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“Uh, what do you talk to everyone else about?”
“Family and kinks. Pick your poison.”
She stares back at me for a long beat before her head drops to one side. It’s obvious from her assessing gaze that she’s wondering if I’m serious until she finally realizes I am.
“Family it is, then. I have a younger brother who’s only five. He came as a huge surprise to us all but was the biggest blessing our family could’ve had. My mum is an Omega and my father’s an Alpha, of course, though he’s never felt like one to me.”
Odd, but not unheard of. There are Alphas out there who don’t display the usual traits, at least, not as obviously.
“They’re not part of a pack outside our family and you guys are the only Alphas outside of family I’ve ever spent time with.”
I’m an excellent rider, but I’m so surprised that I nearly fall off my horse. “Is that true?”
“Yes. How about your family? Or would you rather discuss your kinks?”
She’s so frank about it that I once again come close to a very ungraceful dismount. Thankfully, I recover before I lose my balance. I can’t hold back the laughter that rises from deep within me, though.She’s definitely something, this one.
“Okay, let’s do family first,” I say. “My mum is an Omega as well. My two fathers are Alphas. I have three sisters, all of whom still live in Munich with our parents.”
“How did you end up here, then?”
“Not a royalist, then?” I tease.
Surprisingly, she rolls her eyes at me. “I don’t subscribe to the magazine if that’s what you’re asking. I did some light reading when I was selected, though.”
Another surprise.
“But I don’t believe everything I read. I’d rather hear the truth directly from you.”
“Refreshing,” I say honestly. “Okay, well, the basics are that I came to court for the first time when I was thirteen. My dad and the king are old friends, so we were invited for a visit. Kaz and I became fast friends and we were pretty much inseparable. Eventually, just before my sixteenth birthday, after Tai joined the picture, we begged the parentals to let me move here permanently. Everyone knew how well we got along, so they agreed, and they arranged for me to live here as a mentorship of sorts. We went through our first rut together.”
I flush scarlet.
“And then, uh,” I clear my throat. “I guess you decided to form a pack?”
I nod, looking directly into those eyes again, and I have the most ridiculous urge to tackle her off that horse and mount her myself.
A slow smile spreads on her lips as she stares back at me. Then the bushes rustle nearby and it must spook Sergeant Pepper because the next thing I know, the horse takes off and Maddie dives down to crush her chest to his neck, holding on with everything she’s got as she lets out a strangled cry.
“Fuck,” I mutter.I knew the horses have been under too much strain.
A little field mouse or squirrel wouldn’t ordinarily have affected him quite as much, but…fuck. I curse, spurring White Lady as we watch Sergeant take off at a wild sprint.
“C’mon! Let’s go, girl. Move!”
Digging my heels into Lady White’s sides, I race after them, calling out to the Sergeant as the wind whips through my hair and my mount’s hooves pound into the ground. “Whoa, boy. It’s okay. Calm down. Whoa!”
Just as we’re drawing up beside them, I reach for the reins, but the Sergeant has other ideas, suddenly rearing and throwing Maddie right off his back. Panic nearly incapacitates me, but I manage to yank on Lady White’s reins. I’m off her back before she’s even fully stopped, running toward Maddie.
My heart feels like it’s about to fly right out of my chest. Rivulets of sweat run down my spine.
“Are you okay?” My knees hit the ground beside her, and I reach for her with shaking hands.
She’s lying flat on her back on the ground. Frantically searching the dirt around her, I’m so relieved when I don’t see any blood that I feel dizzy.
Her eyes open, and she winces, but then she lets out a low groan and nods. “I-I’m fine. Just bruised, I think.”
“Wait! You shouldn’t move. I’ll call for help.”
