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Chapter 3- Alana
I blink. I open my mouth and say, “I-you, what?”
I narrow my eyes as I peer into Wesley’s. I obviously didn’t hear him right. He wants to look out for me? Does he not know who I am? I know that he’s new to the pack, but no one, in my entire twenty-two years, has offered to look out for me in this pack.
Kim is my best friend, and she’s never even offered to look out for me because she knows her limits. She doesn’t want to leave herself open to punches behind the cabins, dirt in her food, and rocks being pelted at her back when she goes to the bonfire.
I turn my head to one side and inhale. I hold my hands out in front of me and say, “You want to look out for me?”
Wesley’s smile is earnest as he nods and says, “Yeah. I want to look out for you. I’m new here, really new actually, but I want to look out for you. It seems like you’re having a hard time.”
I almost laugh at the massive understatement that is. I’ve had a hard time in this pack since I was born, and not a single soul has thought to lighten my load. I guess everyone needs a punching bag.
I wrap my arms around myself. The comfort of my own warmth spreads through me and I glance at the small cluster of women that are scanning us with hawk eyes. They’re probably wondering what a man this handsome wants with me.
“Listen, you don’t want to get involved with me. I’m kind of an outcast here. I’m kind oftheoutcast here. You don’t need to look out for me.”
He leans forward and sets his hand on mine. His massive hand eclipses mine, and I have to stop myself from relaxing into his touch.
Wesley’s grin stays in place as he says, “I’d like to. I’m going to. I hope you don’t mind.”
How could this go wrong for me? What punishment will I bring upon myself somehow by letting Wesley look after me? What does that even mean? Is he going to face off against Amina and her crew?
Wesley nods, having made up his mind. He stretches his arms over his head and says, “I think I’m going to tuck in early. I’ll probably go on a hunt tomorrow afternoon. I hope you’ll join me.”
He turns and leaves but not before winking at me. My heart skips a beat, both at the sexiness of his smile and the fear that one of the other women just saw that.
Maybe it doesn’t matter.
Maybe I’ll be okay because someone wants to look after me.
How does someone manage to make something as mundane as carrying wood look so delectable?
I watch as Wesley follows Harrison into the main cabin where the leaders hold their meetings, but he stops just in front of the bonfire and sets the new wood up to be burned.
The defined muscles in his arms flex as he grabs each piece of wood. From head to toe, this man is exquisite. We have plenty of handsome men in our pack, but it’s kind of hard to admire how attractive they are when they’re sneering at you.
No one has ever approached me to ask about courting me to be their mate. That is a luxury that I didn’t have as the runt of this pack. When girls were getting flirted with and doted on by some of the males in this pack, I was being shooed away from their cabin so that they could get down to business without someone like me stinking up the air.
“Alana? Alana? Staring at him won’t make him jump in your bed, you know.”
I jump and turn to my right. Kim is sitting beside me. Her long brown hair is fixed into a ponytail. Loose strands tickle the sides of her face, and she smiles and says, “I can’t help but notice that you haven’t taken your eyes off of the new guy.”
I feel heat creep across my cheeks. “He, um, he’s just different.”
Kim picks up a flower and begins to tear at it. Kim is probably one of the most confident women in this pack, but she still has her nervous habits. Compared to me, she’s a social butterfly. Kim has always done a great job of keeping to herself while keeping Amina and her lackeys off of her back. She’s never bent a knee to them, far too strong to allow them to overpower her. Kim is probably responsible for me not completely falling into a pool of self-pity.
“What’s so different about him?”
I shrug.
He wants to look after me.
I consider sharing this news with Kim. I know that my secret would be safe with her, but I don’t want to let someone else’s opinions change things for me. Wesley actuallyseesme. If this isn’t some kind of trick, it’s kind of a big deal for me.
“He’s… handsome.”
Kim laughs and says, “Yeah, it’s almost a requirement to be a big, tough, handsome male if you want to be in our pack.”
