A Queen of Alphas - Season 1

3 - Scarlett

Every part of her body wanted to get closer to him, but every inch of her skin crawled at the idea. From the moment he jumped at her, and she realized he hadn't killed her but, rather, had run away with her. From the moment she realized he wasn't going to hurt her; she had wondered why. Why was he, a friend of the Were she had killed, trying to help her back to safety? It was unheard of. Any human who had ever gotten in their way had died. Period.

They didn't eat humans-Please. She knew otherwise.

The opportunity to ask him about his unusual kindness might have passed, though and she wasn't sure she wanted to know. She'd owe him for it anyway. Not to mention it might all be lies. Weres lied, killed, destroyed. If only they weren't so powerful. She had tried to find an opening to attack him and had been unsuccessful so far. Not to mention she had only one weapon left, and she wasn't confident she could go against this specific guy. The ease with which he had dispatched his opponents earlier was imprinted and vivid in her mind. It was impressive then, and now triggered a wave of terror, a sentiment she was hiding from him. She might not be able to get rid of him, but she wasn't about to give him the satisfaction to see her fear.

To her surprise, it wasn't so hard to do. She was afraid, but it wasn't the same type of fear she had experienced before, in the presence of Weres. It wasn't the paralysing, cold-sweat-inducing terror. This was more of an intellectual fear. He was a Were, therefore she must be scared.

The cold was merciless and bit at her skin, slipping under her clothes. She had not counted on staying outside so long, her clothes only adequate to sit in the heated cabin of her truck.

'Where are we?' she asked, regretting now refusing to climb on his back when he offered twenty minutes ago.

'About half a day from town.'

'Where is Promise Lake?'

His expression turned comical when confused, but it was too cold to smirk.

'Maybe you have a different name for it.'

'Lake Clanheart,' he said with a flat voice.

'There. Where is it?'

'Over there,' he pointed to his left. 'About an hour walk. Faster if-'

'Don't bother,' she said, turning that way, cursing her pride.

'It's taking us in the wrong direction.' Despite the wind and the distance between them, his voice came loud and clear.

'There used to be a cabin there. There might not be much left, but it might be enough to spend the night.'

He didn't answer, but followed her instead, but ended ahead of her only a second later. The colder her feet got, the trickier it was to walk. Now that rest and shelter seemed to be at their reach, every single step was three times harder to take. The hour felt like three, and it started to snow halfway through. The storm had started much sooner than she expected, and visibility was deteriorating fast. By the time the cabin's silhouette appeared, far ahead of them, the wind was howling in her ears, propelling snow against her bare face like bullets.

'There,' he yelled over the wind, and she refrained from rolling her eyes. She told him it was there!

The door squealed when he opened it, or she imagined it did; the storm was too loud in her ears to allow for that soft a noise. Both his hands busy on the door, Scarlett's body was lit by a spark of inspiration. She had a split second, and she wasn't about to waste it. Pulling the machete out of the sheath at her back, she jumped at him, forcing her stiff legs to propel her forward through the snow and the wind. She was even sure she let a howl. It wasn't hard. Fourteen years of repressed anger will do that to a girl.