Claimed by the Alphas: Part Two Read Free Page A

rescue.
    “Brae,” he said in a warning tone. Her shoulders sagged.
    “Boundaries?”
    He nodded. “Boundaries.”
    Mila wondered if she would ever have that level of intimacy with another person. Where just a word or a small gesture could be so potent with meaning. Her own relationships had been shallow by comparison.
    “Thread the needle for me,” he told Brae.
    At the word needle, Mila gripped Asch’s thick bicep, her hand clammy.
    “No. Needles,” she ground out. The corners of his mouth twitched.
    “There aren’t any hospitals out here,” he said patiently. “I can’t leave you with an open wound. It can get infected.”
    “It’s not a wound, it’s a scratch,” she said defensively. She looked to Brae for support, but the other woman was doing a worse job of hiding her amusement than Asch.
    Without much of a choice, she b egrudgingly let Asch sew her up. It stung, but he was gentle and careful not to cause any undue pain. When he was done, Brae applied a sweet-smelling salve to her forehead. Her wound sufficiently doctored, Asch stood, bringing her up with him.
    She looked up at him, only now remembering how large he was. Asch was every bit the alpha that Caim was, only in different ways. Where Caim’s features were roughly hewn, Asch’s were finely chiseled. Asch was sinewy and clean-cut, where Caim was brawny and hirsute. Asch was the embodiment of her every fantasy, while Caim was her darkest temptation. The realization that she thought she could handle both men made her head spin. It was impossible. In their own ways, each alpha was utterly overwhelming.
    Asch brought his hands up to cup her cheeks, his eyes fixing on hers. Her heart fluttered, and for a moment she forgot that it wasn’t just the two of them in the room.
    “I’m sorry,” she said.
    “You have nothing to apologize for.” He seemed sincere, but she didn’t trust it.
    “I just wanted to talk to him about a plan Brae and I had, but things just…” Her face heated as she trailed off, unable to think of anything that didn’t sound lame. Caim had only wanted to touch her; it was she who had given him the invitation to take things further. Things hadn’t gone too far, they had gone exactly where she had wanted them to, and now she was going to have to bite the bullet.
    “I know, Brae told me about it,” he said. “I think it might work.”
    Mila tipped her head to the side. “You do?”
    “I didn’t at first,” he clarified. “But smelling him on you doesn’t bother me as much as it should.” He lowered his voice, a slow smile spreading across his face as he dipped his head closer to hers. “Though it does make me want to cover you in my own scent.”
    Her stomach clenched and a rush of heat flooded her at his candid words. Logically, Mila knew that she was in no state to consort with the sensual creature in front of her, but her brain and her body just weren’t on the same page when it came to her alphas.
    Her alphas… Whoa, that was a stretch.
    Asch gave her a final, lingering look, and then glanced over at Brae.
    “Stay with her today. Make sure she’s alright.” He looked between the two of them. “I’ll be back later.”
    He released her then. Mila swayed a little, but maintained her footing. She watched him as he left, heading for the exit of the den. She didn’t have to ask where he was going. They had a lot of things to work out and thankfully it no longer fell entirely on her. She’d let Asch handle Caim for now.

CHAPTER THREE
     
    An oppressive mist a nd a heavy silence reigned over the hour before sunrise. The wolves had dispersed into the woods, taking the time away from the den to hunt for game. Last night’s hunt had been paltry, four quails and a rabbit. Deer were scarce in the valley, and would only get more so as the winter closed in on them.
    In his wolf form, Asch climbed along the steep shoulder of the mountain. He could have climbed his way up to the bluff in his sleep, and some days