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Dio just laughed at me again, as my mouth fell open and realization set in.
Holy freaking cow balls.I’d built myself a nest.
thirteen
Wereachedtheslightbend in the river where the rushing waters ebbed, the spot I had directed Sam towards. I had signaled to the workers watching the gate that we were going through and unlocked the lower gate when we reached the fence line.
It broke all our protocols, going outside the fence at night, but this was necessary. I could have taken Sam to the millpond, but it was too close to Damon’s cabin where Maia was going through her heat. The women keeping watch for lurking alphas outside didn’t need to hear or see Sam right now.
One of the new alphas from Sam’s team had gotten turned around and came down the wrong path near the cabin earlier. GG had whacked him with a broom and chased him off. The poor guy had been so rattled, he refused to go anywhere remotely near the cabin again.
I could also have taken Sam to the hot spring, but it wouldn’t have had the same effect. Sam didn’t need a relaxing bath. He needed a shock to his system. The river came straight down from the nearby mountains, and the water was cold now that the weather had turned and the nights were cooler.
Sam had stalked the entire way here like the devil was riding him hard. Fists clenched and growling to himself. Or maybe he was growling at me. I didn’t give a shit, though.
“Strip and get in the river,” I demanded, standing steadfast with my arms crossed and giving him my best steely glare. I’d perfected it over the years, so it worked with both angry alphas and cocky cadets who thought they knew everything.
“What? You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Sam snarled while glowering right back at me.
I just smiled, like I had all the time and patience in the world. I’d learned a long time ago never to react to an alpha’s tantrum with anger or fear. Both riled up an out-of-control alpha even further. Ignoring their growling, like it had no effect on you, worked much better.
Many people whispered about my ability to bring a raging alpha to heel, particularly Damon. Most betas took one glance at him when he was angry and fled. I had no flashy tricks or secret superpowers, despite the rumors. Although, that would be cool. The truth was incredibly boring. I just earned their trust and respect before I tried to intervene in a situation with them.
I hadn’t had time to do that with Sam yet, but I was banking on his need to win over Lexie and my close connection to her. Pissing me off was not in his best interests right now. He knew it, too, despite the pheromone fuelled swing he took at me earlier when he first scented her.
“You heard me, pup. Now.”
“Stop calling me pup, for fuck’s sake.”
“I’ll stop calling you pup when you stop acting like one. Now get in the water.”
Sam muttered angrily to himself as he stripped, but he did as I asked. He needed help, and he knew it. Holding on to his riled up beast while his dominance leaked everywhere was like trying to grab water.
I could feel his dominance pushing at me, but I stood firm. I sensed he didn’t want to be this angry, raging beast, the same way Damon hadn’t wanted to be a cold, controlled beast that locked his emotions away.
Neither of them had any idea how to channel their overpowering dominance in a more positive way. I didn’t really either, but I knew how to snap them out of a tailspin and get them to focus on their coping mechanisms.
“Fuck. It’s freezing. I’m not sticking my balls in there. They’ll fall off,” Sam growled as he splashed into knee deep water, but stayed close to the edge.
“Do you want to be out of control, in a rage spiral every time you talk to Lex or catch her scent?”
Sam just glared at me, but he shut up.
“Not that you’ll get anywhere near her in this state, because Bear and I will stand between you until you get your shit together.” Bear whuffed, as if he agreed, from where he was standing at my side.
Bear was still on high alert and hadn’t taken his eyes off the alpha bristling with rage in front of us. It didn’t bode well for Sam. I knew Lex placed a lot of faith in Bear’s instincts about people.
“I don’t know if you realize this, but I’m not the one you need to convince. If Bear doesn’t like you, Lex will never give you a chance. She trusts Bear more than she trusts most people. And right now, he’s sending you serious fuck off vibes.”
I saw Sam’s eyes flicker to the dog with concern and Bear let out a well-timed growl. It wasn’t the ‘I’m going to bite your face off if you take one step closer,’ growl from earlier. He’d relaxed slightly since Sam had moved away from Lexie. It was now more of a ‘just try me, asshole,’ growl.
“You’ll get in up to your waist, plant your feet, then dunk your entire body. Hold it for five seconds, then surface. You can do that five times and we’ll see if we need to go for ten seconds.
Sam turned and waded into the water while clenching his whole body so hard I could even see his ass cheeks pinched in. I almost laughed, but I didn’t want to set him off right now.
I’d give him credit. Sam stopped when he was waist deep, then dunked himself for five seconds, following the routine I had set precisely. A beta would risk hypothermia right now, but alphas ran hotter and had more stamina. Sam could handle it.
He surfaced after the fifth dunk and I asked, “Well?”
