The Alpha's Other Woman by Vielle Nye (best fiction books of all time .txt) 📖

At a loss for what to do next, I sank into one of the kitchen chairs again, my mind still whirling. I needed a plan to get out of here, and preferably before I missed a shift, which only gave me a couple of days.

But for now, I needed rest. I went into the second bedroom, shoved a chair under the doorknob—not to stop someone from coming in since it wouldn’t, but to give me a warning if someone did try it, and let my wolf out again. I curled up in the middle of the bed, and willed myself to sleep.

It took me a long time, and my mate didn’t come in even once throughout the night.

---------------

The next morning, the chair was still in place, so I stretched my back from my shoulders to my tail, and quickly shifted so that I could figure out what I was going to do. I went into the kitchen, drank some water and ate a protein bar, one of the few things that were in the cupboard, before sitting down at the table again.

A knock on the trailer door jolted me to my feet. I didn’t think they’d hurt their potential luna, but I wanted to be ready to defend myself just in case.

There came another knock, and then the door opened. A woman peeked her head in, and I recognized her as the female who had given me the blanket when that horrible alpha forced me to shift.

“Hey, I’ve got some stuff for you.”

“Thanks,” I said. I didn’t mean it, but it wouldn’t hurt to try to get some of this pack on my side, even though I doubted they would betray their alpha. Or maybe they would. They did say that rogues had no loyalty.

I didn’t really believe it was likely with this group. These ones were clearly not feral, and they seemed to be forming a pack, so they were probably different than the average rogue.

Again my attention caught on the idea of building a pack from the ground up, and I shook it off. I couldn’t afford to get drawn into that jerk’s projects. I needed to get out of here before he broke my heart even more irrevocably than Asshole Dane had.

She walked inside, holding out a cardboard box that she set on the kitchen table. I resisted the urge to look inside to see what I had to work with.

“So, I’m Krystal, and if I missed anything, let me know, and I’ll see what I can do for you. I also can see you’ve already made yourself comfortable,” she commented, looking at the baggy jogging pants and t-shirt I had commandeered. It wasn’t my fault I was stuck here so I was not bothered that she might be critical of me for not living up to the standard of a luna, but then I saw the briefest smirk cross her lips. Unless I read it wrong, she thought it was funny. After spending so much time in Greenwoods trying to look and behave perfectly, I wasn’t expecting that reaction so it caught me off guard.

“Thank you,” I said, a bit more genuinely. I looked in the box and found basic toiletries and a few pants and tops that would do in a pinch.

Krystal started walking towards the door. “Well, like I said, if you need anything, tell one of the guys, and I’ll try to get it for you.”

“You mean the guards?”

She smiled again. “Exactly.”

“Hey, what’s the alpha’s name?” I asked. It was worth a shot.

Her smile grew into a wicked grin. “Oh, I’m sure he’ll be by to introduce himself properly before too long.”

I hoped he would. I was going to slap him in that irritatingly handsome face if he dared show it. And then I was going to get out of here before I missed a shift at work. I needed to be able to pay my rent.

—————

By the time he finally came, I’d given up waiting, and had relocated to the armchair in front of the television. I was flicking through his streaming service. At least his crappy little domain had internet set up. I wished I had a computer or phone, but even if I did, who would I call? I couldn’t get the human authorities involved, and no one else cared about unaffiliated rogues. It was one of the reasons that rogues tended to have shorter life spans, because there was no one to protect them from exploitation.

The door opened after a brisk knock, and this time I didn’t bother to get up. I just looked over, raising my eyebrows like I was very much not impressed with what I saw.

I was lying. He was just too good looking for my eyes to bear, and the morning sun only made him look better, with that single strand of that dark hair falling in his face, marring his perfection just enough to make him look even more irresistible.

Irresistible? He wasn’t irresistible, and I’d prove that by getting away before he could hurt me.

He met my eyes, again looking displeased. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was in what I assumed to be his chair, or if it was just seeing his disappointing mate all over again.

He stepped inside and walked towards me. He looked tense, so I crossed my arms and stared him down. I wasn’t playing the demure luna again, definitely not. If he thought I was going to back down, he had another thing coming.

He broke my stare when he sat down on the couch across from me. I didn’t break the silence.

But finally, he did.

“We need to talk.”