Chapter 12
TWELVE
Ezra
“Oh, gods,” Faye says, leaning out of our boat a bit, like she might be able to put her hand on the girl’s back, even though she’s too far away. Our boat rocks precariously and I lean in the other direction to balance it out.
But it’s hard to even focus on the sick girl with Faye this close to me. She is without a doubt the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Her long blonde hair flows in wavy lengths over her shoulders and down her back, and her big, hazel eyes are absolutely captivating. She’s wearing a blue dress that almost looks like it’s made of denim, with little spaghetti straps and a gap before her long sleeves, which fall over her arms. The dress reaches to her ankles, but it’s tugged up on one side, giving a painfully alluring view of her long legs.
Any man would lose his wits around her.
“Are you okay?” Faye asks gently, her soft, feminine voice doing strange things to my blood.
“I’m fine,” the girl snaps, righting herself, a blush rushing over her cheeks.
I feel sorry for her. It can’t feel good to throw up in front of the alpha in your boat, especially when he’s paying more attention to a different omega.
Speaking of which, what the hell is Cayson doing? He has a whole lake to paddle around on. Why is he over here, nearly crashing into our boat? Something is going on with him, something I haven’t figured out just yet.
“Here,” Faye says, reaching into the pocket of her dress and pulling something out. A small bundle of herbs. “I have some mint. If you chew on it?—”
“I don’t want your nasty plants,” the girl says, tossing her dark hair over her shoulder and grinning at Cayson, who’s still trying to maneuver their boat closer to ours.
“Okay,” Faye says, her voice impossibly soft, and I watch as she tucks the herbs back into her pocket.
I can’t help it–my heart swells, watching her. Trying to help others, even when they’re rude to her. Doing something like carrying mint leaves in her pocket, and offering them to someone else. It’s… sweet and unexpected, but then it shouldn’t be, not with her.
Faye is many things: interesting, beautiful, smart, and thoughtful, most certainly. At least that’s been my impression of her so far, from our brief meetings. But there’s also something so fragile about her. Every time I see her, I just want to gather her into my arms and help her to feel safe, even if it’s only for a little time.
And I think she’s starting to trust me.
I’m grateful that she opened up to me. Ever since the night I found her hurt, I’ve been plagued with a desire to rip the person who hurt her to shreds. My thoughts had become obsessed with who it might be. Each time an alpha spoke to me, some voice in the back of my mind whispered that he could be the one who hurt that sweet omega, and rage flowed through me. Each time I followed her gaze to see who she was watching, I felt a deep need to protect her from the man.
It’d gotten to the point where when the ultima had teased me about which girl I’d want in my boat, I’d given him Faye’s name without hesitation, not expecting him to actually make it happen. But I guess it makes sense that he’d want an alpha from such a powerful pack to be happy.
When he’d paired us together, I’d felt instantly nervous and excited at the same time. It’d been hard to even look at her. I felt scared she’d catch me blushing and label me a fool.
Yet, I was still glad I was paired with her.
The thing is, I’d thought we’d at least have a nice boat ride getting to know each other. I might not want an omega, but I saw nothing wrong with getting the answers to some of my questions and making her feel at ease, keeping her away from the other alphas who were pursuing her.
Too bad Cayson’s here to spoil our peaceful moment.
Cayson. The playboy. The blond-haired perfectly muscled alpha with the kind of smile that sends the ladies falling all over themselves. He wanted to make his way through all the omegas. He wanted to have fun. So what does he call ignoring his pretty date for Faye?
Not that I blame him.
I catch myself gazing at Faye adoringly and shake my head a bit, trying to snap out of it. What am I doing? I’m not here to spend time with omegas. I’m here to make it through this ridiculous event and go home to my people.
The other woman dry heaves again, leaning over the edge of the boat, before she gains control once more. “Sorry, I thought I was going to throw up again.”
“I have that effect on women,” Cayson says, winking at the girl in his boat. “Don’t worry, Shay, it will pass soon.”
“It’s Serra,” she says through her teeth, looking as though she’s trying very hard not to roll her eyes.
Then Cayson pulls out a cigarette and begins to roll it between his fingers.
“Don’t light that,” Faye and I say at the same time, then exchange a glance.
Cayson frowns. “I won’t. I mostly quit. I just like to play with them.”
“Well, do it away from us,” I tell him, and he gives me a look and tucks the cigarette back in his pocket.
I paddle our boat a little further away from Cayson’s and catch him moving our way again. He’s like a damn magnet that’s drawn to us. Is he just trying to annoy me? Or is there something more going on? Either way, I keep trying to paddle away from him, and he keeps following my every move.
When my eyes drift back to Faye, I see that she’s staring into the water, a small smile on her face. I can tell that she likes to be in nature, that it puts her at ease. Without meaning to, I trace my eyes over her figure, from the soft curve of her jaw down to her collarbone.
My fingers twitch, my brain urging me to reach out and touch the soft, pale skin there, but I hold the oars tighter, shaking my head at myself. There will be no touching collarbones today. There will be no touching the pretty omega, no matter what.
“It’s a beautiful night,” the girl in his boat says, brushing a hand through her hair.
I’m annoyed that we’re close enough to hear them again. This is our experience. We were paired together, to spend time alone together. Cayson should be focusing on his own date.
“Yes,” Cayson says, that smooth voice of his carrying across the water, “but I would argue that it’s what’s out on the water tonight that’s truly beautiful.”
Serra blushes, but I see Cayson glancing over at Faye, as though he meant that compliment for her and wants her to notice. She doesn’t look his way, but he continues to stare, his gaze oddly possessive for a man who has never cared about any particular woman. Ever.
Serra sees this glance, too, and leans forward, her cleavage popping from her dress. “Cayson,” she says, in a whiney, little voice, “tell me a little about your pack. Is it big? Is it powerful?”
When I paddle our boat away, Cayson paddles his closer. And I maneuver just in time to avoid our boats smashing into each other. It’s clear to me now that Cayson has his sights on Faye, as annoying as that might be, and that we won’t be rid of him until he gets her. Unfortunately for everyone, she doesn’t exactly seem interested in him.
Which makes me smile.
“Faye,” he says, now completely ignoring Serra, “you look cold. I’ll give you my jacket.”
He starts to pull the jacket off, and I see it for what it is: an excuse to bare his muscular arms for Faye. I have to stop myself from rolling my eyes. Yes, the man is in good shape. No, Faye doesn’t need to get an up close and personal look at it.
I angle our boat further away so he can’t reach her over the water, debating about trying to escape him in earnest. But the idea of me paddling like a madman across a quiet lake while he chases us makes me feel like a fool. Besides, why am I so hellbent on keeping Faye away from him?
“Cayson,” Faye says, a laugh in her voice, “it’s warm out here. I’m fine.”
“Oh, well,” Cayson says, folding his jacket over his lap as he flexes his big arms. “I guess that’s alright. I wouldn’t want to cover up your pretty dress anyway. Blue looks good on you, by the way. It brings out the blue in your hazel eyes.”
“I didn’t even notice what you were wearing,” Faye quips, and Cayson does a fake pout at her.
“My clothes don’t matter to you?” he asks, a strange note in his voice.
She gives him a wicked smile that I wish was directed at me. “Not at all.”
“Are you saying I should just go ahead and take my clothes off then?” he asks, reaching for his belt.
“No!” Faye says, laughing and putting her hands over her eyes. It’s unbearably cute. “I’m saying you should pay attention to your date.”
“I don’t need your help,” Serra snaps, crossing her arms over her chest, her dark eyes glaring at all of us.
“I’m not trying to—” Faye starts, but I’ve had enough of this other omega being nothing but rude when Faye’s been kind to her since the moment Cayson brought their boat over here.
“ Don’t talk to her like that,” I say, shooting a glare at Serra, who immediately lowers her gaze.
I catch Faye giving me a heated glance, and it shoots straight to my loins. I shift in my seat, trying to ease some of the pressure, but my eyes wander over her low-cut dress and it’s hard to draw in a full breath.
Why the hell does she have to be this beautiful?
The breeze picks up, bringing Faye’s clean, sweet scent over to me, and I decide I’ve had enough of Cayson bombarding our date. I reach out, anchoring our oars on a nearby embankment, and grab the hull of his boat. Our eyes meet and Cayson shakes his head.
“Oh, come on man—” he starts, but I push, catapulting his boat back through the water. He grabs for his oars but accidentally drops them in the water, and Serra has to move so he can grab the spare.
While they’re trying to work that out, I use my purchase on the embankment to push our boat in the other direction, quickly gaining a lot of space between our boats. If I can get far enough away from him, I imagine he’ll have to give up and leave us alone. Right? Cayson’s hardly the type to chase a woman.
After a few minutes, when we’re successfully separated far enough from Cayson and Serra, I sigh, setting the oars over my thighs. I hope we can finally drift in peace.
“Sorry about Cayson,” I tell her, not sure what else to say.
“He’s a friend of yours, then?”
“Not tonight he isn’t.”
She laughs, and her laugh is absolutely beautiful. “So, what kind of man is Cayson?”
For some reason, I don’t like her asking about him. “He’s a man who always manages to have a beautiful woman on his arm while simultaneously always being single.”
She looks surprised. “Is that typical for men?”
It’s strange how innocent she is. “For many men.” Then I feel a flash of guilt about the way I’m talking about Cayson. “Although, he’s not a bad guy. You know how charismatic people are, they just pull people to them. They really can’t help it.”
“Like you?” she asks, her big hazel eyes meeting mine.
My face feels hot. “I’m most certainly not a charismatic man.”
She seems confused. “You could have fooled me.” And she’s saying it so matter-of-factly that I almost believe her. Not that I want to keep talking about this.
“Now, where were we before he interrupted?” I ask, because I’d been enjoying our conversation before he interrupted us.
“Well,” Faye says, reaching down and trailing her fingers through the water. “I think you were talking about your pack.”
“Oh.” I laugh, my eyes tracking to the skirt of her dress, and how it shifts around her legs. “I could talk about my pack for ages.”
Her expression is full of interest. “You’re very involved with them?”
Something relaxes inside of me. “Yes, my father has been training me since I was a kid to take over his position as the leader of the pack. It’s about more than power and control, it’s about creating and nurturing a community of people that take care of one another.”
When I see Faye’s eyes start to tear up, I lean forward, offering her the handkerchief from my pocket, which I should have thought about earlier, if I hadn’t been so caught off-guard. Our hands brush when she takes it, and electricity bursts between our fingers. I have to take a deep breath to calm my beating heart.
“I wish—” Faye starts, but stops when we hear whistling.
Cayson is behind us again, gaining speed and closing the distance between our boats. Faye can’t hide the slight smile that graces her lips, and I roll my eyes at his antics. He’s ruining my time with Faye, but if she doesn’t mind, I can hardly punch the silly bastard.
Grabbing the oars, I start to paddle us away, but Cayson must have the wind at his back, because he gains on us quickly. Actually, way too quickly. The idiot needs to slow down.
“Hey, guys,” he says, his fingers wrapping around the side of our boat as he nearly comes crashing into us. “Sorry, got stuck in the weeds back there.”
“Not stuck enough,” I mutter, jolting in alarm when Cayson yanks on our boat a bit.
“Here’s what I think,” he says, setting his jacket and oar to the side, a bright smile on his face. “I think you’ve gotten your share of time with Faye. Let’s switch places.”
“Cayson!” Faye says, sounding shocked.
“You can’t—” I begin, because he has to know there’s zero possibility of us switching places on boats in the middle of a lake.
“No, no, no!” Serra says, her face turning green again as the boat tips.
But Cayson winks at Faye. “Don’t worry!” he says, speaking loudly over the protests. “I’m an expert at this!”
We’re all feeling various degrees of horror when he stands up. As he’s trying to step into our boat, the boats begin to pitch wildly. His arms flail, he loses his balance, and all four of us capsize into the cold water.
Cayson’s a dead man.
I surface, spitting out water, then check to see that Faye is okay. To my surprise, she looks absolutely beautiful, like a mermaid from legend instead of a woman, while the rest of us are sputtering and looking like drowned rats.
I swim over and grab Faye, not sure if she knows how to swim, and she glares at Cayson, who’s paddling over to us while Serra gasps for breath behind him.
“Oops?” he says, when he gets close enough.
“ Oops ?” I repeat, then grab his head, dunking him under the water.