The Alpha’s Forced Mate
Chapter 6

Veronica

This guy is literally crazy, I thought as I lunged toward Blake.

My arm slid around his wa!st like a lock clicking into place. To avoid being eaten alive, I had to flank left, vault over a panther, and sprint toward the porch with the alpha over my shoulder. It barely took a few minutes to clear the garden and drop the alpha next to a flustered and angry security guard.

The guard fumed, his cheeks and forehead so red that he looked like a clown. “You as8sh0le! What the hell were you—?”

I didn’t stick around to hear whatever stupid rant he was about to go on. Blake seemed like the type of man to take action without thinking about the consequences. And in this case, releasing a half dozen wild animals onto his estate without any safety precautions in place was par for the course.

A tiger lunged for me. I hopped forward, used his snout to launch myself over his body, and rolled a few times. It only took a second to right myself and then I dashed for the trees where the other women had disappeared.

None of them had stuck around to see that ridiculous show of bravado. And maybe that was for the best.

Snarls echoed behind me as I scampered between two trees. Irritation swirled in my core as I clung to my spear, holding it with practiced effort as I made my escape. Six wild animals for five shifter women—what the hell was he thinking?

Broken twigs cracked ahead of me. My ears twitched with alertness as I sensed the approaching animals, two of them. The others must have raced ahead and gone elsewhere. Did Blake even have a plan to collect them once the race was over? Did his security team have this under control? Or were we all racing toward our inevitable deaths?

That stupid selfish jerk, I thought. All this just to replace a mate. What a f*****g joke.

Agitation and years of training nudged me in the right direction. As I scaled fallen branches and darted between the foliage, I tuned in to the forest, listening to the orchestral mix of birds fluttering, women shouting, and beasts huffing. In the distance, a few male voices spoke in low murmurs—that was likely Blake and his security team.

Where were his mother and grandmother? Had they been aware of this idea?

Or was this all just his ego showing off for a bunch of coastal shifter women?

I gritted my teeth as I clutched my spear harder. It won’t be much longer. A week at most. And then Melvin will get me the hell out of here.

“Watch out!”

Something tripped me. I stumbled forward with a gasp and hit the ground, landing on my knees in a thick patch of wet mud. Cool mud greeted my knees and instantly soaked through the fabric of my jeans.

About five curse words flew from my mouth, in between a few growls of discontent. As I stood up, I brushed myself off and glanced around. Someone shouted at me. And they weren’t too far off.

“Up here,” came the small voice. “Quick—the tigers are on their way!”

Without hesitation, I scaled the tree to the fifth branch well above the forest floor. The view up here was phenomenal, granting me a wide range on either side. Just ahead I could see the gardens where that egotistical prick was probably laughing on the porch.

“I shouldn’t have saved him,” I grunted. I held my spear between my knees and turned. My eyes widened. “You’re Carrie, right?”

She held her forehead while leaning lazily against the tree. One quick nod made her eyelids flutter.

And that was when the smell hit me.

“Honey, you’re bleeding,” I observed. Worry infected me like a virus. “That jerk thinks he can put us in danger and get away with it, really?”

“I’m fine. I was more worried about—” She snapped her l!ps shut as her pupils blew out and the veins in her neck bulged. The crackling of branches below told me exactly what she’d been afraid of.

Two tigers circled the tree. Though we were quiet, I knew the creatures could scent us. They would likely camp out for a while until one of us crawled down, or—by the look of Carrie’s paling face—fell down.

When she teetered, I caught her arm and held tight. A whistle sounded from the gardens, high-pitched and irritating, but alarming enough to urge my wolf to the surface. The two tigers lifted their heads. One of them sniffed while the other stepped toward the estate.

In a flash of orange, they disappeared, taking the danger with them.

Relief washed through me. I tossed my spear to the ground where it pierced the earth. One hand guided Carrie toward me. Her forehead was bleeding—a nasty head wound marked her temple—and her eyelids were fluttering dangerously hard. I scooped her over my shoulder just as I had done with Blake and dropped from the branch, landing gracefully on my feet.

After plucking the spear from the ground, my ears perked up, sensing my surroundings. The birds and critters were no longer retreating. Bugs chirped as usual. Even the wind seemed welcome to sift through the trees. A softness resonated through the air as Carrie slumped on my shoulder.

“It’s alright,” I assured her. “I’ve got you. Just hang in there.”

“You don’t have to—”

I shook her once. “Hush. You’re bleeding. It’s the least I can do after that as*sh0le put us through the damn ringer.”

She dug her nails into my back. Pain radiated through my center as I bowed forward. All that running around and lunging had irritated my side. My shirt bloomed with a dark patch of moisture—I could only assume the bandages had come undone all over again.

That jerk was going to hear every single thought on my mind as soon as I found him. With Carrie on my shoulder, the bleeding intensified, making my head swim as adrenaline faded from my system. Conversational banter met my ears before I broke through the trees.

The weapons had been cleared from the gardens. Circular impressions expanded where tree stumps once sat. Pointed dents in the dirt indicated where tables had been positioned. Everything had been cleared away in a matter of twenty minutes. The trial hadn’t lasted terribly long, had it?

Irate, tired, and ready for a shower, I marched to the porch where Blake and three women stood near a buffet table.

That selfish snob, I fumed. He thinks he can put people in danger for his own gain. No wonder Raymond wants him dead.

I paused just near the mouth of the maze and shouted, “Medic!”

Three people launched into action from the side of the house. One of them was wearing a white coat. She carried a black briefcase, wore wiry glasses and a concentrated expression. The moment she reached us she helped me set Carrie on the ground. Conversation ceased. All eyes were on us.

I knelt to the ground as the three people dove into action. Carrie held my hand, her fingers tightening and loosening around my wrist in quick succession.

“She’s got a concussion,” the woman reported, “nothing more. She’s healing up. It’s just going to take a minute.”

Fear and irritation faded into tired relief. I bowed my head and watched Carrie’s features twist as the woman wrapped a bandage around her forehead.

“This will help,” the physician stated. “I’m Dr. Windsor. I’m the resident doctor here in the Beaufort Creek Pack. She’s safe with me now.”

Somehow, I wasn’t sure about that. “Are you sure?”

Dr. Windsor smiled gently. “I’m positive, Miss Gilbert. You have nothing to worry about.”

“How do you—?”

“I have files on all the participants. Carrie is a strong and healthy wolf. She just needs time to rest.”

My lower l!p quivered as I clamped my mouth shut. Carrie squeezed my hand, commanding my attention. The petite woman smiled weakly up at me. “Thanks.”

I nodded. “No problem.”

As the two medics helped situate Carrie onto a stretcher, I turned my ire to the selfish jerk standing with three women fawning over him. Though he had the attention of some of the most gorgeous girls on the coast, his eyes were hooked on me. Not Carrie. Not the medics. Not Dr. Windsor.

Me.

My fists clenched at my sides. I marched up to him and swatted his water bottle from his hand, sending droplets flying in every direction. “You have some nerve pulling a stunt like that!”

His eyes flared. He wasn’t used to people standing up to him like this, was he? Of course not. The guy might like books and bikes, but he was a rich brat. He was just trying to get a rise out of the people around him because he was bored. That was all it was. Plain and simple.

Both eyes remained fixed on me as he said calmly, “I don’t know what you mean.”

“You—” I clawed the air in front of him. He had no idea how desperately I wanted to scratch his eyes out of his skull. “First of all, how the hell did you get a permit to have exotic animals on your estate?”

When he opened his mouth, I held up a hand to silence him.

It was surprisingly effective.

“Secondly, what gives you the right to release them on unsuspecting people? You could have killed someone.” I pointed back toward Carrie. “She could have died, you as*shole!”

“It’s all part of the trial.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “That is not what we signed up for.”

“Your leaders should have made it abundantly clear to you that the trial would challenge every bit of your character.”

“Raymond said as much, but he didn’t say danger.”

Blake looked furious as he bowed his head slightly. It appeared as though he was trying to keep prey within his sight. Was that me? Was I his next target?

I sneered. “You’re full of yourself. You’re disgusting. You stood here and flirted with these women instead of making sure your participants were safe.”

“I can say the same about the women standing next to me.”

Shock rippled through the lot of us. Had he really just said that?

Jade chuckled nervously. “It’s a competition.”

“Yeah, no rules,” Marianne said. “You didn’t say we had to help each other.”

Norma shuffled anxiously from foot to foot while looking between the two women. Her eyes fell on me and then flickered away as soon as I glowered at her. She ultimately shrugged. “Marianne is right. You didn’t say we had to help each other.”

Blake stared at her. “I didn’t say you had to kill each other either.”

Norma gaped at him. “Well, we didn’t—”

“That was the test,” he announced proudly. “And I’m afraid to say that the three of you have failed.”

The women gasped and argued all at once, Jade at the forefront of the opposition considering she had been the first one to cross the finish line. Blake watched her for a long time as she made a compelling argument, none of which seemed to settle anywhere past Blake’s ears. It wasn’t that he had lost interest. It was that he seemed tired of her excuses.

And that was the strangest thing to witness. The pride, the confidence, and the sheer c0ckiness of this guy could be sensed for miles around. But care? Concern? Caution? None of that rang true.

Until this very moment.

Blake arched his right eyebrow. “You had every opportunity to dive back into the fray once the animals had been collected. You could have checked on any one of them, Jade.” He shook his head. “Honestly, I’m disappointed. You seemed like you had a good head on your shoulders.”

She stuck her nose in the air. “You have no idea what’s in my head.”

“I saw exactly what was in your head by how you acted.”

“And what about these two? Aren’t you going to lecture them?”

He smirked victoriously. “There will be plenty of chances for that later. For you? Not so much.”

Her shoulders dropped. “You can’t be serious.”

“Thank you for coming, Jade. You’re disqualified. You have an hour to leave the premises.”

Indignation slid into her expression. Her eyebrows tightened and then her l!ps flattened into a disappointed line. Without another word, she fled the gardens and slammed the porch door. Blake turned to Marianne and Norma who both looked humbly ashamed.

Marianne pouted the most of the two of them. She widened her eyes and bowed her head while folding her hands in front of her. “If I had known—”

He laughed. “The kitten act doesn’t work on me, sweetie.”

Laughter bubbled from my gut. I couldn’t help it. Between the shock of wild animals chasing me, dragging a stubborn alpha out of the line of fire, and saving another participant with a head wound, my nerves were shot. None of my reactions were about to be appropriate.

And I just didn’t care anymore.

Marianne growled. “I fail to see how that’s funny, Veronica.”

“He can see right through your bullsh!t—that’s hilarious!”

I bowed forward as black dots danced in my vision. I held my side, huffing for air as pain cracked through my system like lightning bolts. Before I could hit the ground, I waved off the two medics and marched up the porch steps.

It wasn’t even dinner time yet and I already needed a d*mn drink.