Page 3 of The Alpha Option
The dark-haired man swiveled his head toward her. “You okay?”
The jerk on the floor responded before Cassidy could. “She’s fine. And the other one’s got a set of lungs on her like an aspiring tuba player.”
“She wasn’t the only one we heard shouting,” surfer dude taunted before patting his blue-jeaned friend on the shoulder. “I know Marvin. You want me to take care of him while you talk to the ladies?”
“Good idea,” the man in blue said.
Cassidy didn’t think so. “While I’m very happy to not be facing a potential safety risk, not to mention how unsanitary it is having a naked man in my kitchen, nobody is solving anything without me knowing all the details. This is my place—”
“—and mine,” Stephanie inserted, attempting to suppress the quiver in her voice. “And I don’t like naked or unsanitary people in my kitchen, either.”
“Thank you, Stephanie. You’re completely correct. It’s your place too.” Cassidy turned back to the three men who lay motionless like some strange Greek tableau. “If you will pleaseallleave through the kitchen door. Anyone who is naked and wants to be part of the conversation can put some clothes on. We’ll resume discussion by the firepit in five minutes.”
She caught Stephanie by the arm, and the two of them retreated to the safety of their car.
Only after the doors were locked did Cassidy allow herself to rest her forehead on the steering wheel and take a steadying breath.
Stephanie went the other direction, tilting the seat back as far as possible, which was not far considering the amount of stuff shoved in the back seat. She let her head fall against the headrest and sighed enormously. “Okay. That was unexpected.”
Silence fell. Cassidy glanced at Steph to discover her friend peeking over at the exact moment. Lips twitched, then they both burst into laughter.
Amusement faded quickly, though. Everything about this situation was unexpected. “I guess winning an eco-lodge in a lottery is not without a few quirks.”
Stephanie examined Cassidy, her bright blue eyes dulled with concern. “Is this going to work? Because this kind of has to work.”
“It’ll work,” Cassidy assured her.
“Stacy needs somewhere for the kids, and I’ve already put all my money toward setting up a new spa here.”
Cassidy laid a hand on her friend’s arm. “It’ll work. I promise.”
Even if Cassidy had to sell her soul to make that happen.
All three of them needed something new and positive in their lives. While the lottery to win the lodge had seemed too good to be true, actually winning was even stranger. For better or worse, they’d done the four-day drive, and now they were here in Jasper, and this was where they were staying.
Cassidy stiffened her spine and lifted her chin. “You okay to come talk to them, or do you want me to do it by myself?”
Steph shook her head. “I’m coming with you. I represent not only me but Stacy as well, so I’d better suck it up and do this thing.” She paused, opened the glove box, and pulled out a narrow metal tube she popped into her pocket. “Now I’m ready.”
Cassidy grinned. “Please don’t use that bear spray on anybody unless you absolutely need to.”
“Then they better not mess with us. Because I’m armed and not afraid to use it.” The evil glint in her friend’s eye said she wasn’t kidding.
To tell the truth, at this point, neither was Cassidy.
2
The women were gone before Jace had time to say another word. Which was good on one level because everything in him had shot to high alert, and not only because there were random people in his auntie’s house.
The scent ofherlingered—the petite brunette with the attitude and the killer legs—and his wolf sat up and paid attention.
Not right now, Jace warned himself.Don’t get distracted when there’s still a potentially dangerous situation to deal with.
Thankfully, the brute of a man he and Blue had pinned to the ground didn’t throw up a fuss. “You gonna get off me sometime, or are we going steady now?” he grumbled.
Blue gave the man a slap upside the head as they all rolled to their feet. “What the hell, Marvin?”
Jeez, the man was a big bruiser. Definitely a shifter, although it took a moment for Jace to figure out what kind. “Why is there a moose shifter in Auntie Rachel’s lodge?” he asked Blue.
