Page 9 of The Brooding Alpha's Mate
“Nothing.” Damn it. I hadn’t meant to say that out loud. Sooner than later, if the man wasn’t my alpha, then I would have to alert this paramedic that Dean was holding me hostage—keeping me prisoner.
I had to tell someone.
I’d be damned if I was going to be traded like chips on a poker table—like cash money. I had worth beyond what I’d been sold for or what I could do for other people.
I had an alpha out there. Before all of this happened, for a split second, I’d scented him. Clear as day.
“How is your head feeling?” he asked. “Colson?” The paramedic put his hand on my forearm. A growl came from behind him. The paramedic chuckled.
What was he laughing at? Me?
“Yes. I’m dizzy. I can’t…everything is fuzzy.”
“Do you want to go to the hospital or…” The person looked over his shoulder at the man who hadn’t stopped staring at me since I got my senses—well, most of them.
“I hate hospitals. But I can’t…not with the lion.” I moved to make sure the man knew I was talking to him. My nose picked up a new scent. A bear. The man that saved me was a bear. “Can you take me somewhere else? Please?”
The man stalked over and before I could say anything else, wrapped me up in his embrace. His scent overwhelmed me. The oak and amber were back, flooding my system. What had been a bit of dizziness now enveloped me. My shoulder hurt. My body felt limp in his embrace. The edges of my vision blurred before darkness took me.
At least, if I was going to die, it would be in my alpha’s arms.
My bear alpha’s arms.
I rolled over and my shoulder burned. Shit. Another day of serving the lions. Perfect.
Wait a damned minute.
“Good morning,” a bass voice said. My wolf woke up inside me and howled.
Opening my eyes, I looked around. I was in a room with white ceilings. I lay on a double bed with soft, comfortable blankets and I was naked except for my boxer briefs.
“Where am I?” I asked, trying and failing to sit up.
“Here. Let me help you.” Rough hands grabbed me on either side of my waist and gently, slowly, I was moved to sit up in the bed. The alpha leaned down and then sat next to me. Goddess, he was the most handsome man I’d ever met. Dark-brown hair, even darker eyes. And enough tattoos to single-handedly fund a tattoo parlor for a year.
I pulled the comforter over my groin to hide my hard-on. It was morning and there was a beautiful man in front of me. Sue me.
“Thank you. Who are you?”
He chuckled low, making the bed move with his laughter. “My name is Alex. I helped you out of your situation.”
“You saved me.” Alex was modest, but I wanted to clearly define what he’d done. Not only had he rushed me away from the fumes and chemicals, but he’d freed me from my prison. I bet he didn’t realize the depth of what he’d done.
He’d changed my life forever.
“Yes. How could I not?” We shared a gaze. My skin broke out with goose bumps at his perusal. I wanted to be under his gaze always.
“Thank you.”
“Your name is Colson.”
I nodded. “It is.”
“How about some breakfast, Colson, and then we can talk?”
“That would be great. I’m starving.”
He grunted. “Yeah. And for a while, judging by your scent and your ribs sticking through your skin.”
