Page 30 of Savage Games

She fixes me with a hard look.“I'd watch your back around Brad.The way he looks at you..."She shivers theatrically, and with that bombshell dropped, Amy steps aside, finally unblocking the path.

"I think I'll run out to the communal showers," I say, needing space to process what I've just learned.What the hell is the stars rule?Nothing good, I’m sure."I'm still all gross after my workout, and I can't wait to get this sweat off me."I pull the thin vest I'm wearing away from my clammy skin for effect and grimace.

Dashing out the front door, I hold my bath towel to my chest and hurry toward the shower block.Because now I'm not just worried about my sister and myself, I'm worried about what two ruthless alphas with something to prove might plan for Wyatt.

11

Wyatt

Naomi is pulling away from me, but I can feel her wolf’s pain as vividly as my own, like a dull, gnawing ache deep in my gut.

I might not be great with words, or be experienced dealing with women, but I’m not an idiot.Naomi has been slipping through my fingers, and no matter how much space I give her, she keeps running even further.And it’s killing me.

It wasn't meant to work this way, fated mates are drawn together, not driven apart.Every instinct I have screams that something is wrong, and that she needs me, even as she pushes me away.

But my wolf is determined not to let her.There’s more to this than a mere change of heart, and try as she might, I’m not going to let my mate hide from me.

So when I catch sight of her headed toward the shower block with her shoulders slumped and her expression bleak, I don’t think.I follow.Maybe this is utter stupidity.She could reject me if she’s feeling as conflicted as the roiling, ever-shifting storm of emotions I’m getting blasted with leads me to believe.

As I trail her to the single storey, white building, she doesn’t look back.She doesn’t even acknowledge me, but she knows I’m here.

“Naomi.”Her name slips from my lips as my wolf howls inside, unable to understand why our mate is ignoring us.He’s spent years being shunned by almost everyone we meet, but this, from the one who’s supposed to be there for us no matter what, cuts deeper than all others combined.

I share his frustration, but where I have patience, he has none.

She stops, conflicted, like she wants to come to me, but only for a second.Then she continues moving, her dark hair swaying with each hurried step, pretending she didn’t hear me.She rushes into the ladies’ shower room, like the little stick figure on the door offers her some sort of protection from a determined alpha male on a mission.Her scent draws me in like a lure.

There’s no way I could turn and leave, even if I wanted to.I might pride myself on being a gentleman, but the mating bond is strong and primal.Just like my wolf.

Does she really think I’m going to stay away?

The beast inside me bristles at the snub as the door swings shut behind her.He’s hurt, but also angry, and demanding I not let her shut us out.I’ve dreamt of having a mate, and the memories of the intimate moments we’ve had at the competition are burned so clearly in my mind that I know I’ll never be able to let her go.

So I don’t.

I step inside the door, putting a cleaning sign outside, and shut it firmly behind me.I don’t walk right into the shower unannounced, but I’m also not letting her out of here until she talks to me.

When the water turns on, the noise of splashing water and rising steam filling the air, I curse her stubbornness.

Is she really just going to carry on and ignore my presence?

The small changing area is empty except for her clothes, folded neatly on a bench.Naomi's scent envelops me, now mingling with the steam.It takes every ounce of willpower not to follow it directly to its source.

Instead, I wait, pacing the tiled floor, my reflection fragmented in the row of mirrors along one wall.

“I know you can hear me.”My words come out rougher than I intend, but I don’t care.The idea of her naked just around the corner is playing havoc with my senses.

Is that a hint of her arousal being carried on the steam?

It wraps around me, setting my pulse racing, and shoots my libido through the roof.It’s like she’s touching me, caressing me all over, as I breathe her in.I close my eyes when the steam places layer after layer of her smell on my skin.

Gritting my teeth, I ignore the tightness in my pants, and the images my imagination conjures of my mate, slippery and wet, soaping up and stroking every inch of her skin.

Trying to convince my wolf to show restraint, I open my eyes.I’ve moved, it seems, my feet taking me of their own accord, to the entrance of the shower area.

Standing under a steady stream of water with her back to me is my mate.

My breath hitches at the sight of her, rivers of hot water run down over her curves, and her beautiful face tilts up to the flowing water.Her torso, with a slim waist, flares out to curvy hips and a luscious ass, on full display, and I take my time memorising this vision.Her long, toned legs.A hint of her breasts, the swell just visible from the side, as she wraps an arm across her chest to hide them from me.

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