Page 33 of Chased By My Grumpy Alpha
“Alpha Gareth sent those men here to kill me,” I mumble. “I’m not safe.”
“Your alpha sent them?” the man asks slowly, his eyes pinned on mine in a way that makes me feel something twist in my chest.
I swallow. “Yeah. And I’m sure he’s going to send more. Alpha Gareth doesn’t believe in leaving anything unfinished.” Weak laughter bubbles out of me as I sink onto my backside in the dirt. “I knew he hated me, but to actually try to have me killed?”
Then again, should it surprise me? He was going to send me to the Blue Crest Pack to die a painful death, after all.
I exhale slowly before turning my attention toward the stranger who rescued me. He doesn’t say anything, just sits there watching me.
The brooding type, huh?
But he is very skilled.
An idea is forming in the back of my head. I don’t know if it’s going to work, but it might, and I’m too desperate not to give it a try.
“From your clothes, it looks like you’re a mercenary.”
He blinks now. “What?” His eyes dart down to his dark outfit. “Why do you say that? Have you met many mercenaries before?”
I shrug. “No. But I’ve heard that rogue shifter mercenaries roam the forest. And mercenaries usually wear black clothes, right?”
He stares at me before slowly murmuring, “I suppose they do.”
“So, are you a mercenary?” I ask bluntly. Before he can respond, I quickly add, “I don’t have a lot of money, but I can give you everything I have.” I reach into my bag and bring out a small pouch. Emptying the coins from it, I count them. “Seventeen silver. You can have all of them if you can protect me till I reach Turnville. It’s a human settlement.”
His brows arch, nearly disappearing into his hairline. “You want to pay me to protect you?”
“Yes!” I nod, my head bobbing up and down enthusiastically. Leaning forward, I lower my voice. “There’s someone or something stalking me in these woods, so I really do need a strong bodyguard.”
“But you’re a shifter, aren’t you?”
I pause at his question, and the hand clenching the coins lowers to my lap. “Yes and no. I don’t have a wolf.”
He stiffens, and I immediately get to my feet. “If that’s a problem for you, I understand. I can find my way there—”
His arm shoots out, and his hand wraps around my wrist again, his eyes flashing strangely. “Did I say it was a problem?”
My lips press together into a thin line. “I just meant…I mean, I know shifters don’t like latent shifters, and I—”
“I don’t have a problem with what you are. You saved my life. I know how to repay a debt.”
I study him. “So, you’ll agree to help me?”
He nods.
I hold out the coins to him, only for him to shake his head. Before he can utter a word, I say fiercely, “I know the danger I’m in. Trust me. You deserve these for what’s to come.”
For a moment, I think I see a look of amusement in his eyes. But when I blink, it’s gone.
“Alright. But you can hold on to them till I get you to your destination.”
“Deal.” I pocket the coins and look around. “What do we do about the bodies? Should we bury them?”
A cruel glint enters the eyes of the man I’m paying to help provide me safe passage. “No. Let the wild animals feast on them. They don’t deserve a burial.”
I’m not a harsh person, but I can’t find it in myself to disagree.
Not this time.
