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“Stop,” I yelled frantically. I wanted the alpha to hurt, but I didn’t want him dead.
Sam and his friend both spun towards my voice in the same instinctive way they had earlier. But having their attention focussed solely on me while their dominance was running high and their pheromones saturated the air, intensified the impossible draw I felt towards them.
I gasped in a breath, then held it, trying not to breathe in any more of their scent. Battling my body to stay put and not fling myself at them recklessly. But fuck, I desperately wanted to lick them. Like an over excited puppy. Just get in there and slobber all over them like I had the right.
Not now. Please, not now.
I felt my head spin dizzily. I grabbed it, trying to anchor myself as waves of emotion battered me. Rampant desire with a tinge of fear, and an overwhelming urge to submit and bare my throat to them.
Sam’s friend reached out toward me and I hastily stepped back out of reach, causing him to hesitate. The world tilted crazily, and I heard myself moan as I dropped the bucket and lost my balance. It was too much. I couldn’t maintain my grasp on my surroundings. It felt as if gravity had shifted and every atom that made up who I was, had zeroed in on them.
Don’t pass out. Don’t you dare fucking pass out, girl. I cursed to myself in my head as I planted my feet and fiercely refused the siren call that grew stronger the more I resisted. I didn’t know what would happen if an alpha touched me right now. Especially one of these two alphas.
Sam’s friend lunged toward me suddenly as Sam dropped the alpha he was choking. I felt the ground rush toward me as the world tilted, trying to tip me forward. I heard Ava call out my name faintly, sounding far away, but a powerful pair of arms halted my fall. They scooped me up from behind and held me tight to a solid chest.
I closed my eyes momentarily and took a deep breath, finally. Trying to steady myself and control my body. I couldn’t scent an alpha. Instead, I got a lungful of musky, male beta. I relaxed slightly as I tilted my head slightly to look up.
A gorgeous head of salt and pepper hair framed a set of deep brown eyes that stared down at me with worry. The crease on his brow made the laugh lines around his eyes stand out in a way that made my heart flip. Dammit, I didn’t know which option was riskier, the alphas or Dave.
But his touch seemed to settle the wave of emotions and sensations, and grounded me in a way I hadn’t been able to myself. I still felt the pull towards the two strange alphas, but it had calmed to an incessant, yet manageable, tug. Rather than a torrent.
“Are you okay, Lex?” Dave asked in that deep voice filled with bass that sent heat licking along every nerve in my body.
“I’m fine,” I mumbled, trying to control the shake in my voice.
Dammit, Lex. Get it together.
Dave looked me over carefully, holding me gently, yet firmly, like I was precious.
“You’re not fine, you’re bleeding,” he said gruffly.
I just stared at him, my heart beating frantically in my chest. The farm was in chaos around us and Dave was our head of security, but he took no notice of anything but me at that moment. It was heady stuff.
Until a loud growl, that I was quickly coming to recognize, broke through and Dave flicked his eyes up past my face.
“Put. Her. Down,” Sam growled menacingly from behind me.
Goosebumps ran over my skin at the sound of his voice in that dominant tone, making me tense. It was close to, but not quite a bark. Despite that, Dave pulled me subtly closer into him, and I took a moment to savor the sensation.
“That’s not your call,” he said dismissively, as he flicked his eyes away to take in the rest of the scene. He nodded at someone out of my line of sight. I assumed it was Nick or Sirena.
Dave had some huge ass balls. Most betas would instinctively cower at a strange, highly dominant alpha growling at them like that. But Dave just dismissed him like he was of no concern.
Dave had a lot of experience with aggressive alphas from his time in the military. He was one of the few betas to reach the rank of captain, and from what my brother had told me, lower ranked alphas had challenged him a lot.
I took one final, deep breath from where Dave had me tucked into his chest. He’d always smelled like home somehow, despite not having a distinctive scent. Then I put on my big girl pants and said, “You can put me down, now.”
Dave didn’t bother trying to argue. He knew me well enough to know I could take care of myself, and I was stubborn. He raised one eyebrow at me, though, in a silent question. Seeming to doubt my ability to stand on my own.
“I’m fine, but can you stay close for a bit?” I whispered. It was as much as I would concede right now, despite him coming to my rescue a moment ago. Having him nearby seemed to ease the insane pull towards the alphas behind me, enough to let me get my bearings and stand on my own feet. He just nodded once and planted himself at my side without question.
I flicked a cautious glance at the newcomers as I filled Dave in on what I knew and what had happened with Maia and the guys. Sam was standing perfectly still while I talked, like a predator with its prey in his sights, while his friend relaxed beside him. He leaned on Sam’s shoulder nonchalantly, looking intrigued yet amused. As if he was at a casual Sunday barbeque.
The whole time I was talking to Dave, Sam’s friend’s eyes were running all over the both of us, leaving trails along my skin wherever his gaze touched. When I finished talking, he immediately leaned forward and held his hand out toward us.
“Hi. Tall, blonde and growly here is Sam, Maia’s brother,” he said as he jerked his head towards Sam. “I’m Claudio, but everyone calls me Dio.” He was all easygoing friendliness. Like he was a completely open book and there weren’t any enemy alphas laying tied-up at his feet. I rolled my eyes and ignored his hand.
So SamwasMaia’s brother. From what she had said about her family briefly, he had disappeared when she was a child and she’d never heard a word from him since. I was insanely curious about him and where he’d been. I only hoped him being here wouldn’t break Maia’s heart all over again.
