Page 20 of Forced Alpha Bride
“I’m the alpha,” I hiss, glaring at her. “I can do whatever the fuck I want.”
I turn around and run through Krista’s room, shifting as I leap through the window. When my paws crunch against the light layer of snow, Winnie’s scent rises around me, faint but rich and sweet, drawing me forward up the mountain.
I hear my boys coming through the window behind me, and for a while, the thrill of racing into the mountains consumes me. My wolf lives for this feeling—the pack hunting together on the slopes, free and wild, without the tangle of human emotions.
Urgency begins to trickle through me, though, and it’s got nothing to do with my human side.
My wolf wants Winnie just as badly as I do.
The icy, howling wind suddenly changes direction, hurling a cloud of snow into my face. I stop to look around, and that’s when I realize the blizzard is almost on top of us.
That’s why my wolf was starting to worry. We won’t find her in this!
Dismayed, I watch the clouds of ice and snow rolling towards us. This blizzard is huge, and if we get stuck out here, we might not survive it.
That means Winnie wouldn’t, either.
Fear strikes through my chest at the idea of losing her so completely. My mind is running with images of what it’s going to be like when she finally trusts me. I can almost feel her soft skinunder my fingers, the hot rush of her breath on my cheek when she screams for me.
“Boss,” Flint says, appearing at my shoulder. “I’ve lost the scent.”
“So have I,” Dylan agrees. “I haven’t had a clear trail for a while now.”
I tilt my head and sniff, getting only a noseful of snow for my trouble. I shake my head and snort, trying to catch her scent again.
“Boss,” Flint says softly. “We should go back.”
“No!” I yell. “You can go back if you want. I’m staying out here until I find her.”
“You’ll never find her in this!” Dylan cries. “We have other guys out here, too. Would you really put all of them at risk?”
A snarl rips through my teeth, and I turn on Dylan so fast, he jumps and falls over in the snow.
“Leave then,” I mutter. “You fucking cowards. See if I care what you do.”
Flint and Dylan share a look, and I know it well. I didn’t become the leader by pussy-footing around and making the others kiss my ass. I rule with an iron will and swift judgment, punishing anyone who defies me.
It doesn’t hurt that I’m well-known for my quick temper as well.
“Okay, boss,” Flint says, fading back into the snow. “Whatever you say.”
I stand still as they slink away, stretching out my senses and trying to get my bearings. Even in such a heavy storm, I havea strong sense of where I am, and I’m not really worried about getting lost.
I am worried about dying of exposure… because I will fucking die before I go back without her.
I decide to get to the next ridge, then head into the next tree line for cover. The snow is getting deep, and I have to leap through it as the blizzard rages above me, hurling ice down on my head.
By the time I get to the trees, despair is slowly overtaking me. I had so much hope just a few hours ago, and now it looks like I’m going to lose it all—my friends, the pack, and Winnie.
We’ll both die out here. She’ll never survive this storm. I can’t let that happen!
As I finally breach the trees and come into the relative stillness of the grove, I shake the snow off my fur and look around. The blizzard is so fierce, ice and wind are screaming into the dense scrub, and the bushes give almost no cover at all.
Then, I catch it. Just the smallest hint of Winnie’s scent. I tense up, tail high and ears pricked as I put my nose up to look for it again.
My heart sinks when I lose it again, but when I put my nose down to the forest floor, I pick it up again immediately. I focus all my senses on it, shutting out the howling wind and driving snow until the thin trail of Winnie’s scent is my whole world.
I follow it to a tiny, dense thicket. At first, I’m confused because it looks too small to hide in, but when I lay down and press my belly to the ground, a thick rush of her scent blows straight into my face.
