An alpha.
Fear and anger surged through my blood. I snapped my fangs in the air as a threat.
“Whoa, now,” the alpha said, putting his hands up in the air. “No need to get testy.” He kneeled down so that he was at eye-level with me. I glared at him hatefully. “Now, let’s get one thing out of the way real quick. Are you a shifter, or a regular old wolf?”
A growl built deep in my throat and I launched myself at him, snapping my jaws. I hit the end of my range of movement because of the trap. The alpha sighed.
“That doesn’t exactly answer my question, does it?” he said.
I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. Maybe if he knew I was a shifter, he would go easy on me. But on the other hand, he clearly wasn’t a Scarlet Ridge alpha - maybe if he thought I was from an enemy pack, he would try to kill me. Or - since I was an omega - something worse.
The alpha sighed again. “Let’s try something else.”
This time when he spoke, it was like a voice reverberating in my mind. The shifter telepathy link.
“Do you hear this?”he asked. Usually, the telepathy link was only used by those in wolf form, because in human form you could simply speak.
I supposed there was no getting around it now. “Yes,” I replied.
A smile broke out across the alpha’s face. “Great! That confirms my suspicions.” He reached for the trap around my leg. “Now, excuse me for presuming, but your wolf is pretty small. Are you an omega?”
“What if I am?” I snapped.
“No need to get rowdy,” he said, lifting a hand to calm me. “Just wondering. It’s funny that whenever a Scarlet Ridge wolf crosses over here, it’s always an omega.”
“How did you know I’m from Scarlet Ridge?” I asked suspiciously.
He shrugged. “It’s the only other pack from around here. Besides, you look pretty thin. And pissed off. So you’re definitely not one of ours.”
“One of yours?”
He nodded and fiddled with the key. For the second time in one day, I was being saved by an alpha with a key. It was almost funny.
“Indigo Mountain,” he said, then grinned. “That’s whose land you’re trespassing on, by the way.”
My ears flattened against my head. “I didn’t know I was trespassing.”
“No worries,” the alpha said. “We don’t keep the border scent marker as fresh as we used to. Instead, we lay traps to catch any unsuspecting Scarlet Ridge wolves. Like you.”
I grumbled.
“Now, before I let you out of this thing,” the alpha said, waving the key and looking me seriously in the eye, “promise you won’t do anything weird. Like attacking me. Because you won’t win, I can guarantee you that.”
“I’m not stupid,” I growled.
“Good.” He grinned, wide and bright. “Then it’s settled. You’ll come home and live with me until we get this mess sorted out.”
Panic flared inside me. “Whoa, whoa, what? I didn’t agree to anything!”
The alpha blinked in confusion. His questioning glance seemed genuine, and there wasn’t any sarcasm in his voice. “Well, do you have anywhere else to go?” he asked.
“No. I don’t,” I admitted.
“So you’re just wandering aimlessly on a different pack’s territory?”
I flicked my tail irritably. “Yes.”
He smiled. “Tell you what. I’ll let you out of this contraption. You come with me and stay the night. Then we’ll get you all figured out. How’s that sound?”
