I won’t let his ruse fool me or manipulate me into believing that he actually cares. All Elias McGruff cares about is his pack, and he could never make space for a worthless omega like me in his life.
It was only sex, and Elias must be having tons of it, anyway.
My body shudders with something like envy, but I push aside the unwarranted feeling and take a deep breath for composure. I know what I must do, but I have to be careful not to wake the alpha.
This time, I will get away, I decide with conviction as my feet touch the worn-out gray rug on the motel room floor. The only trouble is that when I lift my dress from the pile of our clothes joined on the floorboards, I discover that it’s torn and not wearable. Begrudgingly picking up Elias’s sweatshirt, it’s my only option if I don’t want to be caught in my meatsuit outside.
I use what’s left of the dress to tie it around my waist as a makeshift skirt, then proceed to tiptoe toward the bedroom door without looking back. I don’t want to be guilt-ridden as I make my escape, stopping only when I’m at the main door.
Steeling my resolve with another deep breath, I’m about to reach for the rusty knob when goosebumps pebble the flesh of my arms, my instincts kicking in to warn me of the trouble behind.
I don’t risk moving, freezing on the spot when I’m able to pick out the light padding of bare feet on the floor. The morning light, though dim as it filters through the lace curtains, is shrouded with darkness that has me gulping as if I’m in danger.
Elias’s scent enters my airways, warning me that I’ve just been caught trying to sneak off.
Where were my instincts when I needed to decide if Elias could be trusted or not?
It was pointless, anyway. I’d already decided that he couldn’t be trusted; that’s why I’d been planning on running off while he was asleep.
Now that I’ve been caught, I’m left to turn around with my head lowered bashfully, feeling the magnitude of Elias’s imposingly tall figure even before I’m met with the brick wall of his toned, sculpted abs. Gulping hard, I drag my eyes up and trace every contour of muscle. I’m slightly tipsy when I’m forced to rake my eyes over his hard, chocolate brown nipples, recalling what they felt like when he had them pressed to my chest. Sheepishly wincing when his stern gaze is accusing, I’m hauled out of the swooning daze.
“Good thinking, Aurora,” he says as he nods firmly, then reaches over and suddenly grabs my thighs and slings me across one shoulder.
Stunned, I lose the air in my lungs. What is he doing, carrying me across the room like a sack of potatoes from the market?
“We should head back to Girdwood,” he continues as he carries me back to the bedroom. To my surprise, he doesn’t stop at the bed, but instead pads his way to the sliding door that opens up to the balcony.
“It is sunrise, and it’ll be safe to head home,” he says flatly as he steps out into the cold breeze.
Why is he acting as if he didn’t realize I was trying to run away?
He’s acting again, just like he did when he “saved” me from the demon or when he took my virginity.
“What are you doing, Alpha Elias?!” I exclaim when he doesn’t put me down and instead rearranges me on his shoulder.
“I am taking you back to Girdwood, of course,” he says coolly before securing a strong arm over my waist and grabbing the wooden balcony rail with his free hand.
“Where are you go—aah!” I exclaim in shock and horror when he pivots over the rail and catapults us both to the ground, not letting go of me with his brute strength.
“Elias!”
“Shut up, Aurora,” he grunts irritably as he once again secures me on his shoulder, making a point that he isn’t letting me down. “You barely got any rest.”
“Neither did you!” I protest, but it falls on deaf ears when Elias rounds the motel building and heads toward the forest.
He grunts again as he begins trekking through the forest, probably looking like a caveman without a shirt as he lugs an oversized female on his shoulder.
Elias doesn’t seem to care about being seen or about my weight. His breath is steady and controlled as he enters a pathway. Luckily for him, we enter the forest long before the town has woken up, disappearing through the gathering of trees until the valley comes into view.
The sound of snow crunching under his boots is unnerving, like a ticking time bomb that will be detonated the second we arrive in Girdwood. I have to get down somehow, even if the vice grip of his arm is unyielding.
I’ll try to make a run for it.
Surely I can outrun him.
Who am I kidding?
“Put me down!” I resort to being a menace by pounding my fists into his solid back. “Put me down now, Elias!”
