgust passing over his features. I’m sure he’s thinking he wishes he didn’t have to stoop to such extremes, but he’s the one with the drinking problem and not enough money to fuel the habit. I’m just the one taking advantage of a good situation when I see one.

“I got it,” he says, annoyance in his voice.

You’d think this was his first time fixing a game.

“Good man.”

He lifts a brow. “Shouldn’t you head back to the others?”

I should.“Of course. Of course. Thanks again.” Then I stride back out of the stables, probably with less discretion than I should.

But then again, I think I’d be more suspicious slinking around.

When I round the corner, I see all the omegas and alphas hanging out in a clearing near the stables. Even though there are far too many people, I find Faye right away, and she instantly takes my breath away. She’s standing with her head held high next to another omega. Like the others, she’s wearing ridingleathers, but her blouse is yellow with small flowers stitched into it.

Even from here, I can see how the clothes hug Faye’s body, showing that she has more curves than the dresses let on. Of course, I could feel those curves when I had my hands on her body in the water the other night. But it’s a completely new thing, seeing them in the light of day.

Not that I minded the dresses either.

Earlier, at breakfast, she was wearing a pale green dress with a high neckline. It was cute and sexy all at the same time, and all I wanted to do was run my hands along her waist and tuck her into my side. Maybe finally get to taste those full lips of hers…

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