Filed to story: Claimed By The Alpha Nursing His Baby (Grace & Alpha Theodore) Book PDF Free
What is? “Sorry to tell you, but most females think this way. We’re just too afraid to bruise your delicate alpha egos.”
He lets out another laugh. “Is that so?”
I stand still when he moves closer to me, his shoes crunching against the gravel under us. He stops just a few feet from me, letting me get a clearer look at him. He’s just as handsome as I thought he’d be-like most young alphas.
There’s an amused quirk to his lips, along with small crinkles in the corners of his eyes, as he watches me carefully.
I hate that I immediately want to lower my gaze-an instinct drilled into me since I was a kid. I hold my ground though, not wanting to let this guy win at whatever game we’re apparently playing.
“Tell me your name?” he says.
I’m tempted to give him a fake one…but that seems kind of stupid considering I’m a guest in this pack’s lands.
It would be easy to verify my identity, and the possibility of offending one of the soon-to-be alpha king’s packmates seems kind of counterproductive when I’m going to be spending more time with them than I care to.
“Grace,” I finally say.
“Grace,” he repeats it softly, causing a shiver to race up my spine. “Pretty.”
I have to swallow to get out my next words. “And you?”
Shit, I should’ve walked away the second I ran into this guy.
Having the hots for one of the Pollis alphas is not only stupid, but will get me into trouble if Daniel ever finds out. He’s not going to gain anything if I get into bed with someone who has no political pull. I’ll be lucky to just get a stern talking-to when I get home.
But…damn do I want to tell myself fuck it and have a night for just myself.
Would that be so wrong of me to do?
The alpha in front of me hesitates again for some reason. Up close like this, I can see that he’s got a pair of lovely amber eyes that watch me carefully, assessing me for…what, I’m not too sure. Perhaps he’s more important in the pecking order than I gave him credit for.
A beta to the king? Maybe an advisor? That would be perfect. I’m not that familiar with who’s a part of Theodore Summers’s inner circle. Which, I’m now realizing, is biting me in the ass.
“You can call me…Theodore,” he finally decides.
Theodore…?
My eyes widen.
Oh fuck.
Grace
My wolf howls inside of me, happy to have met our goal so damn early in the night. What are the chances that I’d run into the alpha king out here in the gardens of all places? Alone and without his guards to prevent us both from talking?
Trying to keep myself under control, I clear my throat and nod with a slight bow. “Pretty name.”
He squints at me instantly and then laughs again. “I can’t tell if you’re making fun of me or not.”
“I’m not.” Though I’m sure from my tone, even he can tell that I’m lying.
Is it stupid of me to lie to the alpha that could have my head presented to him on a silver platter? Probably, but I’m banking on the fact that he’s hopefully not as ruthless as his father was, at least according to rumor.
What intel could I get out of the pack alpha? Tons, I’m sure.
“Really? Could’ve fooled me.” There’s a slight crinkle at the corners of his eyes that has me a little shocked. Does he think I’m funny?
Theodore is…not what I expected at all.
For all the rumors that have circulated about him and his pack over the years-dominating, arrogant, imperial-he seems to act like the complete opposite, almost friendly in a way. Like he doesn’t have the entire upper half of the West Coast to lead and command.
I don’t really know how I feel about that, other than being caught completely off guard. The entire trip up here, I’d been preparing myself over and over again on how exactly I was going to try to meet with one of his packmates.
And yet, now that he himself is standing here in front of me in the flesh, I can’t seem to get my mouth open or my lips to move to say the words.
To both of our surprises, I turn on my heel and walk away from him to head deeper into the gardens. I need a minute to breathe before I can start trying to seduce him into talking before someone finds us out here together and separates us.
Or better yet, drags him back into the ball where hundreds of other girls are waiting for him to distract him.
“Hey wait-Grace,” he calls after me, the sounds of his shoes crunching on the gravel following close behind. “Did I say something to offend you?”
Offend me? Why would he care about that?
What in the world is going on?
I continue to walk, praying that he follows me while I try to pull myself together.
I can’t help but wonder if he’s only following me because he finds me interesting enough to ditch his own damn party in order to play cat-and-mouse with me in the gardens. Wouldn’t that be what an alpha like him would do?
“Grace,” Theodore calls. “Wait.”
I stop as I round a corner that heads into a hedge maze. Right as I’m turning on my heel to face him, he practically barrels into me. As I fall back, his arms come out to snatch me up off my feet and slam me against his chest.
While the gesture is chivalrous, it knocks the wind out of me.
“Oof!” I grab at the lapels of his suit to keep me from tumbling back into the hedge.
“Shit. Bad move. My fault,” he tells me, but doesn’t put me down.
My entire body flushes with heat the moment I lay my hands on him. A full-body rush that has me sucking in a short burst of air that doesn’t seem able to quite fill my lungs. I’m struck by how intense it feels while I force myself to look up into the eyes of the alpha staring at me.
“Sorry, I-” His voice cuts off, his eyes widening.
Suddenly, I feel it too.
Like a wire winding itself around my heart, over and over again until I’m tightly bound with nowhere else to go.