Page 24 of Chasing The Alpha's Son
Where are we going?
The braziers light the path that leads to the shore and then into the snow-covered woods.
Scrambling up the boulder-laden shore is a struggle—a wolf to my side slips and disappears into a crevice—but once I’m in the forest I can really let my legs go to work.
A burst of blue flame erupts ahead and to the left, lighting up the trees and startling a family of deer. I adjust my direction and chase the light. The wolves in front of me are struggling to climb a rocky outcrop, and I know if I get stuck beneath them I’ll never catch up, which is when I spot it: a fallen tree resting like a seesaw on a boulder.
I hope it can hold my weight.
Without thinking I spring onto the trunk and sprint nimbly toward the uprooted end. I pick up speed and leap into the air, arching over the wolves below and landing at the peak of the outcrop. The wolves below snarl and huff but I don’t have time to help them up.
Another fire erupts between two massive oaks to my right, and I know which way to go.
For a stretch the trees spread out, giving me clearer passage through which I hurtle. Todd and Simon are just up ahead, but their constant headbutting is slowing them down. They look up, shocked, as I pass them.
It’s just Olivia and Clayton ahead of me now and I almost can’t believe it. I mean, I knew I was fast—or at least, I was fast sometimes. And part of me always thought I had a chance of placing high enough to win a spot on the trip. But I’m starting to believe that I could actually win this thing.
Take that, Jasper!
The crunch of paws tearing through the frosty undergrowth grows in volume until a wolf finally comes into view. He has the coat of a goddamn golden retriever but the physique of an alpha.Clayton.
We’ve never spoken—not properly—and I’m pretty convinced he doesn’t know I exist. But I want to beat him so bad it hurts.
My breaths grow ragged as I speed up once more, gaining on Jasper’s childhood pal.
The woods are dark, and I have no idea how Olivia knows which way she’s going, but I can follow the bioluminescent trail of her scent.
Clayton glances behind and snarls when he sees me catching up. His lips curl into an unpleasant grimace and it’s almost as if I can see the gears shifting in his mind. Before I know what’s happening, he’s digging in his paws and skidding to a stop. He spins and growls.
But I’m not put off. I keep running. If he wants to stop and threaten me into quitting, he really has no idea who I am.
When I don’t stop he barks, and as I grow near he twists, digging a paw into the soil and flinging a clump of icy dirt into my eyes.
I rear back, snarling, shaking my head and pawing at my face. When I finally regain my vision, Clayton is disappearing into the forest.
That little bitch!
Who throws dirt at their competitors? What is this, kindergarten? If this is who Jasper is friends with, no wonder he doesn’t know how to act like a normal person.
I growl lowly and, even more determined than before, take off.
By following the asshat’s scent, I’m able to keep track of the path. Another fire erupts and I make my way toward it. Eventually the path turns back toward the lake, and I race through the tree line and down a jagged shore to the ice. We’re behind the island now and Olivia is out on the ice, nearly halfway there, with Clayton only a little ways behind.
Clayton glances back only once, but he’s clearly not happy to see me making up so much time. From the string of braziers burning blue, Olivia pretty much has this in the bag, yet Clayton seems determined not to let me come a distant third.
Up ahead, Olivia reaches the island; there’s no shore, just a boulder-riddled path leading to a rocky wall, and finally a flat patch of grass. Olivia is stealth and agility, bounding from boulder to boulder. Clayton picks up his pace as she reaches the top and disappears. I do too but Clayton growls, huffs, and slides to a stop. He turns again, the flames of his torch reflected in his eyes.
Why is this dick so obsessed with me not winning?
Thump. One of his back paws slams the ice. Then again and again.
What is he doing?
I close the distance between us and he just stands there…thumping. I’m coming up on him but he’s blocking my path. If I try to go around he’ll only take off and I’ll never catch him. So I skid to stop a few meters from where he stands. His lip curls and I swear, even though wolf faces don’t really work this way, he’s grinning.
He thumps his paw again and this time I hear a crack. The next time, a web of black lines appear under his foot—black jagged lines that spread out farther with every thump. Clayton lifts his foot again, but this time he jumps, landing with the weight of his whole body, and the black lines become full-on cracks.
This psycho is trying to kill us both!
