Page 72 of The Alpha’s Heir

I stared pointedly at the slippers on his feet. “You can come.”

“No thank you.” He scoffed. “But hurry back.”

The night air cooled rapidly from the heat of the day—a drastic drop compared to the controlled temperatures of Ethica—and the freshness of it iced my lungs.

Although the clouds threatened more rain, none had broken all day. The air hung thick in a way that made it feel more alive than I’d ever tasted.

Inclines and divots in the earth gave me obstacles I’d never run before, and my muscles burned with the exertion as I pushed them harder. The strange thought of how our ancient ancestors must’ve lived and the landscape of stories that never quite fit my imagination all seemed to take better shape now.

I wished I could enjoy it more.

Everything in me was wound so tight that even the run couldn’t work it out. I knew Justus could be a lot to handle at times, but this level of aggression was excessive. The need to run faster, work harder. To fight something. To… Fuck.

Maybe that’s what I needed. It’d been a while since I got laid. But the thought of gripping anyone tight—anyone that wasn’t her—had an unreal rage twisting my insides.

I’d never been jealous of Justus.

As a general rule, I’d understood our differences in class and station from an early age. Back when Dad used to work for his family, and I’d grown up playing in the backyard when my father couldn’t find childcare. I think the only reason Helen let me stay was that none of the other families on the street had kids.

Justus had the best toys. The best food. He went on fancy trips and wore designer clothes. And I honestly never felt like he had more than me, until today.

He was a fool for not appreciating the gift he was being given.

I turned my face to the sky as I ran, trying to peer through the fat gray clouds as if I could actually see these gods above that had damned Meg and Justus.

It was still hard to believe that this was the ultimate plan. I knew the stories of the gods—their tricks and games. Mortals were toys to them, and they often went back on their word. No one had listened to me in Ethica when I’d tried to tell them we were being played.

I was just a soldier. What did I know about the gods and their plans?

Honestly, what did any of us know? Especially the humans. We were so far removed from the stories of our history that it seemed we were doomed to repeat them. The division between science and magic, purists and shifters, between citizens and lower-class, rich and poor, us and them…

I could see why the gods were angry enough to wake again.

But these thoughts were useless. All they served to do was open a chasm in my chest I couldn’t fill no matter how hard I pushed myself.

At the top of the hill opposite the road we’d come on, I paused to see Marcus watching me with binoculars. I gave him a short wave, motioning to the cabin below, and turned to push myself further up the incline of the mountain.

My calves and lungs burned. It still wasn’t enough to chase away the frustration that crawled like ants just under my skin.

I ran harder, taking a smaller path to the right that led into the trees. I didn’t know where I was going, only that if I could push myself a bit further than I might be able to outrun the pulsing in my head.

A female cried out.

I stopped dead in my tracks, panting. I could’ve sworn I heard that voice. It was a piercing scream. A cry of pain. I turned in a circle, not quite sure how I’d ended up here in the clearing of the forest with the stillness of the trees above.

All my instincts were telling me to keep moving forward. To stay on this path. I fought against them, taking a step back in the direction I’d come from. I’d gone too far away from Justus. He was my charge. My mission. It was my job to keep him safe.

Another scream had me bolting down the path and forgetting all sense of duty.

The trail burst into a wide field in the crook of the mountain where the trees thinned and jagged rocky cliffs loomed ahead.

Two women sat in the field near a firepit, and I slid to a stop as they both turned my way.

Her eyes.

I had to do a double-take as the first woman looked at me. Her eyes were just like Meg’s eyes, but different somehow. Colder. Sharper. Her hair was longer too. It took me a minute to remember she’d been with Meg in the auditorium the day she’d come crashing into my life.

Meg’s sister. I’d never gotten her name.