Chapter 21
Brielle
I bite my bottom lip, watching as the crowd cheers for Cooper.
It’s a short ride, well to me, but apparently a ten-second ride is phenomenal.
Duke’s face is flushed with excitement as he yells at him, hanging off the fence surrounding the arena gate.
When the announcer calls the time, everyone stands to shout and holler some more.
I head down the bleachers to meet them in the back, knowing it’s going to be a bit until the next event.
The past week has been more than I could ever imagine.
I can see the allure of why people do this for a living.
“Excuse me,” I mutter a few times, cutting through hordes of people.
A rough hand grabs my arm, yanking me toward them.
I scowl, yelling up at them. “Hey! Let go!”
My head snaps up, and it’s like I’ve been pushed into a freezing river. Goosebumps ripple across my skin, and I can feel the color drain from my face as I meet the tawny eyes of the man I’d hoped to never see again.
He sneers down at me. “I almost didn’t believe it when he called in saying he saw you prancing around some fucking hicks, but here you are, rolling around in the mud with these lowlifes.”
A few people throw Leo angry glances, overhearing his words, but no one stops him from shaking me as he pulls me closer to him. “What are you doing here, Princess?”
It’s the nickname that snaps me out of my shock. He doesn’t have a right to call me that, a name my men have claimed to mean more than the insult he flings at me.
I try to yank my arm away and fail, so I slap at his chest and face. “Let go of me! Let go!”
Leo’s eyes widen, glancing around as others stop to stare at the commotion. He gives them a dismissing wave, but they don’t budge. It’s like they know he doesn’t belong here. Not with his putrid gray suit and designer shoes, now scuffed with dirt.
“Shut up, Brielle, or I swear to god—” Leo’s warnings are cut short when a burly man steps closer to us, his large belly hanging over the belt he’s adjusting.
“You good here, little lady?” he asks, his gray, bushy beard barely parting with the question. It’s directed at me, but his attention is on Leo.
My heart picks up, a small hope that this teddy bear-like man may actually help me. No one has ever stepped in and helped before, so tears well in my eyes.
“She’s fine. Move along, Santa. This doesn’t concern you,” Leo spits out. He pushes me away from the man, and I stumble a few feet. His fingers are digging so hard into my flesh, I know I’ll have those ugly purple and yellow bruises for a few days.
A woman steps in Leo’s way, and I bump into her, blinking up to stare at what looks to be the strongest woman I’ve ever seen.
Her hair is buzzed along the sides and a little longer on top, and her biceps flex under her tight-fitting button-up flannel.
I whimper, finding comfort in her presence.
Female alphas are rare, but my omega knows she poses no danger to me.
A round of growls ring out from the noise I couldn’t stop.
“Hey, Buck. I’m pretty sure that’s Coop and Duke’s girl, ain’t it?” she asks, raising her fist to crack her knuckles. Any other time I might have found the move a little ridiculous, but a menacing promise seeps out of her.
Buck, the burly man, nods, jangling his oversized belt buckle again and scuffing his boots in dirt. “Sure is. And I don’t think she wants to be going with this fella.”
“Well, I doubt you use those combined two brain cells much, so move out of the way.” Leo snarls at them.
“I don’t want to go with him!” My voice cracks, a small whine coming from within.
His fingers tighten on me, and he yanks me closer. “Shut up before I make your punishment worse.”
I push at his chest just as the woman steps up, her hand clamping down on his shoulder.
“Let go of her NOW!” The bark in her voice makes me shudder.
“Brielle!” Maverick shouts, and my attention snaps to him.
Leo’s hold slips enough from the alpha’s bark for me to shake off his hand, and without a second thought, I run straight to my alpha and leap into his arms.